Aisha...

I’ve read the hadith, which collects together many of the sayings of Mohammed and his companions. While they complement the Koran, they are not deemed by Muslims to be the word of God. It was a long read, made longer by the fact that most of the narrations are repeated, often word-for-word, and not just once but many times. I must have read at least a dozen accounts of how Mohammed’s young wife, Aisha, lost a favourite necklace, only to find, after everyone had helped her search, that her camel had been sitting on it all along. D'oh! Nevertheless, this little story is still more interesting than most of the hadith, 95% of which are resolutely banal and inconsequential (in fact, it’s their very banality which gives them the ring of truth; would anyone have bothered to make this stuff up?).

Mohammed declares that “Allah likes sneezing and dislikes yawning.” There’s advice about removing semen stains from garments (dab it with a damp cloth), and which way to spit while praying (to the left). Who will go to hell, Christians or Muslims (this question is entirely rhetorical, of course)? It’s in the hadith, not the Koran, when Mohammed decides that women must be veiled. When he wants to have sex with one of his many wifes rather than ‘taking turns’, he retreats to his cave and receives a convenient and well-timed ‘revelation’ from Allah to the effect that he can pick whichever wife he wants.

I’m now reading The Heirs of the Prophet Mohammed, by Barnaby Rogerson, which helps to bring some of these characters to life. One chapter is about the Prophet’s wives. Some he married in an attempt to unite local clans, others were taken in battle as part of the ‘war booty’. Sex slaves would be shared around his men, though Mohammed would take first pick. Two of his wives he had widowed in battle. His favourite wife (apart from Khadija, who died before he left Mecca for Medina) was Aisha. He became betrothed to her when she was six years old; she later recalled that she was playing on her see-saw when the Prophet called. Mr Rogerson is entirely uncritical in his description of the wedding night, just three years later, when “the Prophet led Aisha into the bridal hut and she became a woman”. Mohammed, considered by Muslims to be the perfect example of manhood, was 53; Aisha was just nine years old.

Sold this shot - of Glasson Dock, near Lancaster - a day after I was there...