Christians mind your language!

 

Christians have this fascination with the word Pedo! They love using this word when speaking to Muslims to attack the most beloved person to them Prophet Muhammed Pbuh. Though one can wave this off by concluding the person is an ignorant, one must not be too naïve into assuming that is the case. 

Before we exorcise this Christian polemic let us first look at the word paedophile or pedophilia and what it means.

 

pedophilia (n.)

1900, "abnormal, especially sexual, love of young children," from pedo- (from Greek pais (genitive paidos) "child") + Greek philos "loving" (see -phile). First attested in an abstract of a report by Krafft-Ebing. Paedophilia is better.

also from 1900

 

In Greek, the word, "pedo" means "child", and the word "philia" means "love of". Combining "pedo" and "philia" should mean "love of children", an innocent term, but in actuality, it means a sexual attraction to children.

Note: The earliest known use of the word paedophile is in the 1900s. OED's earliest evidence for paedophile is from 1904, in the writing of ‘Jacobus X’.

In other words person who is in love with children and has a sexual lust for them only.

Now that we have established what the word paedophile or pedophilia means let us find out if our beloved Prophet Pbuh qualifies this label Christians attribute to him. For that we must go to the history biography of Prophet Muhammed Pbuh and establish a few facts.

This is from the Seerah of Prophet Muhammed Pbuh by Ibn Kathir

“This is an account of the same circumstances related by al-Bayhaqi through Ahmad b. Abd al-Jabbar, as follows, ‘Abd Allah b. Idris al-Azdi related to us, from Muhammad b. Amr, from Yahya b. Abd al-Rahman b. Hatib who reported, ‘A’isha said, ‘When Khadija died Khawla, daughter of Hakim, came and said, ‘O Messenger of God, would you like to be married?’ ‘To whom?’ he enquired. ‘It could, if you wish, be to a virgin or to a woman previously married,’ she replied. ‘Which virgin, and which previously married?’ he asked. ‘The virgin could be the daughter of that creation of God whom you love best; the previously married woman would be Sawda, daughter of Zam’a. She has expressed belief in you and become your follower.’ ‘Make mention of me to them, he told her.’”

[The Life of the Prophet Muhammed (‘Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya’) [Translated by Professor Trevor Le Gassick, Garnet Publishing – Copyright 2000, The Center for Muslim Contribution To civilization], by Ibn Kathir, volume 2, page 96]

 

“In other words the messenger of Allah desists from marrying? He said: And who [do you suggest]? She said: Do you want a young woman (bakra) or an old woman (thayiba)? He said: So who is the young woman? She said: The daughter of the most beloved of Allah’s creation to you, ‘Aisha bint Abi Bakr. And he said: Who is the older woman? She said: Sawdah bint Zama‘ah. He said: So go and mention me to both of them.“ .

[Abu al-Qasim al-Ṭabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir (Cairo: Maktabah ibn Taymiyah, 1994), 5923:23 [36] “A Modern Matn Criticism on the Tradition on Aisha’s Age of Marriage: Translation and Analysis”, p. 18-19]

It is significant to acknowledge that Prophet Muhammed Pbuh marriage proposal was presented to the parents of Aisha RA and approved by them and the whole community was aware of the marriage as mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari 3894

“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).”

Above all this was a revelation from Allah Swt that Prophet Muhammed Pbuh would marry Aisha RA regardless.

 

Narrated `Aisha:

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to me, "You were shown to me twice (in my dream) before I married you. I saw an angel carrying you in a silken piece of cloth, and I said to him, 'Uncover (her),' and behold, it was you. I said (to myself), 'If this is from Allah, then it must happen.' Then you were shown to me, the angel carrying you in a silken piece of cloth, and I said (to him), 'Uncover (her), and behold, it was you. I said (to myself), 'If this is from Allah, then it must happen.' "[Sahih al-Bukhari 7012]

 

Notice if this was a lust then why wait and see if the dream comes true?

We even have an authentic narration by our Mother Aisha RA where she talks about being jealous.

Narrated 'Aishah:

"I did not envy any woman as I envied Khadijah - and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not marry me except after she had died - that was because the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave her glad tidings of a house in Paradise made of Qasab, without clamoring nor discomforts in it."

[Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3876]

We can conclude that the definition of a pedo does not befit the character of our beloved Prophet Muhammed Pbuh, and whosoever attributes such a vile accusation may the curse of Allah Swt fall upon them.

 

Let us break this down:

 

Prophet Muhammed Pbuh was given the suggestion by Khawla RA to marry our mothers Aisha RA and Sawdah RA.

Prophet Muhammed Pbuh was shown twice in a dream our mother Aisha RA and he said if this dream is from Allah Swt then it will happen i.e. the Prophet Pbuh will marry her. Again, if this was a lust then why wait and see if the dream comes true?

The marriage was done in accordance, the family were informed, and nothing happened until they i.e., the father approved of it.

The whole community were aware of the marriage. The Ansari women even came to give best wishes and Allah’s blessing to our mother Aisha RA

No lust, no force, nothing of that sort happened or took place. In fact Aisha RA was not even considered a child during her marriage. This takes us back to the Qur’an Surah 4:6. the female must be mature i.e. reached her puberty, have sound judgment and intellect, this would be physically and mentally.

We must also consider the historical context behind all events for example:

There were three types of medieval period [Early, High, Late Antiquity].  7^th century Islam was during the second medieval period.  200 years after the collapse of the roman empire now into the byzantine empire. Islam is from the 7^th century 1^st millennium not 21^st century 3^rd millennium. Mortality rate was high considering they did not have the medical facilities available now. This is 7^th century desert Arabia what exactly was the living standards for the average person? Do you think they had the privileges like someone from the 21^st century going to school, college, university, having a career of course not. Let us not forget tribal wars and poverty everywhere. what do you expect a father who has daughters to do considering they have no prospects like you have in the 21st century? They were social norms.

 

It is wrong, inequitable, unwarranted, inappropriate to label a person with a groundless characterization, a term which is not affiliated with him. We thereby conclude the word pedophile, pedophilia does not and cannot linguistically and by definition apply to Prophet Muhammed Pbuh.

When you dont know the real definition of the word "pedophile" and keep using it like you know it, shows your lack of intelligence. If you really believe marrying a girl 1500 years ago makes you a pedo then Deut 22:28-29 the direct command of Yahweh sanctions (approves) pedophilia.