Instigator / Pro
1
1524
rating
54
debates
74.07%
won
Topic
#4644

Prophet (SAW) from Islamic Religion was a Pedophile.

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Winner
1
0

After 1 vote and with 1 point ahead, the winner is...

Bella3sp
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
5
Time for argument
Two weeks
Max argument characters
30,000
Voting period
One month
Point system
Winner selection
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
0
1500
rating
5
debates
50.0%
won
Description

Resolution: Prophet (SAW) from Islamic Religion was a Pedophilia or Hebephilia.

Pro: Prophet (SAW) from Islamic Religion was a Pedophilia or Hebephilia.
Con: Prophet (SAW) from Islamic Religion was not a Pedophilia or Hebephilia.

Willing to change definitions if asked. Otherwise, these are the current set definitions.

Pedophile: a person who is sexually attracted to children.
https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/

Child groomer: Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/grooming/

Child: A child is a human being who is not yet an adult.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/child

Adult: An adult is a mature, fully developed person.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/adult

Any other definitions should be stated in the beginning of round one (unless introduced later on), other than that, any other words should be used in there primary context.

--

I'm also willing to recreate this debate for judges, if needed.

Rules:
1. Only one person can accept this debate, tigerlord. Unless specifically mentioned in the comments of a change, or he declines. Either way.
2. Burden is shared.
3. Anyone who accepts besides tigerlord (unless stated otherwise in comments) results in an automatic concession.

Round 1
Pro
#1
I mean.. "Rule 3. Anyone who accepts besides tigerlord (unless stated otherwise in comments) results in an automatic concession." - I see in the comments you already noticed this. I guess I can make an expected to the rule, if wanted. 
Con
#2
I change my mind.  I will try to debate about this topic. Maybe I can learn something. To answer Tigerlord in the comments, I accepted the challenge to try and challenge myself in debate, but realized that I was not expected to accept this debate challenge. 
Round 2
Pro
#3
Thanks TheElephantInTheRoom,
I tried to make this as short as possible.

Regarding Rules
Rules one and three have been waived; tigerlord has accepted a different debate. 

Point
Case
The following will be talked about: 
  • Aisha is not an Adult
  • Prophet (SAW) was an Adult
  • Difference between a child and adult
  • Aisha being a child, and Prophet (SAW) being an adult = Prophet (SAW) was a pedophile
  • Prophet (SAW) was a pedophile regardless of Islamic beliefs 
Burden
The burden is shared between both users, pro and con.

Pro must prove that Prophet (SAW) was a pedophile 
Con must prove that Prophet (SAW) was not a pedophile  

In the process, I will mostly be providing that because Aisha was a child and Prophet (SAW) was an adult, he was a pedophile. 

Definitions:
Pedophile: a person who is sexually attracted to children.

Child groomer: Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them.

Child: A child is a human being who is not yet an adult.

Adult: An adult is a mature, fully developed person.

Assumptions
I wanted to clear a few assumptions that may be made in this debate.

1. "Prophet (SAW) had married others before that weren't children meaning he wasn't a pedophile" 
First off, that is incorrect. 

People have had a relationship with adults, however, still can be sexually attracted to children as well, making them a pedophile. 

2. "Aisha had puberty = adult" 
That is incorrect. Having puberty does not mean you are capable of being an adult, and in fact even shows your not fully developed yet.
With that said, I will address later in this debate on what an actual adult is.

3. "Marriage during that time had different age ranges and was accepted meaning Prophet (SAW) was not a pedophile" 
This debate does not regard anything about if marriage was acceptable during that time. 

Even if she was in that age range, the reason it wouldn't matter is because this debate is about if Prophet (SAW) was a pedophile. In that time, people can be a pedophile but the marriage itself might be accepted.

Contentions

I. Aisha was a child when she got married
Aisha is estimated to be six year old, however many others also say Aisha may be six to nine years old at the time of marriage. 

Let's go into depth about her actually, in reality, being six to seven years old. 

1. 
"Narrated `Aisha:
that the Prophet (ﷺ) married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death)." 

2. 
Narrated 'A'isha :
'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported that Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) married her when she was six years old, and he (the Holy Prophet) took her to his house when she was nine, and when he (the Holy Prophet) died she was eighteen years old

3.
It was narrated that 'Aishah said:
"The Messenger of Allah married me when I was six, and consummated the marriage with me when I was nine, and I used to play with dolls."

There are many others, but let's use those three. All three show that she was of the age of six, not eighteen, nine, eight, etc. 
This shows by itself, that she was a child. So in terms of attraction, Prophet (SAW) married and had sex with a child. 

II. Fully grown and Maturity
Base of Maturity
An adult per definition is being full grown have having maturity. 

I wanted to go into depths about both things.
1. Being fully developed
2. Maturity 

This raises the question, was Aisha an adult under both standards? 
I will use both standards in an interchangeable manner. 

These are the three things that regard it: 
  • Sexually developed/mature
  • Physically developed/mature
  • Mentally developed/mature
Sexually Mature
"Humans are sexually mature after puberty, but puberty can start anywhere between ages 8 and 13 for girls and between ages 9 and 14 for boys" 

You are sexually mature after puberty not beginning puberty, not in the middle, but after.
So, even if Aisha had gotten puberty early, she had not fully been through puberty. 

Brain Maturity
Now, let's come down to your brain. When does your brain fully develop in order to reach maturity? 

At the age of 25 you have full maturity. 

"The rational part of a teen's brain isn't fully developed and won't be until age 25 or so. In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain's rational part."

Considering the fact that Aisha was nowhere near that age, can she be considered to have maturity of the level that adult's have maturity? No.

