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Ages of Muhammads Wives at Marriage: Difference between revisions
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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. | 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 and in this case is almost certainly an embellishment of the tradition. 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. | ||
{{Quote|{{Tabari|39|p. 43}}.|Huwaytib ibn Abduluzza lived 120 years, 60 of them in the ''Jahiliya'' and 60 in Islam.}} | {{Quote|{{Tabari|39|p. 43}}.|Huwaytib ibn Abduluzza lived 120 years, 60 of them in the ''Jahiliya'' and 60 in Islam.}} | ||
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Huwaytib died in the year 54 AH (673-674)<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 40}}.</ref> so he should have converted to Islam in the year 7 BH (615–616). The problem is, he openly admits that he did not convert until the conquest of Mecca in 8 AH (January 630). He gives a long list of excuses for the delay in his conversion<ref>{{Tabari|39|pp. 43-46}}.</ref> but he never checks his arithmetic. If he became a Muslim in 8 AH, this was only 46 years before his death and not 60. This makes his age at death no more than 106. Of course, even this age assumes that he really was as old as 60 at the time of his conversion, which we now have licence to doubt. Huwaytib ibn Abduluzza lived to be elderly, but he was probably not entitled to his chapter in Yahya ibn Mandah’s book. | Huwaytib died in the year 54 AH (673-674)<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 40}}.</ref> so he should have converted to Islam in the year 7 BH (615–616). The problem is, he openly admits that he did not convert until the conquest of Mecca in 8 AH (January 630). He gives a long list of excuses for the delay in his conversion<ref>{{Tabari|39|pp. 43-46}}.</ref> but he never checks his arithmetic. If he became a Muslim in 8 AH, this was only 46 years before his death and not 60. This makes his age at death no more than 106. Of course, even this age assumes that he really was as old as 60 at the time of his conversion, which we now have licence to doubt. Huwaytib ibn Abduluzza lived to be elderly, but he was probably not entitled to his chapter in Yahya ibn Mandah’s book. | ||
Muhammad’s poet, Hassan ibn Thabit, also claimed to be 120 years old. He said he was 60 at the time of the ''Hijra'' and that he lived another 60 years afterwards.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 72}}.</ref> This means he should have been born in 60 BH (seven years before Muhammad) and should have died in 61 AH (680-681). Tabari vaguely states that he died “in the caliphate of Muawiya,”<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 72}}</ref> which was between 40 and 60 AH (February 661 - April 680). Modern historians usually give his death-date as 54 AH, which is seven years too early.<ref>[http://archive.org/details/diwanofhassantha00hassuoft/ ''The Diwan of Hassan ibn Thabit''.]</ref> | Tabari writes that Muhammad’s poet, Hassan ibn Thabit, also claimed to be 120 years old. He said he was 60 at the time of the ''Hijra'' and that he lived another 60 years afterwards.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 72}}.</ref> This means he should have been born in 60 BH (seven years before Muhammad) and should have died in 61 AH (680-681). Tabari vaguely states that he died “in the caliphate of Muawiya,”<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 72}}</ref> which was between 40 and 60 AH (February 661 - April 680). Modern historians usually give his death-date as 54 AH, which is seven years too early.<ref>[http://archive.org/details/diwanofhassantha00hassuoft/ ''The Diwan of Hassan ibn Thabit''.]</ref> | ||
Not included in Yahya ibn Mandah’s book is the poet Abu Afak, who was said to be 120 years old in 624 when he was [[List of Killings Ordered or Supported by Muhammad|assassinated for criticising Muhammad]].<ref>Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' vol. 2 p. 31.</ref> Of course, no records have survived from pre-Islamic Medina; it was only hearsay that attributed this great age to Abu Afak. Yet even his enemies were willing to go along with the hearsay. | Not included in Yahya ibn Mandah’s book is the poet Abu Afak, who was said to be 120 years old in 624 when he was [[List of Killings Ordered or Supported by Muhammad|assassinated for criticising Muhammad]].<ref>Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' vol. 2 p. 31.</ref> Of course, no records have survived from pre-Islamic Medina; it was only hearsay that attributed this great age to Abu Afak. Yet even his enemies were willing to go along with the hearsay. | ||
