Sanggahan Terhadap Apologis Muslim Mengenai Usia Aisha
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Artikel ini merupakan analisa terhadap apologetika muslim masa kini yang berusaha mengaburkan usia Aisha sesungguhnya saat dirinya pertama kali berhubungan intim dalam pernikahan dengan Muhamad.
Pendahuluan
Beberapa apologis muslim baru-baru ini mengatakan bahwa Aisha berusia lebih dari sembilan tahun kalender bulan di saat hubungan intim pertamanya dengan nabi Muhamad. Mereka mencoba menjelaskan bahwa usia Aisha saat itu bukan sembilan tahun seperti yang tercatat dalam hadist sahih maupun dari pengakuan Aisha sendiri, melainkan berusia berbeda dengan didasari kepada penyalahgunaan kutipan, sumber yang tidak langsung, metode penanggalan yang tidak akurat, dan fitnah. Teknik penelitian asal-asalan ini menimbulkan dugaan umur yang saling bentrok mengenai usia Aisha saat dirinya berhubungan intim pertama kali, yaitu 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, dan 21 tahun. Artikel ini menganalisa setiap argumen yang disodorkan oleh para apologis tersebut, dan menyediakan informasi tambahan mengenai asal muasal dan latar belakang dari argumen-argumen apologetika "Aisha berumur lebih tua", dan apa sebenarnya satu-satunya tujuan logis dari argumen-argumen tersebut.
Tujuan
Argumen-argumen yang dilontarkan oleh para apologis muslim memberikan kesan yang keliru seakan-akan masalah usia nikah Aisha merupakan perdebatan yang sudah berlangsung lama dalam Islam, dan bahwa argumen-argumen tersebut valid atas penafsiran yang nantinya bisa membawa reformasi di dalam Islam umumnya. Jelasnya tidak demikian. Tidak ada yang bisa diperdebatkan soal penafsiran atas teks mengenai masalah umur Aisha. Ayat teks jelas-jelas mengatakan satu hal, dan hanya satu hal. Bagi mereka yang benar-benar telah membaca sumbernya, adalah tidak jujur untuk mengatakan sebaliknya. Berbohong mengenai apa yang dikatakan oleh sumber asli mungkin bisa efektif sebagai dakwah, tapi tidak ada gunanya apabila tujuannya adalah untuk mereformasi agama. Tidak ada satu pun ahli Islam sungguhan, seorang yang diterima di dunia muslim dan yang oleh umat muslim kebanyakan dianggap mewakili keyakinan mereka, yang mau mendukung argumen-argumen ini. Karena itu, satu-satunya tujuan mereka adalah untuk mengalihkan kritik-kritik valid terhadap suatu keyakinan yang terus-menerus menyebabkan jutaan gadis-gadis kecil dipaksakan ke dalam pernikahan pedofilia anak-anak oleh individu-individu, dan bahkan oleh negara-negara, di mana kesemuanya membenarkan tindakan tersebut dengan secara gamblang mengambil contoh hubungan suami-isteri antara Aisha dengan Muhamad.
Sejarah
Mayoritas muslim masa kini, termasuk para ahli dan populasi muslim kebanyakan, sepakat bahwa Aisha berusia 9 tahun ketika dirinya pertama kali berhubungan intim dalam pernikahan dengan Muhamad. Ini adalah pemahaman muslim kebanyakan sepanjang 1.400 tahun sejarah Islam.
Protes atas usia Aisha demi membela Muhamad untuk pertama kalinya berasal dari Maulana Muhammad Ali yang hidup dari 1874 hingga 1951. [1] Dia bukanlah tokoh yang dihormati ataupun dianggap penting oleh Islam, karena dia anggota aliran Ahmadiyya yang keyakinannya berbeda jauh dengan Islam kebanyakan. Aliran Ahmadiyya dan tulisan-tulisan mereka juga bertitik berat kepada usaha dakwah.
