So what makes the site I posted info from less believable than Wikiislam?
The First Argument
The First point considered by the writer is given in my Fifth Argument. I had written:
According to the generally accepted tradition, Ayesha (ra) was born about eight years before Hijrah. But according to another narrative in Bukhari (kitabu'l-tafseer) Ayesha (ra) is reported to have said that at the time Surah Al-Qamar, the 54th chapter of the Qur'an, was revealed, "I was a young girl". The 54th surah of the Qur'an was revealed nine years before Hijrah. According to this tradition, Ayesha (ra) had not only been born before the revelation of the referred surah, but was actually a young girl (jariyah), not an infant (sibyah) at that time. Obviously, if this narrative is held to be true, it is in clear contradiction with the narratives reported by Hisham ibn `urwah. I see absolutely no reason that after the comments of the experts on the narratives of Hisham ibn `urwah, why we should not accept this narrative to be more accurate.
Responding to this point, the author writes:
Even if we assume this narrative to be accurate, we have no reason to give it more weight than those that are so detailed about Ayesha's age, describing her playing with her dolls, talking about her girlfriends coming to play with her and hiding when Muhammad entered the room, her memories of playing on the swing when her mother called her and washed her face and took her to Muhammad, her ignorance of what was going on and her "surprise" when Muhammad got into action taking his role as the husband, etc. These events are more likely to be remembered by someone of her childhood than when a particular Surah was revealed. It is more probable that a person confuse one Surah with the other than confuse all those details of her own life.
In the more acclaimed compilations of narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh), the narratives referred by the author relating to Ayesha's playing with her dolls etc. are reported in Bukhariy (No. 5665), Muslim (No. 4470), Abu Dawood (No. 4283), Ibn Maajah (No. 1972) and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (Nos. 23163, 24169, 24770 and 24777).
However, there are two points that the reader should keep in mind, while considering these narratives as evidence for the author's opinion: Firstly, none of these narratives expressly state Ayesha's (ra) age at the time of her marriage; and secondly, all of these narratives are also reported by Hisham Ibn Urwah on the authority of his father. Keeping the second point in mind, it should be clear these narratives, reported by the Hisham and Urwah, cannot be presented as support for the narratives, also reported by the same narrators. All the criticisms that I had given on the narrators in my previous responses, obviously, apply to this one as well, as it is reported on the authority primarily of the same individuals.
In view of this fact, it should be clear that the whole issue once again boils down to the lack of any sound reasons to believe that Ayesha (ra) was nine at the time of her marriage, especially when there are other reports, which clearly imply contrary information.
The Second Argument
One of my arguments in my first writing on the topic was:
According to a number of narratives, Ayesha (ra) accompanied the Muslims in the battle of Badr and Uhud. Furthermore, it is also reported in books of hadith and history that no one under the age of 15 years was allowed to take part in the battle of Uhud. All the boys below 15 years of age were sent back. Ayesha's (ra) participation in the battle of Badr and Uhud clearly indicate that she was not nine or ten years old at that time. After all, women used to accompany men to the battle fields to help them, not to be a burden on them.
Responding to this point, the author writes:
This is a weak excuse. When the Battle of Badr and Ohud occurred Ayesha was 10 to 11 years old. She did not go to be a warier, like the boys. She went to keep Muhammad warm during the nights. Boys who were less than 15 were sent back, but this did not apply to her.
The author contends that because Ayesha (ra) was not taken along to be a warrior, but for other purposes, therefore, the age limit set for boys did not apply to her.
The point referred by the author can only be taken as a possibility, not as a fact till the time that the author provides clear evidence to support his opinion that the age limit set for boys did not apply to girls, in general, and Ayesha (ra), in particular.
The Third Argument
One of the points in my first response on the topic was:
According to almost all the historians Asma (ra), the elder sister of Ayesha (ra) was ten years older than Ayesha (ra). It is reported in Taqri'bu'l-tehzi'b as well as Al-bidayah wa'l-nihayah that Asma (ra) died in 73 hijrah when she was 100 years old. Now, obviously if Asma (ra) was 100 years old in 73 hijrah she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah. If Asma (ra) was 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah, Ayesha (ra) should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus, Ayesha (ra), if she got married in 1 AH (after hijrah) or 2 AH, was between 18 to 20 years old at the time of her marriage.
Responding to this point, the author writes:
When someone gets that old, people don't care too much about her exact age. It is very easy to say she was 100 years old when in fact she was only 90. The difference is not noticeable to the younger folks and 100 is a round figure. Assuming the Hadith is authentic, it could be an honest mistake. Since in those days people did not carry birth certificates, it is very much likely that the person who reported her age to be 100 did not know that she was 10 years older than Ayesha and did not sit to make the calculations and deductions. She was not an important person and it did not occur to anyone that 1300 years later it would become the subject of a controversy. This could be a genuine mistake by the narrator of the Hadith.
