As far as the word Jihad is concerned there is a misconception not only among the Non-Muslims, but also among some Muslims. What most people think is that any war fought by any Muslim for any reason, whether it be for his personal gains, whether it be for political gains, whether it be for language or whether it be for colour, it is called as Jihad. Jihad does not mean any war fought by any Muslim; Jihad comes from Arabic word “Jahada” which means to strive to struggle; so Jihad basically means to strive or struggle.
In Islamic context it means to strive against one’s own evil inclinations, it also means to strive to make the society better, it even includes striving in the battlefield to fight in self-defense and it also means to fight against oppression and tyranny. Therefore, it means to strive or struggle.
Many people have the misconception that Jihad means ‘Holy War’. The Arabic word for Holy War is “Harbum Muqaddasah”. If you read the Holy Quran, no where in the Quran, not even a single verse, and no where in the authentic Ahadith of Prophet (peace be upon him) is the word “Harbum Muqaddasah” mentioned. There is no “Harbum Muqaddasah” at all. The translation of Jihad is not ‘Holy War’ at all.
This word ‘Holy War’ was first used by the historians to describe the Crusades of the Christians: who spread Christianity and who killed thousands of people in the name of Christianity. As the Austrian Catholic philosopher, Hans Koechler points out, “Literally, "holy war" is the translation of the Latin term bellum sanctum which was used to describe a " crusade " against the "Saracens" in the Middle Ages; thus, this notion was part of the doctrine of the Roman-Catholic Church over many centuries." Unfortunately many (such as the western media, Non-Muslims and even some Muslims) translate Jihad as ‘Holy War’. It is a mistranslation and this mistake needs to be rectified.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Explanation of Verse 5 of Surah Taubah (Chapter 9)
One of the objections raised against Islam by the critics is on the verse 5 of Surah Taubah (Chapter 9): Allah says in the glorious Quran “And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” The allegation is that Quran says that kill the Non-Muslims wherever you find them. This is the verse which is often quoted to show that Islam is a ruthless religion and it teaches its followers extremism.
It has been mentioned by Islamic Scholars again and again that Quran cannot be understood just by reading the verses; one has to read the exegesis of Quran or study from an authentic scholar. This verse is thrown at Muslims time and again without proper research being done; even if the critics read from the first verse until around the thirteenth verse, it would have still clarified few of their doubts. But it looks like that some of them knowingly keep quoting this verse out of context just to throw dirt on the religion of Islam.
In this article, the whole background of this verse will be discussed and after a thorough analysis of the explanation of the first few verses of Surah Taubah (chapter 9), Insha’Allah (God willing), the readers will understand how the critics of Islam are mistaken.
The first thing to keep in mind is that the word mentioned in the verse 5 is Mushrikeen which means polytheists and thus it does not include all the Non-Muslims. Secondly, God has mentioned different types of polytheists in this chapter. If one does not understand the different types of polytheists then two major problems occur: firstly, one does not know in which verse God is talking about which group of polytheists, and secondly one who has not read the exegesis of Quran puts all the polytheists in one category as a whole, and thus thinks that God has commanded to kill all the polytheists.
It is imperative to understand some of the historical incidences which took place after five Hijri (five years after the Muslims migrated to Medina). After the unsuccessful attempt of the Non-Muslims in the war of Khandaq (in which the Non-Muslims tried to annihilate Muslims) they returned back to Makkah. Prophet (peace be upon him) told his companions that now the Makkans will never attack us again. Some time later the Prophet (peace be upon him) also saw a dream that Muslims are doing Umrah (small pilgrimage). Since the dream of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was always a revelation, it was decided that Muslims will go for Umrah. Muslims had left Makkah for six years and they yearned to go back to their birthplace and to the place where the Holy Kaaba was present (as the polytheists had forbidden their entry into Makkah and it was impossible for them to go there).
Consequently the Muslims departed for Makkah (without any ammunition to show that they had no intention to fight, and they just wanted to perform the Umrah), but they were stopped by the polytheists at a place called Hudabiyyah. They did not allow them to perform Umrah. The Polytheists had intentions to fight, but at that time Prophet (peace be upon him) said that I would make peace with them if they want to make peace with us, and I would accept any condition put forth (no matter how unjust so that a peace treaty could be signed; this further shows that Islam is not a religion of violence but peace). So in the end Muslims signed a peace treaty even though the conditions were extremely unjust.
The first condition Quraish (main tribe of the polytheists) put forth was that Muslims cannot perform Umrah this year. The Prophet (peace be upon him) accepted this condition (and when asked that your dream was a revelation and how is it possible that we cannot perform Umrah, he replied that the dream did not necessarily mean that we will do Umrah this year; we will do it eventually in the near future). The second condition they put forth was that if anyone turns away from your religion (Islam) and comes to us we will not return that person; on the other hand, if someone from one of us immigrates to Medina, the Muslims will return that person to us. The Prophet (peace be upon him) accepted this as well. It was also decided that Muslims and Polytheists will not fight each other for the next ten years. The fourth condition was that any Arab tribe is free to join either Muslims or the Polytheists if they wish. Along with this condition it was decided that if some tribe joins with Quraish or the Muslims, and if someone fights with that tribe then it will be considered an act of war on Quraish or the Muslims (as they have joined with either of them and thus are considered a part of them). The fifth condition was that next year Muslims will come for Umrah. The sixth term was that Muslims will come next year for Umrah for three days only without any ammunition. Hence, the treaty was signed on these conditions and next year in seventh Hijri Muslims came for three days and performed their Umrah.
There were two Arab tribes (Banu Bakr and Banu khuza’a) who used to fight each other a lot. Banu khuza’a joined the Muslims and Banu Bakr joined the Quraish in Makkah. After a while, there arose a conflict between these two tribes regarding a stream of water. The conflict was pre-planned by Banu Bakr and they used this excuse to carry out their plot. A lot of people from Banu khuza’a were killed in that conflict. The Quraish were not only aware of this plan of Banu Bakr, but they provided Banu Bakr with ammunition as well. So knowing that Quraish were on their side, Banu Bakr settled some of their previous scores with Banu Khuza’a.
When this news reached Prophet (peace be upon him) he conducted an investigation and when this incidence was confirmed, he sent a delegation to Quraish with the message that you have three options: the Quraish must pay compensation for the murders committed (hundred camels for one life), or the Quraish should clearly declare that they have broken their ties with Banu Bakr and then the Muslims will deal with them, or the Muslims should be allowed to kill same number of people from a sub tribe of Banu Bakr (i.e. Banu Nafaasa) on the principle of life for life. Quraish rejected this proposal and said if Muslims attack any of our allies we will take action against them with equal might. They further said that Muslims can do whatever they want with us (meaning we are not afraid of them and we will take care of them). Because of this act of Quraish, the treaty of Hudabiyyah was annulled (as the fourth condition of the treaty was not honoured).
When the treaty was null and void, Muslims conquered Makkah in eighth Hijri, and Prophet (peace be upon him) assured Banu Khuza’a that appropriate action will be taken. In ninth Hijri some Muslims went for pilgrimage and then these verses of Surah Taubah were revealed. Prophet (peace be upon him) sent Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to Makkah to recite these verses to the Polytheists (one of the reason being that from next year only Muslims will be allowed to perform pilgrimage and not the polytheists). Now in Makkah there were four types of Polytheists.
