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===Reasons for the Marriage=== | ===Reasons for the Marriage=== | ||
In April 620, “when Khadijah died, the Prophet was terribly grieved over her,”<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:54.</ref> and “people feared for him.”<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:44.</ref> After only a few days, Khawla bint Hakim, the sister-in-law of his friend [[Umar]],<ref>She was married to Uthman ibn Mazoon (Guillaume/Ishaq 590), whose sister Zaynab was married to Umar (Bewley/Saad 8:56).</ref> decided that he needed a new wife. She called on Muhammad to tell him that she knew of both a maid and a matron whom he might [[Marriage|marry]] and asked which one he would prefer. He immediately responded that he would take them both.<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 129}}.</ref> | In April 620, “when Khadijah died, the Prophet was terribly grieved over her,”<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:54.</ref> and “people feared for him.”<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:44.</ref> After only a few days, Khawla bint Hakim, the sister-in-law of his friend [[Umar al Khattab|Umar]],<ref>She was married to Uthman ibn Mazoon (Guillaume/Ishaq 590), whose sister Zaynab was married to Umar (Bewley/Saad 8:56).</ref> decided that he needed a new wife. She called on Muhammad to tell him that she knew of both a maid and a matron whom he might [[Marriage|marry]] and asked which one he would prefer. He immediately responded that he would take them both.<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 129}}.</ref> | ||
The maid was Abu Bakr’s daughter. It is often claimed that Muhammad married her “to reinforce the friendly relations already existing with Abu Bakr.”<ref>[http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/Sabeel/sabeel6.htm/ ''Why Did Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Married Young Aisha Siddiqa (r.a.)?''].</ref> In one sense this is true: Abu Bakr was one of the few men in Mecca who would still have been willing to give him a daughter.<ref>For Muhammad’s unpopularity with his pagan neighbours, see Guillaume/Ishaq 191-194.</ref> But this assertion mistakes cause and effect. The marriage did not “promote” any alliance with Abu Bakr; rather, it was the existing close bond with Abu Bakr that made the marriage possible. Did Muhammad’s request to his friend even reflect Khawla’s original intention? The oral traditions about Muhammad’s life were first put in writing long after his death,<ref>Siddiqi, M. Z. (2006). ''Hadith Literature: Its Origin, Development, Special Features and Criticism'', pp. 8-9. “''Hadith'' which thus spread throughout the vast Muslim dominions had been preserved for a century partly in writing (in the form of laws and letters dictated by Muhammad himself, and in the form of various ''Sahifahs'' ascribed to many of his Companions), and partly in the memory of those who had associated with him and watched carefully his words and deeds. After the death of Muhammad, Umar I intended to collect the ''Ahadith''. He gave the matter his careful consideration for one whole month, invoking the help of God in his decision, and seeking the advice of his friends. But he had to give up the great project for fear of the Qur’an being neglected by the Muslims.” Kuala Lumpar: Islamic Book Trust.</ref> and it could be that they have been distorted by narrators who did not know about the interview with Khawla until they also had hind-knowledge of its result. It is not impossible that Khawla originally mentioned “Abu Bakr’s daughter” without giving the name, and that she had actually been referring to his elder daughter Asma. Regardless of whether or not Khawla was complicit in the eventual outcome, what happened was that Muhammad, the Apostle of Allah, completely overlooked the 16-year-old Asma<ref>[http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=4604&CATE=1/ Haddad] cites Al-Dhahabi in ''Siyar Alam al-Nubala'' vol. 2 p. 289: “Asma was ten years older than Aisha.” Haddad points out that Al-Dhahabi elsewhere suggests Asma might have been even older than this.</ref> and asked instead to marry the six-year-old Aisha.<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 129}}; {{Bukhari|7|62|18}}.</ref> | The maid was Abu Bakr’s daughter. It is often claimed that Muhammad married her “to reinforce the friendly relations already existing with Abu Bakr.”<ref>[http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/Sabeel/sabeel6.htm/ ''Why Did Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Married Young Aisha Siddiqa (r.a.)