-

Topic Under DiscussionWhat was Ayesha's (ra) Age at the Time of Her Marriage to the Prophet (pbuh)?

Question
QuestionfromUnited States

I remember reading in your criticism of the hadiths
that stipulate Aisha's age when she married the Prophet(PBUH)to 9 years of age.
Now i remember you saying something bout any hadith that is narrated by
Hisham Ibn Urwah, through the people of Iraq, is not reliable because of
Hisham's memory at the time he was living in Iraq. I once showed those articles
to a critic of Islam that i know, and he asked me to ask you to explain which
one of the narrators in each of those hadiths, is from Iraq, and which
books on Rijal say so about the certain narrator.

I would be very grateful if you could answer this question
for me.

fi amanillah

Muslim Majid

United States of America

AnswerThe assertion that all the reporters who report the referred
narrative from Hasham Bin Urwah are from Kufa is a historical fact. For
those who have an acquaintance with the science of the Ahadith it is not
difficult to find it out as it is given in all the books written about the life
history and characters of those persons who have reported anything from or about
the Prophet (sws). None of the narrators in the chain under consideration comes
from Medina where Hasham lived most of his life. This being a a historical
fact needs no proof other than consulting the books on rijal. Those who
do not accept this assertion need to come up with an exception. However, we will
refer here to two of the narratives reported by Bukhari. Bukhari
No: 3681 gives the chain of the reporters before giving the text of the
Hadith as follows:

Farwa Bin Abi al-Maghraa reports from Ali Bin
Mashar who reports from Hasham Bin Urwah who reports from his
father........

Ali Bin Msahar who reports from Hasham comes
from Ku#fa. His very name according to the famous book on rijal,
Tahdheeb-al-Tahdheeb is Ali Bin Mashar al-Qarshi Abu -al-Hassan al-Kufi
al-Hafiz Qaszi al-Mousal. [Tahdheeb-al-Tahdheeb volume 7 page 35, CD
edition]

The chain of reporters in another report in Bukhari
[No: 3683] is as follows:

Abid Bin Ismael reported from Abu 'Usamah who
reported from Hasham who narrated from his father.......

The reporter next to Hasham here in this tradition is
Abu Usamah who also comes from Kufa. His full name as given in
Tahdheeb-al-Tahdheeb is Hammad Bin Usamah Bin Zaid al-Qarshi al-Kufi.
[Tahdheeb-al-Tahdheeb volume 3, page 3 CD edition]

Similar is the case with other reports. However I still
reiterate that if anyone claims that there is a tradition about the issue,
reported by a complete Medinan chain, should give reference to that tradition.
This will obviously force us to revise our related statement.

I hope this helps.

Tariq Mahmood Hashmi

November 10, 2002

Answer published by Tariq Mahmood Hashmi

Other Discussion(s) related to the QuestionA Further Exchange on Ayesha's Age...
Further Exchange on 'What was Ayesha's Age?'
Mr. Silas' Response to 'Ayesha's (ra) Age'...
A 'Refutation' of Your Analysis of Ayesha's (ra) Age...
Regarding the Discussion Posted on 8th Januray 2002