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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)
Revision as of 05:30, 3 February 2022
, 3 February 2022→Hakim ibn Hizam
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====Hakim ibn Hizam==== | ====Hakim ibn Hizam==== | ||
The first problem is that Hakim claimed his own age to be 120.<ref>{{Muslim|10|3662}}; {{Tabari|39|p. 106}}.</ref> This is intrinsically questionable. To bolster his story, Hakim claimed to remember the episode when Abdulmuttalib ibn Hashim vowed to sacrifice his son Abdullah to the god Hubal but was able to ransom him for 100 camels. He says this was about five years before Muhammad was born.<ref>{{Tabari|39|pp. 41, 106}}.</ref> But Hakim’s ability to recite details that were already common knowledge does not prove he was an eyewitness to the event: he might well have heard the story from his parents. | The first problem is that according to Bukhari and Muslim Hakim claimed his own age to be 120.<ref>{{Muslim|10|3662}}; {{Tabari|39|p. 106}}.</ref> This is intrinsically questionable. To bolster his story, Hakim claimed to remember the episode when Abdulmuttalib ibn Hashim vowed to sacrifice his son Abdullah to the god Hubal but was able to ransom him for 100 camels. He says this was about five years before Muhammad was born.<ref>{{Tabari|39|pp. 41, 106}}.</ref> But Hakim’s ability to recite details that were already common knowledge does not prove he was an eyewitness to the event: he might well have heard the story from his parents. | ||
Hakim’s remarks about Khadijah’s age might have served a similar function of supporting his personal boasts rather than relaying accurate history. If he had long ago mentioned that Khadijah was two years older than himself, he might have needed to stick to his story about her relative age and readjust her chronological age in order to keep it consistent with his claims about his own age. There is something suspicious about his remark here. | Hakim’s remarks about Khadijah’s age might have served a similar function of supporting his personal boasts rather than relaying accurate history. If he had long ago mentioned that Khadijah was two years older than himself, he might have needed to stick to his story about her relative age and readjust her chronological age in order to keep it consistent with his claims about his own age. There is something suspicious about his remark here. | ||
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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 | The reporter is emphasizing 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. | ||