Selain protes dari Ali tersebut, ada juga Habib Ur Rahman Siddiqui Kandhalvi (1924-1991) yang menulis di bukunya dalam bahasa Urdu, "Tehqiq e umar e Siddiqah e Ka'inat" (Terjemahan Inggris. 1997), mengeluh karena dirinya "letih membela tradisi ini" yang "ditertawakan" dan "diolok-olok" oleh individu-individu yang berpendidikan Inggris yang dia temui di Karachi. Orang-orang ini mengatakan bahwa tradisi usia Aisha tersebut berlawanan dengan "kearifan dan prudence" dan "memilih budaya Inggris daripada Islam gara-gara ini", dan Habib Kandhalvi mengakui bahwa dia "bertujuan membuat jawaban kepada musuh-musuh Islam yang melempar lumpur ke tubuh sang nabi yang Pemurah".[2] Pada bulan November 2004 setelah Habib Kandhalvi lama meninggal, keluar fatwa yang mengecam Habib Kandhalvi, menyatakan dirinya adalah "Munkir-e-Hadith" (penolak hadist) dan seorang "Kafir" dengan alasan bahwa si Habib adalah seseorang yang menolak hadist.[3]
Yang lebih baru lagi, ada Moiz Amjad (yang menyebut dirinya sebagai "Si Pelajar"). Dia mengakui memperoleh argumen-argumen keliru ini dari Maulana Muhamad Ali dan Habib Kandhalvi, menrangkum dan memaparkan argumen-argumen tersebut sebagai jawaban kepada muslim yang menanyakan bagaimana cara menjawab orang Kristen yang menyebut Muhamad sebagai pedofil. (i.e. semua argumen Moiz Amjad, seperti juga argumen Ali dan Kandhalvi sebelumnya, lebih bersifat dakwah dan bukan ilmiah).[4] Pada titik di masa sekarang inilah argumen-argumen yang berasal dari aliran Ahmadiyya pada masa 1920an dan 1930an akhirnya menjadi cukup populer di beberapa kalangan muslim kebanyakan. Walaupun begitu, popularitas ini tampaknya hanya terbatas sebagai artikel atau argumen di Internet. Jelas ini adalah reaksi refleks akibat maraknya kritik-kritik di Internet atas kehidupan Muhamad, dan bukan sebagai perubahan atas apa yang diyakini muslim.
Pada Juli 2005, Sheik Dr. Gibril Fouad Haddad menjawab polemik Moiz Amjad melalui artikel, "Our Mother A'isha's Age At The Time Of Her Marriage to The Prophet", yang dimuat di SunniPath.com.[5] Dengan mencantumkan banyak fakta yang dengan mudah bisa diperiksa oleh siapapun yang memiliki hadist atau literatur sirah, Sheik Haddad menelanjangi penipuan dan pengaburan yang disebarkan oleh para apologis. Sebagai contoh, Sheik Haddad menunjukkan fakta bahwa banyak argumen tersebut yang secara keliru didasarkan kepada asumsi yang salah atas hadist yang sama sekali tidak berhubungan dengan umur Aisha, atau kesalahan dalam merepresentasikan sumber-sumber yang dikutip. (i.e. sumber-sumber ini malah mendukung fakta bahwa umur Aisha adalah 9 tahun saat berhubungan intim dengan Muhamad). Hingga hari ini, jawaban ilmiah Sheik Haddad tetap belum disanggah oleh Moiz Amjad. Haddad, sebagai salah satu orang yang telah dicantumkan dengan resmi ke dalam "500 muslim paling berpengaruh di dunia",[6] adalah seorang cendekiawan muslim dan muhaddith (ahli hadist)[6] yang ditanggapi secara sangat serius oleh muslim mainstream. Dia juga seorang kritikus vokal terhadap fundamentalisme Salafi.[7]
Sejak diterbitkannya sanggahan definitif dari Haddad, argumen-argumen kacau Moiz Amjad, lengkap dengan kebohongan dan kekeliruannya, masih saja diulangi oleh tidak terhitung banyaknya apologis muslim di Internet dengan tujuan dakwah dan apologetik yang serupa. Para penyebar argumen-argumen ini termasuk, tapi tidak terbatas pada; T.O Shavanas,[8] “Imam” Chaudhry (word-for-word plagiarism of Amjad's work),[9] Zahid Aziz,[1] Nilofar Ahmed,[10] and David Liepert.[11]
Argumen - Argumen
Berikut ini adalah argumen-argumen yang dilontarkan oleh Moiz Amjad. Kami telah memilih untuk menganalisa dan menjawab masing-masing argumen secara spesifik, karena polemik Moiz Amjad menyebar ke setiap klaim yang dibuat oleh pendakwah masa kini yang kadangkala mengunakan sebagian, bahkan semua argumen Moiz Amjad tersebut. Para pendakwah ini seringkali tidak menyebut Amjad sebagai sumber dari klaim-klaim yang mereka buat.
