prophet muhammad · prophet muhammad man & prophet peace and blessings of allah on him eideid...
TRANSCRIPT
[email protected] Page 1
Prophet Muhammad Man & Prophet
Peace and Blessings of Allah on him
EIDEID
“And Muhammad is but a messenger — messengers have already
passed away before him. If then he dies or is killed, will you turn
back upon your heels? And he who turns back upon his heels will do
no harm at all to Allah. And Allah will reward the grateful.” (3:144)
E I D M U B A R A K N
OO
R-I
-ISL
AM
Ah
mad
iyah
An
jum
an I
sha’
at-i-I
slam
[Lah
ore
] , C
anad
a
OC
TO
BE
R –
20
13
Editor: Sadiq Noor - [email protected]
[email protected] Page 2
This verse refers to a particular incident, which took place during the battle of
Uhud. The Prophet, peace on him, had stationed a detachment of his soldiers on top of the
mountain behind the Muslim army. They were the rearguard, equipped with bows and
arrows to repel any attack, which might be launched against the Muslim army from
behind. When the battle appeared to be all over, most of them left their positions,
against the express orders of the Prophet, peace on him.
A battalion of the enemy forces were thus able to go around the mountain and
attack the Muslims from behind. The Prophet, peace on him, himself was injured: his front
teeth were broken, and he was wounded in his face and was bleeding. The situation
became chaotic and the Muslim army was in disarray. At this moment, someone cried
out ‘Muhammad is killed’. That was a great shock to Muslims. Many of them turned
round to go back to Madinah. They went up into the mountain, shattered, defeated in
despair. However, the Prophet, peace on him, himself with a small group of his companions
stood firm. He called his companions as they turned round. When they heard him, they
began to rally. Allah helped them regain their moral strength and allowed them to be
overtaken by momentary slumber to give them a feeling of strength, security and
reassurance, as will be explained later.
This incidence which caused the Muslims to fall in such disarray and to suffer
such a lapse of concentration is used in the Qur’an to drive home to the Muslims certain
fundamental principles. A number of facts about life and death and the history of divine
faith and its advocates are outlined within its context:
“Muhammad is only a messenger: other messengers have passed away before him.
If, then, he dies or is slain, will you turn about on your heels? He that turns about on his
heels will not harm Allah in any way. Allah will reward those who are grateful to Him.” [Aaale Imran 3:144]
Muhammad is only a messenger, having been preceded by all other messengers.
He will die as other messengers have died before him. This is an elementary fact. How is
it that you have shown yourselves oblivious of this fact when it stared you in the face
during the battle?
Muhammad is a messenger of Allah, entrusted with the task of conveying His
message. Allah is eternal and His word never dies. The believers should never
contemplate turning about on their heels if the messenger who has come to convey to
them Allah’s word dies or gets killed. This is also an elementary fact, which the Muslims
overlooked, in the great confusion they experienced. It is not right that believers should
overlook such an elementary fact.
Human beings die and perish, while the faith survives. The way of life Allah has
designed for mankind has its own entity; it is independent of those who convey it to
people, be they messengers or {other} believers. Every Muslim loves Allah’s Messenger,
peace on him. His companions loved him as no one had ever been loved before. They were
ready to sacrifice their lives in order to spare him the slightest pain. One of his
[email protected] Page 3
companions, Abu Dujanah, made himself a shield to protect the Prophet, peace on him, and
was hit by numerous arrows in his back and never stirred. Only nine of his companions
were close to him when he was target of a determined attack by the disbelievers, and
those nine continued to defend him most courageously, until they were killed, one after
the other. Many others in every generation and in all places continue to love him with all
their hearts and they feel the great passion of love every time he is mentioned. Every
Muslim who loves Muhammad, peace on him, in such a way is required to distinguish
between the Prophet, peace on him, as a person and the faith he has conveyed to mankind
and left intact for all people to accept and implement. It derives its continuity from
Allah who never dies.
The message is much older than its advocate: “Muhammad is only a messenger:
other messengers have passed away before him.” {Please note that Allah is not excluding Jesus here .... just a hint
to my readers} They all preached the same message, the roots of which go back to the
beginning of history. It starts with the beginning of human life, providing mankind with
guidance and peace from the very first day of their existence.
