What is Aishas exact age?

[YusufAliMuhammad]

Hi,

I wanted to ask what the shii position is when it comes to Aishas age. From what i know Aisha is not very liked (or heavily criticized) by Shias, however compared to others (normal sahabis where almost all hadith have no significance, or very partially). it seems they are more lenient to accept hadith when it doesnt conflict or support them. One of them is HER AGE.

I have found, 18 Hadith will all being Sahih according to Sunnis reporting Aishas own words about her marriage and consummation, AND even some other sahabis. And since its just a quick search from Sunnah.com, there certainly are other chains in 2ndary hadith works and maybe history books. Here i filtered the hadith as good as possible:
https://sunnah.com/search?q=Six+nine+year+old+years+doll+dolls+play+married+marriage+consummation+consummated

what is the shii position torwards this?

[StrangerInThisWorld]

Salamun 'alaykum, 

I doubt that there is an official Shi'i stance on this issue.

That being said, it should be known that a good amount of Ahadith that are claimed to have been reported by 'Aisha are doubtful in their attribution to her (meaning: whether she reported or has done these things in the first place!). 

It's correct that she committed a major mistake with her position against Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) at al-Jamal and that's it's not established with certainty whether she repented afterwards or not, but it should be known that there have been major political reasons to paint her either in a very positive or a very negative way. As for the positive, then it was good for the Bani Umayya and also Bani al-'Abbas to present her as more special as the rest of the wives, thereby justifying Khuruj against Imam 'Ali (peace between upon him) and acting as if it's not a major issue and that Imama was not specified by Rasulullah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) for him. As for painting her in a negative way, then this was good for the Bani Umayya, because she used to hate Mu'awiya for killing her brother Muhammad bin Abi Bakr (who was martyred by 'Amr bin al-'As) and had a negative view of them.

That's why one should be careful with Ahadith regarding her, because the rulers had reasons to use their men in order to invent Ahadith in her name either in making her seem more special or making her look bad. 

I will give one example before going on: There is a Hadith where it is claimed that 'Aisha did Ghusl in front of men. Now guess who "narrates" this! Abu Salama bin 'Abd al-Rahman bin 'Awf, one of the advisors and judges of none other than Bani Umayya! So understand! 

 

As for the age of 'Aisha when getting married, then the claim that she was 8/9 years old is solely based on what a group of Iraqi narrators reported from Hisham bin 'Urwa. Every single Hadith, which contains this claim, relies on Hisham and when it doesn't contain his name, then it still relies on the very same people who narrated it from him (meaning even then it relies in reality on him). This basically means that it's not a independent information and that one should therefore compare with other data available to see whether the age claimed could be correct or not. 

What we see is the narrations, that do not rely on Hisham, is what would make her significantly older (18/19 or even older) at marriage. 

 

We should know several things here:

- Hisham bin 'Urwa was among those who those, who were inclined to the oppressors, namely Abu Ja'far al-Mansur! 

- His father 'Urwa bin al-Zubayr [bin al-'Awwam] was likewise from among those inclined to the oppressors, namely Mu'awiya and the Bani Umayya. 

- Hisham never reported this Hadith while in the Hijaz and it's only reported from him in old age when he was in 'Iraq and some had even mentioned him being senile there. 

- Other Ahadith are also reported through Hisham, which all basically want to present 'Aisha as young and innocent and as very special. It's for example claimed that she was still playing on the swings and playing with dolls and that Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam) saw her in his dream.

- We find the narration in a Mursal form from Hisham from his father, but in the Sahihayn we suddenly find it in a Marfu' form. So which one is it? (Because it significantly changes the strength of the Hadith!) 

- There are a number of Ahadith, which depict our noble Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam) in a wrong and even insulting manner, which have been claimed to have been reported through this very chain as the age-Hadith: Hisham from his father from 'Aisha! So blindly accepting this chain, is like accepting insults against Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam), so be aware! What is interesting here to know is that we usually find these type of Ahadith in earlier books of Hadith (like al-Muwatta) only in a Mursal form (meaning: not directly reported from a companion!), but somehow in later collections (like that of al-Bukhari and Muslim) these very Ahadith are presented with a muttasil chain (how for God's sake?!) thereby turning mere claims of some hypocrites (like the claim regarding being bewitched or the claim regarding breastfeeding an adult) into "authentic statements narrated by a companion (in many cases 'Aisha)", wallahul musta'an! 

