{"id":4502,"date":"2019-01-11T01:48:14","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T06:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/?p=4502"},"modified":"2020-06-28T10:57:10","modified_gmt":"2020-06-28T15:57:10","slug":"understanding-aishas-age-an-interdisciplinary-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/understanding-aishas-age-an-interdisciplinary-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Aisha\u2019s Age: An Interdisciplinary Approach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Part of the \u201cMore than Just a Number: Perspectives on the Age of Aisha (ra)<\/a>\u201d collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This publication was supervised by Jonathan A. C. Brown.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In\n recent years, few criticisms of Islam have taken the spotlight as much \nas condemnations of the Prophet\u2019s marriage to Aisha. Muslims are accused\n of following the example of a man who had inappropriate relations with a\n 9-year-old girl. As a result, this has led many to doubt their faith \nand the moral compass it provides. However, this criticism is based on \nfallacious reasoning. When reviewing the available evidence, we not only\n find that early marriage was normal in many early societies, it also \nmade moral sense given their circumstances. Throughout human \nhistory, populations had to adapt to their physical and social \nenvironments while optimizing their ethical judgments accordingly\u2014much \nas we do today. This paper elucidates the flawed nature of accusations \nof the Prophet\u2019s alleged immorality as well as how Islam teaches us to \nadapt the message of the Qur\u2019an to changing circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In\n 2014 the Pew Research Center estimated that roughly 57,800 minors \n(i.e., individuals under 18) were legally married in the United States. \nOf those marriages, 55% were between an underage girl and an adult man.[1]<\/a><\/sup> And\n while these numbers vary across the nation, in some states the rates \nare much higher. This includes California, which has recently been \nentangled in a legal drama over whether an age limit for marriage with \nparental consent should be established. Influential organizations like \nPlanned Parenthood and the ACLU have been hostile to any proposed \nchanges by legislatures and have thus far been successful in removing \nany amendments that would place restrictions on juveniles being able to \nmarry with parental agreement. In other words, \nCalifornia currently considers child marriage permissible as long as the\n child\u2019s parents agree.[2]<\/a><\/sup> Likewise,\n France is currently debating whether or not it should establish an age \nof consent. The country has had no set legal age up to this point, which\n has led to a significant number of acquittals for men accused of raping\n a minor (as young as and even younger than the age of 11).[3]<\/a><\/sup> These\n cases are odd given the United States\u2019 and France\u2019s apparent support \nfor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its \nsubsequent agreements, including the Convention on Consent to Marriage, \nMinimum Age for Marriage, and Registrations of Marriage (1964), which \nstipulates that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parties\n to the present Convention shall take legislative action to specify a \nminimum age for marriage. No marriage shall be legally entered into by \nany person under this age, except where a competent authority has \ngranted a dispensation as to age, for serious reasons, in the interest \nof the intending spouses.<\/em>[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This\n is especially disconcerting, considering the ways in which children are\n exploited and abused by these practices in the contemporary period. \nYoung girls are the most vulnerable to the consequences of early \nmarriage, which not only limits their social, educational, and economic \nopportunities but exposes them to health risks due to early pregnancy \nalong with psychological and emotional trauma.[5]<\/a><\/sup> How\n can a society opposed to the exploitation of children allow such \npractices to exist? And what sort of message is being conveyed through \nthe legal support of such a practice? In an age of the ever-growing \nphenomenon of child sex trafficking and pornography on the internet, \nthis is especially concerning. For example, just this year, German law \nenforcement uncovered an online child pornography ring with a membership\n of nearly 90,000 users. Only a handful of them have actually been \narrested.[6]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given\n this reality, it is unsurprising that the well-being and protection of \nchildren continues to be one of our greatest concerns, as well as a very\n sensitive topic. However, while concerns and sensitivities are \nundoubtedly warranted, they can sometimes lead us to make rash judgments\n about past communities\u2014judgments outside the realm of established \nscientific fact and reason. This is no better exemplified than in what \nmight be considered the most popular criticism of Islam today: the \nmarriage of the Prophet Muhammad \ufdfa and Aisha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Narrow View of Time<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s\n impossible these days to look for information on Islam without being \nbombarded by warnings about the \u201cdangers\u201d of the religion. Whether the \ntopic is about how Islam supposedly promotes terrorism or  how a \nminority population seeks world domination by deceiving people through \nhalal meat and curry, faux experts from around the world spare no effort\n in demonizing a faith spanning 14 centuries and around 1.6 billion \nfollowers. However, the easiest way to do this is by appealing to the \nprotective instincts of parents everywhere through presenting Islamic \nsources detailing the age of the Prophet Muhammad\u2019s \ufdfa youngest wife on \nthe day of their marriage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narrated\n by Aisha: The Prophet \ufdfa married me when I was six years old and \nconsummated our marriage when I was nine years old. Then I remained with\n him for nine years (i.e., until his death).<\/em>[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This\n narration has triggered both indignation and doubt about the moral \nintegrity of the Islamic faith. How could an adult man\u2014declared a moral \nexemplar among his followers\u2014marry a child? Such questions have resulted\n in people either dismissing Islamic primary sources as inauthentic or \ncondemning Islamic morals altogether as barbaric. Some Muslims have \nbecome so traumatized by the moral implications of these traditions that\n they\u2019ve argued that the hadiths<\/em> about Aisha\u2019s age are spurious\n and have offered in their stead convoluted rationalizations that she \nwas far older when she married (i.e., 18 years of age).[8]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\n such reactions seem valid in the context of our 21st-century, Western \nexperiences, they make little sense when discussing the circumstances of\n people who lived more than a millennium ago. It is far easier to \ncondemn 7th-century desert nomads as \u201cbarbarians\u201d than for us to \ncomprehend that our moral judgments are as much a function of our \nenvironment as the judgments of our ancestors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realizing this means recognizing how often we succumb to a fallacious form of reasoning known as presentism<\/em>\u2014an anachronistic misinterpretation of history based on present-day circumstances that did not exist in the past.