Reply #22: And formally did not have sex with Ayesha tell she was 10.

[happyslug]

At least officially he had sex with her at that age, he had no children by her. The sex at age ten seems to be more of what was expected of Mohamed when one of his wives "came of age" than any sexual desire by his part (Most men are NOT turned on by ten year old girls).

Ayesha may also be the start of the Shiite split. At age 14 she was left behind when Mohammad's group left an encampment, she was then picked up by a teenager who took her to Mohammad's camp. Under the law of pre-moslem Arabia, that was enough to prove adultery. Mohammad asked Ali for advice on this matter and Ali said applied the law. Mohammad decided that to convict her of Adultery he had to have four wittinesses of the adulterous act and since he did not have that many wines sees she was declared Non-Guilty of the Crime.

The Significance of this was it seems to begin the start of Ayesha dislike of Ali and she used everything in her power to prevent him from succeeding Mohammad upon his death and the death of the next three Caliphs. Ali was finally voted Caliph as the Fourth Caliph (i.e. successor to the Prophet) and Ayesha launched a revolt against him which Ali put down (But then he refused to execute her).

Now at the end of Ali's reign Ayesha seems to have supported him against his opponents with Islam, but not enough for Ali's son to succeed Ali as the fifth Caliph. (The Umayyad Dynasty secured the Caliphate for themselves at this time, through what are today Sunni Moslems do not form up for another 150 years and the arise of the Abbasid Dynasty in 750 AD).

For more on these Dynasty see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyads

The reason for this switch on the part of Ayesha seems to be that while she supported her father (The First Caliph, Abu Bakr) as her husband's successor (over Ali's claim), as the Third Caliphs family (the Umayyard dynasty) slowly took over the Islamic Movement she became more and more dismayed about that movement and decided to back Ali. The problem was this support was to little to late for when Ali died the Umayyard Dynasty (Whose leader was already in revolt against Ali at the time of Ali's death) was established.

Please note no record survives of the time period of Mohammad's death, it is all oral tradition, but traditions that must be given great weight given the nature of th Arabic Language and HOW oral traditions were maintained till after the introduction of linen paper after the Mongol Conquest (c 1250 AD).