Hawzah News Agency - Question:
How old was Khadijah (pbuh) when she married the Prophet (pbuh)?
Answer:
There are different opinions about the age of Lady Khadijah (pbuh) at the time of her marriage to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Some, such as Al-Bayhaqi (a great Sunni scholar), considered her to be 25 years old. Al-Bayhaqi says:
«... بلغت خديجة خمساً وستين سنة، ويقال: خمسين سنة، وهو أصح...»
“…Khadijah reached 65 years old [at the time of her demise], and she is said to be 50 yearold, which is the more correct opinion…”
Al-Bayhaqi mentions elsewhere:
«أن النبي (صلي الله عليه و آله و سلم) زوج بها وهو ابن خمس وعشرين سنة قبل أن يبعثه الله نبياً بخمس عشرة سنة»
“The Prophet (pbuh) married her when he was 25 years old, 15 years before Allah appointed him as a Prophet.”
Therefore, according to Al-Bayhaqi, if she was 50 years old at the time of her demise in the tenth year after the beginning of prophethood, and she married 15 years before that, then Lady Khadijah (pbuh) would have been 25 years old at the time of her marriage to the Prophet (pbuh).
Al-Halabi also mentions the same view:
«تزوجها رسول الله (صلي الله عليه و آله و سلم) وهي يومئذ ... وقيل خمس وعشرين»
“The Messenger of Allah(pbuh) married her, and at that time, it is said that she was 25 years old.”
Another opinion, which is held by most researchers and historians, is that her age at the time of marriage was 28. Ibn al-‘Imad al-Hanbali, a Sunni scholar, states in Shadharāt al-Dhahab:
«ورجح کثيرون أنها ابنة ثمان وعشرين»
“Many have preferred the view that she was 28 years old.”
That is, many historians favored the opinion that Lady Khadijah (pbuh) was 28 years old at the time of her marriage to the Prophet (pbuh).
Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi also narrates only this opinion from Ibn Ishaq, the famous historian of the Prophet’s life:
«کان لها يوم تزوجها ثمان وعشرون سنة»
“She was twenty-eight years old when the Prophet married her.”
He considers the opinion of Hisham ibn ‘Urwah—which later became widespread—that she was much older at the time, to be a weak and rare opinion:
«توفيت خديجة بنت خويلد (رضي الله عنها) وهي ابنة خمس وستين سنة، هذا قول شاذ»
“Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid (pbuh), passed away at the age of 65 years. This is a rare and weak opinion.”
Al-Baladhuri also mentions 28 years as one of the opinions. Ibn Sa‘d, Al-Dhahabi, Al-Irbili, and Ibn ‘Asakir say it is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas:
«کانت خديجة يوم تزوجها رسول الله (صلي الله عليه وآله و سلم) ابنة ثمان وعشرين سنة»
“Khadijah was twenty-eight years old when the Messenger of Allah(pbuh) married her.”
Al-Irbili also quotes from Ibn Hammad:
«وقال ابن حماد بلغني أن رسول الله (صلي الله عليه و آله و سلم) تزوج خديجة علي اثنتي عشرة أوقية ذهباً وهي يومئذ ابنة ثماني وعشرين سنة»
“Ibn Hammad said: I was informed that the Messenger of Allah(pbuh) married Khadijah(pbuh) with a dowry of twelve uqiyyahs (coins) of gold, and at that time she was twenty-eight years old.”
Therefore, it becomes clear that many historians and scholars have considered her age at marriage to have been around 25 to 28 years. At that time, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself was 25 years old. Therefore, there was either no age difference between the Prophet and Lady Khadijah, or at most about three years.
Thus, it can be said that the more accurate opinion is that Lady Khadijah (pbuh) was 28 years old at the time of her marriage to the Prophet (pbuh).
Source: pasokhgoo.ir
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