[9]<\/a><\/sup> This\n is a very common mistake made by historians and laypersons alike. \nHowever, complex issues almost never come with such easy answers, no \nmatter how high our expectations may be. More often than not, \nhistorical realities take time and effort to understand. This is \nespecially the case when we allow for false ideas to become popular \nsentiment, forcing us to wade through pre-existing biases. This struggle\n has come to be referred as Brandolini\u2019s Law, named after Alberto \nBrandolini, an Italian computer programmer who invented the now famous \nmaxim: \u201cThe amount of energy needed to refute [nonsense] is an order of \nmagnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.\u201d[10]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\n said, moral judgments can still be made about past people and events. \nMurder is still murder, theft is still theft, and rape is still rape, no\n matter the time or place. But how we judge situations of murder, theft,\n and rape depends on the contexts in which they were committed. For \ninstance, it\u2019s one thing to read about how a historical figure killed \nanother person, but it\u2019s another to know that they did so due to dire \nneed or just cause (e.g., self-defense, war, corporal punishment, etc.).\n And determining those contexts isn\u2019t always easy, especially when they \nare so dissimilar to our own. In other words, when studying history, \nthings aren\u2019t always as they appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\n Likewise, when we examine the scientific evidence regarding human \ndevelopment, maturity, and marriage in the past, what we find is a \ncontext that not only dispels the moral outrage regarding the marriage \nbetween the Prophet Muhammad \ufdfa and Aisha, but also allows us to \nappreciate our ancestors for their struggles; for without them we would \nnot be having this discussion today.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aisha\u2019s Lived Experience<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The\n story of human development has gone through many phases. Empires have \nrisen and fallen, plagues have burned through entire populations, \ndroughts have starved generations, and natural disasters have buried the\n most advanced metropolises\u2014a testimony to the fragility of human \ncivilization. Yet, despite all of these trials and tribulations, we are \nstill here, struggling and adapting to the ever-changing conditions of \nour existence. How we were able to get to this point is a long and \ncomplex tale spanning millennia, but one of many reasons may be related \nto the flexibility of our reproductive capabilities. The ways in which \nour ancestors have defined childhood, maturity, and marriage have been \ndiverse and quite different from contemporary Western definitions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those\n who hold to the notion that we are morally superior to our ancestors \nattribute this dissimilarity to historical societies\u2019 ignorance about \nphysical and psychosocial maturity or nefarious intentions to abuse and \ntake advantage of children. However, it is an extraordinary and \nunsubstantiated accusation that most of our ancestors were unaware of \nhow to care for their own children, were not concerned about their \nchildren\u2019s well-being, had ill intentions, or suffered from a worldwide \nmental disorder (i.e., pedophilia)\u2014this\n accusation is easily contradicted by scientific and historical \nevidence. While it may seem impossible to us that a nine-year-old could \nbe capable of anything other than going to school and engaging in play, \nthis is only because we mistakenly assume that children\u2019s circumstances \nand capabilities have remained static throughout history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\n example, today we expect our children to go through several years of \nprimary and secondary education, and at least four years of university \nto provide them with economic and social opportunities. And this is a \nperfectly rational expectation, given an average global life expectancy \nof over 70 years[11]<\/a><\/sup> along\n with the increasing complexities of the global world. However, no such \nconditions existed 1400 years ago. While people in the past sometimes \ndid reach older ages, this was not the norm. Case in point, the average \nlife expectancy for a working-class Roman citizen in late antiquity was \nroughly around 35 to 40 years\u2014if they lived past infancy.[12]<\/a><\/sup> Skeletal\n remains reveal that prior to death, most laborers suffered from chronic\n arthritis, fractures, displacements, and even bone cancer. This was due\n to their very poor diets\u2014primarily stale bread, rotted grains, and \nlittle protein\u2014and harsh working conditions.[13]<\/a><\/sup> And if they didn\u2019t die from their work, they still had to contend with war, disease, and famine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n female half of society didn\u2019t have it any easier. The average life \nexpectancy of women was between 34.5-37.5 years if they managed to live \npast infancy.[14]<\/a><\/sup> Due to high rates of infant mortality, women had to endure 5 to 7 full-term pregnancies just to keep the population stable.[15]<\/a><\/sup> Couple\n this with high maternal mortality during childbirth\u2014due to iron \ndeficiency resulting from a combination of continuous pregnancies and \npoor diet\u2014and you have an extremely fragile situation. Given these high \nmortality rates, it made sense to begin procreating as early as \npossible.[16]<\/a><\/sup> In\n more affluent families, marrying young also guaranteed the maintenance \nand acquisition of wealth, securing the future of the family inheritance\n through a kind of business merger.[17]<\/a><\/sup> Likewise,\n political elites took advantage of early marriage to establish \nalliances between opponents; an expedient alternative to war. This is \nwhy the average age of marriage for young girls in ancient Rome was \naround 14\/15, with the legal minimum being 12.[18]<\/a><\/sup> Even\n so, the Romans didn\u2019t consider the age of marriage synonymous with the \nage of consent for sexual relations, which could be as young as seven.[19]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus,\n working-class children who were fortunate enough to survive infancy had\n only a little over two decades left to establish the next generation, \nwith nearly half of them losing a parent by the age of 15.[20]<\/a><\/sup> This\n was especially the case for young girls, who at the onset of puberty \nwere expected to transition from childhood directly into adulthood. In \nother words, there were no family vacations, no recesses, no girl \nscouts, no school field trips, no sweet sixteen, no prom, no graduation,\n no air-conditioned movie theatres, no gluten-free meals at overstocked \nsupermarkets, no advanced healthcare facilities, no vaccines, no running\n water, and subsequently far fewer guarantees that one would survive to \nsee the next morning. And if this was the situation for common people in\n the most advanced civilization at the time, what more could we possibly\n expect from desert-dwelling Arabs? Although there is little to no data \non Arab marriage practices in late antiquity, given a lack of written \nrecords,[21]<\/a><\/sup> we\n do have sufficient documentation of other Semitic cultures during this \ntime. For example, historian Amram Tropper notes the realities of Jewish\n youth\u2014especially females\u2014in late antiquity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most\n men would have married sufficiently late that we would no longer \nconsider them to have been children, yet many women (particularly in \nBabylonia) married so young that today we would consider them to have \nbeen girls, not women. The goal of maximizing fertility in particular \nmust have lowered the age at first marriage and the price of this goal \nis the early, we might say premature, end of girlhood. For many girls, \nadolescence was not a time for fun, education, experimentation or \nprofessional training, rather it was a time when one was already \nexpected to assume the full responsibilities of a mature woman, as wife \nand mother.