I was talking to an athiest and only one thing which bothers me alot is that, It is difficult to accept that the Holy Prophet married Aisha when she was 6-years-old
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
salam
.... i was talking to an athiest and only one thing which bothers me alot is
that, It is difficult to accept that the Holy Prophet married Aisha when she
was 6-years-old and consummated his marriage with her when she was 9. He was
then, 54 years old.
so
basically my question is why did he marry her when she was 9 as girl at this
age for girl is not fit for having physicall relation with a man, or even not
for physical relation,marraiges are set when both girl and man are young but at
that time Prophet (phuh) was 54 .. so what was the reason for marrying with
such a great difference.. ?? sorry but i dont have any doubt on Prother (pbuh)
.. but i get fully blanked when i am asked this question ...
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Answer:
Why pm married aisha at 9 years
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Dear and beloved brother in Islam, before we address your
specific question, as your brothers and well-wishers in faith, we would like to
take the liberty to give you a simple advice the next time you are blessed with
the opportunity to talk to or invite one of the disbelieving or atheist
brethren to the Truth of Al-Islam.
Those who do not believe might very well wish to enquire
about the Laws, or customs, or traditions of Islam and there is no more than a
variation of approximately thirty questions which they are most likely to
pose…like:
Rather than trying to explain these details at the outset
with a disbelieving brethren, it is always best to start from the very
beginning and come to an agreement on some very fundamental truths…..like:
If these absolutely fundamental questions are not answered
or cleared, regardless of how much evidence you present to them regarding the
other matters of Islam, it would indeed be very very difficult for one who does
not believe to understand and comprehend the wisdom and necessities behind
those incidents, allowances, or commands!
Now to your specific question brother:
Your Question: It is
difficult to accept that the Holy Prophet married Aisha when she was
6-years-old and consummated his marriage with her when she was 9
It has indeed been accurately reported that the Messenger
of Allah (saws) married Hadrat Aisha (r.a.) when she was 6 years of age, and
the marriage was consummated when Hadrat Aisha (r.a.) reached the age of
puberty at nine.
Whatever the noble Messenger of Allah (saws) did and said,
there is a perfect explanation and a valid reason; as everything the Prophet
(saws) did and said was done under the direct guidance of the All Knowing, All
Wise, Allah Subhanah!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzab verse 21:
There is indeed the best example for you to
follow, in the Messenger of Allah, for
every such person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah
much.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah
Aaraat verse 157:
(So, now
mercy has been assigned to those) who follow this Messenger, the Gentile Prophet, whose mention they shall find in the Torah
and the Gospel with them. He enjoins
them to do good and forbids them from evil;
he makes pure things lawful for them and impure things
unlawful; he relieves them of their
burdens and frees them from the shackles (of rites and rituals) that bound them. For this reason, those alone who believe in him, support him,
succour him, and follow the Light
that has been sent down with him shall attain true ‘success’.
The life of the Messenger of Allah (saws) is to be an
example for the believers until the end of time. Amongst the duties and responsibilities that
comes with the appointment of Prophethood is that the Prophet (saws) enjoins
what is good and forbid what is evil, he (saws) makes pure things lawful for
the believers and impure things unlawful, he (saws) relieves the believers of
the burden the society has unlawfully put upon them with their man-made laws,
etc.
Sometimes the man-made social laws are so established and
so overpowering that it is inconceivable for man to go against them; and it is
specially in these circumstances that the Prophet (saws) is commanded to lead
by example and break the illegal social laws and customs which are established
in society, so that there remains absolutely no doubt regarding the lawful and
unlawful.
If one studies the various marriage of the Messenger of
Allah (saws) and the circumstances and conditions in which they were
accomplished, one would get a picture of how the example is set by the
Messenger of Allah (saws) himself so that there remains no doubt in the minds
of the believers after him.
The first marriage of Prophet Mohamed (saws) was
formalized with Hadrat Khadijah (r.a.), who was a widow and about 15 years
older than him. That set an universal
and timeless example for the believers until the end of time that it is
absolutely legal and permissible for them to marry a woman who is a widow, or
to marry a woman who is much older than the man in age. Just compare this with the social custom of
some societies where a widow was forced to burn herself in the pyre of her
deceased husband, leave alone allowing her to re-marry!