The message is also greater than its advocate and lasts longer. Many of its
advocates have come and gone, while it continues to serve as guidance to succeeding
generations. Its followers have their link with its Originator, who has sent messengers to
convey it to mankind. He is Everlasting and believers address their prayers to Him. None
of them may turn about in his heels or turn his back to Allah’s guidance. This explains
the stern warning implicit in this verse: “If, then, he dies or is slain, will you turn about
on your heels? He that turns about on his heels will not harm Allah in any way. Allah
will reward those who are grateful to Him.”
The vivid description of turning back is to be noted: “Will you turn about on your
heels?” The physical movement depicted here brings alive the meaning of abandoning
faith as if we see it with our own eyes. The verse does not refer to the physical turning
away as a result of defeat in battle. It is more concerned with the psychological turning
about when a voice cried out that Muhammad was killed. Some Muslims felt that there
was no use in fighting the polytheists, since the death of Muhammad, peace on him,
signaled the end of this faith and the end of combating polytheism. The psychological
effect is delineated in terms of turning about one’s heels, which was a movement that
actually took place during the battle. It is this very attitude against which An Nadhr Ibn
Anas, a companion of the Prophet, peace on him, warned his fellow Muslims when he saw that
many of them had laid down their arms. When they said to him in reply to his question
about their attitude, that Muhammad is dead, he said: “What use is life to you after he
has died? Get up and die for the cause for which Allah’s Messenger, peace on him, has
sacrificed his life.”
“He who turns about on his heels will not harm Allah in any way.” It is indeed he
who is the loser. He who deviates from the path of faith harms himself and causes Allah
no harm. Allah is in no need of mankind or their worship. It is out of His grace that He
has given His servants this constitution for their own good and happiness. Everyone who
[email protected] Page 4
turns his back on it suffers from confusion and misery. Everything is thus set on the
wrong footing. Life itself becomes deviant. People suffer the evil consequences of
turning away from the only constitution, which provides harmony in human life and
achieves harmony between man, his nature and the universe around him.
“Allah will reward the grateful.” They know the great bounty Allah has given His
servants by establishing for them this code of living. They show their gratitude to Him
by following this code and praising Allah. They reap the benefits of this way of life and
achieve total happiness. This is good reward for their gratitude. But they also have an
increase of happiness with the reward they receive from Allah in the Hereafter. That is
much greater reward, and, unlike everything enjoyed in this world, it is everlasting.
Q 1: What should a dying person, if in his senses, do? What should anybody attending him do? What should the family of the deceased do? When the death occurs, what prayer is offered? Must the deceased be buried in a specified graveyard, or could he be buried in a residential area? What are the duties of the family of the deceased before and after burial?
Q 2: [A]... According to some practices in the Indian Sub-Continent and part of Arab world, the husband of a deceased woman cannot give her a bath. This is
because their marriage is annulled on the death of either spouse, which deprives the other of all rights acquired through marriage.
Q 2: [B]... People say that when one’s wife/husband dies, the marriage no longer exists. Face uncovered? Some people say that it is not permissible. Please comment.
Q 3: Can a woman take part in carrying the body of a dead man if there are only three men to carry it? Can a woman take part in the Funeral?
A 1: If death approaches and the
person is able to speak, he should say
the declaration that he believes in the
Oneness of Allah. This is the one known
as “the Kalimah” in many Muslim
countries. If he says it by himself, well
and good for him. If not, then anyone
who is attending him should try to get
him to say it. If the dying person is
unable to speak, he may make the
declaration mentally. If you are
attending a dying person, you must not
insist on him saying the declaration,
because he may be in pain or may not be
in full control of his powers. Insistence
may cause him to say something
unbecoming. If he did it once, that is
well and good. You do not try to make
him say it again unless he speaks of
other things. In this case, you say the
declaration again to him, implying that
D E A T H
[email protected] Page 5
he should say it, so that his last word be
the declaration. Although some scholars
are of the view that full declaration is to
be prompted to the dying person, most
of them say that it is sufficient to
prompt him to say: “There is no deity
but Allah.”
It is recommended to make him lie down
facing the Qibla [which should be as he
is turned to his right].