Argumen Pertama
Ini adalah contoh klasik kekeliruan berargumen yaitu Straw man. Tidak ada keharusan dalam Islam bahwa laporan harus jamak. Bahkan satu saja hadist sahih sudah cukup untuk menegaskan hukum dan praktek Islam.
Shaykh Gibril Haddad juga menggugurkan klaim bahwa sebagian besar kisah-kisah ini dilaporkan hanya oleh Hisham ibn Urwah.
Argumen Kedua
Lagi-lagi Straw man. Tidak ada keharusan bahwa hadist harus dinarasikan di Medinah supaya bisa dianggap sahih. Lagipula, ada banyak juga peristiwa dalam kehidupan Nabi Muhamad yang diteruskan hanya oleh narasi tunggal. Apakah ini membuat narasi-narasi tersebut menjadi tidak sahih? Tidak. Menuntut adanya narasi-narasi jamak dan independen dari Medinah adalah membuat-buat standar yang tidak ada - i.e. sebuah kekeliruan straw man.
Sheik Haddad juga menggugurkan argumen ini dengan menyebutkan orang-orang dari Medinah yang menarasikan peristiwa ini.
Argumen Ketiga
Pernyataan sebenarnya, terjemahannya dan referensi lengkap dari buku tersebut adalah seperti di bawah ini:
Yaqub ibn Shaibah berkata:" Dia (i.e. Hisham) itu sangat bisa dipercaya, narasi-narasinya bisa diterima, kecuali apa yang dinarasikan olehnya setelah pindah ke Iraq. (Tehzeeb al-Tehzeeb, Ibn Hajar Al-`asqalaaniy, Arabic, Dar Ihya al-turath al-Islami, Jilid. 11, hal. 50)
Menurut Sheik Haddad, argumen ketiga Amjad ini jika bukan merupakan kekeliruan maka adalah kebohongan. Sebenarnya, hinaan atas Hisham ibn Urwah tidaklah berdasar dan tidak didukung jika referensi yang diberikan Amjad dilihat lebih dekat.
Mengenai Malik, dia melaporkan lebih dari 100 hadist melalui Hisham terbukti dari dua Sahih dan Sunan! sampai-sampai al-Dhahabi mempertanyakan keabsahan tuduhan kritik Malik terhadap Hisham.
Memang, tidak ada ahli hadist yang mendukung keraguan ini karena tuduhan-tuduhan tersebut didasarkan hanya dari fakta bahwa Hisham di masa akhir hidupnya (dia berusia 71 tahun saat perjalanan terakhirnya ke Iraq), untuk meringkas, dia berkata, "Ayahku, dari 'A'isha (abi 'an 'A'isha)" dan tidak lagi mengucap, "dinarasikan kepada diriku (haddathani)".
