Al-Bukhārī also reports, on the authority of ʿUrwah, that Khadījah died three years before the Hijrah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then remained unmarried for two years or thereabouts, after which he married ʿĀʾishah when she was six years old (1).

Ibn Idrīs transmitted—from Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr, from Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (2) ibn Ḥāṭib—that ʿĀʾishah said:

“After Khadījah passed away, Khawlah bint Ḥakīm came and said, ‘Messenger of Allah, will you not marry?’ He asked, ‘Whom?’ She replied, ‘If you wish, a virgin; and if you wish, a previously-married woman.’ He said, ‘Who is the virgin, and who is the previously-married woman?’ She answered, ‘The virgin is ʿĀʾishah, the daughter of the dearest of Allah’s creation to you, and the previously-married woman is Sawdah bint Zamʿah; she has believed in you and followed you.’ He said, ‘Mention them to me.’

“Khawlah then went to Umm Rūmān and said, ‘O Umm Rūmān, what goodness and blessing Allah has bestowed upon you!’ She asked, ‘And what is that?’ Khawlah replied, ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is speaking of ʿĀʾishah.’ Umm Rūmān said, ‘Wait until Abū Bakr arrives.’

“When Abū Bakr came, she informed him, and he said, ‘Would she be suitable for him when she is the daughter of his brother?’ The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘I am his brother and he is mine; his daughter is suitable for me.’ Abū Bakr then rose, and Umm Rūmān said to me, ‘Al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī had already asked for her for his son, and by Allah I never break a promise.’

“Abū Bakr went to al-Muṭʿim and asked, ‘What do you think about this girl?’ Al-Muṭʿim turned to his wife and asked, ‘What do you say?’ She turned to Abū Bakr and said, ‘Perhaps, if we marry this boy to you, you will bring him into your religion.’ Al-Muṭʿim then turned back to Abū Bakr and said, ‘She is saying what you have heard.’ So Abū Bakr got up, unconcerned about that prior arrangement, and said to her, ‘Tell the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to come.’ And he came