 

To make it short: The narration that she was 8/9 years old was invented with the intention of making her look more special and innocent than the rest of the wives. Hisham, the source of this claim, has a lot of doubtful and even outright wrong Ahadith. In addition to this, it's weird how Mursal Ahadith somehow end up in the Sahihayn as Marfu' and muttasil ones! 

 

In Surat al-Tahrim we find that Allah ta'ala calls two wives of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam) towards repentance due deviation of their hearts and these two were Hafsa and 'Aisha by agreement (even some of the claims found in the Ahadith why the Sura was revealed are doubtful). This point alone destroys the attempt of presenting her as a little girl, who was still playing on the swings and with dolls.

At the same time it should be said that the exaggerated negative view of 'Aisha in some narrations (weird enough many times again through Hisham or his father!) can not be true, because in that case Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam) would have directly divorced her. 

What is interesting here is that even someone like al-Zuhri clearly distrusted the chain of 'Urwa from 'Aisha AFTER his repentance. (Unfortunately however the great damage that al-Zuhri had done with his reports prior to his repentance cannot be undone anymore and to this day half of Ahadith in the Sihah al-Sitta are reported through him in reality.) 

 

It's sad how a great number of clearly wrong informations have been accepted by the followers of al-Jarh wal Ta'dil (the so called Ahl al-Hadith, who were so full of themselves!) regarding the Best of Creation (sallallahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam), thereby following the footsteps of the oppressors from among the Bani Israil before them. But I guess this is the natural outcome when relying on something other than what Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam) had specified for guidance: The Book of Allah ta'ala and his 'Itra (family)! 

Not Ahadith (who everyone can invent!) and not the Qil or Qal of Fulan or 'Allan! 

(This by the way applies to Shi'a who trust Ahadith too much also, so let's be fair and not put the blame solely on Sunnis here.)

Edited May 15 by StrangerInThisWorld

[calm_passenger]

Asalam-0-Aleakum,

I have been speaking with many Atheists and other non Muslims on this topic and i did a lot of search on this topic. So let me share with you guyz my personal analyze. I am not a scholar but just a researcher. Here what i found. let me share with you in points. short way. 

1st point:

The Quran emphasizes marrying mature adults (نِسَاء, nisa’—women, not children) [Quran 4:6, 4:22]. Critics argue that labeling Aisha (رضي الله عنه) as a "child" contradicts Quranic principles and Arab cultural norms, where marriageable age was linked to puberty and social readiness, Quranic values of maturity and consent (4:6, 4:22). 

2nd point:

Asma bint Abi Bakr (رضي الله عنه) (Aisha’s elder sister) was 10 years older than Aisha. Historical records state Asma bint Abi Bakr (رضي الله عنه) died in 73 AH at the age of 100, placing her birth around 595 CE. This would make her 27 years old at the Hijrah (622 CE). Consequently, Aisha (رضي الله عنه) would have been 17–18 years old during the Hijrah. Since Aisha (رضي الله عنه) married the Prophet ((صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)) after the Hijrah (either in 1 or 2 AH), her age at marriage aligns with 17–19 years.

3rd point:

Aisha (رضي الله عنه) participated in the Battle of Badr (2 AH) and Uhud (3 AH). Historical accounts indicate that only individuals aged 15+ were permitted to join battles. If she were 9–10 years old at marriage (623–624 CE), she would have been 11–12 during Uhud, violating this rule....

4th point:

The hadith about her being 9 is narrated through Hisham ibn Urwah, whose reliability is debated. Notably, Imam Malik (his student in Medina) excluded this narration from Al-Muwatta.

I’m sharing this not to reject hadiths outright but to seek balanced perspectives. Maybe I’m wrong and need deeper knowledge. Either way, I pray Allah guides us all to truth and protects us from harming others with our words. 

