Age of Prophet's wife Aisha at Marriage (2024)

It is said that Aisha رضي الله عنها was six years old when her marriage was performed with Prophet Muhammad in Makkah, and nine years old when she moved in to live with her husband in Madina after Hijra.

This piece of misinformation has led to the wrong view that child marriage has the sanction of Islam. It must be noted that establishing the authenticity of hadiths, the narrators' circumstances and the conditions at that time have to be correlated with historical facts. There is only one hadith by Hisham which suggests the age of Aisha رضي الله عنها as being nine when she came to live with her husband.

Many authentic hadiths also show that Hisham's narration is incompatible with several historical facts about the Prophet's life, on which there is consensus. With reference to scholars such as Umar Ahmed Usmani, Hakim Niaz Ahmed and Habibur Rehman Kandhulvi, I would like to present some arguments in favor of the fact that Aisha رضي الله عنها was at least 18 years old when her marriage was performed and at least 21 when she moved into the Prophet's house to live with him.

According to Umar Ahmed Usmani, in Surah Al-Nisa, it is said that the guardian of the orphans should keep testing them, until they reach the age of marriage, before returning their property (Quran 4:6). From this scholars have concluded that the Quran sets a minimum age of marriage which is at least puberty. Since the approval of the girl has a legal standing, she cannot be a minor.

Hisham bin Urwah is the main narrator of this hadith. His life is divided into two periods: in 131 A.H. the Madani period ended, and the Iraqi period started, when Hisham was 71 years old. Hafiz Zehbi has spoken about Hisham's loss of memory in his later period. His students in Madina, Imam Malik and Imam Abu Hanifah, do not mention this hadith. Imam Malik and the people of Madina criticised him for his Iraqi hadiths.

All the narrators of this hadith are Iraqis who had heard it from Hisham. Allama Kandhulvi says that the words spoken in connection with Aisha's رضي الله عنها age were tissa ashara, meaning 19, when Hisham only heard (or remembered), tissa, meaning nine. Maulana Usmani thinks this change was purposely and maliciously made later.

Historian Ibn Ishaq in his Sirat Rasul Allah has given a list of the people who accepted Islam in the first year of the proclamation of Islam, in which Aisha's رضي الله عنها name is mentioned as Abu Bakr's "little daughter Aisha". If we accept Hisham's calculations, she was not even born at that time.

Some time after the death of the Prophet's first wife, Khadija رضي الله عنها, Khawla suggested to the Prophet that he get married again, to a bikrun, referring to Aisha رضي الله عنها (Musnad Ahmed). In Arabic bikrun is used for an unmarried girl who has crossed the age of puberty and is of marriageable age. The word cannot be used for a six-year-old girl.

Some scholars think that Aisha رضي الله عنها was married off so early because in Arabia girls mature at an early age. But this was not a common custom of the Arabs at that time. According to Rehman Kandhulvi, there is no such case on record either before or after Islam. Neither has this ever been promoted as a Sunnah of the Prophet. The Prophet married off his daughters Fatima at 21 and Ruquiyya at 23. Besides, Abu Bakr رضي الله عن, Aisha's father, married off his eldest daughter Asma at the age of 26.

Aisha رضي الله عنها narrates that she was present on the battlefield at the Battle of Badar (Muslim). This leads one to conclude that Aisha رضي الله عنها moved into the Prophet's house in 1 A.H. But a nine-year-old could not have been taken on a rough and risky military mission.

In 2 A.H, the Prophet refused to take boys of less than 15 years of age to the battle of Uhud. Would he have allowed a 10-year-old girl to accompany him? But Anas reported that he saw Aisha and Umme Sulaim carrying goatskins full of water and serving it to the soldiers (Bukhari). Umme Sulaim and Umme Ammara, the other women present at Uhud, were both strong, mature women whose duties were the lifting of the dead and injured, treating their wounds, carrying water in heavy goatskins, supplying ammunition and even taking up the sword.

Aisha رضي الله عنها used the kunniat, the title derived from the name of a child, of Umme Abdullah after her nephew and adopted son. If she was six when her marriage was performed, she would have been only eight years his senior, hardly making him eligible for adoption. Also, a little girl could not have given up on ever having her own child and used an adopted child's name for her kunniat.

Aisha's رضي الله عنها nephew Urwah once remarked that he was not surprised about her amazing knowledge of Islamic law, poetry and history because she was the wife of the Prophet and the daughter of Abu Bakr رضي الله عن. If she was eight when her father migrated, when did she learn poetry and history from him?

There is consensus that Aisha رضي الله عنها was 10 years younger than her elder sister Asma, whose age at the time of the hijrah, or migration to Madina, was about 28. It can be concluded that Aisha رضي الله عنها was about 18 years old at migration. On her moving to the Prophet's house, she was a young woman at 21. Hisham is the single narrator of the hadith whose authenticity is challenged, for it does not correlate with the many historical facts of the time.