<\/em>[22]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The\n rationale behind maximizing fertility was really something no one could\n argue against considering the likelihood of young women not living long\n enough to see their first child reach maturity. When looking into \nhistory, we tend to forget many of these notable challenges of our \nancestors\u2019 lives and take our own advantages for granted. If you knew \nthat you probably wouldn\u2019t live beyond your 30s, most of your children \nwould die in infancy, and the only education you would receive would be \nfor one of a handful of jobs consisting of hard labor, wouldn\u2019t your \nplans for life change dramatically? Of course they would. Not only that,\n but such circumstances would also force you to make moral decisions \nthat you thought you would never need to make; decisions that, in \nhindsight, were necessary and morally appropriate. This is precisely why\n bioarchaeologists like Mary Lewis have warned against anachronistic \nthinking when discussing the subject of childhood and maturity in the \npast:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No \nmatter what period we are examining, childhood is more than a biological\n age, but a series of social and cultural events and experiences that \nmake up a child\u2019s life\u2026The time at which these transitions take place \nvaries from one culture to another, and has a bearing on the level of \ninteraction children have with their environment, their exposure to \ndisease and trauma, and their contribution to the economic status of \ntheir family and society. The Western view of childhood, where children \ndo not commit violence and are asexual, has been challenged by studies \nof children that show them learning to use weapons or being depicted in \nsexual poses\u2026What is clear is that we cannot simply transpose our view \nof childhood directly onto the past.<\/em>[23]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Because\n presentism is such a pervasive fallacy, even scientists themselves have\n been prone to the error, often mistaking biological age with \npsychosocial fitness. In this respect, bioarchaeologists Sian Halcrow \nand Nancy Tayles have elucidated some of the obstacles facing research \non human development in the past. In their investigations, they found \nthat contemporary Western anachronisms often obstruct more objective \nanalyses of the data:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much\n of the tension in the investigation of age in the past arises from the \nassumption that we can link \u201cbiological\u201d to \u201csocial\u201d age\u2026distinctions \nbetween the categories, particularly \u201cchild\u201d cf. \u201cadult,\u201d are the \nproduct of the current limitations of osteological methods for age \nestimation in adults, and that using biological developmental standards \nfor ageing results in the construction of artificial divisions of social\n and mental development between these categories\u2026Also, in contrast to \nmodern Western society where social age is closely linked to \nchronological age, in many \u201ctraditional\u201d societies, stages of maturation\n are acknowledged in defining age\u2026These stages take into account not \nonly the chronological age but also the skills, personality and \ncapacities of the individual.<\/em>[24]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps\n the most relevant example of how presentism negatively affects our \nunderstanding of the past can be seen in contemporary moral judgments \nregarding the Prophet\u2019s youngest wife Aisha (ra). The idea that her \nmarriage was contracted at the age of six and ultimately consummated by \nnine is seen as an affront by most people. However, when considering the\n aforementioned evidences, it shouldn\u2019t be so difficult to understand \nwhy this practice was perfectly acceptable at the time. Aisha (ra) was \nmerely following in the footsteps of so many girls before her who had \nreached puberty and were ready to start their adult lives. She herself \nstates that she had reached maturity prior to her marriage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narrated\n Aisha (ra): I had seen my parents following Islam since I attained the \nage of reason [i.e., puberty]. Not a day passed, but the Prophet \ufdfa \nvisited us, both in the mornings and evenings.<\/em>[25]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What this hadith<\/em> states\n is clear if one is aware of the context surrounding it. Aisha (ra) was \nborn in 614 CE and was the daughter of the Prophet\u2019s closest companion, \nAbu Bakr as-Siddiq\u2014a wealthy merchant who was among the first Muslims \nand who would eventually become the first caliph. Thus, she lived a \nrather privileged life in comparison to other children around her. \nHowever, in 622 CE, after suffering years of religious persecution at \nthe hands of the pagans in Mecca, she and her family decided to migrate \nto a safe haven in the neighboring city of Medina. Upon their arrival, \nAisha\u2019s (ra) parents set up a temporary residence where she eventually \ncame down with a fever (possibly due to being weakened by the long and \narduous journey prior).[26]<\/a><\/sup> It\n was around this same time that the Prophet \ufdfa was visiting them \u201cboth in\n the mornings and evenings,\u201d and when she began to notice her parent\u2019s \noutward expression of faith. Shortly thereafter, Aisha (ra) would \nconsummate her marriage with the Prophet \ufdfa and move into his household, \ncompleting the marriage contract as a full-fledged woman.[27]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\n fact that she was nine years of age when she reached puberty should not\n be surprising, especially given recent studies that have found that the\n onset of puberty has fluctuated dramatically throughout history. Case \nin point, while it would have been normal for a young girl to start \npuberty at around 14 years of age during the Western Industrial \nRevolution (18th\u201319th C.), in the 21st century some girls start puberty \nas early as six.[28]<\/a><\/sup> The\n reasons for these fluctuations are still largely undetermined, although\n they have been connected to variances in genetics, nutrition, stress, \nand even the over-sexualization of Western societies.[29]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\n one may rightfully retort that just because a young girl has begun the \nprocess of physically maturing, this does not necessitate that she \ntherefore possesses an adult mentality; to suggest otherwise would be \nconsidered absurd by contemporary standards. And that\u2019s a very \nappropriate conclusion to come to considering that, even by today\u2019s \nstandards, we don\u2019t necessarily regard legally acknowledged adults as \nindependent and functioning members of society; they still need time to \nlearn and experience the world before being considered cognitively and \nemotionally mature. There\u2019s a reason that 18-year-olds still largely \nrely on their parents for economic support, despite the law defining \nthem as \u2018mature.