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Rebecca Masterton,
Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been teaching for seventeen years through different media, and has also worked in media for ten years, producing and presenting programs for several TV channels. 74 Answers
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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi,
Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to religious questions. In the past, he has also spent significant time in India guiding the community. 1183 Answers
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Mahmood Abu Maryam,
Trying to make sense of it all... 42 Answers
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Mohammed Al-Hilli,
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hilli, originally from Iraq, has a Masters in Pharmacy from the University of London. He completed his Hawza degree from the ICAS in London under the supervision of Ayatollah Fadhil Milani, and also has an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University via the Islamic College. He is a teacher at the Hawza Programme at Islamic College in London. 7 Answers
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Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour,
Sheikh Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour is lecturer of Islamic Studies at the Islamic College for Advanced Studies, London, and a visiting lecturer at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Oriental Studies. He was raised in Iran and holds a BA and an MA in Sociology from Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran. He has also studied at Queen Mary College London and the London School of Economics. 15 Answers
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Zeinab Donati,
Zeinab Donati has been studying books about various Islamic subjects for more than 19 years. She is deeply interested in history and politics as well as social issues in particular those pertaining to women. 25 Answers
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Saleem Bhimji,
Shaykh Saleem Bhimji was born and raised in Canada. After completing his post-secondary education at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), he moved to Medina, New York, to study at the Imam al-Asr Theological Seminary. He later continued his religious studies at the Hawza of Qum. To date he has translated over 40 full-length books into English that have been printed worldwide. 15 Answers
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Jerrmein Abu Shahba,
Jerrmein Abu Shahba is originally from Egypt and has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a masters in Chemistry from Rutgers State University in the US. She is actively involved in many Islamic projects that include organizing annual youth camps, teaching Islamic subjects, writing articles and translating texts from Arabic. 2 Answers
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Abbas Jaffer,
Sheikh Abbas Jaffer is an optometrist by profession and has a Master’s degree in Islamic Sciences. He is a part time lecturer at the Islamic College in London and is currently writing his doctoral thesis on the challenges faced by educators of young Muslims in modern day Britain. He has also co-authored a book on Qur’anic sciences for the Islamic College as well as translating several works from Persian into English. 14 Answers
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Vinay Khetia,
Shaikh Vinay Khetia has studied at various traditional Islamic seminaries in London, Iraq and Syria. He has an undergraduate degree in Religious and Near Eastern Studies from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in the History and Philosophy of Religion from Concordia University. He is a PhD Candidate in the department of Religious Studies at McMaster University with a focus on the intellectual history of Islam and specifically Shi'ism. 12 Answers
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Zoheir Ali Esmail,
Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD from the University of Exeter in the philosophical and mystical readings of Mulla Sadra in the context of the schools of Tehran and Qum. 222 Answers
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Nour Tessie Jørgensen,
Nour Tessie Jørgensen has an MA in Islamic studies from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and a degree in Philosophy of Ethics at Al Mustafa International University in Qum, Iran. She works as an Islamic Studies teacher and a counselor in spiritual and female-related issues. 18 Answers
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Mateen Charbonneau,
Sheikh Mateen Joshua Charbonneau achieved a certificate from Harvard University in Islamic Studies. He undertook Howza classes under esteemed scholars since 2013 and has been teaching at Imam Mahdi Howza since 2017. He has compiled and published several books, has filmed several documentaries on Islamic subjects and has also promoted Islamic propagation in US jails. 14 Answers
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Amina Inloes,
Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the Islamic College in London and also the Managing Editor of the Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies. 242 Answers
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Abbas Di Palma,
Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in London, Damascus and Qom and taught for different institutions in Italy and UK. 190 Answers
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Abolfazl Sabouri,
Abolfazl Sabouri is based in New Zealand and has an MA in Jurisprudence and Islamic Studies. He is a graduate of Elmiyeh seminary in Qom with more than 15 years of study and research where he has also taught Tafsir, Theology and Jurisprudence. 38 Answers
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Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb,
Sayyed Muhammad Husaini Ragheb has a BA in Law from Guilan University, Iran and has also undertaken Hawzah studies in Qom. He is a Cultural Affairs director of Ethics Group of Al-Mustafa Open University and has also taught Arabic conversation at Masoomieh school. 48 Answers
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Masuma Jaffer,
Dr Masuma Jaffer is a qualified dentist, with a Masters in Islamic Studies and has also attended Hawza in Qum. She obtained a PGCE - teaching qualification – and has taught Hawza studies at the Islamic College in London. She also has a Diploma in Counselling and is a Qualified Chaplain and worked with women prisoners at Holloway and with Hertfordshire Police advising them on Muslim matters. 10 Answers
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Zaid Alsalami,
Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from ANU, Canberra. He has written and translated several Islamic texts and also prepared educational videos on Islamic rulings and practices. 145 Answers
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Seyed Ali Musawi,
Seyed Ali Musawi studied religion and history at the University of California, San Diego and subsequently he studied for more than 8 years at the Islamic Seminary in Qum, Iran, focusing on Islamic history and jurisprudence. 11 Answers
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There is a false but famous narration in some Sunni books which claims that
Ayesha was a child ( between six and nine years) when she got married
with the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). This narration is fabricated even
according to many Sunni scholars because of :
1. The narrator is just one single person who is Hisham Ibn O'rwah Ibn
al-Zubair who claimed narrating from Ayesha. Ayesha died on year 57 or
year 58 after Hijra, while Hisham Ibn O'rwah was born in year 61 after
Hijra. How can he claim narrating from her when she dies few years
before his his birth?
