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Ages of Muhammads Wives at Marriage: Difference between revisions
Ages of Muhammads Wives at Marriage (view source)
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{{Underconstruction}} | {{Underconstruction}} | ||
==Introduction== | ==Introduction== | ||
[[File:polygamy.jpg|right|thumb||300px]] | [[File:polygamy.jpg|right|thumb||300px]] | ||
Muslim apologists claim that Muhammad’s wives were elderly and that he did not marry them for physical attraction. | Muslim apologists claim that Prophet [[Muhammad's Wives|Muhammad’s wives]] were elderly and that he did not marry them for physical attraction. | ||
{{Quote|[http://www.islam4women.org/conclusions/ Islam for Women]|But all his wives were elderly ladies or widows except [Aisha and Mariyah]. If the aim had been seeking sexual pleasures, he would have done so in his youth and would have married young maidens, not aged widows.}} | {{Quote|[http://www.islam4women.org/conclusions/ Islam for Women]|But all his wives were elderly ladies or widows except [Aisha and Mariyah]. If the aim had been seeking sexual pleasures, he would have done so in his youth and would have married young maidens, not aged widows.}} | ||
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{{Quote|[http://www.al-islam.org/lifeprophet/25.htm/ Al-Islam: Life of the Prophet, chapter 25]|Then he emigrated to Medina and began spreading the word of Allah. Thereafter, he married eight women, all of them widows or divorcees, all old or middle-aged.}} | {{Quote|[http://www.al-islam.org/lifeprophet/25.htm/ Al-Islam: Life of the Prophet, chapter 25]|Then he emigrated to Medina and began spreading the word of Allah. Thereafter, he married eight women, all of them widows or divorcees, all old or middle-aged.}} | ||
Even some | Even some non-Muslim historians have repeated this claim. | ||
{{Quote|Thomas, B. S. (1937). ''The Arabs'', pp. 65-66. New York: Doubleday, Doran and Co., Inc.|All appear to have been elderly widows except A’isha … The elderly wives were widows of companions who had fallen in the wars, and Muhammad married them to shelter them and provide them with homes.}} | {{Quote|Thomas, B. S. (1937). ''The Arabs'', pp. 65-66. New York: Doubleday, Doran and Co., Inc.|All appear to have been elderly widows except A’isha … The elderly wives were widows of companions who had fallen in the wars, and Muhammad married them to shelter them and provide them with homes.}} | ||
What this highlights is that terms like “middle-aged” and “elderly” are subjective. They do not give precise information about how old the women were. Rather than debate what the words “middle-aged” and “elderly” ought to mean, we will consult the early Muslim sources and calculate the age of each wife on the day she married Muhammad. | What this highlights is that terms like “middle-aged” and “elderly” are subjective. They do not give precise information about how old the women were. Rather than debate what the words “middle-aged” and “elderly” ought to mean, we will consult the early Muslim sources and calculate the age of each wife on the day she [[Marriage|married]] Muhammad. | ||
===Calculate Comparative Dates=== | ===Calculate Comparative Dates=== | ||
The Islamic year consists of twelve lunar cycles and hence it is 354 or 355 days long. This means it is quite difficult to calculate comparative dates. For example: | The [[Islamic Lunar Calendar|Islamic year]] consists of twelve lunar cycles and hence it is 354 or 355 days long. This means it is quite difficult to calculate comparative dates. For example: | ||
{{Quote|Guillaume/Ishaq 281.|The apostle came to Medina on Monday at high noon on 12 Rabi-Awwal. The apostle on that day was 53 years of age, that being 13 years after God called him.}} | {{Quote|Guillaume/Ishaq 281.|The apostle came to Medina on Monday at high noon on 12 Rabi-Awwal. The apostle on that day was 53 years of age, that being 13 years after God called him.}} | ||
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This [http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/ calendar tool] advises us that the date '''12 Rabi-Awwal 1 AH''' is equivalent to the Gregorian date '''27 September 622 AD'''. But this does not give the 53-year-old Muhammad a birthdate of 27 September 569. Because the lunar year is shorter, Muhammad’s age at the time of the ''Hijra'' was only about 51½ solar years. According to the calculator, his birthdate of 12 Rabi-Awwal 53 BH is equivalent to the Gregorian date 26 April 571. | This [http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/ calendar tool] advises us that the date '''12 Rabi-Awwal 1 AH''' is equivalent to the Gregorian date '''27 September 622 AD'''. But this does not give the 53-year-old Muhammad a birthdate of 27 September 569. Because the lunar year is shorter, Muhammad’s age at the time of the ''Hijra'' was only about 51½ solar years. According to the calculator, his birthdate of 12 Rabi-Awwal 53 BH is equivalent to the Gregorian date 26 April 571. | ||
Of course, the Gregorian calendar did not exist in Muhammad’s day, so reporting dates in Gregorian style is an anachronism | Of course, the Gregorian calendar did not exist in Muhammad’s day, so reporting dates in Gregorian style is an anachronism. However, it will be convenient to compare Muhammad’s calendar with the Gregorian calendar, which is internationally the most widely accepted and used civil calendar.<ref>[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/astronomical-information-center/calendars Introduction to Calendars]. United States Naval Observatory. Retrieved 15 January 2009.</ref><ref>[http://astro.nmsu.edu/~lhuber/leaphist.html Calendars] by L. E. Doggett. Section 2.</ref><ref>The international standard for the representation of dates and times, ISO 8601, uses the Gregorian calendar. Section 3.2.1.</ref> | ||
When Muslim historians speak of “the Year of the Elephant,” they always mean the year when Muhammad was born, which fell between 15 February 571 and 3 February 572. | When Muslim historians speak of “the Year of the Elephant,” they always mean the year when Muhammad was born, which fell between 15 February 571 and 3 February 572. | ||