Why do you believe 21? Where do you get that number from?

I assume that there is more to it than you finding that number more convenient, so I would like to know.

Asalamu alaykum

"Qul hatu burhanakum in kuntum saadiqueen" - "Say 'Produce your proof if you are truthtul.'" [Al Baqarah: 111]

Narrated Aisha:

The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Allright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, "Best wishes and Allah's Blessing and a good luck." Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah's Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age. (Bukhari)

Narrated Hisham's father: Khadija died three years before the Prophet departed to Medina. He stayed there for two years or so and then he married 'Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consumed that marriage when she was nine years old. (Bukhari)

No one can deny the clear proof in the Sunnah. Modern research? Is Bukhari an ancient report that is false or fabricated? Subhanallah of course not. We need to watch what we are saying. Just because many don't understand why the Prophet (salallahu 'alayhi wa salam) married A'ishah (radi Allahu 'anha) at such a young age, it doesn't mean we make up false information to try and cover ourselves.

Wa alaykum asalam

@UniteTheUmmah: could you please provide the exact references for the ahadith. jazakillah.

A part of the problem arises due to an old arab custom of dropping digits - if everyone knows the first digit, it wass dropped.

As an example, if you had to pick a number in the 40's, you would pick eg 5. five is not in the fourties, but fortyfive is. If everyone knows its in the fourties, saying five was good enough and a feature of the arabic language.

There is even a hadith or verse of the qur'an or saying using this - about laylatul qadr, it being in the last ten nights, the first, third, fifth, seventh or ninth of the month. What it meant was either 21st, 23rd, 25th 27th or 29th.

Asalamu alaykum:

Volume 5, Book 58, Number 234

and

Volume 5, Book 58, Number 236:

Thankyou for the references. Link to the first one - second one is just below.

It is not a problem of "modern research" but something that down the years has had different numbers attributed to it by different people.

Even Bukhari - for full understanding and an ability to make fatwas/decisions from it - needs to be used by experts as there are some ahadith that without explanation can cause issues of understanding.

For example, there is a hadith suggesting that the Prophet (saw)'s parents may be in the fire. The vast majority of muslim scholars reject that literal meaning.

There is also a quote of the sahabah in there which suggests that even the three divorces can be overcome if both people want to get back together, yet the majority view (actually, afaik anonymous view) is that that is not allowed and most translators translate the referenced verse as "future husband" instead of the one who was divorced.

The Prophet is ma'sum and incapable of sin so even if she was 9, there would be no wrong. This is where most people stop as when you get defensive, the defensive position is that the Prophet was not wrong, did no wrong and could do no wrong. Which is good enough.

But that should not stop from people questioning the basic information and making sure that it is correct - it most probably is, but it is not a unanimous view.

(also, 6 and 6 are different as that is not marriage but engagement if you go by modern lingo. Using the historic lingo in the modern world can also lead to confusion.)

just looking through this page, it is suggested that ibn Kathir (you know... that historical tafsir writer... tafsir of ibn kathir... nice rhyme to it...) from his deductions (that Hadhrat Aisha (ra) was ten years youndger than her older Hadhrat sister Asma (ra)) would also put her at about 18 at the time of marriage.

(that page also suggested that the engagement was carried out earlier, whihc is counter to the popular view too as the popular view is that it was a couple of years after the passing of Hadhrat Khadijah (ra)...)