To Christians who criticize the marriage of Prophet Muhammad and Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her
Some Christians criticize the marriage of Prophet Muhammad to Aisha and call it “child marriage.”
But before making that accusation, they should ask themselves:
Are they judging history fairly, or are they applying modern standards only against Islam?
Sahih al-Bukhari records that Prophet Muhammad contracted marriage with Aisha when she was six and began living with her when she was nine. Muslims do not hide this narration.
However, the important point is this:
Seventh-century Arabia cannot be judged only by twenty-first-century standards.
At that time, marriage was not measured by the modern legal age of “18.” It was judged according to physical maturity, guardian approval, social custom, and the ability to enter married life.
Now let us apply the same standard to Christian history.
Traditional Catholic canon law long recognized 12 for females and 14 for males as the minimum age for marriage.
Christian history also contains many examples:
• Saint Augustine wrote in Confessions that when he was around 30, he was engaged to a girl who was two years below the legal Roman age for marriage. Since the Roman legal age for females was 12, she was about 10.
• King Richard II of England married Isabella of Valois when he was 29. She was about 6.
• Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, married at 12 and gave birth to Henry VII at 13.
• Margaret of Austria was betrothed at 3 to the French dauphin Charles, later Charles VIII, and sent to the French court.
• Anne de Mowbray married Richard of Shrewsbury at 5.
• Princess Mary, later Princess of Orange, married William II when she was 9.
• Catherine of Aragon married Prince Arthur at 15 and later married Henry VIII.
• Margaret Tudor married King James IV of Scotland when she was 13 and he was 29.
• Judith of Flanders married King Æthelwulf of Wessex when she was about 12.
• Eleanor of England married King Alfonso VIII of Castile when she was about 9.
Of course, some of these were political marriages, and in some cases married life began later.
But that is exactly the point.
Marriage in the past was based on standards different from those of modern society. This was not unique to Islam. It was also found in the Christian world.
So if a Christian condemns only the marriage of Prophet Muhammad by using modern standards, while ignoring Christian canon law and the history of Christian royal marriages, that is not objective historical judgment.
It is a double standard.
Muslims are not saying, “Let us practice underage marriage today.”
Muslims today must obey the laws of the countries in which they live, and marriage must take place within the legal and social order of each society.
Our point is simple:
When judging historical figures, we must consider the law, society, culture, and customs of their own time.
If seventh-century Arabia is judged by modern standards, then the same standard must also be applied to Christian history, canon law, and the many royal marriages of the Christian world.
Otherwise, this is not a sincere search for truth.
It is selective criticism used only to attack Islam.
