Moral High Ground
By M. Dawud Alcox
It was reported on the authority of
‘Aisha j that she said: “The Messenger
of Allah a married me when I was
six years old and consummated the
marriage with me when I was nine
years old” Bukhari.
When confronted with this topic,
many Muslims who have grown up
in the West get a weird feeling and try
to turn a blind eye to it. If ignoring
it doesn’t make the doubts stop, they
search for an opinion which would
support an age closer to 18. Some may
even go as far as to write-off the hadith
or even slowly drift away from traditional
Islam. Where did this seemingly
reflexive aversion come from? Why is
there an inability to attribute this to
the Prophet a despite the narrations
being authentic, clear in their indication
and ultimately accepted throughout
history?
A Prophet and Target for All Times
Ever since our beloved Prophet a was
bestowed with prophethood, he has
received an unprecedented following
and has earned accolades of praise and
honor. Billions have committed their
lives to loving and celebrating his sublime
conduct. However, sweet things
also attract flies and rodents. Every
story has those antagonists who leave
no stone unturned in finding even a
grain of dirt on the hero. From the
polytheists of Quraysh to the orientalists
of modern times, the Messenger
of Allah a became a target for agenda
pushers and disgruntled critics. Although
the style and technique of tarnishing
the Prophet’s character have
varied throughout the ages, the objective
has lingered and has been passed
on from generation to generation like
inheritance.
The aim of this article is to show why
the “Age of ‘Aisha j” argument is fallacious
and unjustifiable. We will go over
the basics of what an argument is and
how it can be challenged. Being able
to answer this contention and others
like it without resorting to a hyper
apologetic approach is key in order to
accurately represent Islam, defend the
Prophet a and restore confidence in
the hearts of Muslims who may have
been affected by modernist indoctrination.
Understanding Arguments
Before we start measuring anything,
we need to make sure we have the correct
tools and know how they work.
When dealing with any argument,
we need to first make sure we understand
what the claim really is. We need
to look at the premises which should
support the conclusion and then determine
if the argument is valid and
sound.
In order to have justified belief in
something, obviously, we need to
be able to justify it. This is the main
reason we use arguments in the first
place. We try to prove that what we
are saying is true. The first thing we
should do when trying to analyze an
argument, is figure out what the conclusion
is. The conclusion is a judgement
which has been made based on
some form of reasoning. The reasons
that we give to support the conclusion
are called premises. We can easily understand
this with an example. Blood
flowing from the body, nullifies wudhu.
Zayd got a cut from which blood
flowed. Therefore, his wudhu is null.
This argument is valid and sound.
However, if a follower of the Shafi’i
school of thought contests the first
premise and claims that it does not
invalidate wudhu, or Zayd’s mother
negates the second premise telling us
it was actually just ketchup from lunch
and not blood, then the conclusion
would not necessarily follow (provided
they prove their counter arguments).
A sound argument depends on
the premises being true. Now let’s shift
gears and get to the real argument.
What Exactly is the Argument?
Most often, the “Age of ‘Aisha j” argument
is not made in a standard form
(with premises and a conclusion), but
instead comes out in the form of an
ad hominem. Often, it is used in an
attempt to side-step pressing questions
or to create a shock effect. For
example, a Muslim may argue with a
Christian: “How can you say Jesus e
is God while you also believe that he
ate food, grew in knowledge and then
died?” The Christian responds: “Yeah,
well, your prophet was a pedophile!”
Despite the fact that this response is
irrelevant and childish, it is extremely
common and an efficient tactic in
current day inter-faith debate and polemics.
This is what their argument usually
boils down to: pedophilia is immoral.
The Prophet Muhammad a was
a pedophile. Therefore, he was immoral.
Prophets cannot be immoral.
20 January – February 2022 | AL-MADINAH