It is also recommended to read the Surah
entitled “Ya’Seen” in front of a dying
person, not after his death. When the
death is confirmed, his eyes should be
closed and he should be covered. His
family should immediately start
preparing for his burial. He should be
washed and wrapped before offering the
special prayer for the deceased [i.e.
Janazah prayer] and burying him. His
debts should be paid off as soon as
possible from his own property. If he
dies insolvent, his debts may be paid
from the Zakah funds of the Muslim
community.
His family should show patience and
pray Allah to reward him for their
acceptance of His will with patience and
perseverance. The Prophet, peace on him,
recommends us to say this supplication
when we suffer the death of a close
relative:
“To Allah we belong and to Him we
return. My Lord, reward me for my
tragedy and compensate me with better
than I have lost.” (Ahmad and Muslim)
It is recommended to inform the
deceased’s relatives and friends of his
death. It is permissible to weep for his
loss, without shouting or wailing. No
woman may wear mourning clothes for
any relative for more than three days.
The only exception is her husband for
whom she may be in mourning dress
throughout her mourning period, which
lasts four months and ten days, unless
she is pregnant when it lasts until her
delivery.
Preparing for burial starts with washing
the deceased which is a duty incumbent
upon the Muslim community. If some of
them fulfill it, the others are released of
their duty. If none of them washes the
body of a deceased Muslim, all of them
incur a sin. Washing is with water. It is
sufficient to wash the deceased once,
but is more preferable to wash his/her
body three times with soap and water. If
any impurity has fallen on the body of
the deceased, it should be removed first.
Only those who are needed for the
washing should attend and they do not
publicize any secret they may find out.
The deceased should be undressed but
his private parts should remain covered
during washing. When the washing is
finished, the body is dried with a clean
dress or cloth other than his wrappers.
Some perfumes are used before the body
is wrapped in full. It should be noted her
that a fighter who is killed in battle by
non-believers need not be washed. He is
to be wrapped in his own clothes and
buried.
It is a community duty to have the
deceased person wrapped in clean
dresses or clothes, preferably white in
color. It is recommended to have three
layers for a deceased man and five for a
[email protected] Page 6
deceased woman. Silk may not be used
to wrap a deceased man with, but it is
permissible as wrapper for a deceased
woman. Although most scholars
discourage that.
Prayers for the deceased (i.e. Janazah
prayer) are preferably led by his nearest
relative. Prayer for the deceased consists
of four glorifications of Allah, i.e. Takbir,
with the imam only saying “Allahu
Akbar” loudly. After the first one, the
imam and everybody else, reads Al-
Fatihah. After the second one, we read
the greeting to the Prophet, peace on
him, which we normally say in the
second part of Tashahhud in ordinary
prayers. After the third one, we offer a
supplication on behalf of the deceased
praying Allah to forgive him all his sins
and to admit him into heaven. After the
fourth, we have a general supplication
for all Muslims.
The deceased is then taken for burial.
People should walk quietly without
reading anything loudly, even though it
may be from the Qur’an or glorification
of Allah. The grave should be deep
enough to prevent any bad smell coming
out and to stop animals digging the body
up. It is recommended that when the
grave is filled up, it should be elevated
from the ground by not more than 25 to
30 cm, so that it is known to be a grave.
Elevating it higher is not permissible. It
is by far preferable to bury Muslims in
graveyards, although it is permissible to
bury a dead person at home. Following
the Prophet’s Sunnah is more preferable.
He ordered the burial of his companions
in the graveyard known as “Al-Baqee”.
Offering condolences to the family of the
deceased is recommended. It is
discouraged for the relatives of the
deceased to stay at a particular place to
accept condolences. These should be
offered when the relatives are met.
It is also recommended to visit graves
and graveyards. When you arrive at the
grave of a deceased relative, you stand
at the head of the grave and pray for the
dead person. It is also permissible for
women to visit graves, but they are
forbidden from wailing and crying
loudly.
A 2 ... A: That a marriage comes to an
end on death of either partner may be
technically correct. But this is only a
technicality, which does not deprive
either party of the results of their having
been married. By extension one can say
that every relationship ends with death.
As for the point you are asking about, it
is the normal practice that another
woman washes the body of a deceased
woman. However, it is permissible for
wither spouse to wash the other in
preparation for burial. Moreover, if a
woman dies and there is no woman in
the locality who is willing to give her the
final bath, it is certainly far better that
she should be washed in that case by her
husband.
