Rashid Welcome to another episode of Islamic focus. Today we have our 49th program in our series dealing with Muhammad, the last messenger of Allah, in our eighth program, commenting on the marriages, the prophets are very pleased to have joining me on the program as my guest today, as usual,
Jamal Badawi of St. Mary’s University by the Jamaat Assalamu alaykum
fashion Can I help you quickly summarize the main points that we touched on in our program last week,
we continued the analysis of the Manage of the profit from Zayn and the diversity of his adopted or you might say foster son.
And more specifically, we discuss the evidence that the Prophet actually was commanded by Allah. To do this, it was not his own choice. We indicated that the evidence from that is not maybe historically
relevant to the social and cultural background. But something that has been shown in the Quran in several places in Surah, number 33. The difference in the Quran to the fact that the Prophet was hiding something that is something that was hiding he was hiding was simply his knowledge through revelation that the marriage between Xena Banzai, it will eventually collapse and that he will be commanded by a lot to get married presented for legislative reason.
We indicated then from that analysis, that it doesn’t only indicate the Prophet peace be upon him, but also shows his absolute integrity and honesty in conveying every word that he received. Even those that were critical of him even for innocent judgments or feelings that, you know, he was waiting pellets, what people might say about it. And this one is was not because of any intention to disobey Allah, but simply he was worried because he would be chosen as the first one to break that taboo and the deep rooted customs. And when the command came, he did not hesitate to follow it as God commanded him. Finally, the question was about the orientalist and mission statements that the
Prophet
told his followers not to marry more than four at one point or restricted them but he himself exceeded or continues to have more than four wives.
And the odd chance that we had in the previous program was simply to comment on the tone of the way they put it in their writings, which seemed to imply that the Quran is of his own making something that has been already explained so many times that it is not his own making.
That was as far as we went last time, we didn’t get the chance to
analyze the variation in terms of numbers.
Today, by our discussion of that particular point, I think it’s been reported that the accuracy versus restricting the number of lines to four was revealed that many of the individuals who had more than four wives at that time divorced them. However, the Prophet did not
pick up
his wife. Yes, that’s true, he could call his wife. But the issue here is basically is that if the Prophet has some against orientalist and missionaries,
mistakenly say he
was the one who was controlling or changing, making exceptions for himself? Yes. If that was true, it would contradict the following facts. Number one.
If it was true that the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, just wanted to feel more than for whites to keep on his wives at that time, you know, they were nice.
The question is, why should he restrict his followers?
Yes. Could
you continue to practice it doesn’t have to say anything at all. Because the ABS before that verse was removed, restrict the number of wise, there was too many, as many wise as they could. So if that was his desire, Why say anything about his why restrict just with them, and get married like them also, to as many wives as he wants to shake a shake? It’s a number that he actually added
to the number that he has. So he would not be forced to.
It doesn’t make any sense to assume that he did that.
If the number of whites in itself was the issue, again, if it has not been a big problem for him, has indicated that
many of his wives were all women, simply because of humanitarian reasons. He made them perhaps over 60 So the issue is the matters of number of wives, he could have divorced those from the ones and kept the relatively younger ones. Okay, so that’s the number itself is not an issue could have been that like Muslims equals one. That verse was the game. People had the choice to choose for whites and then they had to divorce. They can marry to anyone.
Towards the mercies.
Certainly.
It is interesting to notice also that there’s another verse in the very same chapter that chapter 33 verse 52,
which imposes a restriction on the prophet in the matter of marriages, which does not apply to other Muslims. In other words, the prophet is even more restricted in the method of marriage, according to our version 52. It says
that,
it is, it is not lawful for you,
to marry you more women, after this, after that verse is newer to change them, for other wives. This restriction that applies to the prophet in particular, means two things.
First of all, that is more restricted than an ordinary Muslim. Yes, because an ordinary Muslim, can still
observe the maximum number of wives of four, by divorcing some and remaining personality before he can divorce to get married to another to still keep within the maximum, the prophet was forbidden from living, what other Muslims could do by changing
this verse actually implies that
all his wife died in his lifetime, he would not be qualified to get married to any person, and matter which is permissible.