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That \nsaid, our ancestors faced very different circumstances to which they had\n to adapt\u2014circumstances that determined their physical and psychosocial \nfitness. In this regard, endocrinologists Peter Gluckman and Mark Hanson\n have emphatically stated that the mismatch between biological and \npsychosocial maturation is a relatively recent phenomenon:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\n the first time in our evolutionary history, biological puberty in \nfemales significantly precedes, rather than being matched to, the age of\n successful functioning as an adult. This mismatch between the age of \nbiological and psychosocial maturation constitutes a fundamental issue \nfor modern society. Our social structures have been developed in the \nexpectation of longer childhood, prolonged education and training, and \nlater reproductive competence. This emerging mismatch creates \nfundamental pressures on contemporary adolescents and on how they live \nin society.<\/em>[30]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So,\n while it is certainly true that the onset of puberty does not make \nsomeone an adult today, this same judgment does not apply to people of \nthe past. By indulging in presentism, we disregard the facts of how our \nancestors were forced to live just to survive. Furthermore, we open \nourselves to intellectual embarrassment by misinterpreting history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most obvious manifestation of this fallacy can be seen when examining contemporary interpretations of some notable hadiths<\/em> on\n the life of Aisha (ra). For example, many anti-Islam websites love to \nquote the following narration when arguing that Aisha (ra) was not \nmature enough to be married:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narrated\n Aisha (ra): I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Prophet \ufdfa,\n and my girlfriends also used to play with me. When Allah\u2019s Apostle \ufdfa \nused to enter (my dwelling place) they used to hide themselves, but the \nProphet \ufdfa would call them to join and play with me. [The playing with \nthe dolls and similar images is forbidden, but it was allowed for Aisha \n(ra) at that time, as she was a little girl, not yet reached the age of \npuberty].<\/em>[31]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Many\n people assume that since Aisha (ra) was playing with dolls, she must \nhave still been a child at the time of this narration. Prior to \naddressing the implication that playing with dolls equates to lacking \nmaturity, what is immediately noticeable about this hadith<\/em> is\n the statement in brackets (i.e., \u201c\u2026a little girl, not yet reached the \nage of puberty\u201d). However, there is a glaring problem with the way this hadith<\/em> is\n presented. For those thinking this a clear affirmation that she was a \nchild, the fact of the matter is that the last statement is nowhere to \nbe found in the hadith<\/em> itself; rather, it is an addition from a hadith<\/em> commentary called Fath al-Bari fi Sharh Sahih Bukhari<\/em>, authored by the famous hadith<\/em> scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 1449 CE). This is important to note because it\u2019s not made apparent in the hadith<\/em> itself. The fact that some translators of the hadith<\/em> have decided to include this is also telling. For what reason did they put this commentary in the hadith<\/em>?\n And why would Ibn Hajar claim that Aisha (ra) hadn\u2019t reached puberty? \nIn order to answer these questions, we need only refer to Al-Asqalani \nhimself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I \n[Ibn Hajar] say: To say with certainty, [that she was not yet at the age\n of puberty] is questionable, though it might possibly be so. This, \nbecause A\u2019isha (ra) was a 14-year-old girl at the time of the Battle of \nKhaybar\u2014either exactly 14 years old, or having just passed her 14th \nyear, or approaching it. As for her age at the time of the Battle of \nTabook, she had by then definitely reached the age of puberty. \nTherefore, the strongest view is that of those who said: \u201cIt was in \nKhaybar\u201d [i.e., when she was not yet at the age of puberty], and made \nreconciliation [between the apparent contradictory rulings of the \npermissibility of dolls in particular and the prohibition of images in \ngeneral]\u2026<\/em>[32]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This explanation by Ibn Hajar reveals a number of important points which run contrary to the initial impressions of the hadith<\/em>.\n The first and most obvious issue with Ibn Hajar\u2019s commentary is that he\n admits that Aisha (ra) was at least 14 years of age at the time this \nnarration takes place, putting her well above the average age of the \nonset of puberty in the Near East during late antiquity (and even by \ntoday\u2019s standards). This is most likely why Ibn Hajar felt his own \nconclusion was questionable. Despite his own doubts, however, he \nsuggests she must have not reached puberty due to reasons completely \nunrelated to her actual biological or psychosocial maturity: it helped \nhim to reconcile an apparent contradiction in her behavior with the \nlegal prohibition of adults playing with dolls. However, what makes Ibn \nHajar\u2019s opinion even more tenuous is that his view was countered by \nother master scholars of hadith<\/em> and \nIslamic jurisprudence, such as Imam al-Bayhaqi (d. 1066), who claimed \nthat the prohibition was only declared after the events narrated in the hadith<\/em> in question.[33]<\/a><\/sup> That\n aside, it was not uncommon for young women in the past to own and even \nplay with dolls, as these objects would be among the very few \npossessions they had prior to marriage. Commenting on the interpretation\n of toys and similar objects from past societies and cultures, \nanthropologist Laurie Wilkie notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highly\n valued toys and childhood objects can be curated well into adulthood \nand passed on to subsequent generations of children; therefore, \nartefacts found in the archaeological record may not adequately reflect \nthe full range of material culture used and cherished by the users.<\/em>[34]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

However,\n many of these realities escape the mindset affected by presentism, \nplacing one in the position of making inappropriate moral judgments \nabout our ancestors and their lived experiences. The fact that just a \ncursory analysis of the aforementioned narration so easily exposes the \nerroneous assumptions about Aisha\u2019s (ra) lack of maturity should be \nevidence enough of the fallaciousness of this form of reasoning. That \nsaid, even if one were to admit to the complexities of childhood and \ndevelopment over time, these realities appear to allude to moral \nrelativism\u2014the idea that moral principles are only valid given their \nspecific time, place, or culture. However, this couldn\u2019t be further from\n the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Exemplar in a Changing World<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Not\n only has our perspective on history been skewed by the fallacy of \npresentism, but so has our understanding of morality. Today, many people\n seem to think that morality is absolute and that this implies that the \ncircumstances in which moral decisions are made have remained static. \nHowever, this is false. But to claim the opposite extreme\u2014that morality \nis relative\u2014is also false. As in all complex problems, black-and-white \nconclusions tend to miss the mark. The reality is that one can validly \nhold unchanging moral principles while still believing in historically \ncontingent moral dilemmas. In other words, there can be, and are, \ncorrect and incorrect choices for every conceivable moral issue, \nregardless of varying circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\n example, when considering an immoral act like murder, or taking the \nlife of a person unjustly, what constitutes murder depends entirely on \nthe circumstances in which the killing took place. Was the person killed\n accidentally? Was it an act of self-defense? Or was it because of \nmalicious intent? These are general questions that can be answered and \njudged in the same manner, regardless of time or place. However, the \ndetails are what make things interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine that \nyou\u2019ve been chosen to serve on a jury for a murder trial. Both the \nprosecutor and defense attorneys present their evidence, eyewitness \ntestimonies, potential motives, criminal histories, etc. However, after \nhours of deliberation, you\u2019re still confused. Then, suddenly, the \nprosecution presents a forensic DNA analysis that conclusively shows \nthat the accused was not only at the scene of the murder (contrary to \nhis alibi) but that the blood of the victim was found on his clothing. \nGuilty as charged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s take\n a similar murder trial, but from 1984\u2014prior to the development of DNA \nprofiling. In this instance, would it be morally unjustified for you or \nanyone else to declare the accused \u2018guilty\u2019 without the use of forensic \nevidence? Would it be reasonable to condemn the jurors, despite them not\n having access to such technology? According to those enchanted by \npresentism, every murder trial prior to 1984 must be immoral, despite \npeople doing their best to safeguard society and implement justice with \nthe options they had available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A perhaps more \nrelevant example can be found in contemporary age-of-consent laws across\n the world. Anyone younger than a legally stipulated minimum age is \ngenerally regarded as too incompetent or too vulnerable to consent to \nsexual or emotional relationships. Subsequently, adults who engage in \nsexual relations with minors are declared to be pedophiles or child \nmolesters. However, if we recall the aforementioned evidences showcasing\n the vast differences in development and maturity over time, it would be\n utterly illogical to apply the parameters of legal consent today to \npast societies. Not only were our ancestors more prepared to consent to \nsuch relationships at younger ages, but their circumstances limited who \nthey could conceivably consent to; lower lifespans and harsher \nenvironments didn\u2019t give people many options\u2014once one reached puberty, \nit was time to be an adult. In other words, our ancestors\u2019 views on what\n constituted maturity were not tied to chronological age, but to other signs of development and competence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To\n make this point more persuasive, we need only attempt another thought \nexperiment. Let us imagine that we have a time machine (as in the film Back to the Future<\/em>).\n With an understanding of morality firmly rooted in presentism, you \nassume that all you need to do is apply contemporary laws to the past so\n as to solve all our ancestors\u2019 problems and improve the future. With \nthis righteous intention in mind, you get into your DeLorean and go back\n 1400 years to the Arabian Peninsula. After you arrive, you manage to \nconvince the natives of your moral superiority as they marvel at your \npowers to traverse time and space. As a result, these simple desert \ndwellers make you their leader and adopt your laws, patiently waiting \nuntil the age of 18 to be considered adults (to work, use transport, \nmarry, raise a family, go to war, and take on other major \nresponsibilities). All starts off well in your newly formed utopia \nof heightened moral consciousness. However, as the \nyears go by, you notice that your newly enlightened population has begun\n to dwindle at an extremely fast pace. Puzzled by this, you investigate.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\n you find is startling: not only has the average age at death remained \nintact but so have all the other trappings of late antiquity. Contrary \nto the native\u2019s former laws and customs\u2014when puberty was the mark of \nadulthood\u2014you now have middle-aged \u201cchildren\u201d doing nothing but \nconsuming the hard-earned resources of their elders and giving nothing \nback to society. Not only that, but you\u2019ve forced these youth into a \nsituation where they now only have an average of 17 years remaining to \nget married and raise families\u2014most inevitably dying before their own \nchildren have reached legal majority.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\n subsequently leads to a disproportionate ratio of minors to adults, \nleaving future generations in the hands of individuals legally incapable\n of performing basic societal tasks. In summary, the ultimate outcome of\n your social experiment would be a civilization paralyzed by its own \nlaws and a population bound to become extinct through natural causes or a\n hostile takeover from neighboring tribes who had the sense to conscript\n their male members at earlier ages.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\n may realize at this point that the judicial and cultural structures of \nthe past weren\u2019t necessarily the problem, but rather the conditions in \nwhich those customs manifested themselves. However, it\u2019s too late\u2014your \nclaim to moral superiority has destroyed a once-flourishing society and \nthe entire course of history has been altered as a result. Future \ngenerations have ceased to exist and you may have now even put your own \nexistence in jeopardy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully,\n you\u2019re still alive and this is just a hypothetical scenario born from \nawesome 1980s pop science fiction. But it helps to illustrate that \nhistorical laws and customs were not always necessarily on the wrong \nside of the moral spectrum. What we need to understand is that many \nmoral choices and customs of the past were merely a function of the \ncircumstances people faced. Therefore, it is not fair to consider \nourselves morally superior to our ancestors when we aren\u2019t forced to \nmake the decisions they had to make. Likewise, it wouldn\u2019t be fair if \nour descendants judged us in the same light without regard for our own \ncircumstances. In summary, presentism ultimately negates the past and \nundermines any and all reasonable moral judgments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\n Islam neither negates the past nor undermines moral judgment, because \nintrinsic to the faith are concepts which manage to simultaneously \nsupport absolute moral principles and historically contingent \ncircumstances. The first and most important of these is the idea that \nthe Prophet Muhammad \ufdfa is a perfect moral exemplar (uswatun hasana<\/em>)\n for all times, places, and cultures. In other words, every statement or\n action the Prophet \ufdfa ever performed is considered to have been the most\n appropriate response to the dilemmas he faced during his time and a \nstandard from which we can learn and which we can apply to analogous \nsituations in the future. This theological view not only implies that no\n one could have behaved better nor ever will, but also that there is an \nabsolute moral standard that can be understood and followed, regardless \nof historically contingent circumstances. This is no less exemplified in\n Islamic jurisprudence itself (fiqh<\/em>); a sophisticated legal tradition with a flexible methodology that adapts to changing circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divine Law, Marriage, and Maturity<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