Once again, the author is only pointing out towards a possibility. It should be kept in mind that the author is trying to establish that Ayesha (ra) was nine years old at the time of her marriage with the Prophet (pbuh). The author should be reminded that pointing out mere possibilities of error in the given information would not serve his purpose. Obviously, contrary to what the author contends, it is also "Possible" that the information given in the given in the cited paragraph is correct.
The author should also keep in mind that the target of my writings on the issue is not to "prove" that Ayesha (ra) was "X" years old at the time of the consummation of her marriage with the Prophet (pbuh). On the contrary, my objective was merely to show that the generally held view regarding Ayesha's (ra) age at the time of her marriage with the Prophet (pbuh) is not based upon contradiction-free information.
The Fourth to Sixth Argument
The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth arguments of the author are also based on the possibility of incorrectness in my citations.
The Seventh Argument
In one of my arguments, I had written:
According to a narrative reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, after the death of Khadijah (ra), when Khaulah (ra) came to the Prophet (pbuh) advising him to marry again, the Prophet (pbuh) asked her regarding the choices she had in her mind. Khaulah said: "You can marry a virgin (bikr) or a woman who has already been married (thayyib)". When the Prophet (pbuh) asked about who the virgin was, Khaulah proposed Ayesha's (ra) name. All those who know the Arabic language, are aware that the word "bikr" in the Arabic language is not used for an immature nine year old girl. The correct word for a young playful girl, as stated earlier is "Jariyah". "Bikr" on the other hand, is used for an unmarried lady, and obviously a nine year old is not a "lady".
In response to this point, the author writes:
This explanation is absolutely incorrect. Bikr means virgin and, just as in English is not age specific. In fact Ayesha was the second wife of Muhammad (after Khadijah) but Muhammad did not consummate his marriage with her for three years because she was too young. Instead he had to content himself with Umma Salamah, until Ayesha matured a little bit more. It would not have made sense to marry a beautiful woman like Ayesha and wait for three years to take her home.
The author is quite right. Bikr in the Arabic language does, in fact, mean 'virgin'. However, I was actually referring to the usage of the word, not its literal meaning. It is correct that literally the word 'Bikr', like the word "virgin" refers to a biological reality, however, also just as the word 'virgin', the word 'Bikr', in the Arabic language, is used for a young woman, who has not yet had sexual contact, not for a child.
The Eighth Argument
The Eighth argument of the author relates to my following point:
According to Ibn Hajar, Fatimah (ra) was five years older than Ayesha (ra). Fatimah (ra) is reported to have been born when the Prophet (pbuh) was 35 years old. Thus, even if this information is taken to be correct, Ayesha (ra) could by no means be less than 14 years old at the time of hijrah, and 15 or 16 years old at the time of her marriage.
In response to this point, the author writes:
This is not certainly correct, for the reasons explained above and also it contradicts the Hadith that the apologist quoted about the age of Asma, Ayesha's sister, who according to that Hadith was 10 years older that Ayesha and died in 73 Hijra.
As for the "reasons explained above", they have already been considered. While, as for the contradiction of the referred narrative with the one, which states that Asma was 10 years older to Ayesha (ra), it leads us to precisely the point, which I have been trying to make that there are so many mutual contradictions in these narratives from which Ayesha's (ra) age can be, directly or indirectly, derived that it becomes difficult to say with certainty what exactly was Ayesha's (ra) age at the time of her marriage and consummation of marriage.
The Last Argument
I had written:
In my opinion, neither was it an Arab tradition to give away girls in marriage at an age as young as nine or ten years, nor did the Prophet (pbuh) marry Ayesha (ra) at such a young age. The people of Arabia did not object to this marriage, because it never happened in the manner it has been narrated.
The author writes:
I respect his opinion, but disagree with him completely. Not only this WAS the tradition of the Arabs, it is still their tradition and it has become the tradition of other counties that converted to Islam. Even up to this day it is very common to find girls as young as 9-years given for matrimony. Of course the reason that no one objected to the marriage of Muhammad and a 9-year-old girl, is because it was a costume. The reason when it was reported in so many hadithes that neither the author nor the scholars objected is because it was nothing out of the ordinary.
For our purposes, we are not concerned with any later Muslim traditions, which may, obviously, have been influenced by the incorrect information regarding Ayesha's (ra) age. We are concerned only with the pre-Islamic Arab traditions. If, as the author holds, marrying girls at such a young age was really an Arab tradition since the pre-Islamic times, then it would only have been prudent on the part of the author to have cited the source of this information. Requesting this information, I had started my first response on the topic with the following words:
To begin with, I think it is the responsibility of all those who believe that marrying a girl as young as nine years old was an accepted norm of the Arab culture, to provide at least a few examples to substantiate their point of view. I have not yet been able to find a single reliable instance in the books of Arab history where a girl as young as nine years old was given away in marriage.
http://www.understanding-islam.com/...tion-of-your-analysis-of-ayesha-s-ra-age-8456
