A woman is deemed to have reached puberty when one of four things happens:


1 – When she reaches the age of fifteen.
2 – When her pubic hair grows, which is hair around the private parts. [pubarche]
3 – When she emits maniy
4 – When she starts to menstruate. [menarche]


If one of these four things happens, then she has reached the age of puberty and
she is now regarded as accountable, and she is obliged to do acts of worship just
like adults.


The first usage of the word “puberty” involves physical maturity, and is the precondition
for marriage. The second usage of the word “puberty” is when the age of accountability
begins. This age of accountability takes effect if any one of those four events occurs:
menarche (the onset of menses), pubarche (growth of pubic hair), emission of maniy, or
the age of fifteen is reached. Only one of the four conditions needs to be met in order for
a person to be considered “post-pubertal” (baligh) according to Islamic Law (Shari’ah).
We shall prove that when Aisha (peace be upon her) played with her dolls, she had
attained pubarche (growth of pubic hair) and/or she reached the age of fifteen. Either

way, she would not at all be considered pre-pubertal according to Islamic Law. Hence, it
cannot be said that Aisha was exempted from the prohibition on sculptures.
Let us again examine the hadeeth (narration) in which Aisha (peace be upon her) was
playing with her dolls. (It should be noted that it is this same hadeeth which is used on
Islamaphobic websites to “prove” that Aisha was pre-pubertal.) Aisha narrated:
When the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) arrived after the expedition to
Tabuk or Khaybar (the narrator is doubtful), the draught raised an end of a curtain
which was hung in front of her (Aisha’s) store-room, revealing some dolls which
belonged to her. He (the Messenger of God) asked: “What is this?” She replied:
“My dolls.” …


(Sunan Abu Dawood, Book 41, Number 4914)
This event—Aisha with her dolls—occurred either after the expedition to Tabuk or the
expedition to Khaybar. (The narrator did not remember which one it was.) If the event
took place after Tabuk, then Aisha (peace be upon her) was older than fifteen years old at
the time. If the event took place after Khaybar, then she had most certainly attained
pubarche (growth of pubic hair). Therefore, from an Islamic perspective, she would have
been considered post-pubertal (baligh), since fifteen years of age and pubarche are two of
the four conditions. (see Shaykh Salih al-Munajjid’s fatwa above.)
To prove that Aisha (peace be upon her) was older than fifteen years old after Tabuk is a
simple matter. We merely need to open up The History of at-Tabari. Muslims date their
calendar after the Hijrah (migration to Madeenah). Aisha (peace be upon her)
consummated her marriage with Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the year 1
A.H. (after Hijrah). At that time, she was nine or ten years old. We read from The
History of at-Tabari:


The Events of the Year 1: …In this year also the Messenger of God consummated
his marriage with Aisha. This was in Dhu al-Qa’dah eight months after his
arrival in Madeenah according to some accounts, or in Shawwal seven months
after his arrival according to others. He had married her in Mecca three years


before the Hijrah, after the death of Khadijah. At that time, she was six, or
according to other accounts, seven years old.


(The History of at-Tabari, Vol.7, pp.6-7)
If he had married Aisha three years before the Hijrah, then in the year 1 A.H., Aisha was
at least nine years of age. The expedition to Tabuk meanwhile took place in the year 9
A.D. We read from The History of at-Tabari:


The Events of the Year 9: An Account of the Military Expedition to Tabuk
...The Messenger of God ordered his companions to prepare for the military
expedition against the Byzantines.
(The History of at-Tabari, Vol.9, p.47)


If Aisha was nine years old in the year 1 A.H., then she was some seventeen years old by
the time of Tabuk which took place in 9 A.H. Therefore, if Aisha was playing with her
dolls during the expedition of Tabuk, she was way over the age limit of fifteen and
thereby considered post-pubertal by Islamic Law (Shari’ah). Ibn Hajar says:
As for her age at the time of the Battle of Tabuk, she had by then definitely
reached the age of puberty.
(Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari)


In regards to Khaybar, we read from The History of at-Tabari:
The Events of the Year 7: The Expedition to Khaybar
Then the year 7 began. The Messenger of God set out for Khaybar in the
remainder of al-Muharram.
(The History of at-Tabari, Vol.8, p.116)


This would mean that Aisha (peace be upon her) was at least fourteen years old at the
Battle of Khaybar. The average age of pubarche (onset of pubic hair) is eleven years old.

More importantly, an overwhelming 97% of girls reach pubarche by thirteen years of age.
We read:
Delayed Puberty
…What’s normal? Approximate mean ages for onset of various pubertal changes
are as follows. Ages in parentheses are the approximate 3rd and 97th percentiles
for attainment. For example, less than 3% of girls have not yet achieved thelarche
by 13 years of age…
Pubarche 11y (8.5-13.5y)


(http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Delayed:puberty.html)
So there is an overwhelming 97% chance that Aisha had reached pubarche. In other
words, there is an overwhelming 97% chance that the theory—that Aisha was exempted
from the prohibition on sculptures—is false. Ibn Hajar was a great Islamic scholar, but
he was not a physician or a medical expert; neither was the technological knowhow
present back then to carry out such medical studies to determine the normal range of
pubarche. But if Ibn Hajar were told that there is an overwhelming 97% chance that
Aisha had attained pubarche, then it is more than likely that he would not have accepted
it as a reasonable possibility.