Al-Mizzi in Tahdhib al-Kamal (30:238) menjelaskan bahwa telah menjadi kesimpulan pasti bagi para orang Iraq bahwa Hisham tidak menarasikan apapun melalui ayahnya kecuali apa yang didengarnya langsung dari ayahnya.
Ibn Hajar juga menolak kritikan terhadap Hisham ibn 'Urwa di Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (11:45), dengan berkata: "Sudah cukup jelas bagi orang-orang Iraq bahwa dia tidak menarasikan dari ayahnya selain dari apa yang didengarnya langsung dari ayahnya".
Bahkan, untuk mengatakan bahwa "narasi yang dilaporkan Hisham ibn `Urwa bisa dipercaya kecuali yang dilaporkan melalui orang-orang Iraq" adalah omong kosong besar karena itu juga mengeliminasi semua narasi Ayyub al-Sakhtyani dari Hisham sebab Ayyub adalah orang Iraq Basran, dan juga semua narasi Abu `Umar al-Nakha`i yang berasal dari Kufa, dan juga Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman dari Kufa (Sheik Abu Hanifa), dan juga Hammad ibn Salama dan Hammad ibn Zayd keduanya dari Basra, dan juga Sufyan al-Thawri dari Basra, dan juga Shu`ba di Basra, kesemuanya menarasikan dari Hisham!Argumen Keempat
Pernyataan sebenarnya,terjemahan dan referensi lengkapnya adalah seperti di bawah ini:
Ketika dirinya uzur, ingatan Hisham menjadi sangat buruk (Meezaan al-Ai`tidaal, Al-Zahabi, Arabic, Al-Maktabah al-Athriyyah, Sheikhupura, Pakistan, Vol. 4, pg. 301).Lagi-lagi ini adalah fitnah di mana si penuduh tidak melihat korelasi antara hilangnya ingatan Hisham dengan hadist-hadist mengenai umur Aisha. Hisham lahir tahun 61 A.H. dan wafat tahun 146 A.H. di Bagdhad - artinya dia berusia 85 tahun ketika wafat. Dia pindah ke Iraq ketika berusia 71 tahun. Kapankah ingatannya hilang? Si penuduh tidak menyediakan jawaban.
Nyatanya, Sheik Haddad menuduh bahwa Moiz Amjad telah jelas berdusta.
Argumen Kelima
Pernyataan sebenarnya yang mengacu kepada paragraf di atas, terjemahan dan referensi lengkapnya adalah sebagai berikut:
Ayesha (ra) berkata: Aku adalah seorang anak-anak perempuan, ketika ayat 46 Surah Al-Qamar, [bab ke-54 dari Qur'an], diturunkan. (Sahih Bukhari, Kitaab al-Tafseer, Arabic, Bab Qaulihi Bal al-saa`atu Maw`iduhum wa al-sa`atu adhaa wa amarr)The precise date of the revelation of Surah al-Qamar is unknown. Ibn Hajar, Maududi, and other traditionalists said it was revealed 5 years before Hijrah (muslimhope). Zahid Aziz said it was revealed before 6 BH. Khatib said it was revealed in 8 BH. Amjad does not name his source for his claim that the verse was revealed in 9 BH. The point is that the precise date of revelation of Surah al-Qamar is unknown, and using an imprecise date to calculate Aisha’s age is not only ridiculous but stupid. However, if an estimate must be used, then why not use Ibn Hajar’s estimate which is more authoritative and traditionally accepted than Amjad’s unnamed source?
Shaykh Haddad confirms this. He also proves that the traditional estimate of the revelation of Surah al-Qamar is consistent with Aisha’s age being nine years.
Thus it is confirmed that our Mother `Aisha was born between seven and eight years before the Hijra and the words that she was a jariya or little girl five years before the Hijra match the fact that her age at the time Surat al-Qamar was revealed was around 2 or 3.
A two year old is not an infant. A two year old is able to run around, which is what jariya means. As for "the comments of the experts" they concur on 6 or 7 as the age of marriage and 9 as the age of cohabitation.Thus, Amjad’s attempt to throw doubt on Aisha’s age by using a non-traditional (i.e. spurious) estimate for the date of revelation of Surah al-Qamar is easily debunked.
