What is your eminence's opinion on this article published in Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, in which a young journalist corrects what he believes to be an error on the part of the venerable imams regarding the Prophet Muhammad's marriage to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her? And is such ijtihad permissible?
The statement that Aisha was married when she was 18 years old is false, for the following reasons: (1) The consensus of authentic hadiths indicates that she was married when she was 9 years old. (2) Aisha herself narrated the story of her marriage, stating that she was nine years old. (3) Her confirmation that she was 18 years old at the time of the Prophet's death (peace be upon him). (4) The refutation by Al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajar of the claim that she was born before the Prophetic mission, and their confirmation that she was born after it. (5) The consensus of biographical books (kutub al-sira) on her death at approximately 63 years of age, which aligns with her marriage at the age of nine. (6) There is no evidence in biographical books (kutub al-sira) confirming that Asma was ten years older than Aisha; rather, she was older by a few more than ten years, which aligns with Asma's birth ten years before the Prophetic mission and Aisha's birth four years after it.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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