Was Prophet Muhammad a pedophile?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his followers altogether.
Anti-Muslim activists often make the claim that Islam allows sexual relations with children. For example, Reverend Jerry Falwell claimed on national television that Prophet Muhammad was a “demon-possessed pedophile.” They cite without any context the following narration:
Narrated Hisham's father: Khadija died three years before the Prophet departed to Medina. He stayed there for two years or so and then he married Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consummated that marriage when she was nine years old.
[Sahih Bukhari, Volume 5 Book 58 Number 236]
Many lay Muslims are not equipped with the historical knowledge to explain this narration. This article aims to explain to Muslims the context of the Prophet’s marriage to Aisha and to refute the charges that he was a pedophile.
The conditions of the Prophet’s marriage to Aisha
The Prophet initiated the marriage contract under the supervision of Aisha’s father, Abu Bakr, when she was six years old and he consummated the marriage with her permission after she reached the age of puberty. It is completely false to suggest that the Prophet had sexual relations with her when she was a prepubescent child.
The Prophet was married to one wife, Khadija, for several years. When she died, it was suggested to him by others that he take another wife. Martin Lings describes the scenario that led to Aisha’s marriage:
Khawlah, the wife of Uthman ibn Mazun, had been very attentive to the various needs of the Prophet’s household ever since Khadija’s death; and one day when she was in his house she suggested to him that he should take another wife. When he asked her whom he should marry, she said: Either Aisha the daughter of Abu Bakr or Sawdah the daughter of Zamah.
[Lings, M. (1983). Muhammad: His life based on the earliest sources. New York: Inner Traditions International.p. 109]
The fact that Khawlah suggested this marriage to the Prophet demonstrates that such marriages were acceptable in local customs for reasons we will explain. No one objected to it, most notably Aisha’s father and Aisha herself.
In the ancient world, people were considered adults as early as age seven
In ancient societies, the modern concept of childhood did not exist. This is because people did not need the level of literacy and education they need today to function as adults in society. Neil Postman, a prominent media critic, describes this phenomenon:
In a literate world, children must become adults. But in a nonliterate world there is no need to distinguish sharply between the child and the adult, for there are few secrets, and the culture does not need to provide training in how to understand itself… And that is why, in all the sources, one finds that in the Middle Ages childhood ended at age seven. Why seven? Because that is the age at which children have command over speech. They can say and understand what adults can understand. They are able to know all the secrets of the tongue, which are the only secrets they need to know. And this helps explain why the Catholic Church designated age seven as the age at which one was assumed to know the difference between right and wrong, the age of reason. It also helps to explain why, until the 17th century, the words used to denote young males could refer to men of thirty, forty, or fifty, for there was no word – in French, German, or English – for a young male between the ages of seven and sixteen. The word child expressed kinship, not age.
[Postman, N. (1982). The disappearance of childhood. New York: Delacorte
Press. P. 13-14]
Since it is known that the Prophet lived in a largely illiterate society, a similar situation existed in 7th century Arabia. At the age of 9, having reached puberty and equipped with all the education needed to function as an adult, there is simply no reason in these circumstances why Aisha should not be married.
This is confirmed by Colin Turner of the University of Durham Middle East Studies department:
A marriage between an older man and a young girl was customary among the Bedouins, as it still is in many societies across the world today. It was not unheard of in Muhammad’s time for boys and girls to be promised to each other in marriage almost as soon as they were born, particularly if the union was of direct political significance to the families concerned. However, such marriages were almost certainly not consummated until both parties had entered adulthood, which Arabs in the 7th century tended to reach at an earlier age than Westerners today. It is highly unlikely that Muhammad would not have taken Aisha into his bed until she was at least in her early teens, which was wholly in keeping with the customs of the day, and in context not in the least improper.
[Turner, C. (2006). Islam: the basics (pp. 34-35). London: Routledge]
High death rates were a reason ancient societies consummated marriage early
The harsh living conditions and high death rates of ancient societies necessitated that men and women marry much earlier than they do in the present time. Walter McCall of St. Mary’s University, writing in review of an in-depth study on marriage in ancient Rome, states:
In the opening chapter, the authors inform us that, traditionally in pre-modern societies, age-at-first-marriage for girls corresponded with the visible onset of puberty. In these early societies, high mortality rates demanded an offsetting high-birth rate. As a result, younger marriages were required to facilitate population growth.
