and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death)."

"Narrated 'A'isha: that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old. Hisham said: I have been informed that 'A'isha remained with the Prophet for nine years (i.e. till his death)."

"Narrated 'Ursa: The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with 'A'isha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)."

Similarly, in other parts of Sahih al-Bukhari, 5.58.236 and 5.58.234, we find the same evidences:

"Narrated Hisham's father: Khadija died three years before the Prophet departed to Medina. He stayed there for two years or so and then he married 'Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consumed [sic: consummated] that marriage when she was nine years old."

"Narrated 'A'isha: The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became allright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, 'Best wishes and Allah's Blessing and a good luck.' Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah's Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age."

In another collection of ahadith, the Sunana Abu-Dawud, 41.4915, 41.4916, and 41.4917 we have the same attestation of marriage at six and consummation at nine:

"Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) married me when I was seven or six. When we came to Medina, some women came. According to Bishr's version: Umm Ruman came to me when I was swinging. They took me, made me prepared and decorated me. I was then brought to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him), and he took up cohabitation with me when I was nine. She halted me at the door, and I burst into laughter."

"Narrated AbuUsamah: The tradition mentioned above [i.e., 41.4915] has also been transmitted by Abu-Usamah in a similar manner through a different chain of narrators. This version has: "With good fortune, she (Umm Ruman) entrusted me to them. They washed my head and redressed me. No one came to me suddenly except the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) in the forenoon. So they entrusted me to him."

"Narrated 'A'isha, Ummul Mu'minin: When we came to Medina, the women came to me when I was playing on the swing, and my hair were up to my ears. They brought me, prepared me, and decorated me. Then they brought me to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and he took up cohabitation with me, when I was nine."

The problem of Muhammad's attraction to premenarcheal girls is even worse that just 'A'isha.  In Ibn Ishaq's biography of Muhammad we discover the lecherous Muhammad planning to wed an infant Ummu'l-Fadl even while she was a baby crawling before him.  Since this event appears to have occurred during the Battle of Badr, Muhammad would have been approximately 55 years of age, which of course meant that he would have been in his mid sixties when he married the nine-year-old Ummu'l-Fadl.

"(Suhayli, ii. 79: In the riwaya of Yunus I. I. recorded that the apostle saw her (Ummu'l-Fadl) when she was a baby crawling before him and said, 'If she grows up and I am still alive I will marry her.'  But he died before she grew up and Sufyan b. al-Aswad b. 'Abdu'l-Asad al-Makhzumi married her and she bore him Rizq and Lubaba. . . ."  (Guillaume, (2006), 311)  Lucky for young Ummu'l-Fadl, Muhammad died before he could fulfill those plans.

And 'A'isha and Ummu'l-Fadl are not the only two girls Muhammad set his eyes on.  There are other ahadith that suggest Muhammad had set his eyes on other infants for future marriage as girl brides. In the collection of ahadith entitled Musnad Ahmud 26329 we have a hadith which states the following: "The Messenger of Allah (peace upon him) saw Um Habiba the daughter of Abbas while she was al-futim (still nursing) and he said, "If she grows up while I am still alive, I will marry her."

If one is not in the thrall of Islam, one would clearly make the assessment that Muhammad was disturbed.

As I was exploring these ahadith in writing this article, I saw immediately below Sunana Abu Dawud 41.4917 which I have quoted above, this interesting hadith, 41.4920: "Narrated AbuMusa al-Ash'ari: The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: He who plays backgammon disobeys Allah and His Apostle." 

Muhammad condemns backgammon as against the will of Allah, but enjoins sex with premenarcheal girls as consonant with the will of Allah?  Most of us will see the absurdity in some of Muhammad's edicts, banning the gnat and swallowing the camel. 

The natural moral law should scream in our inner heart's ear, the forum of our conscience, that something is deadly wrong with this self-acclaimed prophet.  But remember, for a Muslim, Allah wa rasuluhu 'a'lm, Allah and his messenger know best, the natural law notwithstanding. 

That old saw, which is the last refuge of the Muslim to criticism of his supposed revelation and supposed prophet, becomes less and less convincing the more we learn of the inexcusable and intrinsically immoral behavior of the Muhammad and assess it in the light of his and the Muslim claim that Muhammad is, as the self-proclaimed prophet of Islam, the most excellent of men, the example to follow, the al-insan al-kamil.

Muhammad is a man that I would not invite into my house, much less into my heart.

(This article is adapted from the book written by the author entitled, The Heart's Witness Against Muhammad: Why the Natural Law Proves Muhammad False.)

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Andrew M. Greenwell is an attorney licensed to practice law in Texas, practicing in Corpus Christi, Texas.  He is married with three children.  He maintains a blog entirely devoted to the natural law called Lex Christianorum.  You can contact Andrew at agreenwell@harris-greenwell.com.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Muhammad, 'A'isha, premenercheal girls, sex, marriage, polygamy

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