Age of Sayidah Aishah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind

Short Answer

No, the Quran does not mention that the age of Sayidah Aishah was six when the blessed Prophet ﷺ married her. Rather this is an issue discussed in Hadith. There are authentic Hadith narrations that mention the marriage ceremony took place at six and Sayidah Aishah started living with the Prophet ﷺ at nine. However, there are other narrations that bring these figures into question. In any case, the Islamaphobes spreading lie regarding this issue need to look at their own tradition. They will find truly horrific teachings.

Explanation

وَقَدْ قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ: ِذَا بَلَغَتِ الجَارِيَةُ تِسْعَ سِنِينَ فَهِيَ امْرَأَةٌ

Sayidah Aishah said: When a girl reaches the age of nine, she is a woman. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 1109).

Islamaphobes attempt to insult Muslims by accusing our blessed Prophet ﷺ of being married to a child. This is an unequivocal lie. They use a narration in Sahih al-Bukhari to assert that the age of Sayidah Aishah was nine when she moved in with the Prophet ﷺ.

There is some room for discussion around the age of Sayidah Aishah at that time. However, even if we accept the narration stating nine years it does not prove that Sayidah Aishah was a child. It is certainly possible for a female to have menstruated prior to nine years.

In traditional societies people often looked at physical and mental development to determine whether one was an adult or not. There is no doubt that Sayidah Aishah was considered ready for marriage when she moved in with the Prophet ﷺ. Since no person raised an objection, neither follower nor enemy.

Sayidah Aishah confirmed

In the narration above, Sayidah Aishah clearly states that a nine-year-old is a woman. Thus, clarifying she was an adult when she moved in with the Prophet ﷺ. So, we have her own testimony, societal approval and medical science confirming she was an adult. Yet, fourteen and a half centuries later, vulgar Islamophobes, think they know better.

قَالَ الحَسَنُ بْنُ صَالِحٍ: أَدْرَكْتُ جَارَةً لَنَا جَدَّةً، بِنْتَ إِحْدَى وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً

Al-Hasan bin Salih said: A neighbor of ours was a grandmother at age twenty-one. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Mualaq after 2663).  

 

Different societies

The narration above demonstrates how people used to marry much younger in that society. As was the case in most societies, prior to modern times. The narration mentions a lady who was a grandmother at 21 years of age. For this to occur she would have had to marry at about nine and become a parent at 10. Subsequently the child would have to do the same.

الشَّافِعِيُّ، قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ بِصَنْعَاءَ جَدَّةً بِنْتَ إِحْدَى وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً حَاضَتِ ابْنَةَ تِسْعٍ وَوَلَدَتِ ابْنَةَ عَشْرٍ وَحَاضَتِ الْبِنْتُ ابْنَةَ تِسْعٍ وَوَلَدَتِ ابْنَةَ عَشْرٍ

Al-Shafi’i said: I saw in Sana’a a grandmother who was twenty-one years old. She menstruated at the age of nine and gave birth at the age of ten. The daughter menstruated at the age of nine and gave birth at the age of ten. (Al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubra,1531)

The truth is that people used to develop much sooner in previous societies. That refers to mental, physical and emotional development. Hence, they were considered adults far sooner than they are today. It is entirely misguided to compare a nine-year-old in our society to one over fourteen and a half centuries ago.

Even today, you would find great variance between a nine-year-old living in a tribal, rural society and one living under the changes modernity has brought. To judge the social norms of a vastly different traditional society to your own modern one is the essence of ignorance and injustice.

The mother’s decision   

Another important point to note in the discussion regarding the age of Sayidah Aishah at the time of marriage, is that her mother decided when she was ready to start her married life. In the books of Seerah (prophetic biography). It mentions that the mother spoke to the father, asking him to speak to the Prophet ﷺ, so that Sayidah Aishah could move in.

Neither the Prophet ﷺ nor her father initiated the move. Rather, when her mother felt that her daughter is ready to be a wife, she initiated the move. Rational people will respect the completely independent decision of the mother over the vulgar ramblings of an Islamophobic hooligan some 1450 years later.

Other possibilities

Some Muslims use the books of Tarikh (Islamic History) to raise questions regarding the age of Sayidah Aishah at the time of living with the blessed Prophet ﷺ. However, narrations in books of Tarikh tend to be less authentic. Therefore, I will cite a Hadith from the Musnad of Imam Ahmad.

Thus, we will have Hadith alongside Hadith. The Hadith in Bukhari mentions nine years. However, the following Hadith from Ahmad would lead one to conclude that Sayidah Aishah was significantly older.

فَدَخَلَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ عَلَى مُطْعِمِ بْنِ عَدِيٍّ وَعِنْدَهُ امْرَأَتُهُ أُمُّ الْفَتَى، فَقَالَتْ يَا ابْنَ أَبِي قُحَافَةَ لَعَلَّكَ مُصْبِئُ صَاحِبَنَا مُدْخِلُهُ فِي دِينِكَ الَّذِي أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِ، إِنْ تَزَوَّجَ إِلَيْكَ، قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ لِلْمُطْعِمِ بْنِ عَدِيٍّ: أَقَوْلُ هَذِهِ تَقُولُ، قَالَ: إِنَّهَا تَقُولُ ذَلِكَ، فَخَرَجَ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ، وَقَدْ أَذْهَبَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مَا كَانَ فِي نَفْسِهِ مِنْ عِدَتِهِ الَّتِي وَعَدَهُ فَرَجَعَ، فَقَالَ لِخَوْلَةَ: ادْعِي لِي رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَدَعَتْهُ فَزَوَّجَهَا إِيَّاهُ

Abu Bakr went to Mut’im bin ‘Adi and his wife, the young man’s mother, was with him. She said, “O son of Abu Quhafah, perhaps you will make our companion a Magian and bring him into your religion if he marries from you.” Abu Bakr said to Mut’im bin ‘Adi: Do you say the same as her. He said: She says that. So, he left him, and Allah (Most High) had removed what was in his heart regarding the promise he had made. So he returned and said to Khawlah: Call the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for me.  So, she called him ﷺ and he married her to him. (Musnad Ahmad 25769, Hasan)

The above narration is a part of a much longer Hadith. In it we find Sayidina Abu Bakr, the father of Sayidah Aishah, looking to end an engagement between his daughter and the son of Mutim bin Adi. This occurred in year 10 of the mission of the Prophet ﷺ. Therefore, Sayidina Abu Bakr had been a follower of the Prophet’s religion for 10 years.

Mutim broke the engagement due to Sayidina Abu Bakr being a follower of the Prophet ﷺ. Thus, the engagement must have been prior to those 10 years. If we assume she was 6 or 7 years old at the time of the engagement. Then she would be 16 or 17 at the time of Nikah (marriage ceremony). And 19 or 20 at the time of living with the Prophet ﷺ.

Even if one were to assume Sayidah Aishah was younger at the time of engagement, it would still make her drastically older than nine at the time of starting her marriage. She would have been into her teen years.

The narration in Bukhari

If one were to consider the above, then the age of Sayidah Aishah could not be nine at the time of starting her marriage. Rather she would have been significantly older. But this seems to contradict the Hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari. Sunni Muslims do not tend to reject narrations in Bukhari. Thus, an explanation is required.

Most societies in history did not focus on a person’s date of birth the way we do today. Due to modern day bureaucracy people need to know their dates of birth. Whenever you fill out a form, attempt to identify yourself or access medical health facilities the date of birth is required. This was not the case in the past.

Thus, people did not tend to know their date of birth or even age precisely. Society did not require them to know it. There was little advantage in knowing it. This is why dates of birth for people in the time of the Prophet ﷺ are unconfirmed.

Even the date of birth of the blessed Prophet ﷺ is disputed. And he is the most important person in human history. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that Sayidah Aishah was not being precise when she said she was nine years old.

Rather she was expressing two things. Firstly, that she was young. Secondly, she was a woman. Since she herself explained that a girl becomes a woman at age nine. Ultimately, she was saying that she was a young woman.

So, suggesting that the age of Sayidah Aishah at the time of starting her marriage was significantly older than nine, is not an attack upon Sahih al-Bukhari and its accuracy. Rather it is a recognition of how people engaged with dates of birth in the past.

People who only know their current culture and have not studied history sufficiently, fail to understand such matters. The very notion of a person not knowing his or her age is so alien to them, they reject it outright. Thus, their misunderstanding is due to a lack of knowledge and experience.

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَزَوَّجَهَا وَهِيَ بِنْتُ سِتِّ سِنِينَ، وَأُدْخِلَتْ عَلَيْهِ وَهِيَ بِنْتُ تِسْعٍ، وَمَكَثَتْ عِنْدَهُ تِسْعًا

(Sayidah) Aishah (May Allah Most High be pleased with her) narrated: The Prophet ﷺ married her when she was six years old. And she was brought to him when she was nine. She stayed with him for nine years. (Sahih al-Bukhari, 5133).

Response to Christians

Unfortunately, many so called Christians have decided to use the discussion regarding the age of Sayidah Aishah as a means to attack Islam and accuse Muslims of being evil. As well as clarifying the issue, it is also important for Muslims to understand and present the hypocrisy in their attacks. It is also necessary to expose their vulgar language.

They themselves believe Jesus is God. And they believe God impregnated Mary and was subsequently born from her. They also refer to Mary as the mother of Jesus. So according to them, God made his own mother pregnant. Then God remained inside this young girl and finally exited via her private area. This is far more vulgar than the lies they attribute to our Prophet.