During\n the reign of the second caliph of Islam, Umar al-Khattab (ra), the \npunishment for theft was suspended in response to a catastrophic famine \nthat claimed many lives. Realizing that his subjects were starving and \nneeded to steal food in order to survive, Umar (ra) prohibited the \npunishment for the sake of the survival of his people\u2014an exemplary act of justice.[35]<\/a><\/sup> However, his decision was not arbitrary and came from principles inherent in Islamic law itself: istihsan<\/em> (juristic preference) and maslahah mursalah<\/em> (public interests).[36]<\/a><\/sup> While not all potential moral dilemmas are addressed in Islamic primary sources (the Qur\u2019an and Sunnah),\n these principles are alluded to and allow for a considerable amount of \nindependent reasoning when a moral issue is ambiguous (mujmal<\/em>) or can only be ascertained within specific contexts.[37]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although\n conventional wisdom assumes a Divine Law must be archaic and incapable \nof adapting to changing circumstances, Islam promotes a very different \nperspective: if certain moral dilemmas are contingent on historical \ncircumstance, then the Creator of all existence would naturally \nformulate a moral code suitable to that reality. To suggest otherwise \nwould be to limit God to one particular time, place, and culture\u2014something\n clearly uncharacteristic of an Omniscient, Omnipotent, Transcendent \nBeing. Thus, a concise definition of how Islam views law is \u2018a system with unchanging moral principles, but flexible application.\u2019\n To see how this is possible, we need only examine how Muslim jurists \nderived rulings pertaining to marriage from the Qur\u2019an and Sunnah, particularly the Prophet\u2019s \ufdfa relationship with Aisha (ra).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting\n with the primary source of Islamic jurisprudence, the Qur\u2019an clearly \nsets a standard age for marriage, which excludes anyone outside of those\n parameters:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Test\n orphans until they reach marriageable age; then, if you find they have \nsound judgment, hand over their property to them. Do not consume it \nhastily before they come of age: if the guardian is well off he should \nabstain from the orphan\u2019s property, and if he is poor he should use only\n what is fair. When you give them their property, call witnesses in; but\n God takes full account of everything you do. <\/em>(Al-Qur\u2019an, 4:6)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In\n other words, the Qur\u2019an sets an age limit for marriage. But what \nexactly is that limit? The text remains ambiguous with regard to a \nspecific number, but Muslim scholars, particularly in the field of \nQur\u2019anic exegesis (tafsir<\/em>), already \nunderstood what was implied. For example, when we examine the commentary\n of the 14th-century Syrian exegete and jurist Ibn Kathir (d. 1373), we \nfind that he elaborated on the consensus surrounding the nature of \n\u2018marriageable age\u2019 as not referring to a specific number, but a physical\n development\u2014the age of puberty.[38]<\/a><\/sup> That\n said, there are still more nuances at play here with regard to marriage\n and maturity. Firstly, Islamic jurists identified two types of \nmarriage: a contractual marriage and a consummated marriage. The former \ncould be legally entered at any point in a person\u2019s life and later be \nrevoked through their own volition, regardless of whether they had \nobtained legal maturity or not.[39]<\/a><\/sup> However, such a marriage prohibited any intimate contact between the betrothed and would be comparable today to an engagement.[40]<\/a><\/sup> The\n latter form of marriage (or \u2018full marriage\u2019), however, required both \nparties to be physically capable of sexual relations given the logical \nimplication that such a union would lead to this outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, jurists also differentiated between two types of maturity: age of majority and age of physical maturity (i.e., balaghat<\/em>).\n Although these two notions may appear similar and redundant in light of\n the former being marked by the onset of puberty (i.e., menarche or \npubertal hair growth), jurists generally viewed physical signs of \nadulthood as just that\u2014signs; not de facto<\/em> evidence\n of reproductive functionality. In other words, while legal majority \noften coincided with the permissibility to engage in sexual relations, \nit was not always or necessarily the case. Even feminist critics of \nIslamic Law, such as Professor Judith Tucker, have recognized this \nnuance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\n marriage could be contracted before either party was ready for sexual \nintercourse, but a marriage could not be consummated until both bride \nand groom were physically mature. Such maturity was not equated with \npuberty (the marker of legal majority), but rather could be reached \nbefore its onset. For a girl, readiness for sexual intercourse was \nsignaled in large part by her appearance, by whether or not she had \nbecome an \u201cobject of desire,\u201d \u201cfleshy\u201d (samrna), or \u201cbuxom\u201d (dakhmap), \nphysical attributes that signified that she could now \u201cendure \nintercourse.\u201d Until such time, the marriage, although legally \ncontracted, clearly lacked an essential element.<\/em>[41]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When\n determining the physical maturity of an individual, jurists often \nrelied on physical features, the most common being if the person in \nquestion actually looked like an adult. Many jurists even went so far as\n to declare an average age by which such physical maturity should be \nreached (i.e., 15-17). In other words, what determined maturity depended\n entirely on a society\u2019s normative judgments of sexual attractiveness \nand functionality.[42]<\/a><\/sup> However,\n such nuance has been lost on Islamophobes, who in their utter \ndesperation to impugn Islam and its followers, interpret certain \npassages of the Qur\u2019an as condoning pedophilia or child abuse. For \nexample, many critics often reference the following verse to bolster \ntheir accusations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\n you are in doubt, the period of waiting will be three months for those \nwomen who have ceased menstruation and for those who have not [yet] \nmenstruated; the waiting period of those who are pregnant will be until \nthey deliver their burden: God makes things easy for those who are \nmindful of Him.<\/em> (Al-Qur\u2019an, 65:4)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Critics\n infer from the above that there being a waiting period for girls who \n\u201chave not yet menstruated\u201d indicates that it is permissible to engage in\n sexual relations with prepubescent girls.