Evidence #3
Quote:
Originally posted by PakistaniAbroad:
EVIDENCE # 3:
The Age of Ayesha in Relation to the Age of Fatima According to Ibn Hajar, “Fatima was born at the time the Ka`bah was rebuilt, when the Prophet was 35 years old... she was five years older that Ayesha” (Al-isabah fi tamyizi’l-sahabah, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Vol. 4, p. 377, Maktabatu’l-Riyadh al-haditha, al-Riyadh, 1978).
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This one really shows Shanavas' sense of fairness. What Shanavas doesn't mention is that ibn Hajar (d.852H) in fact gives two dates for when the Prophet's (s) daughter Fatima (r) might have been born. And yes, you've guessed it, Shanavas picks the date that suits his agenda and completely omits mentioning the other one. In fact, he presents it in such way that the reader might easily be led to believe that this is the only date ibn Hajar gave.
Not only that, but Shanavas fails to appreciate that the date he has relied on is clearly shown by ibn Hajar to have come through the narrator Muhammad ibn Umar al-Waqidi who, despite his knowledge, is an abandoned reporter as ibn Hajar himself confirms in his work at-Taqrib at-Tahdhib (Dar ar-Rashid: 1996, #6175). A host of earlier hadith masters, including Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Zura ar-Razi, and an-Nasa'i, all agree that he is abandoned. (Cf. al-Jami' fi Jarh wa Ta'dil. Alim al-Kutub, Beirut: 1996, #4083)
The second date given by ibn Hajar is that Fatima (r) was born when the Prophet (s) was 41 years old. Given that Aisha (r) was some five years older than her, this date would then agree with the age given by Hisham ibn 'Urwa and the other narrators mentioned in my first reply above, this being the age confirmed in the reports found in Bukhari, Muslim, Mu'jam al-Kabir, Abu Dawud and elsewhere. This is the very age that Shanavas wants to discredit, but he's only able to do that by wilfully ignoring evidence that refutes his theory.
Iqbal