 

[timesprayer]

Shia scholars generally reject the Sunni reports that Aisha was 6 at marriage & 9 at consummation. They consider these narrations unreliable &argue she was likely older, possibly in her late teens, based on historical analysis & inconsistencies in timelines. While Shia tradition critiques Aisha's later political actions, it doesn’t blindly accept or reject hadith from her each is assessed for authenticity &context.

[Ashvazdanghe]

Salam

Thanks to @Zane Ibrahim in above thread .

Quote

These two facts lead to the fact of the age of Aisha. She was born seventeen years before the Bi'thah. The Prophet remained in Makkah for 13 years the migrated to Madinah. This means that Aisha was thirty years old when the prophet migrated to Madina. The marriage took place two years after migration which means that Aisha was thirty two years old when the marriage was consummated.

Many Sunni scholars have rejected the narrations in their own books about the small age of Aisha despite being narrated in Bukhari book. 
Many enemies of Islam have attacked the Prophet because of the claimed very young age of Aisha which is claimed by some Muslims.

We have authentic evidence as you can read above that Aisha was never a child, but was over thirty years.

Wassalam.

 

The above was an answer by Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi to the question "At what age was Aisha when she married Prophet Muhammad and when did they consummate?"

Link: https://www.al-islam.org/ask/at-what-age-was-aisha-when-she-married-prophet-muhammad-and-when-did-they-consummate

 

 

How Old Was A’yshah When She Married The Prophet Muhammad?

Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Husayni al-Qazwini

Quote

[Asma’] was ten years older than ʿA’yshah by ten years and she died in Makkah a little less than a month after the killing of her son while she was a hundred years of age. This took place in the year 73 [of the Hijrah].

See: al-Sanʿani al-Amir, Muhammad b. Ismaʿil (d. d. 852 A.H/1448 C.E). Subul al-Salam Sharh Bulugh al-Maram min Adilat al-Ahkam, ed. Muhammad ʿAbd al-ʿAziz al-Khuli (Dar Ihya’ al-ʿArabi: Beirut, 4^th Print, 1379/1959), I: 39.

Asma’ was fourteen years of age during the first year of the Prophetic mission (biʿthah) and ten years older than A’yshah. Therefore, A’yshah was four years old during the first year of the Prophetic mission [14 – 10 = 4] and as such, she was seventeen years of age during the thirteenth year of the Prophetic mission [4 + 13 = 17]. In the month of Shawwal of the second year of the Hijrah (the year of her official wedding to the Prophet) she was nineteen years of age [17 + 2 = 19].

On the other hand, Asma’ was a hundred years of age during the seventy-third year after Hijrah. A hundred minus seventy-three equals twenty-seven (100 – 73 = 27). Therefore, in the first year after the Hijrah she was twenty-seven years old.

Asma’ was ten years older than A’yshah. Twenty-seven minus ten equals seventeen (27 – 10 = 17).

Therefore, A’yshah was seventeen years of age during the first year of the Hijrah. [In addition to this], we previously established that A’yshah was officially wed the Prophet during the month of Shawwal of the second year after Hijrah, meaning that A’yshah was nineteen years of age [17 + 2 = 19] when she was wed to the Messenger of Allah.

 

Quote

Asma and ʿA’yshah, the two daughters of Abi Bakr, and Khabab b. al-Aratt converted to Islam [in the initial years of the Prophetic mission, and as for] Asma’ b. Abi Bakr and ʿA’yshah b. Abi Bakr, [the latter] was a child at that time and Khabab b. al-Aratt was an ally of Bani Zuhrah.

See: al-Humayri al-Maʿarifi, ʿAbd al-Malik b. Hisham b. Ayyub Abu Muhammad (d. 213 A.H/828 C.E), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyah, ed. Taha ʿAbd al-Ra’uf Saʿd (Dar al-Jil: Beirut, 1^st Print, 1411/1990), II: 92.

If A’yshah was seven years of age when she converted to Islam (the first year of the Prophetic mission), she would have been twenty-two years old in the second year after the Hijrah (the year she was officially wed to the Messenger of Allah) [7 + 13 + 2 = 22].

If, [however], we accept al-Baladhuri’s claim that [A’yshah] was wed to the Messenger of Allah four years after his marriage to Sawdah, that is, in the fourth year after the Hijrah, then A’yshah would have been twenty-four years of age when she married the Prophet.