The first type of Polytheists was of those with whom Muslims had a treaty of peace without mention of any timeframe. The second type was of those with whom there was no treaty at all as they used to live far away and there was no need for any treaty with them. The first, second and third verse of Surah Taubah talks about these polytheists and Allah says “[This is a declaration of] disassociation, from Allah and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the polytheists. So travel freely, [O disbelievers], throughout the land [during] four months but know that you cannot cause failure to Allah and that Allah will disgrace the disbelievers. And [it is] an announcement from Allah and His Messenger to the people on the day of the greater pilgrimage that Allah is disassociated from the disbelievers, and [so is] His Messenger. So if you repent, that is best for you; but if you turn away – then know that you will not cause failure to Allah. And give tidings to those who disbelieve of a painful punishment” [Al Quran 9:1-3]. God has commanded here that the treaty will be honoured, but from next year only Muslims will be allowed to perform pilgrimage. It is further stated in the narrations of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he told Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to announce that from now on no one will circle the Kaaba in nude (as was the practice in the days gone by) and that no polytheist will enter paradise unless they repent.
The third type of polytheists was of those with whom Muslims had treaty for a certain amount of time: they were the two tribes of Banu Kanaana (Banu Zamaara and Banu Madlij). The verse revealed in the Quran was in the month of Shawaal 9th Hijri and so the treaty with them was valid until nine more months. Allah says “Excepted are those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything or supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term [has ended]. Indeed, Allah loves the righteous [who fear Him]” [Al Quran 9:4]. The Muslims were commanded to fulfill their treaty and not to renew it with those who did not break their treaty or supported anyone against the Muslims.
Fourth type was of the ones who broke the treaty of Hudabiyyah (i.e. Quraish, Banu Bakr and Banu Nafaasa). Allah gave them permission that for four months you can stay here but after that time you must leave this area. This is mentioned in the verse five which says “And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Al Quran 9:5]. Basically if they leave then they will not be harmed but if they do not, then God allowed Muslims to fight them, and in the battlefield kill those who broke the treaty (as their act of killing people of Banu Khuza’a was equivalent to the act of war on the Muslims). So verse 5 speaks about killing those polytheists who did not honour the treaty of Hudabiyyah in the battlefield, and the critics of Islam try to project that Muslims are allowed to kill all the Non-Muslims. Note that God says if they repent then let them go (even after their horrendous acts Islam teaches forgiveness and peace and not fighting).
Furthermore, one has to combine this verse with the next verse which says “And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah. Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know” [Al Quran 9:6]. Meaning that in the battlefield if someone asks for asylum, not only give them protection but also escort them to a place of security. The question here is that which army General in the battlefield can give this type of command? This clearly proves that the main emphasis of Islam is on peace.
I hope after the above mentioned explanation it would be clear that it is incorrect to state that Islam is violent religion and commands its followers to kill all the Non-Muslims. This is a gross misconception and it is used by those who do not understand the Quran or those who have enmity in their hearts against Islam. May Allah guide us all and show us the right path.
It has been mentioned by Islamic Scholars again and again that Quran cannot be understood just by reading the verses; one has to read the exegesis of Quran or study from an authentic scholar. This verse is thrown at Muslims time and again without proper research being done; even if the critics read from the first verse until around the thirteenth verse, it would have still clarified few of their doubts. But it looks like that some of them knowingly keep quoting this verse out of context just to throw dirt on the religion of Islam.
In this article, the whole background of this verse will be discussed and after a thorough analysis of the explanation of the first few verses of Surah Taubah (chapter 9), Insha’Allah (God willing), the readers will understand how the critics of Islam are mistaken.
The first thing to keep in mind is that the word mentioned in the verse 5 is Mushrikeen which means polytheists and thus it does not include all the Non-Muslims. Secondly, God has mentioned different types of polytheists in this chapter. If one does not understand the different types of polytheists then two major problems occur: firstly, one does not know in which verse God is talking about which group of polytheists, and secondly one who has not read the exegesis of Quran puts all the polytheists in one category as a whole, and thus thinks that God has commanded to kill all the polytheists.
It is imperative to understand some of the historical incidences which took place after five Hijri (five years after the Muslims migrated to Medina). After the unsuccessful attempt of the Non-Muslims in the war of Khandaq (in which the Non-Muslims tried to annihilate Muslims) they returned back to Makkah. Prophet (peace be upon him) told his companions that now the Makkans will never attack us again. Some time later the Prophet (peace be upon him) also saw a dream that Muslims are doing Umrah (small pilgrimage). Since the dream of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was always a revelation, it was decided that Muslims will go for Umrah. Muslims had left Makkah for six years and they yearned to go back to their birthplace and to the place where the Holy Kaaba was present (as the polytheists had forbidden their entry into Makkah and it was impossible for them to go there).
Consequently the Muslims departed for Makkah (without any ammunition to show that they had no intention to fight, and they just wanted to perform the Umrah), but they were stopped by the polytheists at a place called Hudabiyyah. They did not allow them to perform Umrah. The Polytheists had intentions to fight, but at that time Prophet (peace be upon him) said that I would make peace with them if they want to make peace with us, and I would accept any condition put forth (no matter how unjust so that a peace treaty could be signed; this further shows that Islam is not a religion of violence but peace). So in the end Muslims signed a peace treaty even though the conditions were extremely unjust.
The first condition Quraish (main tribe of the polytheists) put forth was that Muslims cannot perform Umrah this year. The Prophet (peace be upon him) accepted this condition (and when asked that your dream was a revelation and how is it possible that we cannot perform Umrah, he replied that the dream did not necessarily mean that we will do Umrah this year; we will do it eventually in the near future). The second condition they put forth was that if anyone turns away from your religion (Islam) and comes to us we will not return that person; on the other hand, if someone from one of us immigrates to Medina, the Muslims will return that person to us. The Prophet (peace be upon him) accepted this as well. It was also decided that Muslims and Polytheists will not fight each other for the next ten years. The fourth condition was that any Arab tribe is free to join either Muslims or the Polytheists if they wish. Along with this condition it was decided that if some tribe joins with Quraish or the Muslims, and if someone fights with that tribe then it will be considered an act of war on Quraish or the Muslims (as they have joined with either of them and thus are considered a part of them). The fifth condition was that next year Muslims will come for Umrah. The sixth term was that Muslims will come next year for Umrah for three days only without any ammunition. Hence, the treaty was signed on these conditions and next year in seventh Hijri Muslims came for three days and performed their Umrah.
There were two Arab tribes (Banu Bakr and Banu khuza’a) who used to fight each other a lot. Banu khuza’a joined the Muslims and Banu Bakr joined the Quraish in Makkah. After a while, there arose a conflict between these two tribes regarding a stream of water. The conflict was pre-planned by Banu Bakr and they used this excuse to carry out their plot. A lot of people from Banu khuza’a were killed in that conflict. The Quraish were not only aware of this plan of Banu Bakr, but they provided Banu Bakr with ammunition as well. So knowing that Quraish were on their side, Banu Bakr settled some of their previous scores with Banu Khuza’a.
When this news reached Prophet (peace be upon him) he conducted an investigation and when this incidence was confirmed, he sent a delegation to Quraish with the message that you have three options: the Quraish must pay compensation for the murders committed (hundred camels for one life), or the Quraish should clearly declare that they have broken their ties with Banu Bakr and then the Muslims will deal with them, or the Muslims should be allowed to kill same number of people from a sub tribe of Banu Bakr (i.e. Banu Nafaasa) on the principle of life for life. Quraish rejected this proposal and said if Muslims attack any of our allies we will take action against them with equal might. They further said that Muslims can do whatever they want with us (meaning we are not afraid of them and we will take care of them). Because of this act of Quraish, the treaty of Hudabiyyah was annulled (as the fourth condition of the treaty was not honoured).