2. Hisham Ibn O'rwah is not an authentic narrator according to many
Sunni scholars including Al-Soyooti who included his name with the
list of Mudalliseen ( those who mix and hide the reality in their
narrations) ( Asmaa' al- Mudalliseen). Other leading Sunni scholars
like Malik Ibn Anas , Al-Midyani and many others refuse the narrations
of Hishan Ibn O'rwah.
3. There are certain historic facts in Sunni books prove that the age
of Ayesha was between 20 to 30 or even more when her marriage with the
Proohet (SAWA) took place:
3A. Asmaa' Bint Abi Bakr , the elder sister of Ayesha was elder then
her at least few years. Some Sunni scholars said few years and said
ten years. Asmaa' Bint Abi Bakr was born 27 years before the Bi'thah
of the Prophet (SAWA) ( Majma' al-Zawa'id, V. 9, P. 260, Omdatul Qaari
Fi Sharh Saheeh al-Bukhari, V. 2, P. 93, al-Majma' al-Kaberi by
Al-Tabarani , V. 24, P. 77 and many others. This means that when the
Prophet (SAWA) migrated from Makkah to Madinah after 13 years , the
age of Asmaa' Bint Abi Bakr was 40 years. As the of Ayesha was few
years ( or maximum ten years ) younger than her sister Asmaa', then
the age of Ayesha when the Prophet ( SAWA) migrated to Madina was not
less than thirty years.
As the marriage took place two years after Hijra, then the age of
Ayesha was then more than thirty years.
4. It is also worth mentioning that the well known Sunni Historian
Muhammad Ibn Sa'ad in His famous book Al-Tabaqaat al-Kubra (8: 9)
narrated from Abdullah Ibn Maleekah that when the Prophet ( SAWA)
proposed to Ayesha, Abu Baki ( her father) told him: I have given her
for marriage to Jubair Ibn Mut'im, so, let me take her back from him,
and he took her back from him by divorce, then gave her to the Prophet
( SAWA) for marriage.
It is also mentioned in history that Ayesha had a son from her first
marriage called Abdullah, that is why she was called by the Prophet by
the name of her son Abdullah as Umm Abdillah. ( Sunan Abi Dawood).
Sunni scholars in Islamic Studies Centre in Cairo have refuted the widely spread narration about A'isha age and said that the age of Aisha when she got married to the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) was not less than 19 years. (Al-Yawm Al-Saabi' 10-10-2008).
Wassalam.
According to the Sunni website Discovering Islam, Aisha was older than six years old:
We find evidence in both Hadith books and history books that indicates Aisha must have been older than nine when she got married:
According to a hadith in Bukhari and Muslim, Aisha is said to have joined Muhammad on the raid that culminated in the Battle of Badr, in 624 CE. However, because no one below the age of fifteen was allowed to accompany raiding parties, Aisha should have been at least fifteen in 624 CE and thus at least thirteen when she was married following the Hijra in 622 CE.
Ibn Hisham’s version of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rashul Allah, the earliest surviving biography of Muhammad, records Aisha as having converted to Islam before Umar ibn al-Khattab, during the first few years of Islam around 610 CE. In order to accept Islam she must have been walking and talking, hence at least three years of age, which would make her at least fifteen in 622 CE.
Tabari also reports that Abu Bakr’s four children were all born during the Jahiliyyah (Pre-Islam Period), which has ended in 610 CE, making Aisha at least twelve in 622 CE.
According to the generally accepted tradition, Aisha was born about eight years before Hijrah (Migration to Medina). However, according to another narrative in Bukhari (Kitaab al-Tafseer) Aisha 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, Aisha had not only been born before the revelation of the referred Surah, but was actually a young girl, not even only an infant at that time. So if this age is assumed to be 7 to 14 years, then her age at the time of marriage would be 14 to 21.
According to almost all the historians, Asma the elder sister of Aisha, was ten years older than Aisha. It is reported in Taqreeb al-Tehzeeb as well as in Ibn Kathir's Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah that Asma died in the 73rd year after migration of Muhammad when she was 100 years old. Now, obviously if Asma was 100 years old in the 73rd year after Migration to Medina, she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the time of migration. If Asma was 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah, Aisha should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus, if Aisha got married in year 1 AH or 2 AH (after Migration to Medina), she must have been between 18 to 20 years old at the time of her marriage.
According to many Ahadith in Bukhari, it is believed Aisha participated in the both of Badr and Uhud battles. Furthermore, in Bukhari's Kitabu’l-Maghazi, Ibn `Umar states: "The Prophet did not permit me to participate in Uhud battle, as at that time, I was 14 years old. But on the day of Khandaq battle, when I was 15 years old, the Prophet permitted my participation". So, since it was not allowed for Muslims younger than 15 years old to participate in Uhud battle, Aisha, who participated in Uhud, must have been at least 15 years old in those battles; thus her age was at least 13 to 14 at the time of her marriage.
According to Shi‘i scholar Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-‘Amili, the early historian Muhammad ibn Ishaq says that Aisha was approximately the nineteenth person to convert to Islam after the commencement of the Holy Prophet (s)’s mission. Even if she had been just seven at this time, she would then have been seventeen by the time she was married and twenty at the time of Hijra.