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Ages of Muhammads Wives at Marriage: Difference between revisions
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==Wives Whose Ages Are Not Known== | ==Wives Whose Ages Are Not Known== | ||
Muhammad had some kind of marriage contract with several other women, but most of these unions were dissolved before consummation. The other women with whom he is known to have had a sexual relationship are the five listed below, four of whom were technically concubines rather than legal wives. The ages of these five women are unknown. | Muhammad had some kind of marriage contract with several other women, but most of these unions were dissolved before consummation. The other women with whom he is known to have had a sexual relationship are the five listed below, four of whom were technically concubines (sex [[Slavery|slaves]]) rather than legal wives. The ages of these five women are unknown. | ||
===Rayhanah bint Zayd ibn Amr=== | ===Rayhanah bint Zayd ibn Amr=== | ||
Rayhanah was a | Rayhanah was a Jewish female from the Nadir tribe in Medina. She married a Qurazi,<ref>{{Tabari|39|pp. 164-165}}.</ref> which means she must have been married before the Nadir tribe was banished from Medina in August 625.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 437-438, 445.</ref> As a Jew, she would not have been living with her husband before she reached menarche<ref>Ezekiel 16:7-8.</ref> or before the age of 12 years.<ref>[http://www.jewfaq.org/marriage.htm/ “Prohibited Marriages and Illegitimate Children”] in ''Judaism 101''.</ref> So her latest possible birthdate is mid-613. | ||
{{Quote|Guillaume/Ishaq 459, 461.|In Shawwal 5 AH … [Jibreel said]: “God commands you, Muhammad, to go to the Qurayza tribe.” … He besieged them for 25 nights until they were sore pressed, and God cast terror into their hearts.}} | {{Quote|Guillaume/Ishaq 459, 461.|In Shawwal 5 AH … [Jibreel said]: “God commands you, Muhammad, to go to the Qurayza tribe.” … He besieged them for 25 nights until they were sore pressed, and God cast terror into their hearts.}} | ||
These details, a siege of 25 nights starting from some time in Shawwal 5 AH (26 February - 26 March 627), place the surrender of the Qurayza between 23 March and 20 April 627. Within a day or two of the surrender came the | These details, a siege of 25 nights starting from some time in Shawwal 5 AH (26 February - 26 March 627), place the surrender of the Qurayza between 23 March and 20 April 627. Within a day or two of the surrender came the distribution of booty. | ||
{{Quote|Guillaume/Ishaq 466.|Then the Apostle divided the property, wives and children of the Qurayza tribe among the Muslims … The apostle had chosen one of their women for himself, Rayhanah bint Amr ibn Khunafa, one of the women of the Amr clan of the Qurayza, and she remained with him until she died, in his power.}} | {{Quote|Guillaume/Ishaq 466.|Then the Apostle divided the property, wives and children of the Qurayza tribe among the Muslims … The apostle had chosen one of their women for himself, Rayhanah bint Amr ibn Khunafa, one of the women of the Amr clan of the Qurayza, and she remained with him until she died, in his power.}} | ||
So Muhammad captured Rayhanah in spring 627, a date when her youngest possible age would have been 14. She might have been considerably older than this minimum. Although secondary historians have guessed that she was about 15, | So Muhammad captured Rayhanah in spring 627, a date when her youngest possible age would have been 14. She might have been considerably older than this minimum. Although secondary historians have guessed that she was about 15, this is not stated in the early sources. Since her exact age is not known, we have omitted her from the calculation. | ||
===Mariyah bint Shamoon=== | ===Mariyah bint Shamoon=== | ||
