Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The Holy Prophet Mohammad [PBUH]'s Marriages - 1




Yunus Sidira wrote:

What do you say about his marriage to Zainab, wife of his adopted son Zaid? What do you say about his marriage to Zainab, wife of his adopted son Zaid? And what about his marriage to Ayesha who was a child of 6 years when he was 52?

Yunus
==============================================

Dear Sir,

The detailed background is as under:


That Rascal Sufi Ali Hajveri aka Data Ganj Bukhsh [through the source of notorious Tabari who in his Tarikh al-Tabari (History of the Prophets and Kings) and Tafsir al-Tabari - Commentary on Quran cocncocted this lie of Love Story between Mohammad and Zainab (Perish the thought)]of Lahore in his book Kashf al Mahjoob ("Unveiling the Veiled") has repeated the concocted tale of love story of Mohammad and Zainab [Perish the thought] that is being propagated by all an sundry. This Rascal's Shrines is visited by the so-called Muslims of Pakistan to get their work done.

7 TH wife Zainab Bin Juhash {RA} she was paternal cousin of Mohammad {PBUH}.Her first marriage was with a freed servant of Mohammad {PBUH}, Zaid Bin Haris {RA}. [{Ref: JILA UL IFHAM FIS SALAT WASSALAM ALA KHAIRUL ANAM BY IMAM SHAMSUDDIN ABU ABDULLAH IBN QAYYAM AL-JOZIYA translated by Qazi Muhammad Suleman Salman Mansoorpuri, Fomrer Session Judge Patyala India}

Clarification:

There is no such thing as adopted son or daughter in Islam. Zaid and Zainab had differences with each other like normal couple but they couldn't live as happy couple therefore Zaid divorced her. Mohammad tried to intervene for compromise b/w husband and wife but Zainab was not ready to compromise therefore the Allah ordered in Quran {Verse: 37 Soorah Al-Ahzab-The Confederates} to marry with Zainab, then Mohammad married with Zainab. It is further mentioned here that Zainab marriage with Zaid was itself conducted and arranged by Mohammad {PBUH}. [{Ref: JILA UL IFHAM FIS SALAT WASSALAM ALA KHAIRUL ANAM BY IMAM SHAMSUDDIN ABU ABDULLAH IBN QAYYAM AL-JOZIYA translated by Qazi Muhammad Suleman Salman Mansoorpuri, Fomrer Session Judge Patyala India}



There is no prohibition on marrying cousin or adopted son's wife.



حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَـتُكُمْ وَبَنَـتُكُمْ وَأَخَوَتُكُمْ وَعَمَّـتُكُمْ وَخَـلَـتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُ الاٌّخِ وَبَنَاتُ الاٍّخْتِ وَأُمَّهَـتُكُمُ الْلاَّتِى أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَتُكُم مِّنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ وَأُمَّهَـتُ نِسَآئِكُمْ وَرَبَائِبُكُمُ اللَّـتِى فِى حُجُورِكُمْ مِّن نِّسَآئِكُمُ اللَّـتِى دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَإِن لَّمْ تَكُونُواْ دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَحَلَـئِلُ أَبْنَآئِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلَـبِكُمْ وَأَن تَجْمَعُواْ بَيْنَ الاٍّخْتَيْنِ إَلاَّ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً



English Translation:

Forbidden unto you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your sisters, and your father's sisters, and your mother's sisters, and your brother's daughters and your sister's daughters, and your foster-mothers, and your foster-sisters, and your mothers-in-law, and your step-daughters who are under your protection (born) of your women unto whom ye have gone in - but if ye have not gone in unto them, then it is no sin for you (to marry their daughters) - and the wives of your sons who (spring) from your own loins. And (it is forbidden unto you) that ye should have two sisters together, except what hath already happened (of that nature) in the past. Lo! Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. [AN-NISA (WOMEN) Chapter 4 Verse 23]


Marriage of Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] with Hazrat Zainab Bin Jahsh [May Allah be pleased with her]





وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلاَ مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْراً أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَن يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـلاً مُّبِيناً




وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِى أَنعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ وَاتَّقِ اللَّهَ وَتُخْفِى فِى نِفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَـهُ فَلَمَّا قَضَى زَيْدٌ مِّنْهَا وَطَراً زَوَّجْنَـكَهَا لِكَىْ لاَ يَكُونَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌ فِى أَزْوَاجِ أَدْعِيَآئِهِمْ إِذَا قَضَوْاْ مِنْهُنَّ وَطَراً وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولاً





مَّا كَانَ عَلَى النَّبِىِّ مِنْ حَرَجٍ فِيمَا فَرَضَ اللَّهُ لَهُ سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ فِى الَّذِينَ خَلَوْاْ مِن قَبْلُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قَدَراً مَّقْدُوراً