If somebody is married, for example, two, four, and one of them
can observe the maximum
married another woman, the maximum
was forbidden, even, even if all his wife is about to get married to any other woman, what would be the motive the if the issue really was the desire of the Prophet? So just to keep the number of ways that he had when the restriction in that verse came? Because he’s even more restricted in some respects, than being a Muslim?
if that was true, can we really still say that it was the prophet to allowed himself to get married more than the fact of the matter is that there are certain exceptions, in the case of the marriage of the Prophet, exceptions, which are not of his own making, or choice, but exceptions that are allowed,
as part of his fulfillment of the duty of the puppet as a prophet and messenger, and for additional wisdom, and for the interesting benefit of faith rather than the personal benefit of the prophet or his personal desire to seize on the question of the exceptions that you mentioned, are these exceptions implied? Or is there any reference to them their specific reference to them in the
report? To answer that, I just want to make a statement that there are a number of exceptions, yes, which are in the lifetime of the Prophet.
And that,
even if those exceptions were revealed, outside of the Quran, because the Prophet receive two types of Revelation, the Quran was the revelation of meaning.
But another legitimate revelation is that the Prophet also was directed sometimes without the text of the Quran to do certain things, even then, to be rejected. But to come to your question directly.
There are differences to that, in the Quran itself, several cases of exceptions and for a good reason. To begin with, in the the verse immediately before the question of marriage with with Lena. That’s in chapter 33, in verse 36.
It says
that it is not fitting for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His messengers to have options about their decision,
worldwide, the wording of course, in general applies to a general attitude. But as we explained before,
that the Prophet indeed
pressured Zegna to accept to get married to resign
in order to establish the overarching principle of human brotherhood and remove this unstow cracy. To break that habit.
In that case, we can say in a way that the Prophet almost old enough to marry to date.
And of course, that’s an exception because the general rule is established, make minimum standards that person can be forced or pressured to get married to someone else. So that’s a departure from the route because God wanted that for a specific purpose or the sacrifice of God sacrificed, you might say, an interest of one person for the sake of establishing the principle for all ages to come.
To break a bad habit.
A second exception
is what we mentioned before about his marriage
that he was commanded to marry hardest was an order for him. The normal case, of course, is that the person would want to get married to someone and the truth in that case isn’t a choice, he was commanded. And the Quran says
hi, in marriage with you.
So that again means that this marriage did not have to go through the normal, or customer formalities of marriage, collected the witnesses and all of these because again, it was a direct, divine command. So this was another exception. And the Quran testifies.
There is another important exception also is that, in the case of ordinary Muslims, the basic rule is that if the person dies, the husband dies. His widows are after observing a search and waiting for us to get married to others, we can do magic, there’s no restriction on that. However, in the Quran, according to verse 53, in the same chapter, chapter 33,
it seems
to us when Allah He went out, and thank you for
that is no Is it right for you that you should marry, or you should enjoy the Messenger of Allah, or that you should marry his widows after him at a time truly is such a thing is in God’s sight and enormity.
This is simply because the lives of the prophets are to be regarded as the mothers of believers, they are the source of information and teaching for everyone not to be restricted to any husband after the prophet and their function was to devote their lives to communicate what they learned from the prophets to others.
About the calculator, of course, people were already married to more than four, the rule that came later to limit the maximum number of wives to four,
give an exception also to the Prophet peace be upon him. So the exception actually is part of many other exceptions, that has been spotted in the Quran, and for a given purpose, either by revelation
and hadleys.
inspiration to the Prophet being directed to certain things and for a particular purpose in consideration of his prophetic office and
the last exception that you will need
to answer
as well. Okay, of course, I begin again, with the observation that
not
necessarily explicit in the Quran, and the profit was always a seeming correlation. But on the other hand, to be absolutely honest about it.
There is no verse in the Quran that can be said to explain that exception explicitly in a way that could not be interested in otherwise. I mean, there are differences, which has been interpreted this way. But I wanted always to make a distinction in this program, between something that’s so clear and inclusive, and something which is a very, very likely and reasonably identification,
reasonable objectivity. And that this actually, which I feel, very strongly suggest that is verse number 50.
Because the verse begins to begin to abbreviate a little bit to come to grips with the issue, itself, you address the profit in America as well as a means of profit, we have made lawful
rights, to whom you have paid the medical gifts, some people call it, perhaps a medical gift is a better translation. And then it continues after what it says and also a note until in believing that you could marry a woman who dedicates herself to the profit if the Prophet wishes to read
and then diverse continues this only for you and not for the believers at large
only for you and not for the believers at large.
