Quote:
Originally Posted by Asim Aquil
The sunnat was to wed off any woman once she crossed into puberty. Some girls cross puberty at an early age and all descriptions of Ayesha at the time points to this possibility.
The real AGE of Ayesha would be never known as recording dates of birth were unheard of in Muslim cultures. Heck even my dad only roughly knows his DOB, his elder bros aren't even sure of the year.
DOBs as my parents tell me were normally decided by your first school.
But considering a mid-teen Ayesha even married the Prophet, then its still quite unusual when compared to today's time. However history shows that Ayesha did not suffer any psychological damage or anything. She is the source of the bulk of the Hadith. I believe over 50%, might be wrong.
She was also very happily married, more so than the Prophet's other wives at the time. In a way her early marriage to the Prophet saved much of the Islam as we know it today. She was the best student of Islam and the Prophet taught her the most and she later passed it on.
If the marriage was against her will or if she ever felt suffocated in the marriage to the Prophet she wouldn't have carried on his legacy. She turned out to be a very commanding woman, even commanded a war and participated in a battle.
By no indication in history she was a weakling pushover oppressed individual. Yes Arab tradition was such that the fathers got to decide who the daughter gets married to.
This btw does not set the sunnat of marrying young women. Of all the Prophet's wives, 10/11 were 17 and above. Save Aysha and Safiya, the rest weren't exactly even young heck most were widows and we all know Khadija was twice his age (who the prophet was really in love with, even Aysha was jealous of his fond memories of her).
|
I had to laugh while reading the DOB issue with your parents. Mine are the same way. They don't remember their wedding date either, so a few years ago they just picked two dates out of a hat - one for their joint birthdays, and the other for their wedding anniversary.
They are not even sure of the exact day of my own birth, and the way the choices fall, I'm either a Sagittarius or a Scorpio - I go with the better horoscope on the day.
My siblings were lucky though, since they were born in Mid East hospitals and DOB certs. were required, and my parents know the amount of time between our births, so at least I can be confident of the year I was born in.
Back to the topic, I am not at all suggesting that H Ayesha was in any way "oppressed" or "hurt" - by all accounts the companions, friends and spouses, of the prophet were extraordinary people, but I am questioning the veracity of the traditional viewpoint, that at least I grew up with, that she was of such a young age.
But perhaps the issue needs to be addressed at a more basic level first - what is the "right" age for marriage? Is it puberty? Or should we simply designate an arbitrary age, by which we consider most girls to have mentally and emotionally developed to the point where they can be expected to deal with both the process that leads to, and the act of, being wed. But for some, justification boils down to what Muhammad did, so the question of Ayesha's age should be tackled at the same time.
I personally cannot see solely using the age a girl attains puberty as being the definition of an "acceptable age". Whether or not a girl is biologically ready to consummate the marriage, and some research shows that their is no "physical harm", necessarily. from having sex in early puberty, the vast majority are not emotionally ready, and lack the maturity to make the right choices, and I would argue that leaves them open to exploitation.
With respect to your comment about "Sunnah", I am confused, I thought that Sunnah was whatever H Mohammed did. If H Ayesha was indeed 9 when she was married, how can that not be considered an "example set by the prophet"? I have come across some so called "learned men of Islam" who have justified the practice based on that interpretation.
By the way, for a really jarring and tear jerking experience, watch the movie "Osama".
I believe it was the first movie out of Afghanistan after the invasion, and contrary to what the title and setting suggest, it is not at all about OBL, but does touch the subject of "Child Brides", and the impact of the gender discrimination practiced by the Taliban.