[43]<\/a><\/sup> However,\n this is an invalid conclusion because it neglects the different types \nof marriages and maturities in Islamic law. Case in point, the fact that\n a girl had not yet reached menarche was only evidence that she had yet \nto manifest the usual signs pertaining to legal majority\u2014not that she \nwas physically immature. A girl could technically still be considered \nmature based on other physical features, such as her biological age. \nWith regard to this particular possibility, the leading Central Asian \n12th-century jurist, Ali ibn Abu Bakr al- Marghinani (d. 1197), provided\n this legal context behind the above verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And\n similarly those who have attained puberty (balaghat) by age, but have \nnot menstruated, based on the end of the verse [\u201cAnd those who have not \nmenstruated\u201d (65:4)], meaning those who have reached puberty by age, but\n not by menstruation; [those who have attained puberty] by reaching the \nage of 15 years according to the opinion of both (Abu Yusuf and Muhammad\n ibn Hasan al-Shaybani) or 17 years according to the opinion of Abu \nHanifah and Malik, but have not yet menstruated; when they divorce they \nobserve a waiting period based on months as well.<\/em>[44]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It\n should be clear at this point that had Islam allowed for the sexual \nexploitation of children, many of these nuances would not exist. Case in\n point, the Qur\u2019an would have never provided clarifications on the types\n of women who have waiting periods or even mention a \u2018marriageable age\u2019 \nto begin with if it allowed for any woman, regardless of maturity, to \nengage in sexual relations. And had jurists permitted such acts they too\n would never have bothered to distinguish between girls who were \nphysically mature and those who were not. More importantly, however, had\n the Prophet \ufdfa himself been perceived as promoting the exploitation of \nchildren, then said scholars would have simply considered the age of \nnine to be the only condition necessary for a young girl to be \nconsidered mature. However, the age of nine has never been mentioned as \none of the conditions by which to judge maturity in the Islamic \ntradition. Rather, jurists derived a completely different understanding \nfrom the relationship between the Prophet \ufdfa and Aisha (ra): that he had \nentered a contracted marriage with her when she was six years of age, \nand then consummated the marriage after she had reached maturity three \nyears later. Simple logical deduction led scholars to conclude that if \nIslam allowed for the abuse of children, then the Prophet \ufdfa would not \nhave needed to wait three full years before finalizing his marriage\u2014but \nhe did<\/em> wait. He waited because he knew that to do otherwise would have caused harm to his wife, and one of the principle objectives (maqasid<\/em>) of Islamic law is \u201cthe prohibition of subjecting oneself to harm (darar<\/em>) or causing harm to others (dirar<\/em>).\u201d[45]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\n cursory review of Islamic history shows that this principle has \ngenerally been applied when deciding a number of complex legal issues, \nespecially with regard to marriage. One case during the era of the \nMamluk Sultanate of Egypt (1250\u20131517 CE) is particularly noteworthy. In \nthe year 1470 CE, a woman petitioned the grand qadi <\/em>(judge)\n of Cairo to have her 12-year-old niece married off due to financial \ndifficulties, as the young girl had no means of support after her \nparents had abandoned her three years prior. The grand qadi<\/em> then\n delegated the case to his deputy, Ibn al-\u1e62ayraf\u012b, who narrated the \nincident in his journal. After assessing the situation, al-\u1e62ayraf\u012b had \nthe girl married off to a soldier\u2019s servant, hoping that it would \nresolve her precarious circumstances. However, given that she had not \nyet reached puberty, he made sure to include a clause in the contract \nprohibiting her husband from consummating the marriage until she had \nadequately matured. Unfortunately, her husband violated the agreement \nand the couple was subsequently divorced. The girl\u2019s \naunt then complained to the chief dawadar<\/em> (an\n assistant to the sultan), Yashbak min Mahd\u012b. Al-\u1e62ayraf\u012b was eventually \ncalled forth by min Mahdi to explain why he had allowed such a young \ngirl to be married. His answer was simple and to the point: \u201cBecause the\n Prophet \ufdfa married Aisha (ra) when she was nine years old.\u201d However, \nthe dawadar<\/em> was not satisfied with his\n response and a few days later ordered the ex-husband to be flogged 100 \ntimes and publicly humiliated as \u201can example to anyone who deflowers \nyoung girls.\u201d Interestingly, al-\u1e62ayraf\u012b agreed to the punishment on \naccount of the husband\u2019s disregard for the boundaries set in the \ncontract.[46]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What this incident showcases is that not only were the qadis<\/em> concerned\n with the well-being of immature girls but so too were higher government\n officials; both attempted to minimize any potential harm and punished \nthose who inflicted harm on minors. Therefore, examining such examples \n(in conjunction with traditional Islamic teachings) offers a sharp \ncontrast to the narrative that Islam supports the exploitation of \nchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Due\n to the complex conditions of the contemporary period, young people not \nonly have the option of waiting before engaging in intimate \nrelationships, but should do so for the sake of minimizing any potential\n harm to their lives. When examining the marriage between the Prophet \ufdfa \nand Aisha (ra), we not only find an example of this nuance being put \ninto practice, but can also glean some of the Divine Wisdom \nfor humanity\u2014a moral code that anticipates the \nfluctuations of human development over time. By extension, it should be \nundeniable now that the Prophet Muhammad \ufdfa was perfectly within his \nmoral rights to marry and love Aisha (ra). Unfortunately, some Muslims \nhave become ignorant of their own tradition and have succumbed to \ninterpreting Islamic Law in an uncompromising ahistorical fashion, much \nthe same as critics of Islam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise,\n Western nations have not helped to set the standard by focusing \nentirely on superficial age limits as determinants of maturity\u2014all the \nwhile considering it socially acceptable for their own minors to engage \nin sexual relations as long as they are within the same age range. It\u2019s \ndifficult to take the Western ethos seriously when there is a \nsignificant demarcation between what constitutes maturity and the \npermissibility to have sex. You cannot, on the one hand, condemn the \npractice of child marriage, but at the same time think your own children\n are physically and emotionally mature enough to have intimate \nrelationships. It simply doesn\u2019t make any sense. A minor who decides to \nhave sex is still a minor who decides to have sex, regardless if they \nchoose an age-similar partner or not. Western culture sends mixed \nmessages when it tells minors that they have the right to intimacy with \nthose they are attracted to only as long as they refrain from potential \npartners legally recognized as adults. To think that such an arbitrary \ndistinction would matter to a teenager with raging hormones\u2014or be \nconsidered detrimental\u2014is an absurdity, because a minor would face the \nsame consequences with their peers as they would with adults (e.g., \npregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, domestic violence, \nexploitation, etc.). In other words, this is simply an inconsistent \nstandard to follow. Thus, the anachronistic outrage towards the marriage\n of the Prophet \ufdfa and Aisha (ra) appears nothing more than a vacuous \ndisplay of virtue signaling born from an ignorance of science, history, \nmorality, and Islam alike.