This number, [however], is subject to change when we take into consideration her age when she converted to Islam.

In conclusion, A’yshah’s marriage to the marriage to the Messenger of Allah at six or nine years of age is a lie which was fabricated during the time of Banu Ummayah and is not consistent with historical realities.

https://al-islam.org/articles/how-old-was-ayshah-when-she-married-prophet-muhammad-sayyid-muhammad-husayn-husayni-al

 

 

 

 

[Abu Hadi]

On 5/15/2025 at 5:48 PM, calm_passenger said:

Asalam-0-Aleakum,

I have been speaking with many Atheists and other non Muslims on this topic and i did a lot of search on this topic. So let me share with you guyz my personal analyze. I am not a scholar but just a researcher. Here what i found. let me share with you in points. short way. 

1st point:

The Quran emphasizes marrying mature adults (نِسَاء, nisa’—women, not children) [Quran 4:6, 4:22]. Critics argue that labeling Aisha (رضي الله عنه) as a "child" contradicts Quranic principles and Arab cultural norms, where marriageable age was linked to puberty and social readiness, Quranic values of maturity and consent (4:6, 4:22). 

2nd point:

Asma bint Abi Bakr (رضي الله عنه) (Aisha’s elder sister) was 10 years older than Aisha. Historical records state Asma bint Abi Bakr (رضي الله عنه) died in 73 AH at the age of 100, placing her birth around 595 CE. This would make her 27 years old at the Hijrah (622 CE). Consequently, Aisha (رضي الله عنه) would have been 17–18 years old during the Hijrah. Since Aisha (رضي الله عنه) married the Prophet ((صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)) after the Hijrah (either in 1 or 2 AH), her age at marriage aligns with 17–19 years.

3rd point:

Aisha (رضي الله عنه) participated in the Battle of Badr (2 AH) and Uhud (3 AH). Historical accounts indicate that only individuals aged 15+ were permitted to join battles. If she were 9–10 years old at marriage (623–624 CE), she would have been 11–12 during Uhud, violating this rule....

4th point:

The hadith about her being 9 is narrated through Hisham ibn Urwah, whose reliability is debated. Notably, Imam Malik (his student in Medina) excluded this narration from Al-Muwatta.

I’m sharing this not to reject hadiths outright but to seek balanced perspectives. Maybe I’m wrong and need deeper knowledge. Either way, I pray Allah guides us all to truth and protects us from harming others with our words. 

 

Salam Brother, you are exactly right on this point. In addition, I would say that in general there are many more reliable sources of hadith, even in Sunni traditions, that put the age of Aisha at between 16 to 18 than there are that put her in the 8 to 9 age range. 

That one hadith that you are talking about, that say she was 8 to 9 is a minority opinion, even amoung Sunnis. This minority opinion was originally 'talked up' by the Ummayad State to exagerate the 'purity' of Aisha and to elevate her above the other wives. After that, these hadith served a tool for the enemies of Islam to use against Rasoulallah(p.b.u.h) to falsely accuse him of what they falsely accuse him of. 

[StrangerInThisWorld]

The reason why some people will stubbornly defend this narration is in order to protect the Sahihayn from criticism. The moment they admit that this narration doesn't represent the historical reality, people will understand that the Sahihayn also contain wrong information and they may also want to know what other narrations may also be wrong. 

Note that the Sahihayn contain a number of narrations that portray Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam) in a wrong and sometimes even insulting manner. The thing here is that on investigating the Isnad and Matn of these narrations one finds indications for their falseness. One will for example see that the chain contains narrators with a political agenda (usually people very close to the oppressive rulers of that time) or that in earlier books the narration wasn't directly reported by a companion and that al-Bukhari and Muslim somehow made the chain into a connected one or that only a part has been authentically narrated and it contains later additions that made it problematic or a combinations of these points and what is similar to that. 

This means that these stubborn people either knowingly or unknowingly are ready to attack Rasulullah (sallallahu 'alayhi wa alihi wa sallam) instead of simply admitting that their Sahih collections also contain mistakes and that the authors of their collections can be criticized. The only Book that is protected from mistakes is the Book of Allah ta'ala.