This is what Amjad later said, which totally debunks his own argument above.
Ibn Hajar in his commentary "Fath al-Baariy" has indeed mentioned that the incident of the splitting of the moon took place around 5 years before the Hijrah. Nevertheless, this statement does not qualify as an "agreement" of 'traditionalists and commentators'. Maududi's referred statement, in my opinion, is not adequately substantiated. A more accurate statement would have been that all the commentators and traditionalists agree on the point that the incident of the splitting of the moon took place while the Prophet (pbuh) was in Mekkah.
As for the time of the revelation of Surah Al-Qamar, it can be estimated through the sequence of the revelation of the Surahs as given in Ibn Shihaab's "Tanzeel al-Qur'an"[2], Suyutiy's "Al-Ittiqaan"[3], and Al-Zarkashiy's "Al-Burhan fi Uloom al-Qur'an"[4]. According to each of these sources, the period of revelation of Surah Al-Qamar was the same as that of Al-Balad (90), Qaaf (50), Al-Humazah (104), Al-Tariq (86), Al-Jinn (72) and Saad (38 ). All of these Surahs are generally held to be revealed during the initial period of prophethood. Maududi, in his commentary, has acknowledged that each of these Surahs was revealed during the initial period of the Prophet's ministry.So now we have Amjad backtracking on his claim that the date of revelation of Surah al-Qamar can be determined precisely. Initially he claimed it was in 9BH. Now he says it’s some undefined time in the Meccan period. Thus, it can be seen that Amjad himself has finally seen the absurdity of his own argument.
Argumen Keenam
A narrative regarding Ayesha's (ra) participation in Badr is given in Muslim, Kitaab al-jihaad wa al-siyar, Arabic, Bab karahiyah al-isti`anah fi al-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 traveling toward Badr.
A narrative regarding Ayesha's (ra) participation in the battle of `uhud is given in Bukhari, Kitaab al-jihaad wa al-siyar, Arabic, Baab Ghazwi al-nisaa wa qitalihinna ma`a al-rijaal.
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-e-Sulaim (ra), they had pulled their dress up from their feet [to save them from any hindrance in their movement]."
As far as the fact that children below 15 years were sent back and were not allowed to participate in the battle of `uhud, it is narrated in Bukhari, Kitaab al-maghaazi, Baab ghazwah al-khandaq wa hiya al-ahzaab, 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."Dr. Ali Sina, founder of Faith Freedom International and author of "Understanding Muhammad", refuted this argument:
Women and young children went to the battlefields to perform other functions.
Therefore, it is clear that the fifteen-year age threshold applied only to boys, and Amjad’s line of argument is clearly false.
Shaykh Haddad also showed that Amjad had used false or incomplete information.
So, Aisha did not participate in Badr at all, despite Amjad’s assertion. It is also illuminating to know that Amjad had partially quoted the Uhud hadiths to falsely convey the impression that Aisha participated at Uhud when the hadiths are clear in that she was merely carrying water skins to the combatants. The last part of the hadith was omitted, either deliberately or inadvertently, an act some people may consider disingenuous.
Argumen Ketujuh
The relevant references required in this argument are provided below:
For the Difference of Ayesha's (ra) and Asma's (ra) Age:
According to Abd al-Rahman ibn abi zannaad:
Asma (ra) was ten years older than Ayesha. (Siyar A`la'ma'l-nubala', Al-Zahabi, Vol. 2, pg. 289, Arabic, Mu'assasatu'l-risala'h, Beirut, 1992)
According to Ibn Kathir:
She [i.e. Asma] was ten years elder to her sister [i.e. Ayesha]. (Al-Bidaayah wa al-Nihaayah, Ibn Kathir, Vol. 8, pg. 371, Arabic, Dar al-fikr al-`arabiy, Al-jizah, 1933)
For Asma's (ra) Age at Her Death in 73 AH
According to Ibn Kathir:
She [i.e. Asma] witnessed 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-Bidaayah wa al-Nihaayah, Ibn Kathir, Vol. 8, pg. 372, Arabic, Dar al-fikr al-`arabiy, Al-jizah, 1933).