الَّذِينَ يُبَلِّغُونَ رِسَالـتِ اللَّهِ وَيَخْشَوْنَهُ وَلاَ يَخْشَوْنَ أَحَداً إِلاَّ اللَّهَ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ حَسِيباً - مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍ مّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيماً





English Translation:


And it becometh not a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His messenger have decided an affair (for them), that they should (after that) claim any say in their affair; and whoso is rebellious to Allah and His messenger, he verily goeth astray in error manifest. And when thou saidst unto him on whom Allah hath conferred favour and thou hast conferred favour: Keep thy wife to thyself, and fear Allah. And thou didst hide in thy mind that which Allah was to bring to light, and thou didst fear mankind whereas Allah hath a better right that thou shouldst fear Him. So when Zeyd had performed that necessary formality (of divorce) from her, We gave her unto thee in marriage, so that (henceforth) there may be no sin for believers in respect of wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have performed the necessary formality (of release) from them. The commandment of Allah must be fulfilled. There is no reproach for the Prophet in that which Allahmaketh his due. That was Allah's way with those who passed away of old - and the commandment of Allah is certain destiny - Who delivered the messages of Allah and feared Him, and feared none save Allah. Allah keepeth good account. Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah is ever Aware of all things. [AL-AHZAB (THE CLANS, THE COALITION,THE COMBINED FORCES) Chapter 33 Verses 36, 37, 38, 39, 40]



Minor Interpretation of the background:


Allah's rebuke to His Messenger and the Story of Zayd and Zaynab


Allah tells what His Prophet said to his freed slave Zayd bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, who was the one on whom Allah had bestowed grace, i.e., through Islam and following the Messenger .


وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ

(and you have done a favor ﴿to him﴾) means, by freeing him from slavery. And he was a great leader, held in high esteem and beloved by the Prophet . He was known as the beloved, and his son Usamah was known as the beloved son of the beloved. `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "The Messenger of Allah never sent him on a campaign but he appointed him as its commander, and if he had lived after him he would have appointed him as his Khalifah.'' This was recorded by Imam Ahmad. The Messenger of Allah had given him in marriage to the daughter of his paternal aunt, Zaynab bint Jahsh Al-Asadiyyah, may Allah be pleased with her, whose mother was Umaymah bint `Abd Al-Muttalib. For her dowery he gave her ten Dinars, sixty Dirhams, a veil, a cloak and a shirt, fifty Mudds of food and ten Mudds of dates. This was stated by Muqatil bin Hayyan. She stayed with him for a year, more or less, then problems arose between them. Zayd complained about her to the Messenger of Allah , who told him, "Stay with your wife and have Taqwa of Allah.'' Allah says:




وَتُخْفِى فِى نِفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَـهُ



(But you did hide in yourself that which Allah will make manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him.)


وَتُخْفِى فِى نِفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَـهُ


(But you did hide in yourself that which Allah will make manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him.)''



فَلَمَّا قَضَى زَيْدٌ مِّنْهَا وَطَراً زَوَّجْنَـكَهَا



(So, when Zayd had completed his aim with her, We gave her to you in marriage,) meaning, `when her marriage to Zayd was over and he had separated from her, We married her to you,' and the One Who was her Wali (guardian) in this marriage was Allah Himself, in the sense that He revealed to the Prophet that he should go in unto her without any Wali, contractual agreement, dowery or witnesses among mankind. Imam Ahmad recorded that Thabit said that Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "When Zaynab's `Iddah finished, may Allah be pleased with her, the Messenger of Allah said to Zayd bin Harithah,



«اذْهَبْ فَاذْكُرْهَا عَلَي»



(Go to her and tell her about me (that I want to marry her).) So, he went to her and found her kneading dough. He (Zayd) said, `When I saw her I felt such respect for her that I could not even look at her and tell her what the Messenger of Allah had said, so I turned my back to her and stepped aside, and said, `O Zaynab! Rejoice, for the Messenger of Allah has sent me to propose marriage to you on his behalf.' She said, `I will not do anything until I pray to my Lord, may He be glorified.' So she went to the place where she usually prayed. Then Qur'an was revealed and the Messenger of Allah came and entered without permission. We were there when she entered upon the Messenger of Allah , and for the wedding feast we offered bread and meat. Then the people left, and some men stayed behind conversing in the house after they had eaten. The Messenger of Allah went out and I followed him. He started to go around all the apartments of his wives, greeting them, and they said, `O Messenger of Allah, how did you find your (new) wife' I do not know whether I or someone else told him that those people had left, so he went and entered the house, and I went to enter after him, but he drew the curtain between himself and I. The ruling of Hijab was revealed and he exhorted the people as Allah had exhorted them:



