How old was Aisha (really) when She Married Muhammad?

Last updated on: July 30, 2026 at 9:59 pm by Todd Weller

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How old was Aisha (really) when She Married Muhammad? 2026-07-30T21:59:54-05:00 Todd Weller

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On my Tik Tok page, I posted a hadith which is labeled “Sahih” that showed that Aisha was a child when she was married to Muhammad. The Hadith is Sahih al-Bukhari 6130. The implication of this Hadith is massive if it’s true. Mind you, when a Hadith is labeled “Sahih,” this means that the Hadith is authentic and, thus, authoritative. One can argue that the methodology for determining what is Sahih and what is, say, “Hasan,” or “Daif” is flawed, but this is besides the point.

Sahih al-Bukhari 6130 states:

Narrated `Aisha:

I used to play with the dolls in the presence of the Prophet, and my girl friends also used to play with me. When Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) used to enter (my dwelling place) they used to hide themselves, but the Prophet would call them to join and play with me. (The playing with the dolls and similar images is forbidden, but it was allowed for `Aisha at that time, as she was a little girl, not yet reached the age of puberty.) (Fath-ul-Bari page 143, Vol.13)

What are the Implications?

Well, First, playing with dolls is forbidden if one reached the age of puberty. (As is noted by the hadith itself)

Aisha, as stated by her, was allowed to play with dolls.

This then brings us to a dilemma:

A. Aisha was not at the age of puberty while married to Muhammad. This would mean that Muhammad married a child.

B. Muhammad allowed Aisha to sin by playing with dolls. This would mean that Muhammad is a false prophet because he’s intentionally leading Aisha to do something that is forbidden.

Here is how one Muslim tried to get around it:

Tik-Tocker LMF stated:

“dawg everyone knows her older sister Asma is 10 years older than her, and she was was 27-28 around the time of hijrah and the Prophet married Aisha like 1 or 2 years after hijrah so that’d make her 18-19.”

Of course, there are plenty of modern muslim scholars who attempt to get out of Aisha’s age because it’s embarrasing. But this, again, is a modern phenomenon. As we will see, not only does this throw the greatest Hadith collectors under the bus, but it also throws Aisha, the mother of all believers, under the bus and curb-stomps her legacy. She’s supposed to be an imminent scholar who knew the most about Muhammad. But apprently, according to this ticktocker, she doesn’t know her own age (As we will see, she is pretty clear about it later in this article).

Let’s switch gears. Notice that this doesn’t help him. If she was 18-19, and Muhammad is having her play with dolls, then he’s diliberately leading her to sin. This would make him, at best, not the best example for humankind as he’s leading her to sin, or, worse, a false prophet because he is deliberately leading her into sin.

We must note that the evidence for Aisha’s age during her marrriage (and the cosummation thereof) to Muhammad is overwhelming. Let’s look at the evidence:

Sahih Al-Bukhari 5133

Narrated `Aisha:

“that the Prophet (ﷺ) married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death).”