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====Abdullah ibn Abbas==== | ====Abdullah ibn Abbas==== | ||
The second problem with Khadijah’s age is that there is a strong alternative tradition, one that originates from no less a person than Abdullah ibn Abbas. Ibn Abbas was the cousin who lived at Muhammad’s side through the final years in Medina.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 95}}.</ref> He was a great source of ''ahadith'' and his word would normally be accepted without question.<ref>See {{Tabari|39|pp. 54-57, 95}} for brief accolades. For a modern assessment of his contribution, see Siddiqi, M. Z. (2006). ''Hadith Literature: its origin, development, special features and criticism'', pp. 33-34. Kuala Lumpar: Islamic Book Trust.</ref> What is more, his mother was a close friend of Khadijah’s.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 201}}; Bewley/Saad 8:193.</ref> The only reason why Abdullah has been largely ignored on the subject of Khadijah is that he never knew her personally while Hakim ibn Hizam did.<ref>{{Tabari|39|55}}; Bewley/Saad 8:12; {{Tabari|39|p. 161}}.</ref> Abdullah ibn Abbas says: | The second problem with Khadijah’s age is that there is a strong alternative tradition, one that the scholars of hadith claim originates from no less a person than Abdullah ibn Abbas. Ibn Abbas was the cousin who lived at Muhammad’s side through the final years in Medina.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 95}}.</ref> He was a great source of ''ahadith'' and his word would normally be accepted without question.<ref>See {{Tabari|39|pp. 54-57, 95}} for brief accolades. For a modern assessment of his contribution, see Siddiqi, M. Z. (2006). ''Hadith Literature: its origin, development, special features and criticism'', pp. 33-34. Kuala Lumpar: Islamic Book Trust.</ref> What is more, his mother was a close friend of Khadijah’s.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 201}}; Bewley/Saad 8:193.</ref> The only reason why Abdullah has been largely ignored on the subject of Khadijah is that he never knew her personally while Hakim ibn Hizam did.<ref>{{Tabari|39|55}}; Bewley/Saad 8:12; {{Tabari|39|p. 161}}.</ref> Abdullah ibn Abbas says: | ||
{{Quote|[http://qurango.com/images/b/5/293.jpg/ Ibn Ishaq, cited in Al-Hakim, ''Mustadrak'' vol. 3 p. 182. Ibn Kathir, ''Al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya'' vol. 5 p. 293].|On the day Khadijah married Allah’s Messenger, she was '''28 years old'''.<ref>Hanbali, cited in Al-Irbali, ''Kashf al-Ghumma''. Majlisi, ''Bihar al-Anwar'' vol. 16 p. 12.</ref>}} | {{Quote|[http://qurango.com/images/b/5/293.jpg/ Ibn Ishaq, cited in Al-Hakim, ''Mustadrak'' vol. 3 p. 182. Ibn Kathir, ''Al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya'' vol. 5 p. 293].|On the day Khadijah married Allah’s Messenger, she was '''28 years old'''.<ref>Hanbali, cited in Al-Irbali, ''Kashf al-Ghumma''. Majlisi, ''Bihar al-Anwar'' vol. 16 p. 12.</ref>}} | ||
This tradition was strong enough to be accepted by Ibn Ishaq. It was not included in the recension of Ibn Hisham (who was not interested in the ages of women) or used as a source by Ibn Saad or Tabari (who followed Hakim ibn Hizam's tradition, presumably for the reasons given above). But it was included by Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, who lived about a hundred years after Tabari.<ref>[http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-hakim-al-naysaburi-SIM_2638/ Robson, J. (2013). "Al-Ḥakim al-Naysaburi" in Bearman, P., Bianquis, T., Bosworth, C. E., van Donzel, E., & Heinrichs, W. P. (1960). ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd Ed.'' Leiden: Brill.]</ref> Although he was not an “early” historian, he was apparently still early enough to have direct access to the work of Ibn Ishaq. | This tradition was strong enough to be accepted by Ibn Ishaq. It was not included in the recension of Ibn Hisham (who was not interested in the ages of women) or used as a source by Ibn Saad or Tabari (who followed Hakim ibn Hizam's tradition, presumably for the reasons given above). But it was included by Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, who lived about a hundred years after Tabari.<ref>[http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-hakim-al-naysaburi-SIM_2638/ Robson, J. (2013). "Al-Ḥakim al-Naysaburi" in Bearman, P., Bianquis, T., Bosworth, C. E., van Donzel, E., & Heinrichs, W. P. (1960). ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd Ed.'' Leiden: Brill.]</ref> Although he was not an “early” historian, he was apparently still early enough to have direct access to the original work of Ibn Ishaq. | ||
An independent tradition is: | An independent tradition is: | ||