Also, some of their traditions say Mary was 12 years old at the time of giving birth to her own God. So, God impregnated a 12-year-old out of wedlock and then entered her womb. Subsequently God exited via her private area. Thereafter he allowed the people to accuse his mother of fornication for giving birth to God. This entire Christian fabrication is pagan not monotheistic.

Compare this to the blessed Prophet Muhammad ﷺ marrying a young lady. Honouring her as a wife and requiring the entire community to show her the utmost respect. Which of these two narratives causes embarrassment?

So, we advise Christians to dialogue with respect and not use obscene or vulgar language. Since a response to vulgar language with the same will result in deep embarrassment. Whilst the reality is that we will be accurate representing your narrative. Whereas you will be lying about our Prophet.

An insistence upon respectful dialogue and difference is the way of courteous people. Whereas the language and actions of these Islamophobic brutes has no place in polite civilised society.

Response to Jews

As for people claiming to be part of the Jewish community that use abhorrent language regarding our Prophet ﷺ. We will remind them of the Talmoud. In Mishnah Niddah (5:4) it permits sexual intercourse with a three-year-old. And it describes it as a means to formalise the marriage. There is no chance that a three-year-old could be anything other than a child. As opposed to a nine year old.

בַּת שָׁלשׁ שָׁנִים וְיוֹם אֶחָד, מִתְקַדֶּשֶׁת בְּבִיאָה. וְאִם בָּא עָלֶיהָ יָבָם, קְנָאָהּ. וְחַיָּבִין עָלֶיהָ מִשּׁוּם אֵשֶׁת אִישׁ, וּמְטַמְּאָה אֶת בּוֹעֲלָהּ לְטַמֵּא מִשְׁכָּב תַּחְתּוֹן כָּעֶלְיוֹן. נִשֵּׂאת לְכֹהֵן, תֹּאכַל בַּתְּרוּמָה. בָּא עָלֶיהָ אַחַד מִן הַפְּסוּלִים, פְּסָלָהּ מִן הַכְּהֻנָּה. בָּא עָלֶיהָ אַחַד מִכָּל הָעֲרָיוֹת הָאֲמוּרוֹת בַּתּוֹרָה, מוּמָתִין עַל יָדָהּ, וְהִיא פְטוּרָה. פָּחוֹת מִכָּן, כְּנוֹתֵן אֶצְבַּע בָּעָיִן:

A girl who is three years and one day old, whose father arranged her betrothal, is betrothed through intercourse, as the halakhic status of intercourse with her is that of intercourse in all halakhic senses. And in a case where the childless husband of a girl three years and one day old dies, if his brother the yavam engages in intercourse with her, he acquires her as his wife; and if she is married, a man other than her husband is liable for engaging in intercourse with her due to violation of the prohibition against intercourse with a married woman. (Talmud. Mishnah Niddah 5:4).

Jews and Christians

Many Islamaphobes are fond of the term Judeo-Christian. They try to combine the Jewish and Christian traditions. This is often done in an effort to unite against Muslims. If they were honest, they would understand that both traditions have more in common with Islam than one another.

The love, respect and reverence Muslims have for the great Prophet Jesus and his noble mother Mary (peace be upon them both) is not found in traditional Judaism. Rather it is the opposite. And the monotheism of Islam is far closer to Judaism than the Christian presentation of monotheism.

Nevertheless, since these Islamophobes insist on combining Jewish and Christian tradition. We will point out to them that they both contain the command to massacre and genocide. The story of Amalek is mentioned in both traditions.

Now, go and crush Amalek; put him under the curse of destruction with all that he possesses. Do not spare him, but kill man and woman, babe and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. (The Bible, 1 Samuel – Chapter 15).

Thus, the Judeo-Christian scripture not only allows but encourages massacring children and committing genocide against them. As seen in the verses regarding Amalek. So, they combine between the two evils of child rape and child murder.

Zionist Propaganda

Some of the far right Islamophobic movements in the UK are funded by Zionists. Since they have a goal to spread the hatred of Islam and Muslims. As they want to steal more Muslim land, they believe it will be easier to achieve their goal if the western world hates Islam and the Muslims.

The hypocrisy of this situation is nauseating. They attempt to present the Muslim community as a danger to children. Whilst, the Zionist state harbors and protects paedophiles. It provides a safe haven for some of the most vicious child rapists fleeing the west. Despite this they want to point their finger at others.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz raised this horrifying situation in an article. In which they said: Israel has become a safe haven for Jewish paedophiles from around the world. CBS news also has an article with the subheading: How Jewish American paedophiles hide from justice in Israel.

Conclusion

It is best for everyone who discusses religion or religious differences to remain respectful and courteous. As for being vulgar, inciting hatred and spreading lies it will only lead to social upheaval and deep resentment. It was respectful and courteous dialogue that enable Muslims, Christians and Jews to live in harmony in Muslim lands for centuries. Whenever the rhetoric changes it leads to calamities.

And Allah Most High Knows Best.

–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (13.10.25)