Hadith: https://sunnah.com/bukhari/78/157
(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)
Yaqeen's article confirms this occured at the time of Battle of Khaybar (628 CE):
https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/understanding-aishas-age-an-interdisciplinary-approach
This is a response to the article's faulty arguments which try to undermine Ibn Hajar's commentary.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani said she didnt reach puberty yet at age 14 when she was playing with dolls
what is immediately noticeable about this hadith is the statement in brackets (i.e., “…a little girl, not yet reached the age of puberty”). However, there is a glaring problem with the way this hadith is presented. For those thinking this a clear affirmation that she was a child, the fact of the matter is that the last statement is nowhere to be found in the hadith itself; rather, it is an addition from a hadith commentary called Fath al-Bari fi Sharh Sahih Bukhari, authored by the famous hadith scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 1449 CE).
why would Ibn Hajar claim that Aisha (ra) hadn’t reached puberty? In order to answer these questions, we need only refer to Al-Asqalani himself:
I [Ibn Hajar] say: To say with certainty, [that she was not yet at the age of puberty] is questionable, though it might possibly be so. This, because A’isha (ra) was a 14-year-old girl at the time of the Battle of Khaybar—either exactly 14 years old, or having just passed her 14th year, or approaching it. As for her age at the time of the Battle of Tabook, she had by then definitely reached the age of puberty. Therefore, the strongest view is that of those who said: “It was in Khaybar” [i.e., when she was not yet at the age of puberty], and made reconciliation [between the apparent contradictory rulings of the permissibility of dolls in particular and the prohibition of images in general]...
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Yaqeen's response to Hajar:
The first and most obvious issue with Ibn Hajar’s commentary is that he admits that Aisha (ra) was at least 14 years of age at the time this narration takes place, putting her well above the average age of the onset of puberty in the Near East during late antiquity (and even by today’s standards). This is most likely why Ibn Hajar felt his own conclusion was questionable.
Yaqeen rejects that Aisha was 14 because of false science, saying that 14 year olds were way above the age of completing puberty in the middle east region.
paraphrasing: hajar came to the conclusion she was prepube in order to reconcile the contradiction with dolls which was prohibited for adults
Yaqeen then adds that other scholars counter this notion
al-Bayhaqi (d. 1066), who claimed that the prohibition was only declared after the events narrated in the hadith in question.
Yaqeen has cherry picked bayhaqi and here is something very important to mention:
al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This means – and Allah knows best – and when she gets her menses, then she is a woman. End quote from Sunan al-Bayhaqi (1/319).
https://islamqa.info/amp/en/answers/122534
Bayhaqi thinks that girls ARE ADULTS when they GET THEIR FIRST MENSES. That is not reaching full puberty, CONTRARY TO THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE. They left this out completely.
Another point to mention is that THE ENTIRE ARTICLE COMPLETELY AVOIDS THE TIME WHEN AISHA WAS DESCRIBED AS A YOUNG IMMATURE GIRL by others:
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4750
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2661
AND THE HADITH ABOUT ETHIOPIANS OF AISHA DESCRIBING HERSELF AS A LITTLE GIRL:
https://sunnah.com/bukhari/67/169
(both of which occurred long after consummation):