When the treaty was null and void, Muslims conquered Makkah in eighth Hijri, and Prophet (peace be upon him) assured Banu Khuza’a that appropriate action will be taken. In ninth Hijri some Muslims went for pilgrimage and then these verses of Surah Taubah were revealed. Prophet (peace be upon him) sent Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to Makkah to recite these verses to the Polytheists (one of the reason being that from next year only Muslims will be allowed to perform pilgrimage and not the polytheists). Now in Makkah there were four types of Polytheists.
The first type of Polytheists was of those with whom Muslims had a treaty of peace without mention of any timeframe. The second type was of those with whom there was no treaty at all as they used to live far away and there was no need for any treaty with them. The first, second and third verse of Surah Taubah talks about these polytheists and Allah says “[This is a declaration of] disassociation, from Allah and His Messenger, to those with whom you had made a treaty among the polytheists. So travel freely, [O disbelievers], throughout the land [during] four months but know that you cannot cause failure to Allah and that Allah will disgrace the disbelievers. And [it is] an announcement from Allah and His Messenger to the people on the day of the greater pilgrimage that Allah is disassociated from the disbelievers, and [so is] His Messenger. So if you repent, that is best for you; but if you turn away – then know that you will not cause failure to Allah. And give tidings to those who disbelieve of a painful punishment” [Al Quran 9:1-3]. God has commanded here that the treaty will be honoured, but from next year only Muslims will be allowed to perform pilgrimage. It is further stated in the narrations of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he told Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to announce that from now on no one will circle the Kaaba in nude (as was the practice in the days gone by) and that no polytheist will enter paradise unless they repent.
The third type of polytheists was of those with whom Muslims had treaty for a certain amount of time: they were the two tribes of Banu Kanaana (Banu Zamaara and Banu Madlij). The verse revealed in the Quran was in the month of Shawaal 9th Hijri and so the treaty with them was valid until nine more months. Allah says “Excepted are those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything or supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term [has ended]. Indeed, Allah loves the righteous [who fear Him]” [Al Quran 9:4]. The Muslims were commanded to fulfill their treaty and not to renew it with those who did not break their treaty or supported anyone against the Muslims.
Fourth type was of the ones who broke the treaty of Hudabiyyah (i.e. Quraish, Banu Bakr and Banu Nafaasa). Allah gave them permission that for four months you can stay here but after that time you must leave this area. This is mentioned in the verse five which says “And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Al Quran 9:5]. Basically if they leave then they will not be harmed but if they do not, then God allowed Muslims to fight them, and in the battlefield kill those who broke the treaty (as their act of killing people of Banu Khuza’a was equivalent to the act of war on the Muslims). So verse 5 speaks about killing those polytheists who did not honour the treaty of Hudabiyyah in the battlefield, and the critics of Islam try to project that Muslims are allowed to kill all the Non-Muslims. Note that God says if they repent then let them go (even after their horrendous acts Islam teaches forgiveness and peace and not fighting).
Furthermore, one has to combine this verse with the next verse which says “And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah. Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know” [Al Quran 9:6]. Meaning that in the battlefield if someone asks for asylum, not only give them protection but also escort them to a place of security. The question here is that which army General in the battlefield can give this type of command? This clearly proves that the main emphasis of Islam is on peace.
I hope after the above mentioned explanation it would be clear that it is incorrect to state that Islam is violent religion and commands its followers to kill all the Non-Muslims. This is a gross misconception and it is used by those who do not understand the Quran or those who have enmity in their hearts against Islam. May Allah guide us all and show us the right path.
Causing Difficulties for Others
This material for this article has been taken from the Lecture of Mufti Taqi Usmani.
A famous hadith states, "A Muslim is the one from whose hands and tongue other Muslims are safe." [Tirmidhi] Keeping others safe from our hands and tongues does not only mean that we do not hurl stones or abuses at them, it also means that we do not say or do anything that will hurt them.
These days, among majority of the Muslims, there is a misconception that reduces Islam to only the performance of the ritual acts of worship - the pillars - thus robbing it of much of the rest of the building. A very important and integral section of that building deals with our social relations. It is concerned with how we behave in the family, how we interact with relatives, friends, neighbours, colleagues, and all the rest of humanity. The cornerstone of Islamic teachings in this area is the requirement that we do not cause anyone any hurt through our words or actions.
The above mentioned hadith clearly describes this as a defining trait of a Muslim. While it refers to "other Muslims," scholars agree that it is a general requirement that equally applies to Non-Muslims except those who are at war with the Muslims. A person who, through his intentional or careless actions or words, inflicts unjustified pain on others is not worthy of being called a Muslim.
The importance of social relations can be understood from the fact that Quran has described some of its aspects in great detail. For example, Quran has gone in detail to explain how a person should take permission when entering someone’s place; whereas there is no mention of the details of how one should pray. Similarly most of the Surah Hujaraat discusses the aspects regarding our social relations.
Islam wants to build a society, which is a model of civility, courtesy, and consideration for others. It does so by emphasising these attributes as a matter of faith. One hadith says that Iman (faith) has more than seventy branches. The highest one is the declaration that there is no God except Allah and the lowest one is the removal of harmful objects from the pathway.
We see this consideration for others throughout the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him). For example, whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) visited a group where some people were asleep and others were not, he would greet them with a low enough voice so those awake could hear him while those asleep would not be disturbed. Every night when he used to get up for Tahajjud (midnight prayer) - a voluntary prayer for the rest of us - he would walk out of the bed very quietly so as not to disturb his sleeping wife.
Whenever he saw someone committing a wrong deed that needed to be corrected in public for the education of others, he would mention it in general terms, not naming the person who did it. This last practice also shows the two extremes in this regard that must be avoided. On the one hand is the temptation to compromise on the issue of right and wrong to avoid hurting feelings of others. On the other is the temptation to correct the wrong with total disregard to the fact that one might be insulting or injuring the other person. While we may see these extreme attitudes in people who seem to be poles apart in terms of their practice of religion, both stem from the same narrow vision of religion that holds our dealings with others as worldly affairs, outside the realm of Islam!
We all know how much stress has been laid upon by Prophet (peace be upon him) on praying in congregation for men. The importance of praying in congregation can be realised from the fact that Prophet (peace be upon him) used to come to the mosque (with the help of two men) even when he was extremely ill. On the other hand, jurists agree on the fact that if a person has acquired such an illness which causes others to feel disgusted, then that person should not come to the mosque and he must pray at home. If that person comes to the mosque, he will be sinful as he becomes a cause of difficulty for others.
Moreover, most of us are aware of the rewards of kissing the black stone in the Holy Kaaba. Prophet (peace be upon him) himself kissed it and thus it is a sunnah. But the jurists have written that if kissing the black stone is a cause of hurt for others (e.g. one has to push others and thus causing inconvenience to others) then it would not be permissible to kiss the stone. Those of us who have visited Makkah know very well what happens around the black stone. Because of the lack of knowledge of Islam, people are pushing and shoving others to get to the black stone. So just to perform a sunnah (it is not compulsory to kiss the black stone) act, the people indulge themselves in haraam (prohibited or forbidden). As a result, in the end, instead of getting a reward they end up being sinful.