Now, as I indicated earlier, I had to be cautious and saying that this is not a conclusive explicit statement because it is quite possible to interpret
only for you as applying only to to continue to be married to the wife to whom you have already paid your medical bills gift. Okay? But even if you take it this way, it also means that there are spiders in the industry. It means also that you can continue your marital relationship or marital funds with those to whom you have already failed the marathon gift, implying even though they might have been more than four
This is one opinion that the authority for example mentioned in involving 23, page 16.
But the question again as to whether
only for you applies to
the case that the Prophet can marry any woman who devotes herself that is without necessarily even if a woman say, Alright, I devote myself to you, and if the Prophet wants to get hurt, or does it apply to both, because both of them appear in the very same verse. And my humble understanding, I’m more inclined to the other opinion that nobody mentions on page 23. So on page 18, of the same volume 123, the difference in that verse, the ending of that is that this is only for you applies both, that you can marry a woman without a marital gift, if she accepts that. And also, that you can keep
the the whites that you have already paid,
and others
when you don’t have to restrict it to four in your particular case, you don’t have to divorce anything. And that’s nothing. I am more inclined to the opinion by a Tada.
Really, the reason why you’re more inclined to this explanation by Qatada than the other? Yes, at least three reasons. One, is that the verse that speaks about that
speaks about both of them. And there is nothing redundant in the Quran. It emphasizes the system of profit, we made no food until the wives for whom you have paid Samaritan.
Well, why would the Quran say, because anyone knows that once you pay the medicine gift, and the marriage is legitimate, you don’t have to tell him all right, your wife.
So the very wording itself seemed to indicate that is Don’t worry. For other people, it’s not lawful for them to keep having more than four lives. So anyone or any number beyond four is not lawful. But in your case, any life that you have already married legitimately, it is lawful Aunty, which means it is lawful and to to keep, even though it is beyond the maximum number of four.
Second reason
is that
the mentioned as indicated
the expression only for you appears at the end of the same verse, which includes both cases, the number three and four. And also the fact that he could marry without marital gifts in the life of a woman living woman offers and for marriage, and he wishes to marry her. So the ending seems to be more logically, and legitimately applicable to the whole content of the verse rather than to one part of it. The third reason is that the remaining part of that verse, verse 15, seems to enforce and 15 on if you continue to enforce that understanding, because it’s a is a valid number for him, as well as him as a man whom
Allah says, we know what we have appointed for him, ie for other believers, as to their wives, and so on, continues, and then the end of the verses in order that there should be new difficulty for you.
Or prophets.
And other races? Yes, I know, Allah says, I knew that other believers have been restricted to four. Okay. But this is given to you so that you would not feel any hesitancy don’t feel difficulty, because this is an exception that is given to you.
Now, in the context, then, this
is quite obvious to me that there is no rationale at all, for the prophet to be taught, there should be no difficulty for you. Unless there’s some exceptions. And that’s very, very consistent with the personality of the Prophet, he always didn’t like to have a distinction of our England, or any exception. That is reported numerous times. For example, when he grows with different traveling and they start cooking the food, he goes on and had to say, we can do that for you said, No, I don’t want to have any distinction over you. He hated the people stand up to greet him. Whenever he came to a place where people are seated. He just said whatever, whatever places available did not just
push himself in the forefront of the time. So that seemed to indicate again, that the Prophet must have felt that, you know, why should you give more than
I need that exception for you for good reason. But in any cases, again, whether the explanation applies to that particular verse.
I’m not, I must say that the essential issue really, really here is that those good Jesus have a good reason for the Prophet peace be upon him to be exempted from having to divorce
any number of wives beyond for after that restriction was imposed, because the wives of the Prophet have a special status and this action would have been very unfair to them. And particularly, what have you comment further perhaps on this question of fairness and not asking, explain why, from your point of view, it would be unfair for some of the wives of the property to be divorced because they exceeded the maximum number four. Okay, that relates to another aspect that was mentioned earlier, getting the status of the wives of the Prophet universe that you quoted earlier, that nobody could marry the witness of the proper data.
As indicated, in other words, they may devote themselves to communicate the information and knowledge that they went through their contact with the rest of Master, so they have a special duty devoted to that particular function.
Now, if the Prophet was commanded, like all other Muslims to divorce in life beyond the number four,
it means them that it would be unfair to them for a number of reasons. One, they would be losing the honor of being whites of the Prophet, imagine being away from the prophet and then being divorced. It’s not like, you know, being divorced from any other men.
