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Speaking at the Islamic Center of Cleveland, Ohio, Egyptian-American imam Islam Hassan defended the Prophet Muhammad's marriage to 'Aisha, mentioning various Christian personalities, from St. Augustine to the kings of England, who, he claimed, had taken child brides, and saying that the Prophet's marriage was in line with the customs and traditions of his day. Islam Hassan, who served as the Imam of the Islamic Society of Vermont for the past seven years, further said that the age of puberty was between 9-15 years and concluded that 'Aisha had already reached puberty at the age of nine, when she was married off to the Prophet. "So he did not marry a child," he said. The address was his debut appearance as the imam of the Islamic Center of Cleveland, and it was posted on the center's YouTube channel on November 3.
Imam Islam Hassan: "First and foremost, did the Prophet marry a child – yes or no? Nine years old. That was the age of 'Aisha when she was married to the Prophet – that is probably the first answer to the question you were giving.
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"It is totally unfair to use our guidelines, our standards, and our parameters to judge people a thousand years ago. It is really impractical. In the past, things were different than they are today. People were different than they are today. A lot of rules of Islam have changed over time.
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"It was mentioned clearly in the Old Testament that a girl three years old and one day is suitable for marriage. It was mentioned in the New Testament – according to their sources, not our sources – that Mary... Also according to the Catholic Encyclopedia... that Mary was married off at the age of 12 to a 99-year-old man. So why would you not criticize these things, and criticize the actions of the Prophet?
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"If you look at history, we will find St. Augustine, in the year 350 AD, married a ten-year-old girl. We will find Richard II, in the year 1400 AD, married a seven-year-old girl. We find Henry VIII, in the year 1500 AD, married a six-year-old girl. In the time between 1929 and 1983, the Catholic Church of England allowed its priests and ministers to marry off girls starting at 12 years of age or older. In the U.S., in 1880, the marriage age in the state of Delaware was how old? How old? Eight years old. In 1880, in the U.S.
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"The Prophet did not do anything against the customs and traditions of his people. What he did was 100%, absolutely, and all the way normal.
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"In Islam, it is forbidden to marry off any girl under the age of puberty.
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"In the Al-Nisa chapter of the Quran, Allah says: 'If any of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women, they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess.' Whosoever is unable or does not have the means to marry a believing woman could marry any believing girl. The word 'girl' in Arabic is fataa. The girl in Islam is not called fataa until she reaches the age of puberty. In the language, fataa is not the girl, not the infant, not the toddler. She is called fataa until [sic] she reaches the age of puberty.
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"According to science, the age of puberty is any time between 9-15 years old. This is according to livescience.com. The girl may enter the age of puberty or menstruation any time between 9-15 years old.
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"So what the Prophet did was to marry a girl who actually reached the age of puberty. So he did not marry a child."
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