Can I see actual hadith with reference in support of the view that Aisha radiallahu anha was older than what the Sahih Ahadith of Imam Bukhari say.
Gharib,
Please note. You will not find any Hadith that clearly states her age being 18-23. However, the Hadith you will find stating she was 9, their reliability is being called into question. And you will plenty of Hadith and historical sources indicating that she was much older at the time of her marriage than commonly believed. Now if you can look at all the sources and do some basic math, you can decide for yourself what makes sense. I am stating what I know to the best of my knowledge. May Allah forgive me if I have made any errors. Please verify the sources for yourself.
First point: The reliability of hadith narrated through Hisham from Iraqi's is being called into question.
"Yaqub ibn Shaibah says: He [Hisham] is highly reliable, his narratives are acceptable, except what he narrated after moving over to Iraq." (Tehzi'bu'l-tehzi'b, Ibn Hajar Al-`asqala'ni, Arabic, Dar Ihya al-turath al-Islami, Vol 11, pg 50)
"I have been told that Malik [ibn Anas] objected on those narratives of Hisham which were reported through people of Iraq." (Tehzi'bu'l-tehzi'b, Ibn Hajar Al-`asqala'ni, Arabic, Dar Ihya al-turath al-Islami, Vol 11, pg 50)
Second Point: Aisha's age at different points in history...
"Ayesha (ra) said: I was a young girl, when verse 46 of Surah Al-Qamar, [the 54th chapter of the Qur'an], was revealed. (Sahih Bukhari, kitabu'l-tafsir, Arabic, Bab Qaulihi Bal al-sa`atu Maw`iduhum wa'l-sa`atu adha' wa amarr)
Surah 54 was revealed NINE years before Hijrah. And she married the Prophet 1 or 2 years after Hijrah. So she was a young girl 10-11 years before marriage. Now I'm no math wizard but how could she then be 6 or 9 at the time of her marriage? Simple Math!
Third Point: Aisha's age during Battle of Uhud.
A narrative regarding Ayesha's (ra) participation in Badr is given in Muslim, Kitabu'l-jihad wa'l-siyar, Arabic, Bab karahiyati'l-isti`anah fi'l-ghazwi bikafir. Ayesha (ra) while narrating the journey to Badr and one of the important events that took place in that journey, says:
"when we reached Shajarah". It is quite obvious from these words that Ayesha (ra) was with the group travelling towards Badr.
A narrative regarding Ayesha's (ra) participation in the battle of `uhud is given in Bukhari, Kitabu'l-jihad wa'l-siyar, Bab Ghazwi'l-nisa' wa qitalihinna ma`a'lrijal.
Anas reports that On the day of Uhud, people could not stand their ground around the Prophet (pbuh). [On that day,] I saw Ayesha (ra) and Umm-i-Sulaim (ra), they had pulled their dress up from their feet [to avoid any hinderance in their movement]."
As far as the fact that children below 15 years were sent back and were not allowed to particpate in the battle of `uhud, it is narrated in Bukhari, Kitabu'l-maghazi, Bab ghazwati'l-khandaq wa hiya'l-ahza'b, Arabic
Ibn `umar (ra) states that the Prophet (pbuh) did not permit me to participate in Uhud, as at that time, I was fourteen years old. But on the day of Khandaq, when I was fifteen years old, the Prophet (pbuh) permitted my participation."
It's clear that Aisha was present at the Battle of Uhud and it seems highly unlikely that the Prophet would let a child under the age of 15 participate in any way.
Fourth Point: Using Asma's age to determine Aisha's age at different points.
According to Abda'l-Rahman ibn abi zanna'd:
Asma (ra) was ten years older than Ayesha. (Siyar A`la'ma'l-nubala', Al-Zahabi, Vol 2, Pg 289, Arabic, Mu'assasatu'l-risalah)
According to Ibn Kathir:
"she [Asma] was elder to her sister [Ayesha] by ten years". (Al-Bidayah wa'l-nihayah, Ibn Kathir, Vol 8, Pg 371, Arabic, Dar al-fikr al-`arabi, Al-jizah)
According to Ibn Kathir:
"She [Asma] saw the killing of her son during that year [i.e. 73 AH], as we have already mentioned, five days later she herself died, according to other narratives her death was not five but ten or twenty or a few days over twenty or a hundred days later. The most well known narrative is that of hundred days later. At the time of her death, she was 100 years old." (Al-Bidayah wa'l-nihayah, Ibn Kathir, Vol 8, Pg 372, Arabic, Dar al-fikr al-`arabi, Al-jizah)
According to Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani:
"She [Asma (ra)] lived a hundred years and died in 73 or 74 AH." (Taqribu'l-tehzib, Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani, Pg 654, Arabic, Bab fi'l-nisa', al-harfu'l-alif)
Lets Do some Math:
If Asma was 100 years old in 73 hijrah she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah. If Asma was 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah, Aisha should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus, Aisha, if she got married in 1 AH (after hijrah) or 2 AH, was between 18 to 20 years old at the time of her marriage.
"All four of his [Abu Bakr's] children were born of his two wives -- the names of whom we have already mentioned -- during the pre-Islamic period."(Tarikhu'l-umam wa'l-mamlu'k, Al-Tabari, Vol 4, Pg 50, Arabic, Dara'l-fikr)
In conclusion,
That's some of the evidence. If I had more time I would continue posting details. However now I think both sides of the argument are out there and logical minded people can make up their minds as to which they want to believe. God bless.
