Did Prophet Muhammad Marry Aisha at Six Years Old?

Question

Did Prophet Muhammad really marry Aisha when she was six years old?

Answer

Aisha Radhiallahu anha loved respected and honoured the prophet saws. It was Allah who chose Aisha Radhiallahu anha as the wife of prophet saws. Her father respected prophet saws a lot and was very happy with & approved of the marriage. The society was very happy with their marriage. Prophet saws breathed his last on the lap of mother Aisha Radhiallahu anha. After marriage she grew up to become a women of great character, knowledge and wisdom and after the death of prophet saws many people used to refer to her to gain knowledge about Islam.

Whereas in today’s time there is age limit in marriage which varies from country to country - in Islam the girls maturity is the criteria for marriage which is more scientific basis for deciding the marriageable age.

“Al-Dawudi said: “And Aishah’s body had been matured. [i.e. reached ‘good Youthfulness’ (Shabaaban husna)] – may Allah be pleased with her“ (“Sharh al-Nawawi” 9/207 [Explanation of Sahih Muslim]).

Aisha said: “When a girl [jaariyah] reaches [balaghat] 9 years old [tis’a sineen] , then she is [fa hiyya] a woman [imra’ah] ” (Recorded in Sunan al “Tirmidhi”, Kitab al Nikah [Book on Marriage] 1027).

Malik (Ibn Anas), Imam Abu Hanifa and Ash-Shafi’ie (ALL respected scholars of Islam) have said: A Restriction Limit [arabic: hadd] (should be placed between marriage partners until maturity) that is able for (tuTeeq = able to handle) Sexual intercourse. (al jamaa’)

Al-Tirmidhi has narrated under a Hadith in his collection’s Book of Marriage, Chapter 18. It goes as: Sayyidah Aisha said: ‘When a girl is nine years old, she is a woman (meaning, she has attained puberty).’ (Tirmidhi, Hadith 1109)

She herself says:‘My mother intended to make me fat to send me to the (house of) the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). But nothing which he desired benefited me till she gave me cucumber with fresh dates to eat. Then I became fat as good (as she desired).’ (Abu Dawud, Hadith 3903. Albani classified it as Sahih)

So Aisha Radhiallahu anha married prophet while she was 6 yrs of age - however marriage was not consummated until she reached 9 the reason being that they waited for her to attain maturity.

The age of consent for marriages across the world is changing with times:

Children and Youth in History

Lastly in other religions including christianity there are instances of young marriage of girls like Joseph married mary when he was 90 and she was 12 years of age. However I have never seen anyone question christians or jews on this matter:

When forty years of age, Joseph married a woman called Melcha or Escha by some, Salome by others; they lived forty-nine years together and had six children, two daughters and four sons, the youngest of whom was James (the Less, “the Lord’s brother”). A year after his wife’s death, as the priests announced through Judea that they wished to find in the tribe of Juda a respectable man to espouse Mary, then twelve to fourteen years of age. Joseph, who was at the time ninety years old, went up to Jerusalem among the candidates; a miracle manifested the choice God had made of Joseph, and two years later the Annunciation took place. [CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Joseph]