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The third problem with Khadijah’s age is the common-sense consideration that she bore Muhammad six children over a period of ten years.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 83. Bewley/Saad 8:10.</ref> If she married him at 40, she was 50 by the time she gave birth to Fatima in 605.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:13.</ref> While this is not completely impossible, it is a sufficiently unusual achievement to cause us to pause and question the assertion. | The third problem with Khadijah’s age is the common-sense consideration that she bore Muhammad six children over a period of ten years.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 83. Bewley/Saad 8:10.</ref> If she married him at 40, she was 50 by the time she gave birth to Fatima in 605.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:13.</ref> While this is not completely impossible, it is a sufficiently unusual achievement to cause us to pause and question the assertion. | ||
Muhammad’s detractors in Mecca asked him why he did not perform any miracles.<ref>{{Quran|2|118}}. {{Quran|2|145}}. {{Quran|6|37}}. {{Quran|6|109}}. {{Quran|10|20}}. {{Quran|13|7}}. {{Quran|17|59}}. Guillaume/Ishaq 133ff. {{Bukhari|9|92|379}}.</ref> The only response available to him was, “The Qur’an is my miracle,”<ref>{{Quran|24|1}}. {{Quran-range|98|1|4}}.</ref> but | Muhammad’s detractors in Mecca asked him why he did not perform any miracles.<ref>{{Quran|2|118}}. {{Quran|2|145}}. {{Quran|6|37}}. {{Quran|6|109}}. {{Quran|10|20}}. {{Quran|13|7}}. {{Quran|17|59}}. Guillaume/Ishaq 133ff. {{Bukhari|9|92|379}}.</ref> The only response available to him was, “The Qur’an is my miracle,”<ref>{{Quran|24|1}}. {{Quran-range|98|1|4}}.</ref> but the Islamic tradition seems not to have accepted this answer and numerous other traditions claim that he performed a variety of miracles. It is claimed that he [[Moon Split Miracle|split the moon]] and travelled to Jerusalem and back [[The Holy Qur'an: Al-Isra (The Night Journey)|in one night]]. Later tales, omitted from the earliest histories, claimed that he had multiplied food like [[Jesus]] Christ,<ref>[http://www.soebratie.nl/religie/hadith/IbnSad.html#Book 42.35/ Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' 1:42:35-36]; Matthew 14:13-21.</ref> transfigured wood into iron, reminiscent of Elisha’s retrieval of the borrowed axe-head,<ref>[http://www.soebratie.nl/religie/hadith/IbnSad.html#Book 42.38/ Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' 1:42:38]; II Kings 6:5-7.</ref> or cursed his enemy’s camel to sink in the sand.<ref>[http://www.soebratie.nl/religie/hadith/IbnSad.html#Book 42.40/ Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' 1:42:40].</ref> The tradition never points to the fecundidity of Khadijah as a miracle, even though the biblical tradition records a similar miracle in the birth of Isaac to Abraham. He never called it a blessing similar to Sarah’s gestation of Isaac<ref>Genesis 17:15-21, 21:1-7.</ref> or Elizabeth’s of John the Baptist.<ref>Luke 1:5-25, 57-80.</ref> In fact nobody expressed even mild surprise that a woman of Khadijah’s age had produced so many children. | ||
Perhaps that was because Khadijah’s fertility was a commonplace for a woman of her age. Perhaps she was still in her thirties when she bore Muhammad’s children. Perhaps, when her daughter Fatima was weaned in 607,<ref>{{Tabari|39|166}}; see {{Quran|2|233}} and Guillaume/Ishaq 71 for two years as the customary duration of nursing.</ref> Khadijah was still a few months short of forty – and that was why her childbearing ceased. | Perhaps that was because Khadijah’s fertility was a commonplace for a woman of her age. Perhaps she was still in her thirties when she bore Muhammad’s children. Perhaps, when her daughter Fatima was weaned in 607,<ref>{{Tabari|39|166}}; see {{Quran|2|233}} and Guillaume/Ishaq 71 for two years as the customary duration of nursing.</ref> Khadijah was still a few months short of forty – and that was why her childbearing ceased. | ||
==== | ====Problems with the Chronology and Final Calculation==== | ||