A 2 ... B: As explained above, from
the legal point of view, the marriage is
over when either spouse dies. Yet this
does not negate the relationship that
existed between the couple. It remains
permissible for the husband to see the
body of his deceased wife, or for the
wife to see her deceased husband. If
fact, he may wash her in preparation for
burial, if no women are available to
undertake the task.
[email protected] Page 7
A 3: We tend always to give women a
very restricted role when Islam has given
them an equal role in life and recognized
their work as very important to human
society. Hence, there is no difference
between the duties required of men and
women in worship, except for a few
minor points, which are necessitated by
the physical or social conditions of both
sexes.
In attending to the burial of a dead
person, it is preferable that men attend
to the washing of the body of dead man
and women attend to those of women.
But where this is not possible a husband
may wash the body of his deceased wife,
or vise versa.
In matters of burial, we have the case of
Abu Tharr, the companion of the
Prophet, peace on him, who died in a place
where he was all alone with his wife and
a servant. He recognized that he was
dying and he gave instructions to his
wife to do what is necessary for his
burial except for digging of his grave. He
told her to put his body by the roadside
and wait until some travelers arrived.
She was to tell them of the identity of
the deceased and request them to help in
burying him. She did so, and some
travelers soon passed by and
dismounted to bury Abu Tharr as he
wished.
More recently, when Hassan Al-Banna,
the founder of the Egyptian revivalist
movement known as the “Muslim
Brotherhood” was assassinated by the
agents of the government, no one was
allowed to attend his funeral. His body
was taken from his home to the
graveyard, carried by his father and the
women in his family. Let me tell you that
the father in this case was a scholar of
high repute who had done a great job in
indexing and explaining the Hadith
collection known as “Al-Masnad” by
Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal.
The simple answer to your question is
that when there is unavoidable need for
someone to do something in connection
with a funeral, they may do it within the
limits of that need.
“Every soul will taste of death. And you will be paid your reward fully only on the Resurrection day. Then whoever is removed far from the Fire
and is made to enter the Garden, he indeed attains the object. And the life of this world is nothing but a provision of vanities.” [3:185]
[email protected] Page 8
Your Health
The Associated Press
Not so long ago, there was a certain image associated with being vegetarian. It usually involved
Birkenstock sandals, lentil loaf and an agenda.
There still are plenty of all three in the meatless movement, but a growing number of
Americans are finding they can have cauliflower and kale at the center of the plate without a
side of ideology. That’s because at the same time people are eating less meat, vegetables have
gained respect as worthy ingredients in their own right, not just as the garnish for a steak.
There even are celebrity vegetables (ramps and Brussels sprouts, anyone?), and perhaps most
telling, the word “vegetarian” has moved from the center of cookbook covers to the margins, if
it’s seen at all.
“I’ve always struggled with the ‘vegetarian’ label,” says
Deborah Madison, whose cookbook Vegetable
Literacy is the most recent in her 30-year career of
writing about vegetables. “When I began writing it
was so much about a lifestyle. You were or you
weren’t and people didn’t cross that line.” Today that
line is fluid. Movements such as “Meatless
Mondays,” as well as concerns about food quality and a tighter economy, have more Americans
treating meat as the side dish. And it shows in how we shop. The number of farmers markets
has more than doubled during the last 10 years, and meat consumption is down 12% since 2007.
Shifting attitude regarding what and how we eat also come into play. Americans today eat more
casually than previous generations. The idea of a “center of the plate” --- a large piece of meat
surrounded by a starch and a vegetable --- has loosened. Many Americans happily graze on
Mediterranean tapas, indulge in sushi or slurp Asian soups like Vietnamese pho, where meat is
an afterthought.
As our concept of what constitutes a meal has widened, so has the range of vegetables options.
During the ‘70s and ‘80s, lentil loaf was a very real and terrifying thing. Meanwhile, in a search
to replace the “missing” meat, many chefs loaded up on cheese, eggs and cream, trying to fill
diners up and prove that vegetarian food could be satisfying. And brown rice and other bland
ingredients made eating healthy seem like punishment.