The importance of the scientific anthropological principle of relativism
It is unfair and ahistorical to apply 21st century Western cultural standards to an ancient society that existed under very different and much harsher living conditions. Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, deputy chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, writes:
Aisha was not the first case, for many girls married at her same age to men who were at their fathers’ age… After the passage of many centuries, we find now some Orientalists who try to strike a comparison between the conditions of our present time and what existed 1400 years ago. They are trying to apply the criterions of the Western society to that society that existed in the Arabian Peninsula very long ago.
This coincides with the anthropological principle of relativism; that any objective study of other cultures, particularly ancient ones, must discard ethnocentric ideas and not misjudge other societies based on a limited understanding of social conditions. This view was articulated by anthropologist Alfred Kroeber:
Anthropologists became aware of the diversity of culture. They began to see the tremendous range of its variations. From that, they commenced to envisage it as a totality, as no historian of one period or of a single people was likely to do, nor any analyst of his own type of civilization alone. They became aware of culture as a "universe," or vast field in which we of today and our own civilization occupy only one place of many. The result was a widening of a fundamental point of view, a departure from unconscious ethnocentricity toward relativity. This shift from naive self-centeredness in one's own time and spot to a broader view based on objective comparison is somewhat like the change from the original geocentric assumption of astronomy to the Copernican interpretation of the solar system and the subsequent still greater widening to a universe of galaxies.
[Kroeber, A. L. (1923). Anthropology: With Supplement. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co. p. 11]
Ancient societies should be compared to other ancient societies of the same time period that lived under the same conditions, rather than comparing ancient societies to modern societies living under drastically different conditions. This point is made by George Readings who criticized those who claim Muhammad is a pedophile, saying: “This attempt to aggressively apply a modern British definition of pedophilia to seventh century Arabia strikes me as a sign of severe anthropological illiteracy.”
Christian sources confirm that early marriage was acceptable in the ancient world
Christian sources record that St. Joseph at age 90 had married the Virgin Mary when she was 12 or 14 years old. The Catholic Encyclopedia states:
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…
Many Christians will dismiss this story as apocryphal, but the fact that it was recorded at all testifies that early marriages in the ancient world were acceptable social practices.
Forced marriages are forbidden in Islam
Aisha was not forced to marry the Prophet, but rather she wanted to marry him. Islam in general forbids women to be married against their will.
Allah Almighty says, “O you who believe, it is not lawful for you to inherit women against their will…”
[Surat an-Nisa 4:19]
Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her, and a virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission."
[Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7 Book 62 Number 67]
The Prophet and Aisha had a healthy, loving relationship
The Prophet and Aisha were known to have a very good relationship that benefitted the Muslim community. Islam in general encourages love and mercy between spouses.
Allah Almighty says, “Another of His signs is that He created spouses from among yourselves for you to live with in tranquility. He ordained love and kindness between you. There truly are signs in this for those who reflect.”
[Surat Ar-Rum 30:21]
Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, “The superiority of Aisha to other women is like the superiority of tharid (a very good traditional Arabic dish) to other kinds of food.”
[Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7 Book 65 Number 330]
Narrated Aisha that while she was on a journey with the Messenger of Allah: “I had a race with him and I outran him on my feet. When I became heavier, I had a race with him and he outran me. He said: Tit-for-tat.”
[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 14 Number 2572]
The Prophet never hit women or servants
Aisha herself testifies that the Prophet never hit or abused women or servants.
Narrated Aisha: “The Messenger of Allah never struck a servant or a woman.”
[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 41 Number 4786]
It is claimed that the Prophet abused or raped Aisha, but she herself completely disproves this charge.
The Prophet’s strong ability to control his sexual desires
Aisha herself testifies that the Prophet was most capable of all men at controlling his sexual urges and desires.
Narrated Aisha: “The Prophet used to kiss and embrace his wives while he was fasting, and he had more power to control his desires than any of you.”
[Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3 Book 31 Number 149]
The legacy of Aisha as a great scholar
The Prophet married the young Aisha with the intention of teaching her to become a great scholar, which in fact occurred. Hundreds of beautiful traditions are narrated on her authority, such as the following:
Narrated Aisha: Allah's Messenger said: “O Aisha, indeed Allah is kind and He loves kindness and confers upon kindness which he does not confer upon severity and does not confer upon anything else besides it.”
[Sahih Muslim, Book 32 Number 6273]
For this reason, Aisha was a scholarly authority for the early companions of the Prophet, as demonstrated by the following tradition:
Narrated Abu Musa: “Never was a hadith unclear to us – the companions of Muhammad – and we asked Aisha but that we found with her some knowledge about it.”