According to Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaaniy:
She [i.e. Asma (ra)] lived a hundred years and died in 73 or 74 AH." (Taqreeb al-Tehzeeb, Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaaniy, Pg. 654, Arabic, Bab fi al-nisaa, al-Harf al-alif, Lucknow)Amjad’s objection to Sina’s analysis is similar to that of the previous argument.
Apparently Amjad is not worried that his arguments all derive conflicting ages for Aisha, thus debunking each other.
Shaykh Haddad also challenges the accuracy of the information, thus casting doubt on Amjad’s source material.
Using inaccurate data, Amjad assumes Asma was older than Aisha by 10 years when a more reliable source says the age difference is up to 19 years. Taking this more reliable information calculates Aisha’s age at around nine years old, completely in accordance with the sahih hadiths where Aisha herself said she was nine years old.
Argumen Kedelapan
The original statement in Tabari, its translation and reference follows:
All four of his [i.e. Abu Bakr's] children were born of his two wives - the names of whom we have already mentioned - during the pre-Islamic period. (Tarikh al-umam wa al-mamloo'k, Al-Tabari, Vol. 4, Pg. 50, Arabic, Dar al-fikr, Beirut, 1979)Shaykh Gibril Haddad says that the evidence Amjad provided above is false.
There is also no need to make oblique calculations using Tabari when Tabari explicitly states Aisha’s age several times.
These are Tabari’s direct accounts. He reported it at least four times, making it clear that this was what he deemed authoritative.
Argumen Kesembilan
Muslimhope shows that even if we were to believe that Aisha accepted Islam before Umar, it doesn’t mean this took place during the first year of Islam since Umar converted in 617AD, about 4 years after Aisha’s birth in 613AD. Thus, Amjad had made a miscalculation here.
2. A’isha never converted to Islam, because she never remembered a time when Mohammed did not come by twice a day and her parents were not Muslims. This is prior to the first migration to Ethiopia (617 A.D.) (Bukhari 5:245 p.158).
Besides disputing the claim that Ibn Hisham reported that Aisha accepted Islam quite some time before `umar ibn al-Khattab, Shaykh Haddad also casts doubt on Amjad’s logic.
Argumen Kesepuluh
Muslimhope shows that Amjad’s logic is wrong and not based on fact.
Shaykh Haddad also casts doubt as to the veracity of Amjad’s Tabari evidence, admittedly derived from a secondary reference that Amjad never checked.
Argumen Kesebelas
Sina has refuted this argument.
And Amjad has agreed:
Shaykh Gibril Haddad also adds:
Argumen Keduabelas
Ibn Hajar's original statement, its translation and reference follows:
Fatimah (ra) was born at the time the Kaa`bah was rebuilt, when the Prophet (pbuh) was 35 years old... she (Fatimah) was five years older that Ayesha (ra). (Al-Isabah fi Tamyeez al-Sahaabah, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalaniy, Vol. 4, Pg. 377, Arabic, Maktabah al-Riyadh al-Haditha, al-Riyadh, 1978)Using Fatima’s age difference with Aisha to refute the Aisha’s Age sahih hadiths is a logical fallacy because the biography of Fatima is conflicting. Nobody knows for sure when Fatima was born (when her father was a nobody), and though her death was well-recorded her age at death is not known for certain.
