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Ages of Muhammads Wives at Marriage: Difference between revisions
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Ages of Muhammads Wives at Marriage (view source)
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{{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:9|We asked Hakim ibn Hizam which of them was older, the Messenger of Allah or Khadijah? He said, “Khadijah was 15 years older than him. The prayer was unlawful for my aunt before the Messenger of Allah was born.” Hakim’s statement, “The prayer was unlawful for her,” means she menstruated, but he is speaking as the people of Islam speak.}} | {{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:9|We asked Hakim ibn Hizam which of them was older, the Messenger of Allah or Khadijah? He said, “Khadijah was 15 years older than him. The prayer was unlawful for my aunt before the Messenger of Allah was born.” Hakim’s statement, “The prayer was unlawful for her,” means she menstruated, but he is speaking as the people of Islam speak.}} | ||
The reporter is emphasising that Hakim was only using a figure of speech to indicate Khadijah’s age and did not literally mean that she followed Islamic [[prayers|prayer]] rituals before Muhammad was even born. However, this kind of | The reporter is emphasising that Hakim was only using a figure of speech to indicate Khadijah’s age and did not literally mean that she followed Islamic [[prayers|prayer]] rituals before Muhammad was even born. However, this kind of anachronism is exactly what we would expect from a person who is not ''remembering'' an event but ''inventing'' it from his imagination. | ||
It is not impossible for a human to live 120 years but it is an exception to the general rule. So it is surprising how many early Muslims claimed to have reached this great age. Yahya ibn Mandah even wrote a book entitled ''Those of the Companions who Lived 120 Years'', in which he lists fourteen 120-year-old Muslims.<ref>Yahya ibn Mandah. ''Juz f̀ihi man 'asha miattan wa-'ishrina sanatan min al-Sahabah''.</ref> Hakim ibn Hizam is one of them. Another is Huwaytib ibn Abduluzza. | It is not impossible for a human to live 120 years but it is an exception to the general rule. So it is surprising how many early Muslims claimed to have reached this great age. Yahya ibn Mandah even wrote a book entitled ''Those of the Companions who Lived 120 Years'', in which he lists fourteen 120-year-old Muslims.<ref>Yahya ibn Mandah. ''Juz f̀ihi man 'asha miattan wa-'ishrina sanatan min al-Sahabah''.</ref> Hakim ibn Hizam is one of them. Another is Huwaytib ibn Abduluzza. | ||
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====Conclusion==== | ====Conclusion==== | ||
If Khadijah was only two to three years older than Muhammad, this makes sense of a great deal. It explains how | If Khadijah was only two to three years older than Muhammad, this makes sense of a great deal. It explains how her sex appeal as well as her money factored in to his attraction to her. It explains how she was able to produce six children in ten years and why she then stopped childbearing. It explains why Muhammad remained attracted to Khadijah for so long when, in later life, he was to reject older women.<ref>See Bewley/Saad 8:40, 111, 113; {{Tabari|9|pp. 139, 140}}.</ref> It explains why, after twenty years of marriage, he began thinking about younger women,<ref>[http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life2/chap4.htm/ Muir (1861) 2:141-144]. See also [http://www.muhammadanism.org/Canon_Sell/Quran/p024.htm/ Sell, E. (1923). ''The Historical Development of the Qur'an'', 4th Ed, pp. 25-26. London: People International.]</ref> for Khadijah would have been at that time menopausal and ''first'' losing her looks. | ||
{{Quote|Mughaltay, ''Al-Zahr al-Basim fi Sirat Abi’l-Qasim'', cited in Kister, M. J. (1993). The Sons of Khadijah. ''Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 16'', 59-95.|The Prophet returned with Maysara from Syria on the 14th night from the end of Dhu’l-Hijja in the 25th year from the Day of the Elephant [3 May 595] … The Prophet married Khadijah two months and 15 days after his return from Syria, at the end of Safar in the 26th year.}} | {{Quote|Mughaltay, ''Al-Zahr al-Basim fi Sirat Abi’l-Qasim'', cited in Kister, M. J. (1993). The Sons of Khadijah. ''Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 16'', 59-95.|The Prophet returned with Maysara from Syria on the 14th night from the end of Dhu’l-Hijja in the 25th year from the Day of the Elephant [3 May 595] … The Prophet married Khadijah two months and 15 days after his return from Syria, at the end of Safar in the 26th year.}} | ||