[email protected] Page 9
“I was going for bulk, for comfort food,” says Mollie Katzen, whose 1977 Moosewood Cookbook
made her a pioneer in the movement. “Now I wouldn’t serve one heavy clunker in the center of
the plate. My cooking is far more modular --- a little bit of whole grains, some legumes. I like to
call it ‘the peace sign plate.’”
If chefs have changed, so have their audiences. The culinary revolution of the 1980s introduced
Americans to a greater range of flavors and to the idea of fresh produce artfully deployed. A
greater awareness of international cuisines also has opened doors to a new kind of vegetable-
oriented cooking.
“We’ve brought so many cultural influences into the conversation,” says Diane Morgan, author
of “Roots”, which celebrates turnips, sun chokes and other underground vegetables. The
granola-era people weren’t sophisticated. Now the volume of ethnic cookbooks coming into the
conversation changes that.”
Islamic teachings require that a Muslim should always tell the truth, in all
situations. Telling a lie is permissible only in very limited and strict situations,
such as the case of trying to deceive the enemies of the Muslim community,
working for reconciliation between two quarrelling people, or to ensure peaceful
relations at one’s own home [wife/husband]. Otherwise, a Muslim must always
tell the truth, even though he might fear that it would land him in trouble with
his superiors or with the authorities.
[email protected] Page 10
O you who believe, be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness for Allah, even
though it be against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives —
whether he be rich or poor, Allah has a better right over them both. So follow not
(your) low desires, lest you deviate. And if you distort or turn away from
(truth), surely Allah is ever Aware of what you do.
When we are known to always tell
the truth, people will accept our statements
without need to asserting them through an
oath. Every one of us knows people who set
themselves proper moral standards, and we
know that we can trust whatever they say. If
they promise, we are sure that they will
honor their promises. If they decline
something, we know there is no way to get
them to accept it.
However, sometimes supporting a
statement with an oath is felt to be better,
and we do it to make things perfectly clear
to whomever we are addressing. This is
acceptable, but we must always make sure
that we do not swear to something unless
we are certain that it is true. Sometimes we
feel we need to swear that we will do, or will
not do something in particular. Again this is
acceptable as long as we know what we are
committing ourselves to.
Nevertheless, it may happen that we
swear to something and then discover that
we were hasty, and that we should not have
constricted ourselves by an oath. Or it may
be that we find that breaching our oath is
the better option. What is to be done in
such a situation? The Prophet, peace on him, gave
us a clear answer. A long Hadith related by
Muslim is his authentic collection gives us a
perfect example. The Hadith is reported by
Abdullah ibn Qays, a learned companion of
the Prophet, peace on him, who is better known
as Abu Moosa Al-Ash’ari. He had come to
Madinah from Yemen with a large group of
his community to join the Prophet, peace on him.
The report is about an incident that took
place as the Muslim community was
preparing for the Tabouk Expedition, which
they undertook in the summer months,
traveling a distance of more than 700km
each way in the desert. It was practically
impossible for anyone to join that army
unless he had a mount, or shared one. The
army that was raised for it is known in
Islamic history as the Army of the Hardship,
and the occasion is described in the Qur’an
as “the hour of hardship.” Abu Moosa
reports:
My tribesmen sent me to request
God’s Messenger for mounts to use as
they wanted to join the Army of the
Hardship, which was to go on the
Tabouk Expedition. I said to him:
“Prophet, my friends have sent me to
you requesting some mounts.” He
said: “By God, I will not give you any
mounts.” I had apparently come
when he was angry, but I did not
realize that. And I went back, feeling
very sad at the Prophet’s rejection
and fearing that he might have been
displeased with me on some account.
When I reached my friends’ place I
told them what the Prophet, peace on him,
had said to me. It was only a short
while later when I heard Bilal calling
[email protected] Page 11
me by my name, Abdullah ibn Qays.