Another illegally established man-made social custom and
law which was challenged by Islam was the marriage of a man to the divorced
wife of his adopted son! In the days of
ignorance, when a man adopted a son, all the social laws of inheritance,
becoming a mehram, marriage, etc. were levied upon the adopted son exactly as
if the son was born from the loins of the man or woman. But Islam made a clear distinction between
one who is born from one’s loins and one who is adopted; and to break this
illegal and established social custom and law, Allah Subhanah commanded the
Prophet (saws) to marry the divorced wife of his adopted son, Hadrat Zayd ibn
Haritha (r.a.). One can only imagine the
chaos, criticism, and ridicule the ignorant amongst the then society would have
heaped on this act of the Prophet (saws), whom Allah Subhanah married to Hadrat
Zainab (r.a.), the divorced wife of his adopted son, Hadrat Zayd ibn Haritha
(r.a.).
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzaab verses 36-39:
36 It is not fitting for a Believer man or woman when a matter has been
decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if
anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.
37 Behold! Thou (O Prophet) didst say to one who had received the grace
of Allah and thy favor (Zayd): "Retain thou (in wedlock) thy wife (Zainab)
and fear Allah." But thou didst
hide in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest: thou didst fear
the people but it is more fitting that thou shouldst fear Allah. Then when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage)
with her with the necessary (formality), We
joined her in marriage to thee: in
order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the Believers in (the
matter of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have
dissolved with the necessary (formality) (their marriage) with them:
and Allah's command must be fulfilled.
38 There can be no difficulty to the Prophet in what Allah has
indicated to him as a duty. It was the practice (approved) of Allah amongst
those of old that have passed away and the command of Allah is a decree
determined.
39 (It is the practice of those) who preach the Messages of Allah and
fear Him and fear none but Allah: and enough is Allah to call (men) to account.
Such was the severity of the illegal social
impermissibility for a man to marry the divorced wife of his adopted son, that
the Messenger of Allah (saws) feared that the disbelievers, who never missed an
opportunity to ridicule and challenge his Message, would make a huge hue and
cry about this marriage of the Prophet (saws).
Such was the social opposition, that Allah Subhanah revealed the above
verses of the Quran and Declared that ‘We (Allah) joined her
(Zainab) in marriage to thee (O Prophet): in order that (in future) there may
be no difficulty to the Believers in (the matter of) marriage with the wives of
their adopted sons when the latter have dissolved with the necessary
(formality) (their marriage) with them!’
If some people are unable to understand or comprehend or
accept the wisdom behind every deed of the Messenger of Allah (saws); the
ignorance and short-coming of wisdom is in the person’s mind, not in the deed
of the noble Messenger of Allah (saws)!
The man-made laws today allows a girl to choose to marry
anyone of her choice, only after she
reaches a particular age of 18 or 21 or whatever! Who chose this age? What is the wisdom behind choosing this
age? Why 18 or 21, why not 25 or
12? Some might say 18 is too
young? Some might argue 18 is too
old? Some might say this and some might
say that? Who has the right to
decide?
In Islam, the believers have submitted their will to the
Will of their Lord in every aspect of their life. Allah is He Who Created the heavens and the
earth and everything that exists in between, and He Created everything to
Absolute Perfection! There is
absolutely no flaw or error in any of His Creation! The same Allah created man, and He it is, Who
gave mankind its nature. Thus, He has
a bigger right that He Decree what is allowed and prohibited in the life of His
creatures. And Allah it is, Who has
declared it legal and permissible for a believer to seek a woman in marriage,
regardless of her age!
One thing to note here is that Allah has not Commanded that
the believers must marry women only when they are below the age of puberty; but
the Law revealed by the Lord has only held such a marriage as permissible and
lawful for those who wish to do so, provided all the obligatory conditions of
the prescribed marriage contract are honored.
The examples in the marriages of the Messenger of Allah
(saws) serve to break the self-imposed restrictions and ‘taboos’ which the
ignorant societies unlawfully force down the throats of mankind.
The issue with some people today is that whenever the
un-godly world makes a law or regulation, they humbly accept and submit to
it! But when Allah and His Messenger
(saws) decree a law or regulation, or allow something as lawful and declare
something as unlawful, they have a real problem with it!!!!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzaab verse 36:
36 It is not fitting for a Believer man or woman, when a matter has
been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their
decision: if anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly
wrong Path.
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands
of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one
can be assured of never ever being misled;
but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than
that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led
astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
