The Misrepresentation of Aisha's Age in Hadith Translations

Introduction Claims that Aisha, the wife of the prophet Muhammad, had reached puberty before the consummation of their marriage have been made by both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. These claims, however, are based on mistranslations and misinterpretations of the original Arabic texts of certain hadiths.

Misinterpretation in Sunan Abu Dawud In the hadith collection Sunan Abu Dawud, one translation suggests that Aisha began menstruating right before she was taken to Muhammad to consummate the marriage. However, another translation does not mention menstruation at all. Arabic speaker Al-Fadi confirms that the Arabic text does not contain any words that denote the age of puberty or reaching puberty.

Misinterpretation in Sahih al-Bukhari In Sahih al-Bukhari, one hadith is mistranslated to say that Aisha had reached puberty when she saw her parents following Islam. The correct translation, as confirmed by Al-Fadi and other translators such as Aisha Bewley, is that Aisha said she had no recollection of her parents doing anything but following Islam. The Arabic term used refers to memory, not the age of puberty.

Misuse of mistranslated texts by scholars Muslim scholars, including those at the Yaqeen Institute, have used these mistranslated texts to argue that Aisha had reached the age of reason, which they equate with puberty. However, this interpretation is not supported by the Arabic texts.

Analysis The mistranslations and misinterpretations of these hadiths seem to be attempts to defend Muhammad and his marriage to Aisha by claiming that she had reached puberty before the marriage was consummated. This is likely done to counter criticisms of Muhammad's relationship with a young girl.
According to Islamic sources, Aisha was seven or six years old when she married Prophet Muhammad. The hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud states that Muhammad consummated the marriage with her when she was nine years old. However, other sources such as the Dar-Ussalam edition of Sunan Abu Dawud mentions that Aisha was taken to Muhammad's house to consummate the marriage when she was nine years old, without any mention of her starting to menstruate. This suggests that Aisha had not yet reached puberty when she married Muhammad. This is further supported by the fact that Muslim sources talk about Aisha playing with dolls in the presence of Muhammad which was only allowed up until the age of puberty.

Conclusion The original Arabic texts of these hadiths do not support the claim that Aisha had reached puberty before her marriage to Muhammad was consummated. Muslims and non-Muslims who use these texts to argue otherwise are either ignorant of the Arabic language or are deliberately misleading others.