Nilofar Ahmed is a scholar of the Quran and writes on contemporary issues. nilofar.ahmed5 @ gmail.com

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Topics: Aisha Bint Abu Bakr, Marriage, Wives Of Prophet

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Older Comments:

FEROZA ATCHA-SOLIMAN FROM USA said:

Under Islamic law, marriage is not valid unless both parties agree to the union. The
bride must freely consent to the marriage on her own. No man is like the
Prohpet(swas) the parents or guardians cannot force anyone to marry under shariah
law.

2014-03-28

SAKINAH FROM USA said:

JazakAllah Khair, thank you for this informative article.

2014-03-23

SAM FROM SOUTH AFRICA said:

To support the view that our beloved mother Aisha,Allah be pleased with her, was much older because no father with allow his child especially a daughter marry at such an early age of 6 or 9. Her father was none other than Hazrat Abu Bakr(Allah be pleased with him)a rightoeus man and a close companion of the beloved Prophet,upon Him peace and blessings,would not have agreed to his daughter for marriage if she was still a child.Even if Abu Bakr,Allah be pleased with him,allowed this then for sure his wife and mother of Bibi Aisha would have objected.Thus all evidence proves that our mother,Bibi Aisha was not a child but a lady.

2014-03-23

ABDIRAHMAN FROM NORWAY said:

Good article.When it comes the issue in question,The Holy Quran is sufficient.The rule of the Quran,which the prophet(peace of ALLAH upon him)undoubtedly followed,is that of full maturity for marriage.When orphans can take over their property is the same time they become mature enough to marry.Much of the social problems among muslims today are results of preferring/following hadiths contradicting the Quran.Among sunnis it is normal to ignore the Quranic ruling and guidance as long as they have hadiths from Albukhari and Muslim.Rajm,coercing of faith,specially their Maz-hab) upon people,and forcing girls to marry men they don,t want are examples of rules that contradict the Quran,but become part of Sharia.When you see muslim sects killing each other is because of hadiths saying the apostate(murtad)should be killed,and because each sect sees others as apostate they justify killing them.No where in the Quran is mentioned of killing apostates or non-muslims.In fact the message of the Quran is quite clear for those who will follow,and that message is full freedom of faith/religion.The prophet has never fought to force faith on people and his sole mission was to deliver the message of Allah.All the wars he engaged with arabs were of military and security purpose,and he signed peace agreements with any tribe that was ready for peace.

2014-03-22

SALADIN FROM USA said:

Excellent article. Scientific and to the point. But, alas, people will still deny the truth, even if it is poking them right in their eyes.

2014-03-22

NASEEHAT FROM INDIA said:

It's high time we stopped being apologetic about it even if it's true that Ayesha(RA) was indeed 9 years old.

Let's keep in mind that marriage is considered as legal and successful, if the three conditions hold good, irrespective of time and place;

1. The marriage should have the blessings of one/both parents.
2. State/Society should not take any offense and acknowledge the matrimony.
3. None of the spouses should live to repent or convey his/her displeasure at the decision of his/her parents/guardians to bind him/her in such an alliance, long after the marriage has taken place. The husband and wife should be happy of being married with each other, till they die.

None of the three and especially the last one, seem to have been defied or negated by the marriage of the prophet with Ayesha (ra). I wouldn't mind marrying off my daughter or sister, if all the three conditions get satisfied and she doesn't live on to repent this decision taken by me on her behalf.

2014-03-22

TALHA FROM INDIA said:

Absolutely brilliant! Thanks for detailing the historical facts.

2014-03-22

BASHIR AHMAD DAR FROM J&K INDIA said:

I appreciate the artical through which misconsumption has been cleared. Very Nice

2014-03-22

ABUBAKAR ABARI FROM NIGERIA said:

Salam Alaikun
Our cultural habits and costumes most times creep into the Islamic values.
Most issues held against Islam particularly on WOMEN were culrural value or beliefs before the advent of Islam.
Intelectuals should come out more with this type of reviews to correct the sociatal errors.

Ma salam

2014-03-22

Age of Prophet's wife Aisha at Marriage (2024)

FAQs

Age of Prophet's wife Aisha at Marriage? ›

According to Hadith, it is narrated she was 6 years old when married to the Holy Prophet saw, but 9 when they consummated the marriage.

What was the age of Aisha at the time of marriage? ›

Islamic sources of the classical era list Aisha's age at the time of her marriage as six or seven and nine or ten at its consummation. In a hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari, Aisha recollects having been married at six years of age.

