Ages of Muhammads Wives at Marriage: Difference between revisions

Muhammad had other marriage contracts with several other women, but most of these unions were dissolved before consummation and thus were not true marriages according to Islamic law. The other women with whom he is known to have had a sexual relationship are the five listed below, four of whom were technically concubines (sex [[Slavery|slaves]]) rather than legal wives. The ages of these five women are unknown.

Mariyah’s age is not stated anywhere. The only certain fact is that, since she bore Muhammad a son in 630, she must have been of childbearing age.<ref>{{Tabari|9|pp. 39, 137}}.</ref> Various guesses that she was 20<ref>[http://www.a2youth.com/ebooks/the_wives_of_the_prophet/Maymunah_bint_al-harith/ Thomson, H. A. (1993). “Maymunah bint Al-Harith”] in ''The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.</ref> or 17<ref>[http://www.themodernreligion.com/prophet/prophet_aisha.htm/ Ahmed, S. “Prophet Muhammad and Aisha Siddiqa.”]</ref> betray the assumptions of the secondary historians that if she attracted Muhammad, she must have been young. Given the other evidence this is likely correct, but there is no data to support this conclusion.

The only objective clue to Fatima’s age is that she lived another 50 years after Muhammad divorced her.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:100</ref> Subjectively, her behaviour seems immature and suited to a child aged 15 or 16.<ref>{{Tabari|39|pp. 187-188}}; Bewley/Saad 8:101.</ref> There is not any concrete data for calculation of her age though.

These two concubines were presumably selected for their looks and were presumably young. But presumption is not fact. There ages are unknown and there is not available data for calculation.

Based on the above sources the calculations of the ages of Muhammad's wives at marriage (including the various estimations above) are as follows:

The mean age of Muhammad’s brides was about ''24½ years''. To call such a woman middle-aged, even in Arabia at the time, seems uncalled for. Rather it appears that (like most rules of his stature) Muhammad preferred younger women.