Aisha and Muhammad

Aisha's age at the time of her marriage is frequently mentioned in Islamic literature. According to Sunni hadith sources, Aisha was six or seven years old when she was married to Muhammad in Mecca. The marriage was consummated after the Hegira to Medina, when she had reached the age of nine or ten years old. Many scholars interpret this to indicate that she reached puberty at this age.

In many Muslim traditions, Aisha is described as Muhammad's most beloved or favored wife after his first wife, Khadija bint Khuwaylid, who died before the migration to Medina took place.There are several hadiths, or stories or sayings of Muhammad, that support this belief. One relates that when a companion asked Muhammad, "who is the person you love most in the world?" he responded, "Aisha." Others relate that Muhammad built Aisha’s apartment so that her door opened directly into the mosque, and that she was the only woman with whom Muhammad received revelations. They bathed in the same water and he prayed while she lay stretched out in front of him.

There are also various traditions that reveal the mutual affection between Muhammad and Aisha. He would often just sit and watch her and her friends play with dolls, and on occasion he would even join them. Additionally, they were close enough that each was able to discern the mood of the other, as many stories relate. It is also important to note that there exists evidence that Muhammad did not view himself as entirely superior to Aisha, at least not enough to prevent Aisha from speaking her mind, even at the risk of angering Muhammad. On one such instance, Muhammad's "announcement of a revelation permitting him to enter into marriages disallowed to other men drew from her [Aisha] the retort, 'It seems to me your Lord hastens to satisfy your desire!'" Furthermore, Muhammad and Aisha had a strong intellectual relationship. Muhammad valued her keen memory and intelligence and so instructed his companions to draw some of their religious practices from her.