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{{Quote|[http://www.islamawareness.net/Muhammed/ibn_kathir_wives.html/ Ibn Kathir, “Maymunah”] in ''The Wives of the Prophet''.|After the Prophet's death, Maymunah continued to live in Medina for another forty years, dying at the age of 80, in 51 AH [21 January 671 - 10 January 672], being the last but one of the Prophet's wives to die.}} | {{Quote|[http://www.islamawareness.net/Muhammed/ibn_kathir_wives.html/ Ibn Kathir, “Maymunah”] in ''The Wives of the Prophet''.|After the Prophet's death, Maymunah continued to live in Medina for another forty years, dying at the age of 80, in 51 AH [21 January 671 - 10 January 672], being the last but one of the Prophet's wives to die.}} | ||
This is still not correct, as not one, but four or five, of Muhammad’s widows were still alive in 51 AH (Hind, Aisha, Sawdah, Safiyah and perhaps Juwayriyah). Ibn Kathir, writing 700 years after the event, was either trying to harmonise the conflict without considering all the facts | This is still not correct, as not one, but four or five, of Muhammad’s widows were still alive in 51 AH (Hind, Aisha, Sawdah, Safiyah and perhaps Juwayriyah). Ibn Kathir, writing 700 years after the event, was either trying to harmonise the conflict without considering all the facts or merely restate the words of someone else who likewise failed to consider the facts. If Ibn Kathir (or his source) guessed at which part of his original text was the error, he might also have been guessing at the year of Maymunah’s death. So we have no real confidence that the correct year was either 51 ''or'' 61 AH. The only consistency is that Maymunah lived to be about 80. | ||
While we do not really know Maymunah’s death-date, and therefore her birth-date, we will accept Ibn Kathir’s more conservative tradition. According to this, she was born in 30 BH, i.e., between 9 June 593 and 28 May 594 (median = 2 December 593). This would make her about 35 when she married Muhammad in February 629, although we will bear in mind that she might have been many years younger. | While we do not really know Maymunah’s death-date, and therefore her birth-date, we will accept Ibn Kathir’s more conservative tradition. According to this, she was born in 30 BH, i.e., between 9 June 593 and 28 May 594 (median = 2 December 593). This would make her about 35 when she married Muhammad in February 629, although we will bear in mind that she might have been many years younger. | ||
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*Age Difference = 22 years and 8 months. | *Age Difference = 22 years and 8 months. | ||
Sir William Muir’s unsourced comment that “Maymunah is said to have been at this time 51 years of age”<ref>[http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life4/chap22.htm/ Muir, W. (1861). ''The Life of Mahomet'' vol. 4 p. 89. London: Smith, Elder & Co.]</ref> is thus | Sir William Muir’s unsourced comment that “Maymunah is said to have been at this time 51 years of age”<ref>[http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life4/chap22.htm/ Muir, W. (1861). ''The Life of Mahomet'' vol. 4 p. 89. London: Smith, Elder & Co.]</ref> is thus shown to be extremely doubtful. | ||
===Mulaykah's Age=== | ===Mulaykah's Age=== | ||
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#Asma’s Maximum Age = 20 years. | #Asma’s Maximum Age = 20 years. | ||
#Amrah’s Approximate Age = 15 years. | #Amrah’s Approximate Age = 15 years. | ||
*Total Years = 343 years and 10 months. | *Total Years = 343 years and 10 months. | ||
*Mean Age of Muhammad’s Brides = ''24.56 years'' | *Mean Age of Muhammad’s Brides = ''24.56 years'' | ||
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#Asma = 59 years and 3 months (not consummated, but legalities finalised). | #Asma = 59 years and 3 months (not consummated, but legalities finalised). | ||
#Amrah = 60 years and 5 months (not consummated, but legalities finalised). | #Amrah = 60 years and 5 months (not consummated, but legalities finalised). | ||
*Total Years = 751 years and 4 months. | *Total Years = 751 years and 4 months. | ||
*Mean Age of Muhammad as Bridegroom = ''53.66 years'' | *Mean Age of Muhammad as Bridegroom = ''53.66 years'' | ||
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==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
* [[Muhammad's Wives]]'' - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Muhammad's wives and concubines'' | *[[Muhammad's Wives]]'' - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Muhammad's wives and concubines'' | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||