The Prophet did not marry a seven-year-old Ayesha because it would have violated the requirement of the valid permission clause of the Islamic Marriage Decree. Therefore, the Prophet married an intellectually and physically mature lady Ayesha.
SUMMARY:
It was neither an Arab tradition to give away girls in marriage at an age as young as seven or nine years, nor did the Prophet marry Ayesha at such a young age. The people of Arabia did not object to this marriage because it never happened in the manner it has been narrated.
Obviously, the narrative of the marriage of nine-year-old Ayesha by Hisham ibn `Urwah cannot be held true when it is contradicted by many other reported narratives. Moreover, there is absolutely no reason to accept the narrative of Hisham ibn `Urwah as true when other scholars, including Malik ibn Anas, view his narrative while in Iraq, as unreliable. The quotations from Tabari, Bukhari and Muslim show they contradict each other regarding Ayesha’s age. Furthermore, many of these scholars contradict themselves in their own records. Thus, the narrative of Ayesha’s age at the time of the marriage is not reliable due to the clear contradictions seen in the works of classical scholars of Islam.
Therefore, there is absolutely no reason to believe that the information on Ayesha’s age is accepted as true when there are adequate grounds to reject it as myth. Moreover, the Quran rejects the marriage of immature girls and boys as well as entrusting them with responsibilities.
How old was Ayesha?
Also what is your opinion of the site i got the article?
We believe also that the history was fabricated. But it does not immediately have to with the 'memory' of Hisham, we can already deny this history by its absurdity alone.
And T.O.Shavanas is a very good writer, his book Creation or Evolution is one of my favorites. But sadly, he sometimes does hold on to much to the traditional view on the Quranic Message.
I have checked the site, and it does try to explain Islam as a Complete System, but then it immediately presents Zakat only as Charity, Salat as prayer, Hajj as a Pilgrimage, while these are political terms and not religious. It mixes a lot of true concepts, and destroys its good points by completely false ones. In this way, its view on Islam stays crippled, doesn't matter how reformed they are. But it is very nice to see these improvements in the Muslim minds.
from True History of Islam by Dr.Shabbir:
http://www.ourbeacon.com/truehistory.pdf
THE PROPHET (S) HAD ONLY ONE WIFE AT A TIME
MARRIAGE WITH HAZRAT AYESHA 622 CE:
Contrary to the Imamist propaganda, the exalted Prophet had no more than one wife at a time. And Hazrat Ayesha was a sister, not daughter of Hazrat Abu Bakr. The Prophet (S) did not marry for three years after Hazrat Khadijah's demise in Makkah three years before Hijrah. Hazrat Ayesha was the widow of a martyr, Saleh bin Saleh Al-'Ataib. She was 48 years old at the time of marriage to the exalted Prophet. Sahaba Kiraam including Hazrat Abu Bakr strongly recommended that the Prophet (S) and she got into the solemn union of marriage.
The blessed wedding took place in 622 CE when Muhammad (S) was 52 years old. Kitab-e-Dalail-e-Nabawwut Syedna Muhammad (S), by Abdul Jabbar Qaramati, written 150 years before Tabari, the first ever 'canonized' historian. Azwaaj-in-Nabi wal-
Ashaab, by Sheikh Hammad bin Hakam. The rest is nothing but slanderous imagination of the Zoroastrian "Imam" Tabari and the Jewish biographer Ibn Ishaq and his Parsi follower Ibn Hisham.
OTHER WIVES!
The exalted Prophet was now also Head of the State. Quite a few Muslims had been killed in battles and by persecution. There were women who accepted Islam while their husbands did not. The Qur'an does not allow a Muslim woman to remain wedded to a Non-Muslim.
In these circumstances, there were many women and their children who needed shelter. The Prophet (S) and his companions accommodated them in their homes. To prevent slander, these widows and divorcees simply signed marriage contracts in their new households.
To emphasize the point again, the exalted Messenger married only Hazrat Khadija when he was 25, and she was 40. They lived an ideal married life for 25 years. Hazrat Khadija died in Makkah at 65. Three years after her death and soon after migration to Madinah in AH 1, Muhammad (S) married Hazrat Ayesha, a sister of Hazrat Abu Bakr. She was then 48.
During the blessed times, the Central Government run with Shura used to issue a deed of marriage to all women seeking asylum with Rasool (S) and Sahaba Kiraam in order to prevent slander. This is the reason why the Qur'an mentions the exalted Prophet's wives in plural. Please reflect on the many shades of the meaning of Nikah. Also consider why NONE BUT Hazrat Khadijah bore any children to the exalted Prophet.
Maria, the bondwoman reportedly "gifted" to the exalted prophet by the Egyptian ruler, is nothing but a malicious fabrication. How could the exalted prophet accept bondwomen and slaves when the Qur'an was emancipating them? One might assume well and think, "Well, in order to grant them freedom." But our brilliant historians insist that Maria always remained a concubine!
THE CONJECTURE OF ZAYD AND ZAINAB:
"Histories" (Tabari first and others following him) tell us that the exalted Prophet married his beautiful cousin, Zainab after she was divorced by the Prophet's adopted son, Zayd. The slander goes like this: Zainab, a paternal cousin of the Prophet, was an extremely beautiful lady who was married to his adopted son, Zayd. Once, when Zayd was away, the Prophet (S) by chance went to his home.
Zainab was changing her clothes and the exalted Prophet was spellbound with her beauty! He exclaimed, "Allah has Dominion over the hearts", and turned back! Upon learning the incidence from Zainab, Zayd ran to the Prophet and said, "O Messenger of Allah! Shall I divorce Zainab if you have been dazzled by her beauty?"
Would the Prophet violate the Qur'anic Command of seeking permission before entering homes? Had he never seen her beautiful cousin before? Could he not marry her before? The same 'histories' tell us that it was Muhammad (S) who had arranged the marriage between Zayd and Zainab. Another very significant point: If the exalted prophet indeed married Zainab, how could she be the ‘mother of believers’ to Zayd who had once been her husband?
One question though. Where did your information come from? I'm just curious. I want to be able to seperate fact from fiction. Hard to do with the current state of the Ummah.