Secondly, since they come up to remarry, according to the text of the Quran, it means that other divorcees of other Muslims will have more than four wives still have another opportunity to get married to someone else. But the life of the Prophet cannot marry to anyone, it would be unfair for them. So they have different circumstances from our wives,
wives of Muslim people. Thirdly, that, as we indicated, Anthony in several programs, they have been a very good humanitarian reasons, or other very valid reasons for the service of faith rather than the interests of the Prophet. And there’s a story behind each of those marriages, it has a very good valid purpose and wisdom behind it. Like to give a good example to people for granted to look after the widows and the children’s orphans and so on, now for the prophets to marry them, to give them a good example of caring for this woman, regardless of their age or their children. And then to retracted that at a later time, the prophet divorces and again, seems to be a negation of what the
prophet was commanded, or was inspired to do, by way of exemplifying and establishing certain principles will be rather inconsistent. So that seemed to preclude In fact, any notion of obsession on the part of the profit of having more rights, like I said, many of them were already quite old.
And in fact, in view of his life struggle, and his achievement would clearly indicate that he was a person far from being obsessed, just numbers.
We haven’t had a chance to
deal with the prophet to explore the question of his achievements, Hassan, however, practice will shed some light on the type of life that he lived, which will preclude precludes any obsession with wives or, or the pursuit of personal pleasures.
For example,
God, expressive, very nice, I might make repetitions, nice in volume 10,
the English translation of his interpretation, he says in the court, the duties of the office of prophethood were so arduous that they were absorbing all of his energies of mind, body, and heart. And every moment of his time, I think my dad is quite justified in making that statement. If one examines the achievement of the Prophet peace be upon him during his mission of 23 years, and not particularly even during the last seven years of his life, which is are the only years where he has more than one wife.
For the rest of his life was a monogamous
bachelor, you’ll find the achievements were just phenomenal.
As compared even with any growth profit in the past, he exceeded
those achievement by far. He was a teacher, a prophet, a friend, for me, a judge, a ruler, and neither
of the people even in the battlefield,
one, within this shift in time, go through the number of
activities and the extent of these activities as the Prophet did, who can afford with all of these great responsibilities?
To be obsessed with life, and the time needed
to spend with it on his life was very busy type of traveling, going to the battlefield and all of that. But in addition to this responsibility, his personal life even was exemplary in his devotion and worship of Allah.
As I say, his wife reported that he used to stand up at my prayers, long prayers and supplications to Allah so much, that his feet were swollen from the length of the prayer. And then when I shall
sleep and you know, you’ve you’ve been the Prophet of Allah, you have been forgiven anything, even though small things that nobody even was considered to be a sin at all. Why? Why do you have to, you know, do all that? And then he answers
again,
and a segment of Allah,
the prophet goes to sleep and rest after a good part of the night standing in prayers. As
Hamada explains,
only a couple of hours of sleep, and all of a sudden, the dawn prayer begins, as you know, Muslims have to go wake up when they don’t pray, and that’s almost 75 minutes or an hour and a half before sunrise. So very early in the morning. The question is, how did the Prophet live? If a person was really, truly obsessed with women and pleasures, who would require comfortable bedding, with acquire enough to eat? But what how? How did the Prophet live? What was the nature of his living? We find narrations, very authentic ones of the second book was chosen after
visit him even after the Muslims became reasonably reasonably more prosperous, to find him sleeping on a very simple straw man, that were so rough that it left marks on his body, and our cries. And he says, you know how we live in this kind of dire poverty. And here’s, of course, the funds are available, and are the profit object to this kind of
statements by Ahmed and he says that one should look for the pleasures of the hereafter not this life. Many times he repeats that in this mouth is only like a passer by very soon to go back to his creator. And he exemplified this esoteric and very simple aesthetic life and his own behavior. I saw his wife reported that sometimes a month and a two, he says, imagine two months go by without any fire being lit in the household of the Prophet, which means no cooked meal. And when people asked her how did you survive, she said, just on water, and dates imagined for two months living on water and dates, but she says sometimes, some of our neighbors would give us a goat’s milk, by way of
gift. In fact, the Quran itself testifies to this very simple and very rough life that the Prophet chose not because of poverty, the Muslim Treasury was was quite abundant. But he chose that simply life imposed on himself that could definitely go with the
profile of someone who’s looking for pleasure. The Quran actually mentioned one particular incident where even his wife’s good as they may be became very
bothered by the kind of simple life of the Prophet has started to demand some some kind of relief.
First, we have to wind up getting signals that our time is gone. And we want to thank you all for watching and invite you back next week. Assalamu alaikum peace