When I answered him, he said: “God’s
Messenger is calling you, so go to
him.” When I reached the Prophet’s
place, he pointed to six camels he had
bought at the time from Sa’ad, and
said to me: “Take these two tied
together, and these two, and these
two, to your friends and tell them
that God has given you these mounts
to ride.” I went to my friends and
told them that God’s Messenger has
given them those mounts, and I
added: “But I will not leave you until
some of you will come with me to
meet some of the people who had
heard the Prophet, peace on him, as he
denied me any mounts in the first
instance and then gave me the
mounts, so that you would not
entertain any thought that I might
have told you something he do not
say.” They said: “You have our full
trust, but we will still do what you
wish.” Some of them went with me
and met some people who had heard
the Prophet first denying them any
mounts then giving them, and they
confirmed what Abu Moosa had said.
This is the longest of several versions
related by Muslim of this Hadith, some of
which are also related by Al Bukhari,
Ahmad, Al Nissaei and Ibn Majah. Another
version mentions that when Abu Moosa’s
people received the camels, some of them
said: “God will not bless our efforts, because
when we first requested mounts from the
Prophet, peace on him, he swore that he would
not be giving us any, but he later gave us
mounts.” Therefore, they went to the
Prophet and told him what they feared. He
said to them: “It was not I that
provided the mounts for you; it was
God. As for me, should I swear to
something, and then realize that the
opposite option is better, I will
certainly do the better choice and
atone for my oath.”
This second version explains why the
Prophet, peace on him, changed his mind
after only a short while of swearing that he
would not be giving those people any
mounts to ride as they were keen to join
him on a hard expedition. He recognized
that they were good Muslims eager to do
their duty. His original oath was made on
the spur of the moment, as Abu Moosa
made his request, not realizing that the
Prophet, peace on him, was upset about
something. But when the Prophet’s anger
subsided and he was able to buy some
camels, he immediately sent for Abu Moosa
to take them. This he did despite his oath
that was still fresh in his mind. Many of us
would not budge from an oath we make,
thinking that the oath has absolute sanctity.
But the Prophet, peace on him, teaches us in a
practical way that it is not. When the
opposite is better, then the opposite of the
oath should be done. In this case, it was
better for the people concerned and the
Muslim community in general that they
should join the expedition. Hence, the
Prophet, peace on him, bought the camels and
gave them to those people to ride. He
explained that he did this because it was the
better choice. He would atone for his oath.
Atonement for an oath is easy. It is
explained in the Qur’an:
[email protected] Page 12
Allah will not call you to account for that
which is vain in your oaths, but He will call
you to account for the making of deliberate
oaths; so its expiation is the feeding of ten
poor men with the average (food) you feed
your families with, or their clothing, or the
freeing of a neck. But whoso finds not
(means) should fast for three days. This is
the expiration of your oaths when you
swear. And keep your oaths. Thus does
Allah make clear to you His messages that
you may give thanks. {“Al Ma’idah” 5:89}
And from among you there should be a party who invite to
good and enjoin the right and forbid the wrong. And these
are they who are successful.
And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those
upon whom Allah has bestowed favours from among the prophets
and the truthful and the faithful and the righteous, and a goodly
company are they!
[email protected] Page 13
H I
S T
O R
Y
Peace and Blessings of Allah on him Lady Khadija and Lady Ayesha were the best
known of the Prophet’s wives. He married
Lady Khadija when he was twenty-five. Some
reports put her age at the time of his marriage at
forty, but this is most probably not correct
considering that she gave the Prophet, peace on him,
no fewer than six children, some of whom were
born more than ten years after their marriage.
All indications suggest that she was much
younger than that, perhaps in her early thirties.
He was married to her for twenty-five years
during which he did not get married to anyone
else. She died ten years after the Prophet, peace on
him, started to receive revelations from Allah,
and three years before his emigration from
Makkah to Madinah. The Prophet, peace on him,
continued to have good memories of his
marriage to Lady Khadija right to the end of his
blessed life.
After Lady Khadija’s death, the Prophet, peace on
him, was married to two women, Lady Sawdah,
who was in middle age when he married, and
Lady Ayesha, the daughter of his most
intimate friend, Abu Bakr. Lady Ayesha was
young at that time, with some reports putting
her age at nine or ten. It must be borne in mind
that such reports could not have been accurate
in a largely illiterate community where there
was no registration of births or deaths. But from
the total sum of the reports that mention Lady
Ayesha, her early childhood, youth, marriage
and later life, we can conclude on very reliable
authority that she was well in her middle or late
teens when she go married to the Prophet. PBUH
We have mentioned in the past that many of the
Prophet’s marriages were motivated by
political, social or legislative considerations. As
we have mentioned, Lady Ayesha was the
daughter of Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s friend and
successor. He was also married to Lady
Hafsah, the daughter of Omar ibn Al Khattab,
the second ruler of the Muslim state after Abu
Bakr. So, both of the first two of the rightly
guided caliphs had their daughters married to
the Prophet, peace on him. The third and fourth,
Osman and Ali were married to the Prophet’s
daughters.
