Instead, in her own words, “I wrapped myself in my
smock and then lay down where I was, knowing that
when I was missed they would come back for me.”
It was inconceivable to Aisha that her absence would
not be noted, unthinkable that the caravan would not
halt and a detachment be sent back to ɹnd her. As the
Prophet’s wife she assumed a position of privilege. To
expect her to catch up on foot was to expect her to
behave like a normal teenage girl, and if there was one
thing she would insist on all her life, it was her
exceptionality.
There was the age at which she had married
Muhammad, to start with. She had been a mere child,
she later maintained: six years old when she was
betrothed to him and nine years old when the marriage
was celebrated and consummated. And though this was
unlikely, few disputed her claim in her lifetime. Indeed,
few people cared to dispute with her at all. As one of the
most powerful Caliphs would say many years later,
“There was never any subject I wished closed that she
would not open, or that I wished open that she would
not close.”
But if Aisha was indeed married so young, others
would certainly have remarked on it at the time. In fact
most reports have her aged nine when she was betrothed
and twelve when she was actually married, since custom