Another example of this is wrong parking and blocking the way of others. Once Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions came back from a Gazwa (a war fought in which Prophet peace be upon him himself took part), and some companions left their stuff on the road which blocked some or all part of the pathway. When Prophet (peace be upon him) was informed of this, he said to announce that there is no reward of Jihad for those who blocked the way of others. Can you imagine the reward of Jihad with Prophet (peace be upon him)? However, because of causing hassle to others this huge reward was lost. Unfortunately it is common practice among some of the Muslims to double park, or park in front of the driveway or block part of the road for some other reason. They do not realise how big a sin they are committing.
Likewise, we should not use our tongues in such a manner which will hurt feelings of others. Even if someone has to be criticised, it should be done in such a way which does not demean that person at all.
There are numerous other examples, but for the sake of brevity I will stop here. If all the Muslims start to check their actions, and think beforehand (whether their action will hurt others in any way whatsoever), most of our social problems will disappear. It is good to remember that Islam is a way of life. We must submit our whole life, not a small subset of our choosing, to the commands and teachings of Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon him).
A famous hadith states, "A Muslim is the one from whose hands and tongue other Muslims are safe." [Tirmidhi] Keeping others safe from our hands and tongues does not only mean that we do not hurl stones or abuses at them, it also means that we do not say or do anything that will hurt them.
These days, among majority of the Muslims, there is a misconception that reduces Islam to only the performance of the ritual acts of worship - the pillars - thus robbing it of much of the rest of the building. A very important and integral section of that building deals with our social relations. It is concerned with how we behave in the family, how we interact with relatives, friends, neighbours, colleagues, and all the rest of humanity. The cornerstone of Islamic teachings in this area is the requirement that we do not cause anyone any hurt through our words or actions.
The above mentioned hadith clearly describes this as a defining trait of a Muslim. While it refers to "other Muslims," scholars agree that it is a general requirement that equally applies to Non-Muslims except those who are at war with the Muslims. A person who, through his intentional or careless actions or words, inflicts unjustified pain on others is not worthy of being called a Muslim.
The importance of social relations can be understood from the fact that Quran has described some of its aspects in great detail. For example, Quran has gone in detail to explain how a person should take permission when entering someone’s place; whereas there is no mention of the details of how one should pray. Similarly most of the Surah Hujaraat discusses the aspects regarding our social relations.
Islam wants to build a society, which is a model of civility, courtesy, and consideration for others. It does so by emphasising these attributes as a matter of faith. One hadith says that Iman (faith) has more than seventy branches. The highest one is the declaration that there is no God except Allah and the lowest one is the removal of harmful objects from the pathway.
We see this consideration for others throughout the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him). For example, whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) visited a group where some people were asleep and others were not, he would greet them with a low enough voice so those awake could hear him while those asleep would not be disturbed. Every night when he used to get up for Tahajjud (midnight prayer) - a voluntary prayer for the rest of us - he would walk out of the bed very quietly so as not to disturb his sleeping wife.
Whenever he saw someone committing a wrong deed that needed to be corrected in public for the education of others, he would mention it in general terms, not naming the person who did it. This last practice also shows the two extremes in this regard that must be avoided. On the one hand is the temptation to compromise on the issue of right and wrong to avoid hurting feelings of others. On the other is the temptation to correct the wrong with total disregard to the fact that one might be insulting or injuring the other person. While we may see these extreme attitudes in people who seem to be poles apart in terms of their practice of religion, both stem from the same narrow vision of religion that holds our dealings with others as worldly affairs, outside the realm of Islam!
We all know how much stress has been laid upon by Prophet (peace be upon him) on praying in congregation for men. The importance of praying in congregation can be realised from the fact that Prophet (peace be upon him) used to come to the mosque (with the help of two men) even when he was extremely ill. On the other hand, jurists agree on the fact that if a person has acquired such an illness which causes others to feel disgusted, then that person should not come to the mosque and he must pray at home. If that person comes to the mosque, he will be sinful as he becomes a cause of difficulty for others.
Moreover, most of us are aware of the rewards of kissing the black stone in the Holy Kaaba. Prophet (peace be upon him) himself kissed it and thus it is a sunnah. But the jurists have written that if kissing the black stone is a cause of hurt for others (e.g. one has to push others and thus causing inconvenience to others) then it would not be permissible to kiss the stone. Those of us who have visited Makkah know very well what happens around the black stone. Because of the lack of knowledge of Islam, people are pushing and shoving others to get to the black stone. So just to perform a sunnah (it is not compulsory to kiss the black stone) act, the people indulge themselves in haraam (prohibited or forbidden). As a result, in the end, instead of getting a reward they end up being sinful.
Another example of this is wrong parking and blocking the way of others. Once Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions came back from a Gazwa (a war fought in which Prophet peace be upon him himself took part), and some companions left their stuff on the road which blocked some or all part of the pathway. When Prophet (peace be upon him) was informed of this, he said to announce that there is no reward of Jihad for those who blocked the way of others. Can you imagine the reward of Jihad with Prophet (peace be upon him)? However, because of causing hassle to others this huge reward was lost. Unfortunately it is common practice among some of the Muslims to double park, or park in front of the driveway or block part of the road for some other reason. They do not realise how big a sin they are committing.
Likewise, we should not use our tongues in such a manner which will hurt feelings of others. Even if someone has to be criticised, it should be done in such a way which does not demean that person at all.
There are numerous other examples, but for the sake of brevity I will stop here. If all the Muslims start to check their actions, and think beforehand (whether their action will hurt others in any way whatsoever), most of our social problems will disappear. It is good to remember that Islam is a way of life. We must submit our whole life, not a small subset of our choosing, to the commands and teachings of Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Monday, January 01, 2007
Polygamy and the Wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
The material for this article has been taken from the lecture of Dr. Jamal Badawi. I have also taken some material from Dr. Zakir Naik’s book as well.
Polygamy means a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two types. One is polygyny, where a man marries more than one woman, and the other is polyandry, where a woman marries more than one man. In Islam, limited polygyny is permitted; whereas polyandry is completely prohibited.
A lot of objections over the years have been made on Islamic teachings, practices and also on the personality of the prophet (peace be upon him). One of these criticism is that how could the prophet (peace be upon him) be accepted as a prophet if he married several women; this act alone excludes someone from being a prophet, because this is not a characteristic of a prophet, but rather a trait of someone who is obsessed with women.
This objection is hypocritical in nature. The reason being that those who protest against polygamy believe in scriptures which allows a man to have more than one wife. The Quran is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase ‘marry only one’. There is no other religious book that instructs men to have only one wife. In none of the other religious scriptures, whether it is the Vedas, the Ramayan, the Mahabharat, the Geeta, the Talmud or the Bible does one find a restriction on the number of wives. According to these scriptures, one can marry as many as one wishes. It was only later, that the Hindu priests and the Christian Church restricted the number of wives to one. Many Hindu religious personalities, according to their scriptures, had multiple wives. King Dashrat, the father of Rama, had more than one wife. Krishna had several wives. In earlier times, Christian men were permitted as many wives as they wished, since the Bible puts no restriction on the number of wives. It was only a few centuries ago that the Church restricted the number of wives to one. Polygyny is permitted in Judaism. According to Talmudic law, Abraham had three wives, and Solomon had hundreds of wives. The practice of polygyny continued till Rabbi Gershom ben Yehudah (960 C.E to 1030 C.E) issued an edict against it. The Jewish Sephardic communities living in Muslim countries continued the practice till as late as 1950, until an Act of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel extended the ban on marrying more than one wife.