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Mariyah’s age is not stated anywhere. The only certain fact is that, since she bore Muhammad a son in 630, she must have been of childbearing age.<ref>{{Tabari|9|pp. 39, 137}}.</ref> Various guesses that she was 20<ref>[http://www.a2youth.com/ebooks/the_wives_of_the_prophet/Maymunah_bint_al-harith/ Thomson, H. A. (1993). “Maymunah bint Al-Harith”] in ''The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.</ref> or 17<ref>[http://www.themodernreligion.com/prophet/prophet_aisha.htm/ Ahmed, S. “Prophet Muhammad and Aisha Siddiqa.”]</ref> betray the assumptions of the secondary historians that if she attracted Muhammad, she must have been young. The truth is, they are probably right. But because we don’t ''know'' Mariyah’s age, we have omitted her from the calculation. | Mariyah’s age is not stated anywhere. The only certain fact is that, since she bore Muhammad a son in 630, she must have been of childbearing age.<ref>{{Tabari|9|pp. 39, 137}}.</ref> Various guesses that she was 20<ref>[http://www.a2youth.com/ebooks/the_wives_of_the_prophet/Maymunah_bint_al-harith/ Thomson, H. A. (1993). “Maymunah bint Al-Harith”] in ''The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd.</ref> or 17<ref>[http://www.themodernreligion.com/prophet/prophet_aisha.htm/ Ahmed, S. “Prophet Muhammad and Aisha Siddiqa.”]</ref> betray the assumptions of the secondary historians that if she attracted Muhammad, she must have been young. The truth is, they are probably right. But because we don’t ''know'' Mariyah’s age, we have omitted her from the calculation. | ||
===Fatima ( | ===Fatima ("Al-Aliya") bint Al-Dahhak=== | ||
The only objective clue to Fatima’s age is that she lived another 50 years after Muhammad divorced her.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:100</ref> Subjectively, her behaviour seems | The only objective clue to Fatima’s age is that she lived another 50 years after Muhammad divorced her.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:100</ref> Subjectively, her behaviour seems immature and suited to a child aged 15 or 16.<ref>{{Tabari|39|pp. 187-188}}; Bewley/Saad 8:101.</ref> But because we do not know Fatima’s age, we have omitted her from the calculation. | ||
=== | ==="Al-Jariya" and Tukanah=== | ||
These two concubines were presumably selected for their looks and were presumably young. But presumption is not fact. We do not know their ages and so we have omitted them from the calculation. | These two concubines were presumably selected for their looks and were presumably young. But presumption is not fact. We do not know their ages and so we have omitted them from the calculation. | ||
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We can now calculate the mean age of 14 of Muhammad’s wives at the time he married them. | We can now calculate the mean age of 14 of Muhammad’s wives at the time he married them. | ||
#Khadijah’s Median Age = 26 years and 10 months. | |||
#Sawdah’s Approximate Age = 40 years. | |||
#Aisha’s Median Age = 9 years and 3 months. | |||
#Hafsah’s Median Age = 19 years and 6 months. | |||
#Zaynab bint Khuzayma’s Median Age = 28 years and 4 months. | |||
#Hind’s Median Age = 28 years and 6 months. | |||
#Zaynab bint Jahsh’s Median Age = 37 years and 2 months. | |||
#Juwayriyah’s Median Age = 20 years and 0 months. | |||
#Safiyah’s Age = 16 years and 6 months. | |||
#Ramlah’s Median Age = 34 years and 7 months | |||
#Maymunah’s Median Age = 35 years and 2 months. | |||
#Mulaykah’s Approximate Age = 13 years. | |||
#Asma’s Maximum Age = 20 years. | |||
#Amrah’s Approximate Age = about 15 years. | |||
Total Years = 343 years and 10 months. | |||
Mean Age of Muhammad’s Brides = ''24.56 years'' | |||
The mean age of Muhammad’s brides was about | The mean age of Muhammad’s brides was about ''24½ years''. Even by the historical Arabian standards, a woman of 24 was not quite “middle-aged”. | ||
==Muhammad’s Mean Age as a Bridegroom== | ==Muhammad’s Mean Age as a Bridegroom== | ||
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We can also calculate Muhammad’s mean age as a bridegroom. Here is his age when he consummated each of these marriages. | We can also calculate Muhammad’s mean age as a bridegroom. Here is his age when he consummated each of these marriages. | ||
#Khadijah = 24 years and 3 months. | |||
#Sawdah = 49 years and 1 month. | |||
#Aisha = 52 years and 0 months. | |||