?''].</ref> In one sense this is true: Abu Bakr was one of the few men in Mecca who would still have been willing to give him a daughter.<ref>For Muhammad’s unpopularity with his pagan neighbours, see Guillaume/Ishaq 191-194.</ref> But this assertion mistakes cause and effect. The marriage did not “promote” any alliance with Abu Bakr; rather, it was the existing close bond with Abu Bakr that made the marriage possible. Did Muhammad’s request to his friend even reflect Khawla’s original intention? The oral traditions about Muhammad’s life were first put in writing long after his death,<ref>Siddiqi, M. Z. (2006). ''Hadith Literature: Its Origin, Development, Special Features and Criticism'', pp. 8-9. “''Hadith'' which thus spread throughout the vast Muslim dominions had been preserved for a century partly in writing (in the form of laws and letters dictated by Muhammad himself, and in the form of various ''Sahifahs'' ascribed to many of his Companions), and partly in the memory of those who had associated with him and watched carefully his words and deeds. After the death of Muhammad, Umar I intended to collect the ''Ahadith''. He gave the matter his careful consideration for one whole month, invoking the help of God in his decision, and seeking the advice of his friends. But he had to give up the great project for fear of the Qur’an being neglected by the Muslims.” Kuala Lumpar: Islamic Book Trust.</ref> and it could be that they have been distorted by narrators who did not know about the interview with Khawla until they also had hind-knowledge of its result. It is not impossible that Khawla originally mentioned “Abu Bakr’s daughter” without giving the name, and that she had actually been referring to his elder daughter Asma. Regardless of whether or not Khawla was complicit in the eventual outcome, what happened was that Muhammad, the Apostle of Allah, completely overlooked the 16-year-old Asma<ref>[http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=4604&CATE=1/ Haddad] cites Al-Dhahabi in ''Siyar Alam al-Nubala'' vol. 2 p. 289: “Asma was ten years older than Aisha.” Haddad points out that Al-Dhahabi elsewhere suggests Asma might have been even older than this.</ref> and asked instead to marry the six-year-old Aisha.<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 129}}; {{Bukhari|7|62|18}}.</ref> | ||
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[[File:MosqueMedina.jpg|left|thumb|Artist’s impression of the mosque at Medina, c. 630. Aisha’s house is at the bottom right, marked with A.|300px]] | [[File:MosqueMedina.jpg|left|thumb|Artist’s impression of the mosque at Medina, c. 630. Aisha’s house is at the bottom right, marked with A.|300px]] | ||
Umm Ruman tried to fatten Aisha up before sending her to Muhammad’s house. Several types of food failed to replace the flesh that she had lost during her illness “till she gave me cucumber with fresh dates to eat. Then I became fat as good.”<ref>{{Abudawud|28|3894}}.</ref> In April or May 623 Aisha, now aged nine, was playing on a swing with some friends when her mother called her over. Still breathless, Aisha was taken to the little house that had just been built into the wall of the mosque, a hut of unbaked bricks with a palm-branch roof, perhaps five metres by four in size.<ref>{{Tabari|39|pp. 172-173; Bewley/Saad 8:121; [http://www.soebratie.nl/religie/hadith/IbnSad.html#Book 65.3/ Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' vol. 1:65:3].</ref> When she was brought inside, where some ''ansar'' women wished her good luck, “it occurred to me that I was married. I did not ask her, and my mother was the one who told me.”<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:43.</ref> For some reason, Umm Ruman then departed, leaving the ''ansar'' women to wash and perfume Aisha, dress her up in a red-striped gown, apply make-up and comb her hair. When her father’s friend Muhammad arrived, she was surprised (suggesting that she had still not guessed the identity of her bridegroom) but not afraid. The women left the house, and Muhammad sat her on his lap.<ref>Ibn Hisham note 918; {{Bukhari|7|62|88}}; {{Bukhari|7|62|90}}; {{Muslim|8|3309}}; {{Muslim|8|3310}}; {{Muslim|8|3311}}; {{Abudawud|41|4915}}; {{Abudawud|41|4917}}; {{Tabari|9|pp. 130-131}}; Ibn Majah 3:1876; Ibn Majah 3:1877.</ref> The consummation was not marked by any kind of wedding party or public celebration: “neither a camel nor a sheep was slaughtered for me.”<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 131}}.