So if you disqualify someone from prophethood on this basis, then you should disqualify others as well.
Generally speaking, Quran assumes monogamy, but under certain conditions it becomes imperative that polygyny is practiced. For example, ten thousand people were killed in Bosnia; 1 million died in Afghanistan. In these situations, where there are a lot of widows and young girls looking for partners, polygyny is the only moral and humane solution. It is much more moral than the practice in west, where people have multiple partners at one time with no protection or legal recognition, and a person can walk away from a relationship anytime he wants.
We now focus on the life of prophet (peace be upon him). It is interesting to note that not even the worst critics of Islam can even point out a single sexual indiscretion in the entire life of prophet (peace be upon him) whereas these critics overlook the fact (which Islam totally rejects) that some prophets in the bible committed incest and others were guilty of adultery.
Furthermore, it defies logic to describe him as a polyandrous prophet as out of thirty seven years of his marital life, for twenty five years at least (some add two more) he was monogamous (i.e. more than two-thirds of his marital life). So all the monogamous period is forgotten and only the last few years of his life are remembered.
If someone is obsessed with women, the time for that is not in the mid fifties or early sixties, it is much earlier.
Also, it must not be forgotten that his first wife with whom he was married for twenty five years was fifteen years older than him. Hence, anyone fixated on women tries to find younger girls in his youth and not an older lady.
The prophet (peace be upon him) was known for his chastity even before he got married, and no one (he had a lot of enemies in his lifetime) could raise a single point about his chastity.
Anyway, if you look at the nature of the marriages of prophet (peace be upon him) you will be amazed at the humane aspect of it. The marriages could be classified into four aspects. First, he married and gave his daughters in marriage to those who were his closest supporters. For example he married Ayesha (daughter of Abu Bakr) and Hafsa the daughter of Umar and he gave his daughters in marriage to Usman and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all).
Second, the marriages were to give example to other Muslims to care for those women who lost their husbands and had orphan children. For example, Umme-Salama’s (may Allah be pleased with her) husband died due to injuries sustained in one the defensive battles Muslims fought. The woman was left with four orphan children to look after. At first, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) goes to her and ask her hand in marriage and she declines (she was a dignified woman and she realized that who would want to marry a woman in her menopause, and the proposal was more out of sympathy than anything else). Then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent her a marriage proposal and she refused again. When prophet (peace be upon him) heard this he asked her hand in marriage and she declined his offer as well. When asked why? She replied that there are three reasons for this: firstly, I am an old woman, secondly, I have four orphan children, and lastly I am a jealous woman (she cannot be blamed as no woman would like to share her husband). So the prophet (peace be upon him) with his decency and kindness tells her that as far as age is concerned, I am older than you; and the orphan children will be like my own and I will be responsible for them, and as for you jealousy I pray to Allah to remove it from you. And Allah indeed removed the jealousy from her and she accepted the proposal.
The third category was commonplace in the tribal society, where the prophet (peace be upon him), in order to remove hatred and conflict in other tribes, married from a particular tribe. It is like a political marriage to save people from further conflict and bloodshed. There are a number of examples of this facet of his marriages. For instance, he married Umme-Habiba (may Allah be pleased with her), daughter of Abu Sufyan (who at that time had not accepted Islam and was an arch enemy of Islam). When he heard that his daughter was married, he became happy because in his heart he knew that prophet (peace be upon him) was a good man (and this might eventually have led to his conversion to Islam). He also married a Christian woman and more than one Jewish woman (after he freed them and they accepted to marry him). What is the problem with this? Some historians say that because of these marriages, some tribes accepted Islam and others’ enmity was neutralised. What is wrong with removing the possibility of bloodshed? Finally, there was a case of legal precedence and removal of a taboo which will be discussed later.
Another objection by the critics of Islam is that it is mentioned in the Muslim sources that prophet (peace be upon him) had a marital contract with Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) at the age of six and she moved into his household at the age of nine. The obvious objection is that an older person marrying such a young girl; some of the nasty words said cannot be repeated in this article.
First of all, the issue of difference in age is not a problem, there are examples, even in this day and age (where divorce rates in the west have sky-rocketed), of very happy and productive marriages with a big age difference; but, of course, lesser age difference is more desirable. In many cultures it is acceptable to have considerable age difference, unless it is an extreme case where a ninety nine years old marries a sixteen years old. The issue raised by the critics is that how abominable it is that such an old man marries a young girl, and she moves into his house at the age of nine.
If it was such an abominable act, a lot of criticisms and questions would have been raised by the enemies of prophet (peace be upon him) in Makkah. To the surprise of many of you, are you aware that Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) was engaged to be married to another man before the prophet (peace be upon him). What this means is that marriage in the Arabian society at an earlier age does not mean consummation. It was accepted in that society that a three year old son of someone can be married to a two year old daughter of someone else. The reason was that it was a gesture which said that we are close as tribes, clans or friends and we want to reserve your son for our daughter at a later age. What Islam did was that it made enhancements to this contract and said that one can marry at a young age, but when the couple reaches (or one of them) puberty, they can reject or accept the marriage contract. In case the adolescent person does not agree, the marriage contract was terminated. Therefore, it is a conditional agreement; that is why no one raised any issue on this matter.
Further, Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) was not kidnapped or molested (or whatever term they use), she was married with the approval and blessings of her parents. Would anyone give his daughter to anyone to molest her; and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was a rich, powerful and wise person (he was not a person whom you could walk all over).
In addition, people object that it is illegal because the age was less than sixteen or eighteen. The question is according to whose law? In the western countries, e.g. in America even until the end of nineteenth century, it was acceptable to marry at a younger age (girls sometimes got married at the age of twelve). It was later that states began to introduce some limits to the marital age to fourteen and then it increased to sixteen. In some places it went up to eighteen, or sixteen with the approval of the guardian. These are secular laws and Islamic law requires that both parties reach adolescence and if both parties are content with the arrangement then the marriage contract remains intact, otherwise it is ended. Also, to say that a girl cannot reach puberty in that age (in the days gone by) is incorrect.
In the era of Prophet (peace be upon him), it was perfectly normal for girls to get married at the age of puberty. This was a norm in all Semitic cultures from the Israelites to the Arabs, and all nations in between. According to some books of the Jews, it is preferable for a woman to be married when she has her first menstrual cycle. In another Jewish book, there are rules regarding sexual intercourse with girls who have not yet menstruated. Throughout history, puberty has always been a symbol of adulthood. It is extremely unfair for us to judge Prophet (peace be upon him) by the standards set by the people of today. In certain countries like China and Japan, the age of sexual consent is 12 and 13 respectively. In the United States, men who have sexual intercourse with young women will be termed as pedophiles. Would it be correct for the United States to label the Chinese and Japanese as paedophiles according to the United States’ standards? These are all standards set by the western world. Shall we judge our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) by the standards of today or by the standards set in his era? It is also proven that in those countries which have hot climates, people mature faster. This further indicates the maturity of Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) since the Arabian Peninsula has a very hot climate.
For a detailed discussion on the marriage of Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) please read the article on http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Polemics/aishah.html
Finally, some people object that prophet (peace be upon him) married the divorcee of her son. His name was Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) and her name was Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her). To reply to this objection we first have know who were Zayd and Zainab? What really happened? Furthermore, why was prophet (peace be upon him) finally commanded to marry her?
