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Aisha's Age: Difference between revisions
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According to Abu Ja‘far (Al-Tabari): The Messenger of God married her, so it is said, in Shawwal, and consummated his marriage to her in a later year, also in Shawwal. | According to Abu Ja‘far (Al-Tabari): The Messenger of God married her, so it is said, in Shawwal, and consummated his marriage to her in a later year, also in Shawwal. | ||
Al-Tabari, Vol. 7, pp. 6-7</ref> | Al-Tabari, Vol. 7, pp. 6-7</ref> | ||
==Association with Child Marriage== | |||
[[File:Child Marriage.jpg|thumb|Child bride with her infant daughter]] | |||
No age limits have been fixed by Islam for marriage according to Persian Professor at the University of Cambridge, Reuben Levy, and "quite young children may be legally married".<ref name=":5">Levy p.106</ref> The girl may not live with the husband however until she is fit for marital sexual relations.<ref name=":5" /> The [[Jurisprudence|Hanafi]] school of jurisprudence of Islamic ''fiqh'' maintains that a wife must not be taken to her husband's house until she reaches the condition of fitness for sexual relations. | |||
In Islamic legal terminology, ''Baligh'' refers to a person who has reached maturity, puberty or adulthood and has full responsibility under Islamic law. Legal theorists assign different ages and criteria for reaching this state for both males and females.<ref>John Esposito, "The Oxford Dictionary of Islam", p.35, Oxford University Press 2004</ref> In marriage ''baligh'' is related to the Arabic legal expression, ''hatta tutiqa'l-rijal'', which means that the wedding may not take place until the girl is physically fit to engage in sexual intercourse. Some Hanafi scholars hold the opinion that sexual intercourse may take place before puberty, as long as it's not injurious to one's health.<ref>Public » Askimam" | |||
[http://askimam.org/ ''www.askimam.org''.]</ref> In comparison, ''baligh'' or ''balaghat'' concerns the reaching of sexual maturity which becomes manifest by the menses. The age related to these two concepts can, but need not necessarily, coincide. Only after a separate condition called ''rushd'', or intellectual maturity to handle one's own property, is reached can a girl receive her bridewealth.<ref>Masud, M et. al. "Islamic Legal Interpretation, Muftis and Their Fatwas" p.136, Harvard University Press, 1996</ref> | |||
==Aisha's Age of Puberty== | ==Aisha's Age of Puberty== | ||
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Hence, from the original Arabic, it is clear that Aisha was below the age of puberty at the age of 14 (at the time of the raid on the Bani Mustaliq) or 15 (at the time of the Ethiopian slaves dancing incident), and begun her first menstrual period at the age of 16 (during the journey for hajj). We know that Muhammad ‘udkhilath’ (sexually penetrated) her when she was nine years old, and that the average age at menarche was between 12 to 13 years of age. Thus, putting all the evidence together, it is rather clear that Muhammad had sex with a child below the age of puberty. | Hence, from the original Arabic, it is clear that Aisha was below the age of puberty at the age of 14 (at the time of the raid on the Bani Mustaliq) or 15 (at the time of the Ethiopian slaves dancing incident), and begun her first menstrual period at the age of 16 (during the journey for hajj). We know that Muhammad ‘udkhilath’ (sexually penetrated) her when she was nine years old, and that the average age at menarche was between 12 to 13 years of age. Thus, putting all the evidence together, it is rather clear that Muhammad had sex with a child below the age of puberty. | ||
==Relevant Quotations== | ==Relevant Quotations== | ||