[Jami at-Tirmidhi, Book 46 Number 3883]
The Prophet’s kindness towards children
We mentioned that Aisha had reached womanhood when she went to live with the Prophet, so she was not a child by local custom, but it is worth mentioning that the Prophet in general encouraged kindness and mercy towards children.
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As: The Prophet said: “Those who do not show mercy to our young ones and do not honor the rights of our elders are not from us.”
[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 41 Number 4925]
The age of marriage is not fixed in Islam
Traditional pre-modern societies considered puberty the appropriate age of adulthood and marriage, but the Holy Quran does not fix the age for marriage, although it does mention “maturity” (Surat an-Nisa 4:6). The wisdom behind not fixing the age of marriage is that human societies may find that the age of “maturity,” both physical and mental, changes in different times and places. Islam was revealed with a measure of flexibility that has allowed it adapt to different cultures on every continent. For this reason, many Muslim countries have legislated different minimum age requirements for marriage and there is no standard practice in this respect.
Some people, even ignorant Muslims, claim that because Muhammad is the perfect model of Muslim behavior, then it is appropriate for any man to marry any young girl regardless of the circumstances. But this opinion disregards the fact that conditions (shuroot) are an integral part of Islamic law. Furthermore, there is a difference between emulating the Prophet in his character, which all Muslims must do, and emulating the Prophet with respect to social customs, which change according to social conditions.
The “argument” goes that Muslims believe Muhammad to be a perfect model for behavior and therefore the fact of Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha somehow proves Islam to be a depraved religion. That no good can come of following it etc. etc. ad nauseam. This attempt to aggressively apply a modern British definition of pedophilia to seventh century Arabia strikes me as a sign of severe anthropological illiteracy…
In the jurisprudence of the main schools of Islamic law it was accepted that a child could have a marriage arranged for them by their marriage guardian but it should not be consummated until puberty was reached, when the child would have the “Option of Puberty” (khiyar al-bulugh). This meant that the child would be allowed to repudiate the marriage if it had been contracted by a marriage guardian who did not have the right of ijbar (i.e. who was not their father or, apart from the Hanbalis, their father’s father). As the Quran does not deal with these matters many of the rules governing them would have been drawn from pre-Islamic custom and Muhammad’s implicit endorsement of them through not rejecting them.
In considering the question of marriage age in Islam it is, therefore, entirely appropriate to discuss Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha. A book entitled ‘Does God Hate Women?’, which looks at various religious attitudes towards women, would do a disservice to its readers if it were to ignore a matter of such relevance: marriage to a pre-pubescent child with whom consummation occurs upon reaching puberty is not a model most people would be happy with in the modern world (although Bolivia sets the age of consent at puberty).
Which is probably why nearly all Muslim countries have reformed these rules beyond recognition. The age of consent in Algeria and Malaysia is 16, in Indonesia it is 19 for males and 16 for females. In Egypt it’s 18 for both and Tunisia 20. Reform has not, however, come to Saudi Arabia. Back in April the world followed the case of a mother trying to obtain a divorce for her eight-year-old daughter who had been married off by her father to a friend he owed a debt. In the end she succeeded and now there is even talk of Saudi Arabia preventing marriage before the age of 18.
Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha would logically only be of real concern to a non-Muslim living in 21st century Britain if Muslims were, following his model, regularly involved in child marriages. But, apart from possibly in Saudi Arabia and Iran, they aren’t. If your claim is that Islam is fundamentally depraved because Muslims seek to emulate Muhammad and he married a six-year-old, then it is entirely shot down by Muslims not emulating Muhammad on this matter.
Conclusion
Prophet Muhammad never had sexual relations with children and he never allowed such practices. Although she was young by modern standards, the Prophet’s marriage to Aisha was consummated when she had reached womanhood according to legitimate social custom. She was never abused, but rather she grew to become a great scholar and a role model for all Muslims. The attempt to misconstrue this blessed marriage as pedophilia is an ignorant or dishonest smear tactic which ignores the scientific anthropological principles. In contrast, many honest non-Muslim scholars who study the Prophet have praised his character and teachings. Annie Besant, a prominent 20th century women’s rights activist, had this to say about him:
“It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.”
[Besant, A. (1932). The life and teachings of Muhammad: Two lectures by Annie Besant. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Pub. House.]
We ask Allah Almighty to send peace and blessings upon Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his followers altogether.
Ameen
