- Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
- Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
Ask A Question About Islam And Muslims
16 Questions
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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. |
This claim came from a narration in some Sunni books from ‘Urwah Ibn al-Zubair from his aunt Aisha that the Holy Prophet (SAWA) passed away while he was putting his head on the chest of Aisha. This narration is a fabricated narration and it contradicts with authentic narrations in Sunni and Shia books . Ibn Abbas, the well known companion, denied and refuted this narration. as it is in Tahtheeb al-Tabaqaat al-Kubra (page 402) : Abu Ghatfan asked Ibn-Abbas, “did you see the Prophet when he passed away putting his head on the chest of anyone?” Ibn Abbas replied: “the Prophet passed away when his head was on the chest of Ali ibn Abi Talib”. The narrator asked him, that: “‘Urwah told me that Aisha said that the prophet passed away when his head was on her chest.” Ibn Abbas said: “do you have sense? Can you believe it? By Allah, the messenger of Allah, passed away and his head was on the chest of Ali Ibn Abi Talib.” In the well known Sunni book Al Tabaqat al Kubra (vol 2 pg 260) Ibn Sa’ad said: The prophet passed away while his head was on the chest of Ali-ibn-abi-Talib. Ibn Asaakir, the well known Sunni scholar, narrated in his book Tareekh Dimashq (vol 3 pg 15 narration number 1028) that the mother of Jumai’ ibn ‘Omair and his aunt both went to Aisha and asked her about Ali. Aisha said: “you are asking me about whom? About a man who put his hand, when the prophet was dying, and the soul of the prophet came out on his hand and he wiped his face with it.” This narration has also been mentioned in Majma’ al Zawa’id by al Haythami (vol 9 pg 112) and also mentioned by al Zamakhshari in Rabi’ al Abraar. The false narration claiming hat he Prophet put his head on the chest of Aisha was narrated by a well known enemy of Imam Ali (AS), ‘Orwah ibn al Zubair, who fabricated this false allegation because of his enmity against Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) . 'Orwah Ibn al Zubair fought against Imam Ali (AS) in the Bttle of Jamal in Basra and tried with his brother Abdullah to kill mam Ali (AS). How can Muslims believe an enemy of Ali and leave what Ali (AS) himself stated? Ibn Abi Al-Hadeed narrated that Ali (AS) himself said(ولقد قبض رسول الله وان رأسه على صدري ) “verily the Messenger of Allah (SAWA) passed away when his head was on my chest.” Nahjul Balagah, (sermon 197). In Musnad Ahmad bin Hambal (vol 6, pg 300) Umm Salama, one of the wives of the Holy Prophet (SAWA), she said: “I swear by whom I swear, that Ali was the nearest to the Holy Prophet (SAWA) and the last person who was with the Holy Prophet (SAWA) when the Holy Prophet (SAWA) passed away, he was alone with Ali giving him secrets and talking to him alone.” This is also mentioned in al Musannaf (vol 7 pg 494) also in Kanz al Ummal (vol 13 pg 146 Hadeeth number 36459) and also in Tareekh Madinat Dimashq and also in al Bidaya Wannihaya by ibn Katheer (vol 7 pg 397) Wassalam. |
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Sunni texts also say that the Holy Prophet (s) died with his head in the lap of Imam 'Ali (as): The following is quoted in Khasa'is of Nasa'i from Umm Salamah: "By Allah, the closest person [to the Prophet] at the time of the Prophet's death was 'Ali. Early on the morning of the day when he was going to die, the Prophet called 'Ali who had been sent out on some errand. He asked for 'Ali three times before his return. However, 'Ali came before sunrise. So, thinking that the Prophet needed some privacy with 'Ali, we came out. I was the last to be out; therefore, I sat closer to the door than the other women. I saw that 'Ali lowered his head towards the Prophet and the Prophet kept whispering into his ears (for sometime). Therefore, 'Ali is the only person who was near the Prophet till the last." Al-Hakim al-Nasyaburi, moreover, remarks in his Mustadrak that: "the Prophet kept confiding in 'Ali till the time of his death. Then he breathed his last." |
The idea that the Prophet (S) passed away in the lap of A'ishah is found in some Sunni texts and is generally not shared by Shi'is. Other texts say that he called Imam 'Ali (A) to him before he passed away, and this view is generally the one adopted by Shi'is. Here is a Shi'i view on his last moments: https://www.al-islam.org/life-muhammad-prophet-sayyid-saeed-akhtar-rizvi/death-and-burial In any case, it wouldn't have been fair for the Prophet (S) to favour A'ishah above his other wives at that time. That being said, I don't think there is a lot of benefit in speculating over how much he did or did not love her, at the end of the day they were married and the Prophet (S) had a noble and generous personality and extended love to many people, this was part of what made him special and beloved in turn. |