</ref> This possibly indicates that, while the Muslim converts did not question Muhammad’s judgment, he knew only too well what his Jewish neighbours would think of his bigamy.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:143. “They envied him because of the number of his wives and they criticised him for that, saying, ‘If he had been a prophet, he would not have desired women.’ The most intense of them in that criticism was Huyayy ibn Akhtab,” the chief of the Nadir tribe. It is not stated, however, that Huyayy had a specific objection to Aisha’s extreme youth.</ref> | Umm Ruman tried to fatten Aisha up before sending her to Muhammad’s house. Several types of food failed to replace the flesh that she had lost during her illness “till she gave me cucumber with fresh dates to eat. Then I became fat as good.”<ref>{{Abudawud|28|3894}}.</ref> In April or May 623 Aisha, now aged nine, was playing on a swing with some friends when her mother called her over. Still breathless, Aisha was taken to the little house that had just been built into the wall of the mosque, a hut of unbaked bricks with a palm-branch roof, perhaps five metres by four in size.<ref>{{Tabari|39|pp. 172-173; Bewley/Saad 8:121; [http://www.soebratie.nl/religie/hadith/IbnSad.html#Book 65.3/ Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' vol. 1:65:3].</ref> When she was brought inside, where some ''ansar'' women wished her good luck, “it occurred to me that I was married. I did not ask her, and my mother was the one who told me.”<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:43.</ref> For some reason, Umm Ruman then departed, leaving the ''ansar'' women to wash and perfume Aisha, dress her up in a red-striped gown, apply make-up and comb her hair. When her father’s friend Muhammad arrived, she was surprised (suggesting that she had still not guessed the identity of her bridegroom) but not afraid. The women left the house, and Muhammad sat her on his lap.<ref>Ibn Hisham note 918; {{Bukhari|7|62|88}}; {{Bukhari|7|62|90}}; {{Muslim|8|3309}}; {{Muslim|8|3310}}; {{Muslim|8|3311}}; {{Abudawud|41|4915}}; {{Abudawud|41|4917}}; {{Tabari|9|pp. 130-131}}; Ibn Majah 3:1876; Ibn Majah 3:1877.</ref> The consummation was not marked by any kind of wedding party or public celebration: “neither a camel nor a sheep was slaughtered for me.”<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 131}}.</ref> This possibly indicates that, while the Muslim converts did not question Muhammad’s judgment, he knew only too well what his [[Islam and the People of the Book|Jewish]] neighbours would think of his bigamy.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:143. “They envied him because of the number of his wives and they criticised him for that, saying, ‘If he had been a prophet, he would not have desired women.’ The most intense of them in that criticism was Huyayy ibn Akhtab,” the chief of the Nadir tribe. It is not stated, however, that Huyayy had a specific objection to Aisha’s extreme youth.</ref> | ||
Aisha was always very proud of her position as the beloved of the Prophet<ref>E.g., Bewley/Saad 8:44: “Which of his wives is more fortunate than I?” Bewley/Saad 8:46: “I was preferred over the wives of the Prophet.”</ref> and never recognised that she had been raped. She spoke calmly of the way Muhammad sucked her tongue<ref>{{Abudawud|13|2380}}.</ref> and took baths with her in the same tub,<ref>{{Bukhari|1|5|263}}; {{Bukhari|1|6|298}}.</ref> and of how she would then wash the semen off his clothes<ref>{{Bukhari|1|4|229}}; {{Bukhari|1|4|230}}; {{Bukhari|1|4|231}}; {{Bukhari|1|4|232}}; {{Bukhari|1|4|233}}.</ref> and anoint him with perfume<ref>{{Bukhari|1|5|267}}.</ref> (his favourite was ''dhikarat al-tayyib'', a blend of musk and ambergris<ref>Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' 1:2:90:11.</ref>). | Aisha was always very proud of her position as the beloved of the Prophet<ref>E.g., Bewley/Saad 8:44: “Which of his wives is more fortunate than I?” Bewley/Saad 8:46: “I was preferred over the wives of the Prophet.”</ref> and never recognised that she had been raped. She spoke calmly of the way Muhammad sucked her tongue<ref>{{Abudawud|13|2380}}.</ref> and took baths with her in the same tub,<ref>{{Bukhari|1|5|263}}; {{Bukhari|1|6|298}}.</ref> and of how she would then wash the semen off his clothes<ref>{{Bukhari|1|4|229}}; {{Bukhari|1|4|230}}; {{Bukhari|1|4|231}}; {{Bukhari|1|4|232}}; {{Bukhari|1|4|233}}.</ref> and anoint him with perfume<ref>{{Bukhari|1|5|267}}.</ref> (his favourite was ''dhikarat al-tayyib'', a blend of musk and ambergris<ref>Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' 1:2:90:11.</ref>). | ||