The Prophet, peace on him, also married Umm
Habeebah, the daughter of Abu Sufyaan, the
leader of Quraish who was waging a most
determined fight against Islam. Lady Umm
Habeebah had immigrated to Abyssinia a few
years earlier when the Prophet, peace on him, advised
a group of his companions to travel and settle
there. During her stay in that faraway country,
Umm Habeebah’s husband died. She was in a
very difficult situation, having no relations in
Abyssinia, with her father leading Quraish and
other Arabian Tribes in a fight to exterminate
Islam. Learning of her plight, the Prophet, peace on
him, sent one of his companions to Negus, the
ruler of Abyssinia who had accepted Islam, to
arrange his marriage to Lady Habeebah and
send her to him. That was a marriage even Abu
Sufyaan, her father, could be proud of.
[email protected] Page 14
The Prophet, peace on him, also married Umm
Salamah, the widow of one of his valiant
companions, who was left with children to look
after and practically no one to support her.
Two marriages had clear political motives. The
first was the Prophet’s marriage to Lady
Juwairiyah, the daughter of a Tribal chief who
had raised an army to fight the Prophet, peace on
him. The Muslims pre-empted his attempt and
managed to inflict a heavy defeat on him and
his tribe of Almustalaq. Many of the men in
that tribe were taken captive, and as was the
common practice at that time, prisoners of war
were made slaves. The Prophet, peace on him, hated
slavery and freed every slave who came into his
possession. When the Prophet, peace on him, married
Lady Juwairiyah, his companions felt that they
could not keep the Prophet’s “in-laws” as their
slaves. Therefore, they refrained from taking
any one of them and let them free. It was said
of Lady Juwairiyah that probably no woman
brought her tribe greater blessings.
The other marriage to be mentioned in this
connection was the Prophet’s matrimonial
union with Lady Safiyah, the daughter of
Huyai ibn Akhtab, a Jewish scholar who was
dedicated to fighting the Prophet, peace on him, and
Islam. In fact, it was Huyai who worked hard to
forge an alliance of Arabian and Jewish tribes
which marched on Madinah to try to eliminate
the Muslim community altogether. That was the
alliance, which tried to attack the Muslims in
what is known as “the expedition of the Moat
[Ghazwa-e-Khandaq]”. Huyai was executed
along with the Jews of Huraithah after victory
was granted by Allah to Muslims. A couple of
years later, Safiyah’s Jewish husband was
killed in the Battle of Khyber. After the battle,
the Prophet, peace on him, married her to help
normalize the relations with those Jews who
continued to live in Arabia. In fact, Lady
Safiyah fell to the Prophet, peace on him, as a slave
as part of his share of what the Muslims gained
as a result of the battle. He, however, offered
her freedom if she would accept Islam, which
she did, and he married her.
Now about the Prophet’s marriage to Lady
Zainab, who was known by the title, “Mother
of the Poor”, because she was so keen to help
every poor person. She was married to the
Prophet, peace on him, for only two months before
she passed away. The other marriage was to
Lady Maimounah, which took place after the
Prophet, peace on him, and the Muslims went for
their Umrah, a few months before the conquest
of Makkah.
One marriage, which had clear legislative
purpose, was that which saw the Prophet, peace on
him, married, by God’s own order, to Lady
Zainab bint Jahsh. Before Islam and well into
the early years of the Muslim settlement in
Madinah, the Arabs used to recognize adoption
as giving full parental status. Thus, if a couple
[email protected] Page 15
adopted a child, he was considered their own
son or daughter in every respect. Islam,
however, stopped adoption and considered it a
forbidden practice, which could give no legal
effect to any relationship. The Prophet, peace on him,
had adopted, in pre-Islamic days, a young man
who had been gifted to him as a slave. The
young man was known as Zaid ibn Harithah.
