The Holy Prophet ﷺ married Lady Aisha in Mecca when Lady Aisha was six years old. The consummation took place in Medina in the first year of Hijrah when Lady Aisha was nine years old.
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari: 5134, Sahih Muslim: 1422)
Various objections are raised regarding this hadith from the perspectives of chain of narration, reason, and history. The reality of these objections is presented here.
① First Objection
Regarding this hadith, an objection is raised from the perspective of the chain of narration, stating that the narrator named Hisham bin Urwah became confused in his old age (meaning he was unable to accurately narrate hadiths), therefore this hadith is unreliable.
Response
First point:
This hadith is in Bukhari and Muslim, whose books' hadiths have consensus and general acceptance from the entire Ummah, and it is established that consensus is never established on a wrong position. The Muslim Ummah cannot be united on misguidance. Accordingly, Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: (Indeed, Allah will not unite my Ummah upon misguidance)
Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi (2167)
.Second point:
Imam Dhahabi says about Hisham ibn Urwah:
حجة إمام، لكن في الكبر تناقص حفظه، ولم يختلط أبدًا، ولا عبرة بما قاله أبو الحسن بن القطان من أنه وسهيل بن أبي صالح اختلطا، وتغيرا
Reference: (Mizan al-I'tidal: 4/301)
Translation: Hisham ibn Urwah is the most reliable, an Imam. In old age, his memory did become somewhat weak, but he was never confused. Regarding this, Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Qattan's claim that there is confusion between him and Suhail ibn Abi Salih is not credible.
Therefore, it is wrong to reject the hadith by criticizing the memory of Hisham ibn Urwah.
Third point:
The most famous chain of this hadith is narrated by Hisham ibn Urwah from his father Urwah ibn Zubair, and he from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her. This narration is the most authentic because Urwah is the nephew of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, so he had the most accurate information about his aunt.
Moreover, this hadith was not narrated solely by Hisham ibn Urwah; among those who narrated from his father are Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, Abu Hamzah Maymun – who was Urwah’s servant – and other esteemed hadith scholars. See:
Reference: Sahih Muslim (1422)
.Similarly, besides Urwah ibn Zubair, who narrated this hadith from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, there are several other narrators of the hadith including Aswad ibn Yazid, Qasim ibn Abdul Rahman, Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr, Umrah bint Abdul Rahman, and Yahya ibn Abdul Rahman ibn Hatib. See:
Reference: Sahih Muslim (1422) Sunan Abu Dawood (4937)
. So, could such a large number of narrators and hadith preservers all be mistaken or have made an error simultaneously?!② Second Objection
An objection is also raised on this hadith that Sayyida Aisha was ten years younger than her sister Sayyida Asma
Reference: (Al-Akmal fi Asma' al-Rijal by Al-Khatib al-Tabrizi)
and Sayyida Asma passed away in 73 AH at the age of one hundred. According to this calculation, at the time of the migration to Medina, Sayyida Asma's age would be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years. And since Sayyida Aisha was ten years younger than her, her age at the time of migration would be seventeen or eighteen years, and at the time of marriage consummation, nineteen or twenty years.
Answer
First point:
The basis of this argument is that Sayyida Asma (may Allah be pleased with her) was ten years older than her sister Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). This was written by Al-Khatib al-Tabrizi in the biography of Sayyida Asma, but he also wrote in the biography of Sayyida Aisha that her marriage consummation took place at the age of nine. Moreover, there is consensus among all historians, jurists, and Islamic scholars on the statement made by Al-Khatib al-Tabrizi regarding the consummation. Therefore, to say that Sayyida Asma was ten years older than Sayyida Aisha is incorrect.
Second point:
Hafiz Zahbi, may Allah have mercy on him, used the words of بضع عشر regarding the age difference of Sayyida Asma.
Reference: (Seer A'lam An-Nubala: 2/288)
Which means ten years and biza' (some) years. The word "biza'" is used for a number between three and nine.
Reference: (Lisan al-Arab: 8/15)
Therefore, considering the meaning of the word biza', the implication is that Sayyida Asma was at least thirteen and at most nineteen years older, and if other evidence is taken into account, the age of eighteen or nineteen is established. In this case, there remains no objection.
③ Third Objection
It is also objected that Sayyida Aisha was born during the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic) period.
Reference: (Tarikh al-Tabari: 3/426)
From this, it is proven that at the time of marriage, her age was not nine years because the thirteen years of the Islamic era were all spent in Makkah, and even if a few years, for example five years earlier, are accepted as her birth, then at the time of Hijrah, Sayyida Aisha's age would be eighteen or nineteen years.
Answer
First point:
Scholars have explicitly written about Sayyida Aisha that she was born during the era of Islam.
Hafiz Zahbi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: "Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was born in the era of Islam. She was eight years younger than Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her. She often used to say: 'Since I became conscious, I have seen my parents only on the religion of Islam.'"
Reference: Sir A'lam al-Nubala (2/139)
Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says: "Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, was born four or five years after the Prophetic mission ﷺ."
Reference: Al-Isabah (8/16)
Second point:
If the original text of Tabari is kept in front, the meaning becomes clear.
وتزوج أيضا في الجاهلية أم رومان۔۔۔۔۔۔ فولدت له عبد الرحمن وعائشة.
فكل هؤلاء الأربعة من أولاده، ولدوا من زوجتيه اللتين سميناهما في الجاهلية
Reference: (Tarikh Tabari: 2/351)
Translation: Our master Abu Bakr married Umm al-Ruman during the period of ignorance (pre-Islamic era), and from her were born Abdur Rahman and Aisha. These four children are from his two wives whom he married during the period of ignorance.
The meaning of Tabari's statement is that Sayyida Aisha's mother, Umm Ruman, was married during the pre-Islamic period; however, it is not explicitly stated that Sayyida Aisha's birth also took place during the pre-Islamic period, and it is not correct to derive this meaning from that statement.
Third point:
Even if it is accepted that the reference to Sayyida Aisha's birth is indeed to the pre-Islamic period, the question still remains: what exactly is meant by the pre-Islamic period? It is quite possible that in Tabari's statement, the pre-Islamic period refers to the time before the Hijra. Many scholars consider the beginning of Islam to be from the start of the Prophethood of the Prophet ﷺ, while some scholars consider the beginning of Islam to be from the Hijra of the Prophet ﷺ. For example, it is said about Abdullah bin Zubair that he was born during the Islamic period. Therefore, Tabari's statement likely refers to the period after the Prophethood but before the Hijra.
Fourth point:
This issue is also resolved by the statement of Sayyida Aisha herself. Sayyida Aisha says that since I became conscious, I saw my parents practicing Islam.
Reference: (Sahih Bukhari: 476)
Summary of the Matter
The summary of the matter, on which Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned the consensus of the scholars and also stated that no disagreement has been found on this issue so far, is as follows: "Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that (her marriage to the Prophet ﷺ took place at the age of 6 and consummation at the age of 9) and there is no disagreement among people regarding this. Moreover, this fact is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and other books as well. Also, her consummation with the Prophet ﷺ took place in the second year of Hijrah." See:
Reference: Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya (4/327)
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