Maturity of giving consent
With that said, it is was clear that it would be impossible for a six year old to give consent. 

I will say however, while the PFC develops several complex functions at age twelve, Aisha was not age twelve. In fact she was half that age.
I have another site to back this up: 

"All of cognitive functions seem to reach a relative plateau of maturity at about the age of 12 years. For example, development of attention reach maturity at about age 12, Working memory and planning seem to develop also at the same pace and toward the same plateau (about 12 years)." 

Islamic religion itself
Let's actually go into where they talk about her as a "little" girl: 
"Narrated `Aisha:
I used to play with the dolls in the presence of the Prophet, and my girl friends also used to play with me. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to enter (my dwelling place) they used to hide themselves, but the Prophet would call them to join and play with me. (The playing with the dolls and similar images is forbidden, but it was allowed for `Aisha at that time, as she was a little girl, not yet reached the age of puberty.) (Fath-ul-Bari page 143, Vol.13)"

It quite literally states itself, at that time, Aisha was a little girl. 
So, already, we see that Aisha at the age of six, she was a little girl. Confirmed by the sources themselves without science. 

As I state down below, with Prophet (SAW)'s attraction as she was a little girl just goes to show he was a pedophile. 

Furthermore.. 

The History of al-Tabari Vol. 9: The Last Years of the Prophet” (page 128) states:
“As for 'A’ishah, when he married her she was very young and not yet ready for consummation .. 

877. She was six years old when the Prophet married her in Shawwal, tenth year of the mission. The marriage was consummated in Shawwal in Medina when she was nine years old. She died in Ramaḍān 58/678. Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqāt, VIII, 39-56; Baladhuri, Ansāb, 1, 409–21.”

She was six years old, and married and it even states that she was "very young and not ready for consummation" but still, he attracted existed. 
With all that, this reference doesn't even tell us what "ready" means. What will ready ever mean for Islam religion? 

Two things: 
  • Doesn't reveal that she even reached puberty
  • Even if she did reach puberty it does not make her an adult
III. Sexual Attraction and Attraction 
Both attractions are one of the same
In order to have a sexual attraction and arousal, you must also have to have attraction. 

In this case, it is shown that Prophet (SAW) had attraction to Aisha which lead to his overall sexual attraction in a young girl, a child. 
Prophet (SAW) showed interest and pleasure in Aisha. As of which as said, his romantic attraction had also become a sexual attraction and sexual relationship with Aisha.

Prophet (SAW) was attracted to Aisha, hence, the marriage. Prophet (SAW) had a sexual attraction to a child. 

Prophet (SAW) had intercourse with Aisha
"The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with ‘Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)."

"The Prophet married Aishah when she was seven years old, and consummated the marriage with her when she was nine, and he passed away when she was eighteen."

Having intercourse with a child shows even more to prove the fact, Prophet (SAW) indeed was a pedophile. 

IV. Conclusion 
In light of all this, we can clearly see that Prophet (SAW) was a pedophile. He had an attraction to her, a romantic and sexual relationship with Aisha, a child. Aisha was not of the age of maturity, sexual maturity, or physical maturity.

Aisha was a child, Prophet (SAW) had an attraction to Aisha and in reality that makes him a pedophile. 

I'll hand it to you now con. 
Con
#4
Forfeited
Round 3
Pro
#5
Extend.
Con
#6

While what it is true that the Prophet did have a relationship with a child, (Aisha), it must be noted that while he is a pedophile by modern standards, he most likely was not a pedophile when it comes to ancient Saudi Arabian legalities. 
 
According to the article, Saudi Arabia, "In February 2021, the Ministry of Justice announced that an amendment would be made to the Personal Status Law to raise the minimum legal age of marriage to 18 for both boys and girls. Local media reports highlight that several conditions must be met in order to approve a marriage contract for boys and girls below the age of 18 such as a psychosocial development assessment and heard statements to confirm consent. Applications for a marriage license must record the bride's age and in order to consummate the marriage, legal registration is necessary. Prior to the amendment, there was no minimum legal age of marriage in Saudi Arabia."


In essence, by the Prophet's legal standards, he was not a pedophile.

Round 4
Pro
#7
Case closed. Con has conceded to my entire point.

According to con: "While what it is true that the Prophet did have a relationship with a child, (Aisha)"
By definition of pedophile, having a relationship and sexual relationship with a child makes you a pedophile.

Definition of pedophile: 
"Pedophile: a person who is sexually attracted to children.

And he was, so regardless of legal concerns he was a pedophile.

Like I said, this debate is not about what the legal marriage range is. I explained that in my contentions.
As the title of this is not "Prophet (SAW) married Aisha in the legal age requirements" it's a debate about: Prophet (SAW) was a pedophile. 

The laws may or may not say he can marry her, however, he is still a pedophile regardless. 

But let me dig deeper into your argument. 

Specifically in the bolded: 
"According to the article, Saudi Arabia, "In February 2021, the Ministry of Justice announced that an amendment would be made to the Personal Status Law to raise the minimum legal age of marriage to 18 for both boys and girls. Local media reports highlight that several conditions must be met in order to approve a marriage contract for boys and girls below the age of 18 such as a psychosocial development assessment and heard statements to confirm consent. Applications for a marriage license must record the bride's age and in order to consummate the marriage, legal registration is necessary. Prior to the amendment, there was no minimum legal age of marriage in Saudi Arabia."

I don't think he completed the several conditions , therefore right now, it was illegal. But like I said, either way he was still a pedophile. 
Con
#8
Forfeited
Round 5
Pro
#9
Extend and end.
Con
#10
Forfeited