Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Marriage to Aisha (ra)

Prophet Muhammad’s (SAW) marriage to Aisha (RA)

One issue a lot of non-Muslims (mainly Orientalists) like to pick on nowadays is our Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) marriage to ‘Aisha (ra) while she was only 9 years old (when the marriage was consummated).

Firstly, this was something our noble Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was instructed to do by Allah.

Secondly, at that time (about 1400 years ago), it was not considered “unusual” and for this reason none of the non-believers in his time had an issue with it.

Thirdly, it has been proven that a girl can start having periods from the age of 8; although most girls today start their periods when they’re about 12 years old.

Fourthly, in the 1890s (just over 120 years ago, not 1400 years ago!), the age of consent set by lawmakers across most states in the United States was 10-12. In fact, in 1895, the age of consent in the state of Delaware was only 7, according to an article in The New York Times. What this effectively means is that it was perfectly legal (about 100 years ago, across most states in America) for a man to have an intimate relationship with a girl aged 7-10 years. ‘Aisha was within this age range when her marriage to the Prophet (pbuh) was consummated (1400 years ago!).

Question: “Is Allah not the Best of Lawmakers?” (Qur’an, 95:8)

Since Allah created us, only He has the right to determine what should be the age of consent. And He has decided that when a boy or girl reaches puberty, they become accountable for their actions and are permitted to get married.

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