Was Asma 10 years older than Aisha? ›

The historians Ibn Kathir and Ibn Asakir cite a tradition that Asma was ten years older than Aisha; but according to Al-Dhahabi, the age difference was thirteen to fifteen years.

How do we know Aisha was 9 years old? ›

The assertion that Aisha was 9 comes from a single hadith, this hadith was not subjected to the same scrutiny that most others in the Quran were and was in fact the testimony of only a single man, a man whose other proclamations were called into question due to his advanced age and poor memory.

What Aisha said about her marriage? ›

Aisha said, "The Apostle of Allah married me when I was seven years old." (The narrator Sulaiman said: "Or six years."). "He had intercourse with me when I was 9 years old. A'ishah said : I used to play with dolls. Sometimes the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) entered upon me when the girls were with me.

How old was Fatima when she married Ali? ›

The age of hazrath Fatimah is reported to have been 9 or 19 (due to differences of opinion on the exact date of her birth i.e. 605 or 615) at the time of her marriage while Ali ibn abi thalib ra was between 21 and 25.

How old was the Prophet when he married Khadija? ›

Muhammad's first marriage was to Khadija bint Khuwaylid in 595, when he was 25 and she was either 28 or 41. She was his only wife until her death in 619 (the Year of Sorrow) ended their 24-year-long marriage.

Was Fatima older than Aisha? ›

Calculating the age of Aisha in comparison with the age of Fatima al-Zahra, the daughter of the Prophet: Ibn Hajar mentioned in al-Isaaba that Fatima was born the day when the Ka'bah was built, when the Prophet was 35 years old and that she was 5 years older than Aisha.

Was Aisha 8 or 18? ›

Abridged translation from Islam Bahiri, Aisha's marriage to the Prophet aged nine – a big mistake in the books of Hadith (in Arabic), Al-Yawm al-Sabi', 15th July 2008. With additions from Salahi (2013). Aisha was about 18 years old when her marriage to the Prophet was consummated, and not nine.

What was the age difference between the Prophet and his wife? ›

For example, the common idea of the Prophet's age at the time of his first marriage to Khadeejah is said to be 25, while she was 40. However, in the most reliable biography of the Prophet, written by Ibn Hisham, which gives him that age, we have two additional reports, one putting his age at 30 and the other at 21.

Why did the prophet marry a 9 year old? ›

2 – The characteristics of intelligence and smartness that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had noticed in 'Aa'ishah even as a small child, so he wanted to marry her so that she would be more able than others to transmit reports of what he did and said.

Is Muhammad mentioned in the Bible? ›

One of the preserved lines of Jesus' gospel, they say is in Mark 1:7, where Jesus supposedly prophesied of Muhammad, "There cometh after Me he that is mightier than I." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father."

Was Aisha mentioned in the Quran? ›

Answer and Explanation: Aisha is not mentioned in the Quran. References to her life can be found in the Hadiths. It is interesting to note that it is believed that she contributed over 2200 hadiths, especially those that had to do with the life and activities of Mohammad.

How old was Aisha when she consummated the marriage? ›

Muhammad married a six year old girl and consummated with her when she was nine years old. According to ahadith, Muhammad consummated his marriage to Aisha when she was 9 years old.

Did Arabs count age from puberty? ›

In Islamic legal terminology, baligh refers to a person who has reached maturity, puberty or adulthood and has full responsibility under Islamic law. Legal theorists assign different ages and criteria for reaching this state for both males and females.

Why was Aisha allowed to play with dolls? ›

[The playing with the dolls and similar images is forbidden, but it was allowed for Aisha (ra) at that time, as she was a little girl, not yet reached the age of puberty].

How old was Hafsa when she married Muhammad? ›

Thus Hafsah was joined in marriage to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the 3rd year after Hijrah, before the Battle of Uhud. She was about twenty-two years old at the time.

What was the age difference between Khadija and Muhammad? ›

According to most sources, she was about 40 years old with children from her previous marriages and Muhammad was about 25. That she bore him several children, however, suggests that she may have been younger. Khadījah and Muhammad did not have any sons who survived childhood.

How old was the Prophet when he died? ›

Muhammad's prestige grew after the surrender of the Meccans. Embassies from all over Arabia came to Medina to submit to him. Muhammad's extraordinary life and career were cut short by his sudden death on June 8, 632, aged about sixty, less than a decade since he had set off from Mecca with his small band of followers.

Who were the wives of the Prophet Muhammad in order? ›

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Sawda bint Zama, Aishah bint Abi Bakr, Hafsah bint Umar, Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, Hind bint Abi Umayya (known as Umm Salama), Zaynab bint Jahsh, Maymuna bint al-Harith, and Juwayriyah bint al-Harith were Arab; six of them were from Quraysh, and the rest were from other tribes.

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