The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 2 of 4

94 THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
What Wrwa stated here is mursal, incomplete, as we mentioned above, but in
its content it must be judged as muttasil, uninterrupted.
His statement, "He contracted marriage with 'A'isha when she was six,
thereafter consummating marriage with her when she was nine" is not disputed
by anyone, and is well established in the ~ahih collections of traditions and
elsewhere.
He consummated marriage with her during the second year following the
emigration to Medina.
His contracting marriage with her took place some three years after Khadija's
death, though there is disagreement over this.
The h~jis Ya'qiib b. Snfym stated, "Al-Hajjaj related to us, that Hammad
related to him, from Hish%m b. Wrwa, from his father, from 'A'isha, who said,
'The Messenger of God (SAAS) contracted marriage with me (after) Khadija's
death and before his emigration from Mecca, when I was six or seven years old.
After we arrived in Medina some women came to me while I was playing on a
swing; my hair was like that of a boy. They dressed me up and put make-up on
me, then took me to the Messenger of God (SAAS), and he consummated our
marriage. I was a girl of nine.'"
The statement here "muttawaffi Khadija", "Khadija's death" has to mean
that it was shortly thereafter. Unless, that is, the word ba'da, "after", originally
preceded this phrase and had been omitted from the account. The statement
made by Yiinus b. Bukayr and Abii Usma from Hisham b. Wrwa, from his
father, is, therefore, not refuted. But God knows best.
Al-Bukhui stated, "Farwa b. Abii al-Maghrii' related to us, that 'All b. Mushir
related to him, from Hisham b. Wrwa, from his father, that 'A'isha said, 'The
Prophet (SAAS) contracted marriage with me when I was six. We went to
Medina and took up residence with the Banii al-Harith b. al-Khazraj. I fell ill
and my hair was cut short so that all I had was a head of hair like a boy's. My
mother, Umm Riiman, came to me when I was on a swing in the company of my
friends. She shouted to me and so I went to her not knowing what she wanted.
She took me by the hand and sat me down at the door of the house; I was panting,
but settled down somewhat. Then she took some water and, having wiped my
face and head, led me into the house. There I found a number of the wives of the
Companions of the Prophet (SAAS), and they addressed me with the words,
"Blessings, good health and happy news!" Then she delivered me to them and
they tidied me up. To my surprise it was the Messenger of God (SAAS) who
came to me that morning. They gave me over to him; at the time I was nine."'
Iman Ahmad stated in the musn~d:~ of 'A'isha, "the mother of the faithful",
that "Muhammad b. Kshr related to him, from Bishr and Muhammad b. 'Amr,
who was told the following by Abii Salama and Yahya: 'When Khadija died,
Khawla, daughter of Hakim, the wife of 'Uthman b. Ma'iin, came and said, "0
25. The word connotes a collection of hadirh arranged in accord with the names of the persons
in their chains of transmission.