A methodological approach to orientalists' narratives on Aisha: The issues of marriage age and slander

The first examples of non-Islamic literature about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad began to appear in the 7th century. Negative perceptions and imaginations on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad in the texts produced with a defensive reflex by different cultures and civilizations, especially in the nearby Muslim territory, have become the source of orientalist studies. However, perceptions and approaches to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad have undergone various shifts in the historical process. Among the reasons for the change in the perceptions and approaches of orientalists, it is inevitable that there are reasons such as political motives, ideological background and paradigm shifts. In addition to these, we think that the quality of the sources on the biography of Muhammad used by orientalists is a determining factor for the change of perception. As a matter of fact, the second half of the 19th century, when a significant change has been observed in orientalist studies, is also the period when early sources of Islam became the main references for orientalists. To show the perception change reflection by the effect of sources, specific orientalist studies of 17th-20th centuries have been taken as a stand point. In order to reveal the narration-source relationship in the selected orientalist studies, we, by centering Aisha bint Abu Bakr, an important figure in the history of Islam, chose her age of marriage and the event of slander (Ifk) as the subject of the sample In this context, we examine the nature of the sources on which the orientalists' narratives are based. Therefore, while we generally rely on the historical criticism method, we apply the source criticism method in particular. When we examine the orientalists' accounts of Aisha's marriage age and the event of slander in the context of the sources they refer to, we reach the findings about the traces of the change.