لاَ تَدْخُلُواْ بُيُوتَ النَّبِىِّ إِلاَّ أَن يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ




(Enter not the Prophet's houses, unless permission is given to you).'' This was also recorded by Muslim and An-Nasa'i. Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, recorded that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her, used to boast to the other wives of the Prophet , saying, `Your families arranged your marriages, but Allah arranged my marriage from above the seven heavens.''' In (our Tafsir of) Surat An-Nur we mentioned that Muhammad bin `Abdullah bin Jahsh said: "Zaynab and `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with them, were boasting to one another; Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with her, said, `I am the one whose marriage was revealed from above the heaven.' `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, `I am the one whose innocence was revealed from heaven.' So, Zaynab conceded that, may Allah be pleased with her.''



لِكَىْ لاَ يَكُونَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌ فِى أَزْوَاجِ أَدْعِيَآئِهِمْ إِذَا قَضَوْاْ مِنْهُنَّ وَطَراً



(so that there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them.) means, `We permitted you to marry her, and We did that so that there would no longer be any difficulty for the believers with regard to their marrying the ex-wives of their adopted sons.' Before prophethood, the Messenger of Allah had adopted Zayd bin Harithah, may Allah be pleased with him, and he was known as Zayd, the son of Muhammad. Allah put a stop to this when He said:



وَمَا جَعَلَ أَدْعِيَآءَكُمْ أَبْنَآءَكُمْ


(nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons) until:



ادْعُوهُمْ لاًّبَآئِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ اللَّهِ



(Call them after their fathers, that is more just with Allah) (33:4-5). Then this was confirmed and made even clearer by the marriage of the Messenger of Allah to Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her, when Zayd bin Harithah divorced her. Allah says in Ayat At-Tahrim:



وَحَلَـئِلُ أَبْنَآئِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلَـبِكُمْ


(the wives of your sons from your own loins) (4:23) which specifically excludes adopted sons. This custom (of adopting sons) was widespread among them.



وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ مَفْعُولاً


(And Allah's command must be fulfilled.) means, `this that has happened was decreed by Allah and was inevitable.' Allah knew that Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with her, would become one of the wives of the Prophet .


"QUOTE"

Recent non-Muslim writers who had the opportunity to study the life of the Prophet first-hand reach a similar conclusion about his plural marriages.

John L. Esposito, Professor of Religion and Director of the Center for International Studies at the College of the Holy Cross, says that most of these marriages had "political and social motives" (Islam: The Straight Path, Oxford University Press, 1988, p. 19). This he explained as follows: "As was customary for Arab chiefs, many were political marriages to cement alliances. Others were marriages to the widows of his companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of protection." (John L. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, pp. 19-20) Esposito reminds us of the following historical fact: "Though less common, polygyny was also permitted in biblical and even in postbiblical Judaism. From Araham, David, and Solomon down to the reformation period, polygyny was practiced." (p. 19)

Another non-Muslim Caesar E. Farah writes as follows: "In the prime of his youth and adult years Muhammad remained thoroughly devoted to Khadijah and would have none other for consort. This was an age that looked upon plural marriages with favor and in a society that in pre-Biblical and post-Biblical days considered polygamy an essential feature of social existence. David had six wives and numerous concubines (2 Samuel 5:13; 1 Chronicles 3:1-9, 14:3) and Solomon was said to have had as many as 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). Solomon's son Rehoboam had 18 wives and 60 concubines (2 Chronicles 11:21).

The New Testament contains no specific injunction against plural marriages. It was commonplace for the nobility among the Christians and Jews to contract plural marriages. Luther spoke of it with toleration." (Caesar E. Farah, Islam: Beliefs and Observances, 4th edition, Barron's, U.S. 1987, p. 69) Caesar Farah then concluded that Muhammad's plural marriages were due "partly to political reasons and partly to his concern for the wives of his companions who had fallen in battle defending the nascent Islamic community." (p. 69)"

Prophet Mohammad [PBUH]'s Marriage with Hazrat Zainab Bint Jahsh [May Allah be pleased with her]:

More elaboration on this issue is made by the late Dr. Hammudah `Abdul-`Ati in his book Islam in Focus. He states:

“Before Islam, the Arabs did not allow divorcees to remarry. Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) was adopted by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and used to be called his son, in line with the custom among the Arabs before Islam. But Islam abrogated this custom and disapproved its practice.

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was the first man to express this disapproval in a practical way. So he married the divorcee of his "adopted" son to show that adoption does not really make the adopted child a real son of the adopting father and also to show that divorcees have a right to remarry. Incidentally, this very Zaynab was Muhammad's cousin, and had been offered to him for marriage before she married Zayd.

"UNQUOTE"

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