I do sometimes find it odd that people will glorify Spantans and other cultures in antiquity despite the fact that pedophilia was prevalent on a large scale, but will condemn Muhammad for it. I'm not defending his actions in anyway, and i don't know if this point has already been made, but i think it is unfair to compair him to our own standard of morality.
Well, that point has already been made, it had to be coz the thread ran to 17+ pages,we've discussed most details possible Frollo!
Well, there are two main objections I have to your stance that its unfair to compare him to our standards of morality.
1) As Islame has already pointed out, Muhammad is supposed to be an example for all mankind for all times, so he is judged more strictly than Spartans.
2)His actions were unjustified even according to the standards of morality prevalent in his time. Aisha was Muhammad's friend & according to a brotherhood pact "brother" Abu Bakr's daughter. He naturally must have come across her whenever he visited Abu Bakr's house. Although Aisha was 8 years 9 months old when he consummated his marriage with her, she was barely 6 when he married her.And what was the event, which catapulted Muhammad to ask for Ayesha's hand, in his own words as recollected by the listener Aisha herself?
Here they are, from the most authentic collection of Hadiths-the Sahih Bukhari.
Sahih Bukhari 9.140
Narrated 'Aisha:
Allah's Apostle 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.
Muhammad, in his own words claims that he saw Aisha twice in a dream before he married her. Aisha as his friend's daughter was a familiar face to him. Even though pretty old men sometimes had diplomatic alliances with younger girls, how many old men met their friend's little girl & dreamt of her twice? Since Aisha was 6 at the time of her wedding & was little enough to be carried by an angel on a cloth, she was probably 6 or under when Muhammad had such inappropriate dreams regarding her...
Also, while older men might've married extremely young girls in Muhammad's time & region, men simply did not marry their "nieces" ie the daughters' of men with whom they had brotherhood pacts.
Thats' why Abu Bakr objected, here are his objections:
Sahih Bukhari 7.18
Narrated 'Ursa:
The Prophet asked Abu Bakr for 'Aisha's hand in marriage. Abu Bakr said "But I am your brother." The Prophet said, "You are my brother in Allah's religion and His Book, but she (Aisha) is lawful for me to marry."
Thus even in Muhamad's time, men simply did not marry their foster nieces. Why then did Muhammad go against the conventions of his time? Having seen his little, ie 6 or under niece Aisha in a dream, he was desperate to wed & bed her, & convinced Abu Bakr that Aisha could still be married to him...
This simply was unacceptable, to whichever standard of morality we choose to apply. The standards of Muhammad's time, where a foster brother's little girl was a niece but Muhammad was overcome with lust to dream about her twice & convinced Abu Bakr that she would be an eligible bride for him, despite the brotherhood pact
andDefinitely to our standards of morality, which regards pedophilia as abhorrent and according to Muslims Muhammad is the ideal man for all times.
Topic: Mohammad, the Pedophile