Revealing Aisyah r.a

Aisyah r.a., as we all know, was daughter of Abu- Bakr As- Siddiq r.a., and wife of the great prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Another well known fact is that Aisyah r.a. married the prophet at a tender age of 7 or 9 years old, at which time she was still playing with her dolls. It was also said that Aisyah stayed with her parents until she reached puberty.

However, some people have wrongly interpreted this fact. As Aisyah was still a kid, they accused the prophet as being a pedophile. I myself have encountered with a few of these nonsense accusations, and I must admit, it was quite difficult for me to answer them.

I mean, by merely saying that the prophet married Aisyah because of a revelation from God is not enough, especially to those non believers. A more solid, reason based idea is needed here to justify this act.

And thankfully, I got the answers I was seeking at this year's Muktamar.

In a talk show during the Muktamar, Imam Yahya Hendi, one of the guest speakers, addressed this matter perfectly.

1. It is wrong to associate the 21st century with that of the 6th. Things that might of been accepted then are no longer accepted now. Cultures change drastically over the course of 1500 years. Even in Malaysia, 50 years ago, people used to get married in their early teenage years.

2. It's also wrong to associate the Arab culture with that of the Americans. Things are different over there with what is over here. An Arab guy would kiss each other when they meet. Doing something similar over here in the US, and you'd be called gay.

3. The third argument may be quite debatable. But here goes. There's actually the idea that maybe Aisyah wasn't 7 or 9 years old when she got married to the Prophet. Her actual age may have been 17/19, 27/29 or maybe even 37/39. In some cultures, people refer to big numbers by just saying the first few digits of the number, with the idea that people would understand what the real number is. For instance, a person would refer to a price of a car as twenty- seven instead of twenty-seven thousand. People may have referred to Aisyah's age with 7/9 with the idea people around her during that time would know her true age.

If so, how would you explain the stories of Aisyah playing with the dolls and what not. Waalahua'lam..