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. | Taken together, all of these issues around the dating of Khadijah's age at marriage are emblamatic of the problems presented by the dating of the lives of figures in the Islamic tradition. 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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While this date, not found in the major ''hadith'' collections, might be an educated fabrication rather than literally historical, there are no rival suggestions for Muhammad and Khadijah’s wedding date. The year at least fits with all the generally accepted information about the ages of Muhammad and his children. 26 Elephant was 28 BH. A wedding date of 29 Safar that year would have fallen on 16 July 595. | While this date, not found in the major ''hadith'' collections, might be an educated fabrication rather than literally historical, there are no rival suggestions for Muhammad and Khadijah’s wedding date. The year at least fits with all the generally accepted information about the ages of Muhammad and his children. 26 Elephant was 28 BH. A wedding date of 29 Safar that year would have fallen on 16 July 595. | ||
If Khadijah was 28 at that time, she was born in the year between March 568 and March 569, some dozen years later than Hakim ibn Hizam claimed. Her age in solar years could have been anywhere between 26 years 4 months and 27 years 4 months. | If Khadijah was 28 at that time, she was born in the year between March 568 and March 569, some dozen years later than Hakim ibn Hizam claimed. Her age in solar years could have been anywhere between 26 years 4 months and 27 years 4 months. Using the median as an approximation yields the following result: | ||
*Khadijah’s Median Age = 26 years and 10 months. | *Khadijah’s Median Age = 26 years and 10 months. | ||
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*Age Difference = (minus) 2 years and 7 months. | *Age Difference = (minus) 2 years and 7 months. | ||
Far from being a “much older” woman, it appears that Khadijah | Far from being a “much older” woman, it appears that Khadijah might have been the only one of Muhammad’s wives who was close to him in age. | ||
===Sawdah's Age=== | ===Sawdah's Age=== | ||
None of the early Islamic sources gives an exact age for Sawdah. Tabari gives the date of her wedding as follows: | |||
{{Quote|{{Tabari|39|p. 170}}.|The Prophet married Sawdah in Ramadan, in the tenth year after his prophethood. This was after Khadijah’s death and before his marriage to Aisha.}} | {{Quote|{{Tabari|39|p. 170}}.|The Prophet married Sawdah in Ramadan, in the tenth year after his prophethood. This was after Khadijah’s death and before his marriage to Aisha.}} | ||
Ramadan fell between 13 April and 12 May 620; but as Khadijah died on 10 Ramadan<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:152. See also {{Tabari|39|pp. 4, 161}}.</ref> (22 April), Muhammad probably married Sawdah towards the end of the month. | Ramadan fell between 13 April and 12 May 620; but as Khadijah died on 10 Ramadan<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:152. See also {{Tabari|39|pp. 4, 161}}.</ref> (22 April), Muhammad probably married Sawdah towards the end of the month. “May 620” thus works as an approximination. | ||
Because Sawdah is described as “older” than her co-wives, this has led to extreme guesses that she was a bride of 65<ref>[http://www.islamforamal.com/contents-2/prophet-s-biography/prophets-wives/ Prophet’s Wives (Ummul Momineen)].</ref> or even 80<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=lJe3PNVAnK4C&dq=Sawdah+became+an+old+woman&q=Sawdah#v=snippet&q=Sawdah&f=false/ Al Ghoudairy, F. Why Did Prophet Muhammed Marry Aisha; the Young Girl, p. 24. Dare to read.]</ref> However, while trying to establish Sawdah’s age, we can immediately rule out any estimates that ignore three established facts. | Because Sawdah is described as “older” than her co-wives, this has led to extreme guesses that she was a bride of 65<ref>[http://www.islamforamal.com/contents-2/prophet-s-biography/prophets-wives/ Prophet’s Wives (Ummul Momineen)].</ref> or even 80<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=lJe3PNVAnK4C&dq=Sawdah+became+an+old+woman&q=Sawdah#v=snippet&q=Sawdah&f=false/ Al Ghoudairy, F. Why Did Prophet Muhammed Marry Aisha; the Young Girl, p. 24. Dare to read.]</ref> However, while trying to establish Sawdah’s age, we can immediately rule out any estimates that ignore three established facts. | ||
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{{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:43.|Sawdah bint Zamaa died in Medina in Shawwal of 54, during the caliphate of Muawiya.}} | {{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:43.|Sawdah bint Zamaa died in Medina in Shawwal of 54, during the caliphate of Muawiya.}} | ||
This date is between 11 September and 9 October 674 – more than 54 years after the day when Sawdah married Muhammad. If she had lived to be 134, or even 114, someone would have commented. But if she was only about 40 on her wedding day, she must have survived to her mid-90s, which is impressive but plausible. | This date is between 11 September and 9 October 674 – more than 54 years after the day when Sawdah married Muhammad. If she had lived to be 134, or even 114, someone would have commented. But if she was only about 40 on her wedding day, she must have survived to her mid-90s, which is impressive but plausible (but once again emblamatic of the problem of the Islamic tradition attributing extremely and even absurdly long lives to the companions and taabi'uun). | ||