It is much more likely then that Aisha was playing with dolls without distinct facial
features, and as such, she was not in violation of any prohibition. Even if we say that
certain dolls are forbidden to post-pubertal girls, Aisha’s dolls were not of that type,
evidenced by the fact that she played with them when she was most definitely postpubertal.
We leave it to the Islamaphobes to deny an overwhelming 97% probability.
There is only a 50% chance that the event took place at Khaybar instead of Tabuk,
meaning that the Islamaphobes are holding onto a 1.5% possibility that Aisha was prepubertal
at the time. (Simple arithmetic: 50% chance it was Khaybar, and 3% chance she
had not reached pubarche, so 0.5x0.03=0.015)


Al-Khattabi therefore was most certainly wrong, and Ibn Hajar didn’t spot this because
he did not have the medical data regarding pubarche. We respect the Islamic scholars,
but no Islamic scholar is infallible. However, even if Al-Khattabi was right and Aisha
was pre-pubertal, then this refers to the second usage of the word “puberty”. And once
again, we go back to the words of Mufti Maulana Husain Kadodia who said:
In reality, puberty has two usages. The first usage is with regards to physical
development, whereas the second usage is with regards to menses. For (sexual)
intercourse, developmental puberty is a precondition. Whereas for other
rulings—such as being ordered to pray—the menses usage applies.
(Maulana Mufti Husain Kadodia, www.Ask-Imam.com)
So when Al-Khattabi was talking about Aisha being pre-pubertal, he was merely saying
that she was pre-menarchal (i.e. she had not had her period yet), not that she was sexually
immature.
In any case, the strongest view is that the dolls Aisha (peace be upon her) played with
were not forbidden because they had no distinct facial features. Even if we assume that
there are certain dolls that are forbidden to adults (and permissible to children), Aisha’s
dolls were not of this type! Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen wrote:


With regard to those (dolls) in which the shape is incomplete, in which there is
only a part of the limbs or head, but the shape is not clear, there is no doubt that
these are permissible, and these are like the dolls with which Aisha used to play.
(Narrated in al-Bukhari, 6130; Muslim, 2440)
But if the shape is complete, and it is as if you are looking at a person—especially
if it can move or speak—then I am not entirely at ease with the idea of them being
permissible, because this is a complete imitation of the creation of Allah. It seems
that the dolls with which Aisha used to play were not like this, so it is preferable
to avoid them. But I cannot say that they are definitely haram, because there are
concessions granted to young children to play and have fun; they are not obliged
to do any of the acts of worship so we cannot say that they are wasting their time

in idle play. But if a person wants to be on the safe side in such matters, he
should cut off the head or hold it near the fire until it softens, then he should press
it until the features disappear.
Notice that Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen did believe that concessions were granted to children
for certain dolls, but Aisha’s dolls were not of this category. In other words, even if we
accept the view that some dolls are permitted only to children, Aisha’s dolls were a type
that were permissible to children and adults, and this is because they did not have distinct
facial features. (It should be noted that the safer view is that there is no distinction
between children and adults, and that dolls with distinct facial features are to be avoided
by all.)
It is highly probable that Aisha (peace be upon her) was post-pubertal (baligh) from an
Islamic perspective. But even if Aisha had not yet had her first period, then this does not
mean that she was pre-pubertal. She was only pre-pubertal according to the Islamic
definition of the word, but not the English definition of the word! Doctors agree that
many pubertal changes occur before menarche; in fact, a girl’s sex organs may become
sexually mature years before menarche, with some girls not having a period until their
early twenties!


Although there might be a 1.5% chance that Aisha was pre-menarchal at the time of the
doll incident, there is no chance at all that her body had not undergone the physical
changes necessary to have sexual relations without harming herself. In fact, the marriage
could not have occurred if this precondition had not been met. Aisha’s body was
physically mature and the issue of having a period or not is inconsequential. This leads
me to another point. The Islamaphobes make a big deal about how Prophet Muhammad
slept with a girl who was still playing with dolls. Yet, Aisha was at least fourteen years
old when she was playing with dolls. Many fourteen year old girls have developed
bodies. A recent survey conducted by a study group “found that 42 percent of the youth
had engaged in vaginal intercourse by the age of 14.” [15] Even today, the laws in many
American states—such as Alabama, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, and


South Carolina—allow for a girl to be married at the age of fourteen with parental
approval. The Christian propagandists are trying to condemn the Prophet (peace be upon
him) for having sexual relations with a fourteen year old whereas the mother of Jesus
(peace be upon her) was betrothed at ten years of age and married at twelve.
To conclude the matter, Aisha (peace be upon her) was most likely post-menarchal. But
even if she was not, that is not a big deal because her body had undergone the pubertal
changes that cause physical maturity. Her sexual organs had been developed to the point
at which no harm would come to her from having intercourse. Some girls don’t have
menarche until their twenties. Should we demand that they never have sex until that
time? Surely that would be absurd, and this is why menarche is not a good indicator for
the readiness for sex. There are some girls who have their first period at the age of seven
whereas others have their period in their twenties, and as such, menarche is not a good
indicator to use. A better gauge for readiness for sex is overall physical maturity, which
Aisha (peace be upon her) most definitely possessed.
15 http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/apr/06040605.html