Zayd was adopted (he was a slave and was freed) and not prophet’s real son. Moreover, Zainab was the cousin of the prophet (peace be upon him). She was not discovered suddenly; as some people imply, that the prophet (peace be upon him) discovered her beauty and then wanted to marry her. The point to remember is that they grew up together as children, and he had seen her before hijab was prescribed later in Medina. It was actually prophet (peace be upon him) who wanted Zainab to marry Zayd (as he wanted to change the aristocratic thinking, since she was from an elite class of Quraish while Zayd was a slave) to make the point that one should look at the character of a person and not only the lineage. So she accepted to marry Zayd. Later, problems emerged in the marriage and they did not get along well. Zayd complained to prophet (peace be upon him), but as any good marriage counsellor would do, he advised him to be patient.
Afterwards, through revelation the prophet (peace be upon him) was told that this marriage will end up in divorce and you will be commanded to marry her (after the mandatory waiting period of a divorced woman) to break the taboo in the Arab society, where the adopted son was considered even closer than the biological son. Even at that time he told Zayd (when he again came and complained about the marriage) that keep your wife and fear Allah; because he was commanded by Allah that he should not reveal this to anyone.
Zayd finally divorced Zainab, and then the verse was revealed where the prophet (peace be upon him) was married to her. Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to say that if prophet (peace be upon him) wanted to hide any verse of the Quran, it would have been this verse. The reason being that it was a taboo, and it was considered incest to marry the wife of your adopted son. But Allah finished this taboo through his Messenger, as adopted son in Islam is not the same as the biological son (the biological son keeps the family name and gets a part from the inheritance).
To conclude, my appeal to the Non-Muslims is that please try to be objective and try not to get influenced from people who do not know what they are talking about. Those who object have enmity in their hearts against Islam or they are unaware of the facts.
Please also watch the video "Women in Islam Liberated or Subjugated?" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1suNCpa6Dc
In addition, please listen to the lectures on Prophet's Marriages (from L42 to L50) delivered by Dr. Jamal Badawi at http://www.islamicity.com/multimedia/radio/ch200/default.asp?inc=7.htm#Series-L:_Muhammad_(P):_The_Last__Messenger_of_Allah
Polygamy means a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two types. One is polygyny, where a man marries more than one woman, and the other is polyandry, where a woman marries more than one man. In Islam, limited polygyny is permitted; whereas polyandry is completely prohibited.
A lot of objections over the years have been made on Islamic teachings, practices and also on the personality of the prophet (peace be upon him). One of these criticism is that how could the prophet (peace be upon him) be accepted as a prophet if he married several women; this act alone excludes someone from being a prophet, because this is not a characteristic of a prophet, but rather a trait of someone who is obsessed with women.
This objection is hypocritical in nature. The reason being that those who protest against polygamy believe in scriptures which allows a man to have more than one wife. The Quran is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase ‘marry only one’. There is no other religious book that instructs men to have only one wife. In none of the other religious scriptures, whether it is the Vedas, the Ramayan, the Mahabharat, the Geeta, the Talmud or the Bible does one find a restriction on the number of wives. According to these scriptures, one can marry as many as one wishes. It was only later, that the Hindu priests and the Christian Church restricted the number of wives to one. Many Hindu religious personalities, according to their scriptures, had multiple wives. King Dashrat, the father of Rama, had more than one wife. Krishna had several wives. In earlier times, Christian men were permitted as many wives as they wished, since the Bible puts no restriction on the number of wives. It was only a few centuries ago that the Church restricted the number of wives to one. Polygyny is permitted in Judaism. According to Talmudic law, Abraham had three wives, and Solomon had hundreds of wives. The practice of polygyny continued till Rabbi Gershom ben Yehudah (960 C.E to 1030 C.E) issued an edict against it. The Jewish Sephardic communities living in Muslim countries continued the practice till as late as 1950, until an Act of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel extended the ban on marrying more than one wife.
So if you disqualify someone from prophethood on this basis, then you should disqualify others as well.
Generally speaking, Quran assumes monogamy, but under certain conditions it becomes imperative that polygyny is practiced. For example, ten thousand people were killed in Bosnia; 1 million died in Afghanistan. In these situations, where there are a lot of widows and young girls looking for partners, polygyny is the only moral and humane solution. It is much more moral than the practice in west, where people have multiple partners at one time with no protection or legal recognition, and a person can walk away from a relationship anytime he wants.
We now focus on the life of prophet (peace be upon him). It is interesting to note that not even the worst critics of Islam can even point out a single sexual indiscretion in the entire life of prophet (peace be upon him) whereas these critics overlook the fact (which Islam totally rejects) that some prophets in the bible committed incest and others were guilty of adultery.
Furthermore, it defies logic to describe him as a polyandrous prophet as out of thirty seven years of his marital life, for twenty five years at least (some add two more) he was monogamous (i.e. more than two-thirds of his marital life). So all the monogamous period is forgotten and only the last few years of his life are remembered.
If someone is obsessed with women, the time for that is not in the mid fifties or early sixties, it is much earlier.
Also, it must not be forgotten that his first wife with whom he was married for twenty five years was fifteen years older than him. Hence, anyone fixated on women tries to find younger girls in his youth and not an older lady.
The prophet (peace be upon him) was known for his chastity even before he got married, and no one (he had a lot of enemies in his lifetime) could raise a single point about his chastity.
Anyway, if you look at the nature of the marriages of prophet (peace be upon him) you will be amazed at the humane aspect of it. The marriages could be classified into four aspects. First, he married and gave his daughters in marriage to those who were his closest supporters. For example he married Ayesha (daughter of Abu Bakr) and Hafsa the daughter of Umar and he gave his daughters in marriage to Usman and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all).
Second, the marriages were to give example to other Muslims to care for those women who lost their husbands and had orphan children. For example, Umme-Salama’s (may Allah be pleased with her) husband died due to injuries sustained in one the defensive battles Muslims fought. The woman was left with four orphan children to look after. At first, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) goes to her and ask her hand in marriage and she declines (she was a dignified woman and she realized that who would want to marry a woman in her menopause, and the proposal was more out of sympathy than anything else). Then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent her a marriage proposal and she refused again. When prophet (peace be upon him) heard this he asked her hand in marriage and she declined his offer as well. When asked why? She replied that there are three reasons for this: firstly, I am an old woman, secondly, I have four orphan children, and lastly I am a jealous woman (she cannot be blamed as no woman would like to share her husband). So the prophet (peace be upon him) with his decency and kindness tells her that as far as age is concerned, I am older than you; and the orphan children will be like my own and I will be responsible for them, and as for you jealousy I pray to Allah to remove it from you. And Allah indeed removed the jealousy from her and she accepted the proposal.
The third category was commonplace in the tribal society, where the prophet (peace be upon him), in order to remove hatred and conflict in other tribes, married from a particular tribe. It is like a political marriage to save people from further conflict and bloodshed. There are a number of examples of this facet of his marriages. For instance, he married Umme-Habiba (may Allah be pleased with her), daughter of Abu Sufyan (who at that time had not accepted Islam and was an arch enemy of Islam). When he heard that his daughter was married, he became happy because in his heart he knew that prophet (peace be upon him) was a good man (and this might eventually have led to his conversion to Islam). He also married a Christian woman and more than one Jewish woman (after he freed them and they accepted to marry him). What is the problem with this? Some historians say that because of these marriages, some tribes accepted Islam and others’ enmity was neutralised. What is wrong with removing the possibility of bloodshed? Finally, there was a case of legal precedence and removal of a taboo which will be discussed later.