The traditional account is that she was born on Friday, 20th jumada ` th-thaaniyah in the fifth year after the declaration of the prophet - hood (615 AD), which means she was about the same age as Aisha.[12][13]
It is reported on the authority of Jabir ibn Yazid that (the fifth Imam) al-Baqir was asked: "How long did Fatimah live after the Messenger of Allah?" He answered: "Four months; she died at the age of twenty-three." This view is close to that reported by the traditionists of the (Sunni) majority. They have asserted that she was born in the forty-first year of the. Messenger of Allah's life. This means that she was born one year after the Prophet was sent by Allah as a messenger. The scholar Abu Sa'id al-Hafiz relates in his book Sharafu' n-Nabiyy that all the children of the Messenger of Allah were born before Islam except Fatimah and Ibrahim, who were born in Islam.
Reference: Abu Ali al-Fadl ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Fadl at-Tabrisi (c. 468/1076 - 548/1154)Some say she was born ten years earlier than Aisha. Those who believe this also believe Fatima was aged 29 years when she died, not the 18 years traditionally believed.
Sina has refuted the accuracy of Amjad’s information:
Shaykh Gibril Haddad showed that Ibn Hajar was merely reporting what some narrators reported, not his own conclusion, and Amjad chose the wrong narration and also wrongly attributed that narration to Ibn Hajar, who was merely the reporter.
In conclusion, Fatima’s birth date is uncertain. Despite this, Amjad used a non-traditional estimate to cast doubt on Aisha’s age, when the traditional account exactly matches the established facts. Note that Amjad omitted the traditional account in his Ibn Hajar reference, choosing instead one that is clearly in error. Some might view this deliberate omission to be disingenuous.
Argumen Ketigabelas
Although we agree there is no evidence to support the claim (usually made by Muslims in defence of Muhammad's pedophilia) that it was an Arab tradition to give away pre-pubescent young girls in marriage to old men, no credence should be given to mere ‘opinion’ of Aisha's age of consummation when there are sahih hadiths that explicitly state that Aisha married and had sex with Muhammad when she was aged only nine.
Although an ad hominem, this neatly summarizes what an actual Muslim scholar thinks about Moiz Amjad’s scholarship.
Kesimpulan
Apologists have presented a series of arguments as to why the generally accepted understanding of Aisha’s age (i.e. nine-years-old) when she married and had sex with Muhammad, based on commonly known narratives, is erroneous and contradictory. However, on closer inspection, we find they have produced arguments that can be broadly categorized into these categories:
- A. Unjustified slanders against Hisham ibn Urwah and the Iraqi narrators.
- B. The use of non-sahih information to refute otherwise sahih hadiths.
- C. The use of secondary, indirect sources in preference of direct testimonies.
- D. The use of ‘imprecise’ dating in preference to specific dates and statements of age.
- E. The use of misquoted references and erroneous information.
- F. The use of incorrect logic.
- G. Personal opinion.
When one examines their claims, one sees that their arguments contradict and debunk each other. Argument No. 5 says she was 14 to 21 years old. However, argument No. 6 says she was 15+, argument No. 7 says she was 17 or 18, argument No. 8 says Aisha was 14+, argument No. 9 says she was 12+, and argument No. 12 says she was 12. In other words, each and every one of the evidences contradicts and debunks all the others. Which of these so-called arguments is correct? They cannot all be correct. Clearly the apologists do not have a clue.
They have used doubtful data and assumptions for their calculations. In reality, all the arguments are false. Instead of using sahih hadiths, they use non-sahih source material. Instead of using specific and clear age testimony, they use events that cannot possibly be dated with any degree of accuracy. Instead of using traditions of acknowledged authenticity, they prefer to believe unsubstantiated slander and misquotations. Hardly a solid foundation for establishing facts. No wonder they cannot provide a consistent answer to the question of Aisha’s age.
Their argument appears to be that because they themselves, using spurious information, derive multiple conflicting ages for the one specific event in Aisha’s life, then we must throw out what we know about her age at this event. In effect, they are saying that just because they are using rubbish data, we have to throw out the sahih hadiths. However, this is not the logical outcome. A reasonable person would note that whilst their arguments debunk each other, all of the sahih hadith in regards to Aisha's age of consummation are in perfect harmony. Thus, rather than discarding the good with the bad, we will merely throw out the bad; in this case, the weak apologetic attempt to obfuscate our understanding that Aisha was aged nine when she married and had sex with Muhammad.
