Answering the Allegation of Pedophilia

This refutation deals with the Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha at a very young
age.

Please carefully read each of the following definitions of pedophile on the Web as found by
Google1:

• an adult who is sexually attracted to children2

• The term pedophilia or paedophilia has a range of definitions as found in psychology, law
enforcement, and popular vernacular. As a medical diagnosis, it is defined as a
psychological disorder in which an adult experiences a sexual preference for
prepubescent children.3

• pedophilia - A sexual dysfunction where the person achieves sexual arousal or

satisfaction only through the sexual exposure of children i.e. either watching them ...4

• People with pedophilia have fantasies, urges or behaviors that involve illegal sexual
activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally age 13 years or younger). ...5

• an adult whose primary sexual interest is in children; some professionals make a

differentiation between a pedophile, whose sexual partner of choice is a pre-pubertal
child, and a hebephile, who is aroused by adolescents.6

• a person who prefers sex with children, usually visualizing his/herself as being the same
magical age as the child. ...7

• pedophilia - Sexual attraction to a child; clinically, a person sixteen years of age or older
who is at least five years older than the child. Pedophiles will prefer males, females, or
both. Generally considered to be an incurable mental disorder.8

• pedophilia - From its Greek roots, pedophilia implies love of a child ("paidos" +
"philia"). In practice, pedophiles are typically adult males with exclusive sexual
preferences for prepubescent boys and/or girls. Adult women can be diagnosed as
pedophiles as well as some post-pubertal adolescents. ...9

1
As of 14 January 2009.
2
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
3
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedophile
4
www.ifsha.org/glossary.htm
5
www.emedicinehealth.com/child_abuse/glossary_em.htm
6
www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/sexabuse/sexabuseh.cfm
7
naffoundation.org/Definitions.htm
8
www.reasoned.org/glossary.htm
9
www.forensicexaminers.com/terminology.html
 • pedophilia - Sexual arousal for an adult obtained by sexual contact with or fantasies about
children.10

Now here are the facts of the case that relates to the marriage of the Prophet to Aisha his
young wife:

1. The Prophet and Aisha were married when she was six and the marriage was
consummated when she was nine. The evidence for this is:

Aisha herself reports that “the Prophet married her when she was six years old,
and consummated the marriage with her when she was nine, and she stayed with
him for nine years.”11

Notice that the Prophet waited to consummate the marriage for up to three years. Is this the
action of a person who is a pedophile? Does it fit into any of the definitions above? This man
was not known to have an attraction to children, in fact, he waits until she is physically mature
i.e. reaches puberty to consummate the marriage with her.

2. Her father, Abu Bakr, initiated the marriage by offering the hand of his daughter in
marriage to the Prophet. The evidence of this is reported by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr who stated:

“The Messenger of Allah married Aisha bint Abi Bakr when she was young, six
or seven years old, when her father married her to him.”12

Aisha’s father was the best friend of the Prophet since before his prophethood and he knew the
Prophet like no other man could claim to know him. He was the first man to become a Muslim
and accept the call of Islam. He saw in the Prophet a man who was trustworthy and righteous to
be his son-in-law and the husband of his youngest daughter whom he loved very much.

This marriage was not done in secret between friends but where the whole community was
informed and involved as stated in the following:

Aisha reports that: "The Prophet married me when I was six years old. Then we came to
Madinah and stayed in Bani al-Haarith ibn Khazraj. I fell ill and my hair started to fall
out (due to the illness; then it grew back again). My mother Umm Roomaan came to me
whilst I was on a swing and my friends were with me. She called to me and I went to her,
not knowing what she wanted. She took me by the hand and led me to the door of the

10
www.mysexproblems.com/cst.asp
11
al-Bukhari, 4840; Muslim, 1422.
12
Al-Istidhkaar, 16/49-50.
 house. I was out of breath and we waited until I had calmed down, then she took some
water and wiped my face and head, then took me inside. There were some women of the
Ansar13 in the house, and they said: "Best wishes and Allah’s blessing and good luck."
My mother handed me over to them and they prepared me, then unexpectedly the
Messenger of Allah was there. It was mid-morning, and they handed me over to him. At
that time I was nine years old."14

This also shows that she did not live with the Prophet from the time they were married, but she
stayed with her parents during that time. So if anyone alleges that the Prophet might have
molested her or abused her before she was nine then this is pure fantasy as the above evidence
clearly shows. An important note here is that almost all the reports about this young woman’s
marriage to the Prophet is reported by Aisha herself. If there was any hint of abuse, molestation,
interference we would surely have heard it directly from her.

3. Aisha was his only wife who was married to him before she reached puberty.

The Prophet did not marry any other women below the age of puberty until he died. If indeed he
was a pedophile why did he not marry many other young women before the age of puberty? Why
did he just marry one, when he was a man with this incurable mental illness? People who are
diagnosed with pedophilia demonstrate a pattern of behaviour that shows them to have sexual
preference for children over a period of time. The Prophet demonstrates no such pattern and his
life is an open book for all to see – being a man whose life has been documented in its minute
details.

Here is a tabulated list of his wives and the age they married the Prophet: 15

Name Year of Year of Age

Birth Marriage
1. Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid 68 BH16 28 BH 40
2. Sawdah bint Zam’ah ibn Qays 50 BH 2 BH 48
3. Aisha bint Abi Bakr al-Siddeeq 8 BH 1 BH 6
4. Hafsah bint ‘Umar 18 BH 4 H17 22
5. Zaynab bint Khuzaymah 26 BH 4H 30
6. Umm Salamah bint Abi Umayyah 29 BH 4H 33
7. Juwayriyah bint al-Haarith 14 BH 6H 20
8. Zaynab bint Jahsh 33 BH 5H 38

13
People of Madinah who accepted Islam during the time of the Prophet.
14
al-Bukhari, 3605
15
Muhammad al-Jibaly, The Fragile Vessels: Rights and Obligations Between the Spouses in Islam, The Muslim
Family 3, Al-Kitaab & as-Sunnah Publishing, p.121.
16
Before Hijrah – the Islamic calendar begins from the Hijrah which is the Prophet’s immigration from Mecca to
Madinah.
17
After Hijrah.
9. Umm Habeebah bint Abi Sufyaan 24 BH 6H 30
10. Maymoonah bint al-Haarith 30 BH 7H 37
11. Safiyyah bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab 10 BH 7H 17

Here with all the facts presented above can anyone with any degree of honesty label such a
heinous crime to the Prophet of God?