Another objection by the critics of Islam is that it is mentioned in the Muslim sources that prophet (peace be upon him) had a marital contract with Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) at the age of six and she moved into his household at the age of nine. The obvious objection is that an older person marrying such a young girl; some of the nasty words said cannot be repeated in this article.
First of all, the issue of difference in age is not a problem, there are examples, even in this day and age (where divorce rates in the west have sky-rocketed), of very happy and productive marriages with a big age difference; but, of course, lesser age difference is more desirable. In many cultures it is acceptable to have considerable age difference, unless it is an extreme case where a ninety nine years old marries a sixteen years old. The issue raised by the critics is that how abominable it is that such an old man marries a young girl, and she moves into his house at the age of nine.
If it was such an abominable act, a lot of criticisms and questions would have been raised by the enemies of prophet (peace be upon him) in Makkah. To the surprise of many of you, are you aware that Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) was engaged to be married to another man before the prophet (peace be upon him). What this means is that marriage in the Arabian society at an earlier age does not mean consummation. It was accepted in that society that a three year old son of someone can be married to a two year old daughter of someone else. The reason was that it was a gesture which said that we are close as tribes, clans or friends and we want to reserve your son for our daughter at a later age. What Islam did was that it made enhancements to this contract and said that one can marry at a young age, but when the couple reaches (or one of them) puberty, they can reject or accept the marriage contract. In case the adolescent person does not agree, the marriage contract was terminated. Therefore, it is a conditional agreement; that is why no one raised any issue on this matter.
Further, Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) was not kidnapped or molested (or whatever term they use), she was married with the approval and blessings of her parents. Would anyone give his daughter to anyone to molest her; and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was a rich, powerful and wise person (he was not a person whom you could walk all over).
In addition, people object that it is illegal because the age was less than sixteen or eighteen. The question is according to whose law? In the western countries, e.g. in America even until the end of nineteenth century, it was acceptable to marry at a younger age (girls sometimes got married at the age of twelve). It was later that states began to introduce some limits to the marital age to fourteen and then it increased to sixteen. In some places it went up to eighteen, or sixteen with the approval of the guardian. These are secular laws and Islamic law requires that both parties reach adolescence and if both parties are content with the arrangement then the marriage contract remains intact, otherwise it is ended. Also, to say that a girl cannot reach puberty in that age (in the days gone by) is incorrect.
In the era of Prophet (peace be upon him), it was perfectly normal for girls to get married at the age of puberty. This was a norm in all Semitic cultures from the Israelites to the Arabs, and all nations in between. According to some books of the Jews, it is preferable for a woman to be married when she has her first menstrual cycle. In another Jewish book, there are rules regarding sexual intercourse with girls who have not yet menstruated. Throughout history, puberty has always been a symbol of adulthood. It is extremely unfair for us to judge Prophet (peace be upon him) by the standards set by the people of today. In certain countries like China and Japan, the age of sexual consent is 12 and 13 respectively. In the United States, men who have sexual intercourse with young women will be termed as pedophiles. Would it be correct for the United States to label the Chinese and Japanese as paedophiles according to the United States’ standards? These are all standards set by the western world. Shall we judge our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) by the standards of today or by the standards set in his era? It is also proven that in those countries which have hot climates, people mature faster. This further indicates the maturity of Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) since the Arabian Peninsula has a very hot climate.
For a detailed discussion on the marriage of Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) please read the article on http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Polemics/aishah.html
Finally, some people object that prophet (peace be upon him) married the divorcee of her son. His name was Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) and her name was Zainab (may Allah be pleased with her). To reply to this objection we first have know who were Zayd and Zainab? What really happened? Furthermore, why was prophet (peace be upon him) finally commanded to marry her?
Zayd was adopted (he was a slave and was freed) and not prophet’s real son. Moreover, Zainab was the cousin of the prophet (peace be upon him). She was not discovered suddenly; as some people imply, that the prophet (peace be upon him) discovered her beauty and then wanted to marry her. The point to remember is that they grew up together as children, and he had seen her before hijab was prescribed later in Medina. It was actually prophet (peace be upon him) who wanted Zainab to marry Zayd (as he wanted to change the aristocratic thinking, since she was from an elite class of Quraish while Zayd was a slave) to make the point that one should look at the character of a person and not only the lineage. So she accepted to marry Zayd. Later, problems emerged in the marriage and they did not get along well. Zayd complained to prophet (peace be upon him), but as any good marriage counsellor would do, he advised him to be patient.
Afterwards, through revelation the prophet (peace be upon him) was told that this marriage will end up in divorce and you will be commanded to marry her (after the mandatory waiting period of a divorced woman) to break the taboo in the Arab society, where the adopted son was considered even closer than the biological son. Even at that time he told Zayd (when he again came and complained about the marriage) that keep your wife and fear Allah; because he was commanded by Allah that he should not reveal this to anyone.
Zayd finally divorced Zainab, and then the verse was revealed where the prophet (peace be upon him) was married to her. Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to say that if prophet (peace be upon him) wanted to hide any verse of the Quran, it would have been this verse. The reason being that it was a taboo, and it was considered incest to marry the wife of your adopted son. But Allah finished this taboo through his Messenger, as adopted son in Islam is not the same as the biological son (the biological son keeps the family name and gets a part from the inheritance).
To conclude, my appeal to the Non-Muslims is that please try to be objective and try not to get influenced from people who do not know what they are talking about. Those who object have enmity in their hearts against Islam or they are unaware of the facts.
Please also watch the video "Women in Islam Liberated or Subjugated?" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1suNCpa6Dc
In addition, please listen to the lectures on Prophet's Marriages (from L42 to L50) delivered by Dr. Jamal Badawi at http://www.islamicity.com/multimedia/radio/ch200/default.asp?inc=7.htm#Series-L:_Muhammad_(P):_The_Last__Messenger_of_Allah
Responsibilities of Scholars Regarding Contemporary Issues
The material for this article has been taken from the lecture delivered by Mufti Taqi Usmani.
It is now common knowledge, especially among the scholars, that since the values of western civilisation have taken hold of the entire world, religion is reduced to only places of worship, educational institutes and private homes. Religion has lost its grip in politics as well as economic issues of almost every nation. This is due to the fact that the concept of religion is different in the west.
In the west, religion is considered to be a person’s private matter and whether a person adopts a religion or not, it is not of any particular importance. In addition, west views religion as means to achieve spiritual satisfaction, and that is why there is no notion of right and wrong religion among the majority in the west. Consequently, a person can adopt any faith he likes: if he thinks that his pleasure lies in idol worshipping then that faith is suitable for him, and if he feels that worshipping one God brings him contentment then that faith is appropriate for him. Since it is a private matter, religion should not interfere in other facets of life. All this is the basis for secularism; the philosophy is that human beings have got intelligence, and combined with their observation and experience, humankind can make decisions to run all aspects of life: issues such as economic, political, social etc and religion should be restricted to private life.
Now it is even being said that all the systems in the world have failed, and after the collapse of USSR, only secular democracy will last forever.
Islam, on the other hand, totally disagrees with this ideology. Islam is not restricted to beliefs and worship; it also provides a comprehensive system pertaining to politics, economy, social matters etc. Islam is not only limited to the betterment of private life, but it provides a complete set of rules and regulations for all facets of life on a global scale.