#Hafsah = 53 years and 9 months. | |||
#Zaynab bint Khuzayma = 53 years and 10 months. | |||
#Hind = 55 years and 0 months. | |||
#Zaynab bint Jahsh = 55 years and 11 months. | |||
#Juwayiriyah = 56 years and 9 months. | |||
#Safiyah = 57 years and 3 months | |||
#Ramlah = 57 years and 3 months. | |||
#Maymunah = 57 years and 10 months. | |||
#Mulaykah = 58 years and 9 months. | |||
#Asma = 59 years and 3 months (not consummated, but legalities finalised). | |||
#Amrah = 60 years and 5 months (not consummated, but legalities finalised). | |||
Total Years = 751 years and 4 months. | |||
Mean Age of Muhammad as Bridegroom = ''53.66 years'' | |||
Muhammad’s mean age at marriage was | Muhammad’s mean age at marriage was ''53 years and 8 months''. The mean age difference between Muhammad and all his wives was over ''29 years''. | ||
=== === | |||
Muhammad’s first marriage to Khadijah skews the statistics. She was the ''only'' wife whom Muhammad married as a young man. She was the ''only'' wife who was close to his own age, as opposed to being significantly younger. Some statisticians would exclude her as an outlier before they began the calculation. | |||
A more serious skew of the statistics is caused by the fact that these 14 wives were not the only women whom Muhammad married. He also had four known concubines and at least one other full wife. While we do not know the ages of any of these women, we can infer a definite trend. They all seem to have been teenagers – significantly younger than the mean. If their ages could be added to the calculation, the mean age of Muhammad’s brides would be even lower, perhaps around 22 years. | A more serious skew of the statistics is caused by the fact that these 14 wives were not the only women whom Muhammad married. He also had four known concubines and at least one other full wife. While we do not know the ages of any of these women, we can infer a definite trend. They all seem to have been teenagers – significantly younger than the mean. If their ages could be added to the calculation, the mean age of Muhammad’s brides would be even lower, perhaps around 22 years. | ||
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==Conclusion== | ==Conclusion== | ||
The widows whom Muhammad married after Khadijah’s death do indeed fall into two distinct age-groups. But to label these two groups as “the middle-aged” and “the elderly” gives atypical definitions to these terms. The “elderly” group would refer to those brides between 28 and 40 while the “middle-aged” group would mean the teenagers. | The widows whom Prophet Muhammad married after Khadijah’s death do indeed fall into two distinct age-groups. But to label these two groups as “the middle-aged” and “the elderly” gives atypical definitions to these terms. The “elderly” group would refer to those brides between 28 and 40 while the “middle-aged” group would mean the teenagers. | ||
The inevitable conclusion is that Muhammad preferred younger women, and the widely repeated claim that almost all of his wives were elderly, has no basis in historical fact. He loved Khadijah, who was the same age as himself, when they were both young. He rejected Sawdah, who was a little younger than himself, when they were both middle-aged. All his other wives were young enough to be his daughters and several were young enough to be his granddaughters. In fact he divorced one woman before consummating the marriage<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:111</ref> and broke off another courtship<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:113</ref> solely because he decided that these women were “too old” for him; but he continued to pursue teenagers until the day he died.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:105</ref> Nor does he seem to have been embarrassed by his own preference.<ref>"''Nothing was dearer to the Prophet of Allah than a horse. Then he said: “O Allah! Excuse me, no! The women!” (i.e., not dearer than women).''" - [http://www.soebratie.nl/religie/hadith/IbnSad.html#Book 90.6/ Ibn Saad, ''Tabaqat'' Vol. 1 Chapter 90:6].</ref> | |||
==See Also== | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||