====Sawdah had Not Reached Menopause==== | ====Sawdah had Not Reached Menopause==== | ||
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In the culture of the medieval Arabs, when a woman’s value to society depended on her capacity to bear children, a woman only had three life-stages: childhood (before she could bear children), adulthood (childbearing age) and old age (when she was past childbearing). So an “old” woman was simply one who was too old to have children – possibly a healthy, active, sharp-minded woman as young as 40. It is practically certain that the sentence “Sawdah became old” really only means “Sawdah reached menopause.”<ref>Personal communication with native speakers of Arabic. See also [[:File:Kahla3.jpg|this]] image of an “elderly” lady (''kahla'') from Afghanistan.</ref> | In the culture of the medieval Arabs, when a woman’s value to society depended on her capacity to bear children, a woman only had three life-stages: childhood (before she could bear children), adulthood (childbearing age) and old age (when she was past childbearing). So an “old” woman was simply one who was too old to have children – possibly a healthy, active, sharp-minded woman as young as 40. It is practically certain that the sentence “Sawdah became old” really only means “Sawdah reached menopause.”<ref>Personal communication with native speakers of Arabic. See also [[:File:Kahla3.jpg|this]] image of an “elderly” lady (''kahla'') from Afghanistan.</ref> | ||
When did Sawdah reach menopause? Obviously it was after Muhammad had consummated his marriage to Aisha in 623. So we already know that Sawdah was pre-menopausal in 620. But in fact it was even later than this, for the near-divorce episode is referred to in {{Quran|4|128}}. Ibn Kathir frankly admits: | When did Sawdah reach menopause? Obviously it was after Muhammad had consummated his marriage to Aisha in 623 CE. So we already know that Sawdah was pre-menopausal in 620 CE. But in fact it was even later than this, for the near-divorce episode is referred to in {{Quran|4|128}}. Ibn Kathir frankly admits: | ||
{{Quote|Ibn Kathir, ''Tafsir'' on Q4:128.|Ibn Abbas said that the ''ayah'' refers to, “When the husband gives his wife the choice between staying with him or leaving him, as this is better than the husband preferring other wives to her.” However, the apparent wording of the ''ayah'' refers to the settlement where the wife forfeits some of the rights she has over her husband, with the husband agreeing to this concession, and that this settlement is better than divorce. For instance, the Prophet kept Sawdah bint Zam’ah as his wife after she offered to forfeit her day for A’ishah.}} | {{Quote|Ibn Kathir, ''Tafsir'' on Q4:128.|Ibn Abbas said that the ''ayah'' refers to, “When the husband gives his wife the choice between staying with him or leaving him, as this is better than the husband preferring other wives to her.” However, the apparent wording of the ''ayah'' refers to the settlement where the wife forfeits some of the rights she has over her husband, with the husband agreeing to this concession, and that this settlement is better than divorce. For instance, the Prophet kept Sawdah bint Zam’ah as his wife after she offered to forfeit her day for A’ishah.}} | ||
The fourth ''[[surah]]'' of the [[Qur'an]] is long and was probably not written all at once. But it all belongs to the same general period. It covers many family issues, including inheritance rights. {{Quran-range|4|7|11}} was written to answer the complaint of an Uhud widow,<ref>{{Abudawud|18|2885}}; [http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=711&Itemid=59/ Ibn Kathir, ''Tafsir'' on Q4:7]; [http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=707&Itemid=59/ Ibn Kathir, ''Tafsir'' on Q4:11].</ref> so it must date from after 22 March 625. This same incident confirmed the limitation of the number of wives to four,<ref>{{Quran|4|3}}.</ref> so it must have been written before Muhammad was given permission to take a fifth concurrent wife<ref>{{Quran|33|50}}.</ref> on 27 March 627.<ref>{{Tabari|8|pp. 1-4}}; {{Tabari|39|p. 182}}; Bewley/Saad 8:72-73, 81.</ref> The ''surah'' is also full of invectives against the Jews<ref>{{Quran-range|4|46|59}}; {{Quran-range|4|150|175}}.</ref> and “hypocrites,”<ref>{{Quran-range|4|60|68}}; {{Quran-range|4|136|149}}.</ref> who were no longer a problem after April 627.