Lihat Juga
- Aisha's Age of Consummation
- Responses to Apologetics: Muhammad and Aisha
- Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Aisha - Islamic sources relating to Aisha
- Refutations - A hub page that leads to other articles related to Refutations
Tautan Luar
- Shaykh Gibril Haddad - Biography of Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad at SunniPath, The online Islamic Academy
- Evidence Muhammad was a pedophile - FFI forum thread which deals with further apologetics
- Really, really wishing Aisha weren't nine - Robert Spencer debates a typical non-Muslim apologist for Islam
- Responses to "The Learner" (Moiz Amjad) and others - Collection of Answering Islam articles
Ucapan Terima Kasih
This article is greatly indebted to the following:
- Dr Ali Sina, founder of Faith Freedom International and author of Understanding Muhammad, for Controversies about the age of Aisha
- Dr. Shaykh Gibril Fouad Haddad, scholar and muhaddith (hadith expert), for Our Mother A'isha's Age At The Time Of Her Marriage to The Prophet
- The Muslimhope website, for A’isha: Mohammed’s Nine-Year Old Wife
Referensi
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zahid Aziz - Age of Aisha (ra) at time of marriage - Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha`at Islam Lahore Inc. U.S.A. (for a refutation to the issues raised by Aziz's tu-quoque defence, titled "Mary and Joseph", click here)
- ↑ Semua kutipan Habib Ur Rahman Siddiqui Kandhalvi diambil dari Pendahuluan terjemahan Inggris tahun 2007 atas buku Urdu, "Tehqiq e umar e Siddiqah e Ka'inat", diterjemahkan oleh Nigar Erfaney dan diterbitkan oleh Al-Rahman Publishing Trust dengan judul, "Age of Aisha (The Truthful Women, May Allah Send His Blessings)"
- ↑ Fatwa asli dan terjemahan fatwa tersebut yang mengecam keyakinan Habib Ur Rahman Siddiqui Kandhalvi's yang sudah sesat dari Islam, sehingga membuatnya menjadi 'kafir', bisa dilihat di sini: Fatwa's on hadith rejectors?
- ↑ See: "What was Ayesha's (ra) Age at the Time of Her Marriage?", by Moiz Amjad.
- ↑ Shaykh Gibril F Haddad - Our Mother A'isha's Age At The Time Of Her Marriage to The Prophet - Sunni Path, Question ID:4604, July 3, 2005
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Edited by Prof. John Esposito and Prof. Ibrahim Kalin - The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World (P. 94) - The royal islamic strategic studies centre, 2009
- ↑ Stephen Schwartz - Wahhabis in America - Islam Daily, February 26, 2005
- ↑ T.O Shanavas - AYESHA’s AGE: THE MYTH OF A PROVERBIAL WEDDING EXPOSED - Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc.
- ↑ Imam Chaudhry - What Was The Age of Ummul Mo'mineen Ayesha (May Allah be pleased with her) When She Married To Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)? - Islamic Supreme Council of Canada
- ↑ Nilofar Ahmed - Of Aisha’s age at marriage - Dawn, February 17, 2012
- ↑ Dr. David Liepert - Rejecting the Myth of Sanctioned Child Marriage in Islam - The Huffington Post, January 29, 2011 (for direct responses to David Liepert, see: Rejecting Dr. David Liepert's "Aisha Was Older" Apologetic Myth & Muhammad, Child brides, and David Liepert)
- ↑ Fatimah az-Zahra - (A Brief History of The Fourteen Infallibles, p. 47-53)
- ↑ A Brief Biography of Fatima (A.S) the daughter of the Last Messenger and the Mother of Imams - Ummah.net