Prophet Muhammad's Marriage to Aisha: Love or Pedophilia?

Peace!

It is a very serious situation to be somehow involved in the apostasy of someone!

I cannot acquit myself even if what I have done was to say what I think is true as I'm following a strong opinion.

May Allah ta'ala forgive me for being harsh, unwise and ignorant!

I have posted a hadith about the age of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in the following link: http://bintibadh.blogspot.com/2014/11/al-rabii-said-abu-obeida-reported-from.html.]

This hadith (and many other similar hadiths found in non-Ibadhi books of Hadith) was a subject of disputation among Muslim scholars, and was a shock to one of those who are against the option of getting marriage at a very young age!

For this reason, I have sent the following question to Sheikh Kahlan Al-kharousi (The Assistant Grand Mufti) via the radio program 'knowing Your Religion':

"Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has been accused of being a pedophile due to his marriage to Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) at the age of 9.

What is the most correct opinion of Aisha's age when she married the Prophet SAW?

It seems that children marriages are allowed in Islam. If so, what are the wisdoms and advantages behind such marriage?

As these two issues caused a person to apostatize."

And here is the answer to my query. I put it without a real adaptation.

"We should not standardize the age of marriage to our contemporary standards.   Until recently, brother Hatim, is  just, I mean, a few days ago in France, as an example, the age of marriage has been legalized to be 16 rather than 14. So until recently it was 14 in such an advanced European country. Here we have to understand that there is a social background. Getting marriage as early as the age of 9 was something that has been practiced very widely in the Arabia during the time of Prophet Muhammad SAW and before him. And that's why at his time, although the disbelievers were waiting for such a chance to downgrade and attack Prophet Muhammad SAW, yet they haven't considered this as one of the points that they should attack Prophet Muhammad with; because they know that it is widely practiced and there is nothing wrong with it at all.

And we have to understand as well that even at the age of 9, at that time, this does not mean that the female has not reached the puberty age - particularly, as I said, in certain part of the world at that time with their life style that they have. And that's why it was, as I said, it was considered to be something normal among Muslims themselves, the disbelievers, the tribe of Quraish, one of the practices also found in Al-Madinah- although in Al-Madinah there were people of the book, particularly the Jews and they know it. They know that it is something normal and nothing wrong with it. And that's why no one can actually raise such an accusation against Prophet Muhammad SAW; because, again, this should be also understood within what we have said earlier the other one when we talked about marriages of Prophet Muhammad SAW, when we realize the fact that he got married to a woman who was 15 years older than him. He was at the age of 25 and she was at the age of 40, Sayyidah Khadija. And he remained with her for a long period until her death, and then Prophet Muhammad SAW has got married to other woman. We can understand that nothing sexual behind that. And then, if we look also at history we are going to find that all nations have been assuming that this is a normal practice. And I do mean it, there are many writers, non-Muslims even, who wrote about kings, about people who are widely respected and that they got married to - and I have to put it between brackets {woman} at the age of 8 and 9 and 10 because, as I said earlier, that was considered to be a normal practice and those females were mature. But for the special case of Prophet Muhammad SAW these are the reasons and we have to understand, as I said, all these backgrounds.

Again, I need also to elaborate on a point, which is, we have to be fair and just. Now this doesn't mean that Islam does recommend or urge such marriages. When it happened during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad SAW once, it was only to show the permissibility. This does not mean that it is even recommended and that's why it wasn't commonly practiced. It was practiced, but it wasn't and it has not been understood that it is commonly practiced. And, even, I mean, in the conversation between Prophet Muhammad SAW and Sayyid Abu Bakr, the father of Sayyidah Aisha, Prophet Muhammad SAW has pointed implicitly that he is not getting married to Sayyidah Aisha for any sexual intercourse as it could be expected between husband and wife. But for other wisdoms and purposes. And it became later, of course, obvious that she was the youngest and that's why she was able to convey all the traditions and wisdoms of Prophet Muhammad SAW to the rest of the companions. And that's why, also, she was able to teach hundreds of the companions and the followers. They transmitted the tradition on the legacy of Prophet Muhammad SAW to the rest of the following generations and generations to come. And that was through the knowledge of Sayyidah Aisha, the wife, the beloved wife of Prophet Muhammad SAW. And of course, I mean, being the youngest has helped her so much to achieving that status and to play such a role. And that explains the purposes behind the marriage of Prophet Muhammad SAW for Sayyidah Aisha.

And till now we are still, I mean, reading the news at different parts of the world that there are girls at the age of 8 and 9 who are mothers. I even read that .. and it is famous, I mean, well known,  that when she was at the age of ..the first.. one of.. she is a grandmother at the age of 16. So we can imagine that it is not.. yes it could be rare but it is found and it wasn't considered to be by any means a wrongdoing. It doesn't downgrade or disrespect the person who is involved. But the question of does Islam recommend and urge the marriage of minors? The right forward answer is NO. Islam has not determined the age of marriage although the age of puberty is considered to be the age of bearing accountability for all religious duties. Yet there is no mention, and that's why we find in the holy Quran when Allah the Almighty is talking about orphans, it wasn't only, I mean, the criteria or the standard by which they are going to be handed back their wealth it wasn't only to reach the age of puberty. Allah the Almighty says:

}فإذا بلغوا النكاح فإن آنستم منهم رشدا{

So if they reach the age of maturity and you witnessed that they are wise enough then return back to them their wealth. Which means, this is a clear indication that for whatever sort of contract or whatever sort of, let's say, conduct then Islam does give a room to put other conditions than the major condition of accountability, which is no more than, of course, I mean, being sane and reaching the age of maturity. Otherwise, where other conducts and other deals or contracts then there are other conditions to be accepted.. to be accommodated.. including marriage. And that's why most of, if not all actually, of our family laws in all Muslim countries they have differed in the age of marriage and at the same time they have recognized their social, their environmental, their cultural elements in determining the age of marriage and this does have a room in Islamic jurisprudence. Allah Ta'ala knows best." 

You can listen to Sheikh Kahlan's answer by downloading the audio file from the following link:
Prophet Muhammad's Marriage to Aisha

MAY ALLAH GUIDE US ALL TO HIS STRAIGHT PATH. Ameen.