sketches of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet reports: %u201CWhen he was old, Hisham%u2019s memory suffered quite badly%u201D (Mizanu%u2019l-ai`tidal, Al-Zahbi, Al-Maktabatu%u2019l-athriyyah, Sheikhupura, Pakistan, Vol. 4, p. 301).
CONCLUSION: Based on these references, Hisham%u2019s memory was failing and his narratives while in Iraq were unreliable. So, his narrative of Ayesha%u2019s marriage and age are unreliable.
CHRONOLOGY: It is vital also to keep in mind some of the pertinent dates in the history of Islam:
pre-610 CE: Jahiliya (pre-Islamic age) before revelation 610 CE: First revelation 610 CE: AbuBakr accepts Islam 613 CE: Prophet Muhammad begins preaching publicly. 615 CE: Emigration to Abyssinia 616 CE: Umar bin al Khattab accepts Islam 620 CE: Generally accepted betrothal of Ayesha to the Prophet 622 CE: Hijrah (emigation to Yathrib, later renamed Medina) 623/624 CE: Generally accepted year of Ayesha living with the Prophet
