When the Prophet, peace be upon him, first married Khadijah bint Khuwalid, he was 25 years old and she was 40. Later, when he married Aisha, he was 45 and she was only 9. Age differences in the Prophet’s cases were not meant to serve the purpose of enjoying various women or merely tasting the pleasures of the flesh. The women were chosen by him in order to comply with the religion that is meant to organize the Muslim Ummah and provide what is permitted instead of encouraging what is forbidden.
Who was the husband of Khadijah and Aisha? He was the best of human being and the seal of all prophets. Any woman living at that time would have been happy to have been chosen by the Prophet as his wife.
I am writing this article after one I read in Al-Watan newspaper, entitled “70-year-old man marries 12-year-old girl in Asir.” The article said that the employees in the Asir Medical Center were shocked when a 70-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl came for a blood test in order to marry.
I must say I wonder if any of us have the right to compare ourselves and our actions to anything done by our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. The answer of course is absolutely not! There are no comparisons or similarities and it’s simply wrong for such old men to marry young girls — and justify their doing so by saying that their role model is the Prophet. They are conveniently forgetting to mention the enormous difference between his sublime purpose and their own twisted desires.
In our materialistic world, we witness many marriages of this kind which are harmful to the Muslim family. When old men marry young girls, there are social disadvantages and the possibility of crimes. We shouldn’t allow someone so old to possess a young girl or woman just to satisfy her male guardian’s avariciousness.
We shouldn’t wonder about the unpleasant reactions the young girl might have — whether to herself or to the old man she’s married to. If she commits a crime, then we are the ones responsible. I would prefer to have my daughter with a young man who is nearly dead than with one who is old and nearly dead. When the poor girl wakes up from this horrible nightmare, she may well take violent revenge on anyone. And when she does, she must not be blamed; it is we who are responsible and we who must take responsibility for the calamity.
