Madam Aishah, a Study of her age at the time of her marriage with Prophet Muhammad

Historical Fact 10. Sayyid Sulayman Nadvi’s statement examined:

Sayyid Sulayman Nadvi, a great advocate of the view that Aishah was only six when her nikah was solemnized and nine when her wedding took place, is another example of a scholar who also unconsciously offers arguments against his own case. In his book ‘Seerat-e-Aishah’ he states:

“The last phase of Amir Mu’awaiyah’s Caliphate is the last stage of Aishah’s life. At that time, she was 67 years old”.¹⁸

In the same book, a few chapters later, he writes:

“Aishah was a widow and in that state she passed 40 years of her life.” (Ibid).

Like so many others, Nadvi cannot have done his mathematics. If Aishah lived to be 67, with a widowhood spanning four decades, this confirms that she was 27 when the Prophet passed away and not 17. Looked at another way, since the Prophethood was a period of 23 years. Aishah must have been born four years prior to its commencement, and not four years after it. Further, it also supports the conclusion that if Aishah was 17 in the year of the Hijrah and entered the Prophet’s home two years later, she must have been 19 and not 9 at her marriage.

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18. ‘Sirat-e-Aishah’ Sayyid Sulayman Nadvi, p.153).