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 466.</ref> So the episode in which Sawdah “became old” and pleaded with Muhammad to not divorce her occurred between mid-625 and early 627. | The fourth ''[[surah]]'' of the [[Qur'an]] is long and was probably not written all at once. But it all belongs to the same general period. It covers many family issues, including inheritance rights. {{Quran-range|4|7|11}} was written to answer the complaint of an Uhud widow,<ref>{{Abudawud|18|2885}}; [http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=711&Itemid=59/ Ibn Kathir, ''Tafsir'' on Q4:7]; [http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=707&Itemid=59/ Ibn Kathir, ''Tafsir'' on Q4:11].</ref> so it must date from after 22 March 625. This same incident confirmed the limitation of the number of wives to four,<ref>{{Quran|4|3}}.</ref> so it must have been written before Muhammad was given permission to take a fifth concurrent wife<ref>{{Quran|33|50}}.</ref> on 27 March 627.<ref>{{Tabari|8|pp. 1-4}}; {{Tabari|39|p. 182}}; Bewley/Saad 8:72-73, 81.</ref> The ''surah'' is also full of invectives against the Jews<ref>{{Quran-range|4|46|59}}; {{Quran-range|4|150|175}}.</ref> and “hypocrites,”<ref>{{Quran-range|4|60|68}}; {{Quran-range|4|136|149}}.</ref> who were supposedly no longer a problem after April 627 according to the tradition (although in point of fact, according to the non-Islamic sources Jews were working with the Arab invaders well into the conquest period, and Muhammad may not have died until after he had personally conquered Jerusalem).<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 466.</ref> So the episode in which Sawdah “became old” and pleaded with Muhammad to not divorce her occurred between mid-625 and early 627. | ||
The are strong reasons to suspect it did happen during this period. Muhammad most likely considered divorcing Sawdah in December 626 or January 627 expressly because he wanted to marry a fifth woman but was trying to observe the limit of four wives.<ref>{{Quran|4|3}}.</ref> If Muhammad had not been contemplating marriage to a fifth woman, there would have been no point in divorcing Sawdah, for she was no trouble to him at home.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:40.</ref> It was only after he had decided to keep Sawdah that he needed the special dispensation to marry unlimited wives. However, the sources do not explicitly state this circumstance as the reason for the near-divorce. They only say that Sawdah “became old” and so Muhammad wanted to divorce her. | |||
If Sawdah was menopausal in 626, or perhaps 625, this suggests she was then aged about 45, making her around 40 when she married Muhammad. | If Sawdah was menopausal in 626, or perhaps 625, this suggests she was then aged about 45, making her around 40 when she married Muhammad. | ||
==== | ====Calculation of Sawdah's Likely Age==== | ||
When Muhammad married Sawdah in May 620, he was 49. It is possible that Sawdah was also about that age<ref>[http://www.themodernreligion.com/prophet/prophet_aisha.htm/ Ahmed, S. “Prophet Muhammad and Aisha Siddiqa.”]</ref> and that she lived to be over 100. But it is unlikely. Allowing that she was not yet menopausal and that she had a father living, she was probably closer to 40. | When Muhammad married Sawdah in May 620, he was 49. It is possible that Sawdah was also about that age<ref>[http://www.themodernreligion.com/prophet/prophet_aisha.htm/ Ahmed, S. “Prophet Muhammad and Aisha Siddiqa.”]</ref> and that she lived to be over 100. But it is unlikely. Allowing that she was not yet menopausal and that she had a father living, she was probably closer to 40. | ||
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===Aisha's Age=== | ===Aisha's Age=== | ||
This question has already been adequately answered [[Refutation of Modern Muslim Apologetics Against Aishas Age|here]] and [[Responses to Apologetics: Muhammad and Aisha|here]]. In sum, | This question has already been adequately answered [[Refutation of Modern Muslim Apologetics Against Aishas Age|here]] and [[Responses to Apologetics: Muhammad and Aisha|here]]. In sum, if the Islamic tradition is to be trusted at all, she was six years old when Muhammad married her and nine years old when Muhammad consummated the marriage. | ||
{{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:44.|The Messenger of Allah married me when I was six and consummated the marriage when '''I was nine'''. I was playing on a see-saw … I used to play dolls.}} | {{Quote|Bewley/Saad 8:44.|The Messenger of Allah married me when I was six and consummated the marriage when '''I was nine'''. I was playing on a see-saw … I used to play dolls.}} | ||