 

[41:42] 

لاَّ يَأْتِيهِ ٱلْبَاطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلاَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ تَنزِيلٌ مِّنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ  ٤٢

Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy.

___

Edited May 18 by StrangerInThisWorld

[Guest Murattab]

A couple of distinctions that I would like clarification on from someone, mostly Mr @StrangerInThisWorld since it appears you carry this torch most proudly. My main objective of understanding is the moral goals of investigators of this issue. 

Firstly, is the issue the Prophet's marriage to A'isha at the age of nine specifically, or the possibility of the Prophet marrying someone aged nine at all?

Secondly, is the issue the Prophet's marriage to someone aged nine specifically, or the permissibility/Islamic sanction of marrying a woman at that age generally?

Thirdly, is the issue a falsehood alleged against the Prophet, or a false virtue attributed to A'isha bint Abi Bakr?

Third and a halfly, is the issue the allegation potentially made by the narrators or compilers, or that made by modern historians and orientalists?

 

[StrangerInThisWorld]

7 hours ago, Guest Murattab said:

A couple of distinctions that I would like clarification on from someone, mostly Mr @StrangerInThisWorld since it appears you carry this torch most proudly. My main objective of understanding is the moral goals of investigators of this issue. 

Firstly, is the issue the Prophet's marriage to A'isha at the age of nine specifically, or the possibility of the Prophet marrying someone aged nine at all?

Secondly, is the issue the Prophet's marriage to someone aged nine specifically, or the permissibility/Islamic sanction of marrying a woman at that age generally?

Thirdly, is the issue a falsehood alleged against the Prophet, or a false virtue attributed to A'isha bint Abi Bakr?

Third and a halfly, is the issue the allegation potentially made by the narrators or compilers, or that made by modern historians and orientalists?

 

1) The issue is with the possibility of our Prophet (upon whom be peace) consummating a marriage with a immature or prepubescent girl. 

This goes against the Prophetic teachings, because it could lead to significant physical / psychological harm and our noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself taught "لَا ضَرَرَ وَلَا ضِرَارَ", which basically means that there should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm. This is established as a general principle in Islamic jurisprudence. 

 

2) Islam doesn't specify an age for marriage. It allows the cultural norm to play a role in this. It does however regard a certain amount of maturity as a condition such that marriage can apply. 

We find the following statement in the beginning of the 6th Aya of Surat al-Nisa:

وَٱبْتَلُواْ ٱلْيَتَامَىٰ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا بَلَغُواْ النِّكَاحَ فَإِنْ آنَسْتُمْ مِّنْهُمْ رُشْداً فَٱدْفَعُواْ إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوَالَهُمْ

And test the orphans [in their abilities] until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them. 

____

The marriageble age is generally understood to be at least reaching puberty. 

If it's stated that in the 4th Aya of Surat al-Talaq it speaks about those who have not menstruated yet in the context of divorce, then the explanation is that this is about those women, who have already reached a certain amount of maturity, but have a delayed menstruation (or maybe will not have menstruation at all due to some condition). 

 

3) The issue is both. A false information is ascribed to the life of our noble Prophet (peace be upon him), which goes against his own teachings in reality.

At the same time some people in the past thought that this [mis]information is a virtue for 'Aisha and tried to present her as more special and more innocent than the rest of the wives trough this and other false narrations (this was the reason for these narrations in the first place). This however goes against historical reality. In fact it's established that 'Aisha is one of the two women heavily criticized in Surat al-Tahrim and even reminded of two disbelieving wives of two pior Prophets (peace be upon them) in order to make clear that being married to a Prophet of God does not guarantee salvation.

 

4) The age-claim is most likely made up by Hisham bin 'Urwa in his old age in 'Iraq (or by his group of Iraqi narrators). The thing is that ALL these age narrations either contain directly his name or at least rely on the same group of narrators that narrated from him. You will not find a single earlier narration on this prior to that period, so there is actually a quite obvious indication in this that it was an information that was later made up to achieve some goal. One should remember here that the same Hisham also narrated other things to make her look more special and more innocent. 

[Panzerwaffe]

Why is it even important?  Are we going to ground our faith in late 20 th century sensibilities?