Among the Muslim countries, this secular philosophy has taken hold, and religion, nowadays, is restricted to beliefs and worship only. Anyone, who prays five times a day, has a beard or a woman who wears the hijab is considered religious, even though that person’s other aspects of life are totally devoid of Islamic teachings.
Forget about the masses, our religious institutions (the madaaris) have fallen in this trap to some extent. A lot of stress is laid on the issues of beliefs and worship (prayers, fasting, hajj etc) and not much is taught with respect to business and political matters.
The end result of all this is that even some of our learned scholars are not aware of what is happening in matters of economy and politics. Some of our esteemed scholars are totally unaware of the modern problems regarding trade, business and economy. Most of their research is restricted in this regard, and they lack the understanding of modern finance.
Due to this, the gap between the modern educated businessmen and the religious scholars has widened. Even those who consider themselves very religious (i.e. pray and fast regularly) do not employ Islamic practices in their trade. Some of them have big beards, but if you look at their business transactions, they are totally against Islamic teachings.
Some of the scholars cannot satisfy the modern man in regards to issues concerning commerce. It is difficult even for a normal person to make them understand of what is happening in the market place. That is why majority of the questions the scholars are asked concern the matters about prayers, fasting, divorce, marriage etc. Not many go to them and inquire about the share market or modern interest based economy. I am not saying that everyone falls into this category; there are some very knowledgeable scholars in the matters concerning the world economy and finance (but they are a minority). That's why many in the business community are of the opinion that it is a waste of time to go to the religious scholars and ask them about our day to day business transactions (and this mentality has given rise to the idea that Islam does not possess answers to the intricate issues of the modern economics).
The need of the hour is that our scholars should understand what is really happening in this world. The requirement is to be aware of the contemporary issues. The old jurists used to say that those who are not aware of the matters of their time are not scholars but are ignorant. That is why our scholars need to understand that until they do not comprehend the day to day issues, they can never come up with the correct solutions. One of our great scholars of the past, Imam Muhammad (may Allah blessing be on him) used to spend almost everyday in the marketplace. When someone enquired of his presence in the bazaar, he said that I cannot give the correct fatwa (ruling) if I am not aware of what is happening in the markets.
If someone hands over the government to our religious leaders and tells them to run the country, it would not be an exaggeration to say that our scholars will not be able to change the situation a great deal in years. Unless one is not aware of the modern day problems, how can one expect to implement solutions for these issues.
So, it is my humble request to the Islamic scholars to spend a lot of time researching the contemporary issues. Not only should they learn about them by reading books, but they should spend time in the markets as well. They must learn how the share market works, how our banks function and how the modern economy as a whole operates.
Islam is the religion which has provided solutions for the whole mankind until the Day of Judgement. Unfortunately, there are not enough of us who have thoroughly researched and learned about the modern world. We need people who are well versed with not only beliefs and worship, but all aspects of life. If Islam is to provide a global system in this day and age, we would require scholars of immense knowledge in the current matters. Otherwise, this unjust capitalist system will continue to ruin the lives of the majority of the world for some time to come.
It is now common knowledge, especially among the scholars, that since the values of western civilisation have taken hold of the entire world, religion is reduced to only places of worship, educational institutes and private homes. Religion has lost its grip in politics as well as economic issues of almost every nation. This is due to the fact that the concept of religion is different in the west.
In the west, religion is considered to be a person’s private matter and whether a person adopts a religion or not, it is not of any particular importance. In addition, west views religion as means to achieve spiritual satisfaction, and that is why there is no notion of right and wrong religion among the majority in the west. Consequently, a person can adopt any faith he likes: if he thinks that his pleasure lies in idol worshipping then that faith is suitable for him, and if he feels that worshipping one God brings him contentment then that faith is appropriate for him. Since it is a private matter, religion should not interfere in other facets of life. All this is the basis for secularism; the philosophy is that human beings have got intelligence, and combined with their observation and experience, humankind can make decisions to run all aspects of life: issues such as economic, political, social etc and religion should be restricted to private life.
Now it is even being said that all the systems in the world have failed, and after the collapse of USSR, only secular democracy will last forever.
Islam, on the other hand, totally disagrees with this ideology. Islam is not restricted to beliefs and worship; it also provides a comprehensive system pertaining to politics, economy, social matters etc. Islam is not only limited to the betterment of private life, but it provides a complete set of rules and regulations for all facets of life on a global scale.
Among the Muslim countries, this secular philosophy has taken hold, and religion, nowadays, is restricted to beliefs and worship only. Anyone, who prays five times a day, has a beard or a woman who wears the hijab is considered religious, even though that person’s other aspects of life are totally devoid of Islamic teachings.
Forget about the masses, our religious institutions (the madaaris) have fallen in this trap to some extent. A lot of stress is laid on the issues of beliefs and worship (prayers, fasting, hajj etc) and not much is taught with respect to business and political matters.
The end result of all this is that even some of our learned scholars are not aware of what is happening in matters of economy and politics. Some of our esteemed scholars are totally unaware of the modern problems regarding trade, business and economy. Most of their research is restricted in this regard, and they lack the understanding of modern finance.
Due to this, the gap between the modern educated businessmen and the religious scholars has widened. Even those who consider themselves very religious (i.e. pray and fast regularly) do not employ Islamic practices in their trade. Some of them have big beards, but if you look at their business transactions, they are totally against Islamic teachings.
Some of the scholars cannot satisfy the modern man in regards to issues concerning commerce. It is difficult even for a normal person to make them understand of what is happening in the market place. That is why majority of the questions the scholars are asked concern the matters about prayers, fasting, divorce, marriage etc. Not many go to them and inquire about the share market or modern interest based economy. I am not saying that everyone falls into this category; there are some very knowledgeable scholars in the matters concerning the world economy and finance (but they are a minority). That's why many in the business community are of the opinion that it is a waste of time to go to the religious scholars and ask them about our day to day business transactions (and this mentality has given rise to the idea that Islam does not possess answers to the intricate issues of the modern economics).
The need of the hour is that our scholars should understand what is really happening in this world. The requirement is to be aware of the contemporary issues. The old jurists used to say that those who are not aware of the matters of their time are not scholars but are ignorant. That is why our scholars need to understand that until they do not comprehend the day to day issues, they can never come up with the correct solutions. One of our great scholars of the past, Imam Muhammad (may Allah blessing be on him) used to spend almost everyday in the marketplace. When someone enquired of his presence in the bazaar, he said that I cannot give the correct fatwa (ruling) if I am not aware of what is happening in the markets.
If someone hands over the government to our religious leaders and tells them to run the country, it would not be an exaggeration to say that our scholars will not be able to change the situation a great deal in years. Unless one is not aware of the modern day problems, how can one expect to implement solutions for these issues.
So, it is my humble request to the Islamic scholars to spend a lot of time researching the contemporary issues. Not only should they learn about them by reading books, but they should spend time in the markets as well. They must learn how the share market works, how our banks function and how the modern economy as a whole operates.
Islam is the religion which has provided solutions for the whole mankind until the Day of Judgement. Unfortunately, there are not enough of us who have thoroughly researched and learned about the modern world. We need people who are well versed with not only beliefs and worship, but all aspects of life. If Islam is to provide a global system in this day and age, we would require scholars of immense knowledge in the current matters. Otherwise, this unjust capitalist system will continue to ruin the lives of the majority of the world for some time to come.
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