He declared his adoption of Zaid, who was
subsequently known as Zaid ibn Muhammad. It
is perhaps worth mentioning here that Zaid was
the first man to adopt Islam. When the
prohibition of adoption was declared, Zaid
reverted to his original name and was known
ever since as Zaid ibn Harithah, after his real
father.
The Prophet, peace on him, had married Zaid to Lady
Zainab, the daughter of his paternal aunt.
However, Zainab was rather unhappy about the
marriage, because of Zaid’s former slave status.
Zaid was very uneasy about the marriage and
asked the Prophet’s permission to divorce her.
At this point, the Prophet, peace on him, was ordered
to allow the divorce to go through and to marry
Zainab after her waiting period was over. The
Prophet, peace on him, was very reluctant to do so,
because of what people might say about his
marrying his former “daughter-in-law”. But
God wanted to demonstrate in practice the
absolute invalidity of adoption in the most
practical manner. God declares in the Qur’an:
And when thou saidst to him to whom Allah had
shown favour and to whom thou hadst shown a
favour: Keep thy wife to thyself and keep thy duty to
Allah; and thou concealedst in thy heart what Allah
would bring to light, and thou fearedst men, and
Allah has a greater right that thou shouldst fear
Him. So when Zaid dissolved her marriage-tie, We
gave her to thee as a wife, so that there should be
no difficulty for the believers about the wives of
their adopted sons, when they have dissolved their
marriage-tie. And Allah’s command is ever
performed. (33:37)
A few verses later, God declared:
Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but
he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the
prophets. And Allah is ever Knower of all things.
[email protected] Page 16
his past month has been hectic, as it must have been for a lot of you. Back to
school, back from vacation, back into routine and back into autumn. As i see
the leaves fall, it slowly hits me how quickly this year too, like all previous ones,
has passed by.
When I was younger, my parents taught me a prayer to recite before starting
anything, in particular an exam. To this day, I can imagine my mom and dad
twiddling their thumbs with nerve-wrecking hope that I’d do well in whatever
test I’d have gone to give. So, needless to say, like every prayer, it needs to be
recited from within, with true faith and confidence.
The dua’a is from Surah Taha, Verses 25-26:
“He [Moses] said: My Lord, expand my breast for me: And ease my
affair for me”:
This dua’a was said by Prophet Moses as he
embarked on the mission to spread the word
of Allah to the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh,
allegorical to a lot of situations and people
we have to face daily and / or at various
times of our lives.
This in my eyes is one of the true beauties of
our religion. The entirety and completeness
of Islam is vivid. Allah asks us to ask Him.
He tells us over and over again how to do so.
He then promises to listen, and in doing so,
He again provides us with ways of asking.
Nothing is a mystery and is easy enough that
even an uneducated person can understand
this notion of “just asking”. What a shame, if
despite all this, we refuse to ask.
A few weeks ago, somebody I know, their
granddad passed away. I called to condole
and said “May Allah wash away his sins and
make his life in the hereafter good ....” I was
continuing this but was cut off by her
T
“A
PAGE
FROM
MY
DIARY” Siddiqa Sadiq
[email protected] Page 17
comment. “No trust me; you don’t even need to pray for that, he was so pious he
doesn’t need a prayer for forgiveness.”
Consider me very narrow minded, but this shocked me greatly. Our prayers are
not even complete until we have recited the ‘Darood’. The father of Islam,
Prophet Ibrahim, and the Prophet for whom this entire world was created,
Prophet Muhammad {peace and blessings of Allah be on them both}, both have the Darood recited
over and over again for them. Prophet Moses was revealed verses for him to pray
to help him, verses which we centuries later recite in front of the All Mighty. Who
are we compared to such great personalities, who are we in front of the great
Deity? Who are we to say that we do not need prayers as ordinary simple
creatures of Allah? Above all, who are we to say we do not need forgiveness from
Allah?
May Allah forgive our sins, and of those who have already returned to Him, Ameen
Say: My prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are surely
for Allah, the Lord of the worlds—
Whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned, and who are patient
in their afflictions, and who keep up prayer, and spend of what We
have given them.
And your Lord says: Pray to Me, I will answer you. Those who disdain
My service will surely enter hell, abased.