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much gratitude to Sh. Omar Suleiman and Prof. Jonathan Brown for their guidance on this important topic. Also thanks to Justin Parrott and Dr. Nazir Khan for their feedback and assistance in research, and Dr. Nameera Akhtar for editing this paper. May Allah bless them and all the other members of Yaqeen for making this project possible. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Source: https:\/\/yaqeeninstitute.org\/en\/asadullah\/understanding-aishas-age-an-interdisciplinary-approach\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part of the \u201cMore than Just a Number: Perspectives on the Age of Aisha (ra)\u201d collection. This publication was supervised by Jonathan A. C. Brown. Abstract In recent years, few criticisms of Islam have taken the spotlight as much as condemnations of the Prophet\u2019s marriage to Aisha. Muslims are accused of following the example of … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[84,108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-article","category-prophet-muhammad"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432.jpg",768,432,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432-768x432.jpg",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432.jpg",768,432,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432.jpg",768,432,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432.jpg",768,432,false],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432.jpg",300,169,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432.jpg",400,225,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Aisha_s-Age_1-HeroImage-768x432.jpg",600,338,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Site Admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/author\/admin2\/"},"uagb_comment_info":11,"uagb_excerpt":"Part of the \u201cMore than Just a Number: Perspectives on the Age of Aisha (ra)\u201d collection. This publication was supervised by Jonathan A. C. Brown. Abstract In recent years, few criticisms of Islam have taken the spotlight as much as condemnations of the Prophet\u2019s marriage to Aisha. Muslims are accused of following the example of…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcT0IL-1aC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8590,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/jonathan-abdilla-ex-christ-canada\/","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":0},"title":"Jonathan Abdilla, Ex-Christ, Canada","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ich f\u00fchle mich geehrt, ein Muslim zu sein\u2026Und so f\u00fchle ich mich aus verschiedenen Gr\u00fcnden. Es gibt viele Normen in der Gesellschaft, in der ich lebe, die genau das Gegenteil dessen sind, wie Muslime es tun. Und als ich zuerst zu dieser Lebensweise kam, wusste ich nicht so genau wie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "WARUM WURDE ICH MUSLIM"","block_context":{"text":"WARUM WURDE ICH MUSLIM","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/warum-wurde-ich-muslim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8546,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/der-talmud-und-seine-verfasser\/","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":1},"title":"Der Talmud und seine Verfasser","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Was der Talmud? Der Talmud ist das grundlegende Buch des Judentums. Die Encyclopedia Britannica sagt, der hebr\u00e4ische Begriff \u201cTalmud\u201d bezieht sich auf eine Zusammenstellung alter Lehren, die von den Juden seit der Zeit ihrer Zusammenstellung bis zur Moderne als heilig betrachtet wurden und von religi\u00f6sen Juden immer noch.[1] Nach den\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "VERGLEICHBARE RELIGIONEN"","block_context":{"text":"VERGLEICHBARE RELIGIONEN","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/vergleichbare-religionen\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8672,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/kommentare-der-wissenschaftler-ueber-die-wissenschaftlichen-wunder-im-heiligen-quran\/","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":2},"title":"Kommentare der Wissenschaftler \u00fcber die wissenschaftlichen Wunder im Heiligen Quran","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Es folgen einige Kommentare von Wissenschaftlern[1] \u00fcber die wissenschaftlichen Wunder im Heiligen Quran. All diese Kommentare wurden von der Videoaufnahme Dies ist die Wahrheit \u00fcbernommen. In dieser Videoaufnahme kann man die Wissenschaftler h\u00f6ren und sehen, die sich folgenderma\u00dfen \u00e4u\u00dferten. (Um das RealPlayer-Video f\u00fcr einen Kommentar zu sehen, klicken Sie auf\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER"","block_context":{"text":"WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/wissenschaftliche-wunder\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8524,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/die-erhaltung-des-quran\/","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":3},"title":"Die Erhaltung des Quran","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Auswendiglernen Der pr\u00e4chtige Quran, die religi\u00f6se Schrift der Muslime, wurde dem Propheten Muhammad, m\u00f6ge Gott ihn loben, auf arabisch durch den Engel Gabriel offenbart. Die Offenbarung fand St\u00fcck f\u00fcr St\u00fcck \u00fcber einen Zeitraum von 23 Jahren statt, manchmal in kurzen Versen und manchmal in l\u00e4ngeren Abschnitten.[1] Der Quran (\u201clesen\u201d oder\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "\u00dcber den Heiligen Quran"","block_context":{"text":"\u00dcber den Heiligen Quran","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/ueber-den-heiligen-quran\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8664,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/die-erdatmosphaere\/","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":4},"title":"Die Erdatmosph\u00e4re","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBeim Himmel mit seiner Wiederkehr.\u201d (Quran 86:11) \u201c[Er] Der euch die Erde zu einer Ruhest\u00e4tte und den Himmel zu einem Bau gemacht hat... \u201d (Quran 2:22) Im ersten Vers schw\u00f6rt Gott beim Himmel[1] und seiner Funktion des Wiederkehrens ohne genau zu sagen, was wiederkehrt. In der islamischen Rechtslehre zeigt ein\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER"","block_context":{"text":"WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/wissenschaftliche-wunder\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8666,"url":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/der-quran-ueber-berge\/","url_meta":{"origin":4502,"position":5},"title":"Der Quran \u00fcber Berge","author":"Site Admin","date":"06\/20\/2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ein Buch mit dem Titel Earth[Erde] ist das Basisnachschlagewerk in vielen Universit\u00e4ten der ganzen Welt. Einer seiner Verfasser ist Professor Emeritus Frank Press. Er war Wissenschaftlicher Berater des fr\u00fcheren US-Pr\u00e4sidenten Jimmy Carter und 12 Jahre lang der Pr\u00e4sident der Nationalen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Washington, DC. Sein Buch sagt, dass Berge\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER"","block_context":{"text":"WISSENSCHAFTLICHE WUNDER","link":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/de\/category\/wissenschaftliche-wunder\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4502"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4504,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4502\/revisions\/4504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ask-a-muslim.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}