The Truth Does Set You Free

Introduction to Slavery in Ancient Arabia

I have to do this today; it’s been gnawing at my conscience for the past month and longer. I had promised earlier that I would blog about ‘Slavery In Islam’, which I only touched on before. I will go into more detail in this present writing.

April is as good a time as any to sit indoors when the weather is nice and write a blogpost. Slavery remains an important and still relevant subject, like child marriage, which I think I have proven clearly enough isn’t something which Islam encourages in any specific language, hadiths or Qur’an, but might have permitted due to the conditions in ancient Arabia before and after the time of Muhammad, when the cultural norms and religious practice drastically and sometimes slowly moved away from racism, female infanticide, abuse and hatred or sexism, and slavery; slavery and general abuse of the weak members of society, as well as hatred and sexism were combatted by specific verses and sayings of Muhammad and the actions required by faith, which meant that belief and actions go hand in hand, and occur almost simultaneously, but also concurrently, as permanent change can sometimes be very difficult to maintain. Good intentions are worthless without meaningful change. Without actions to follow the words, the religion would have been a dogma with no strongly motivated adherents, and the followers would then tend to backslide as the ups and downs of life and the level of faith (Iman), which naturally has a rise and fall and ups and downs, but generally correlating with the level of commitment, practice and command of the faithful by a worthy leader who would command adherence to the spirit and letter of the new religion (as practiced by former prophets and their followers) and instill love and respect for the deen and himself, through his natural leadership and piety. Man then was at times thrust into chaotic states of drastic change and upheaval as wars came and went, and the world players departed from their customary good and/or bad relations with the various Arab tribes, who had been pagan, to relations (defined by change) with newly converted Islamic tribes and the obvious power struggles which defined the new world order in the era of the newly established Islamic government, and in a way pan Islamism.

Good is distinct from evil

In Ramadhan, the Muslims commit to fasting a month during days, and praying during nights. Some people commit to other fasting, such as the Monday and Thursday of each week, because it was also a well-known and beneficial Sunnah of the Prophet, pbuh. This makes one prepared to fast once each year, from the time one is a child in a religious Muslim home, and later, also many youth practice the fasting on Mondays and Thursdays as well as recitation of the Qur’an to be more God-conscious throughout the year. They commit themselves to fasting and memorization of the Qur’an because these are in themselves considered virtuous, drawing one nearer to Allah, and also, the believer hopes that s/he gains a reward or at least deeds in their scale of good deeds which will (they hope) outweigh the deeds which they accumulate in their scale of evil deeds. God consciousness characterizes the early Muslims, and this has carried into every following generation of Muslims at least in some parts of the world, and to lesser degree in some states and greater degree in other states. Unfortunately due to the political realities in many Muslim-majority countries, which has lasted 60 years, more or less, Muslims have been deprived or have denied a greater part of their illustrious past, they have forgotten parts of the religion which need to be revitalized and the important Islamic character and fear of Allah have all but gone missing from most of the people’s lives. Families can be a ‘hodge podge’ of different religious beliefs, varying political stripes and conflicting moral values, and one finds that societies have all become much more materialistic, regardless of the country or the GDP or the unemployment rates, family planning, women’s liberation, education and so on. The rich and the poor are all obsessed with the value of the dollar and what their country’s currency can buy them. The blessings seem to have diminished.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Lies

It was impossible to eradicate slavery in one fell swoop; the same holds true for early marriage; because societies then as now were not homogenous. (I have to make it absolutely clear that I do not subscribe to the view that the Prophet Muhammad had married a girl who was not ready for marriage. In other words, she was not a victim; nor that she had anything but a decent family and upbringing, intelligence, and was thoroughly happy with how her life unfolded. I dare anyone to prove to me otherwise).Early marriage was the custom (not of Muslims in particular, but of the pre-Islamic Arabs, and also many other cultures). Culture, not religion was the reason that most pre-Islamic customs, which we find odd prevailed; for example, the long mourning period of some women in pagan society versus the almost immediate “remarriage” or “inheritance” of a widow in Europe from brother to brother, or near relative to near relative. Two very different customs based on culture more than religion.

The status of women in Europe is more the fault of culture than anything which produces proof of women’s inferiority in the Bible; while the Bible does lay the blame for “the fall” on Eve, it also laid some of the blame on Adam. But the story of the fall and the reason it gives for the pains of childbirth (that Eve and all women are punished for Eve’s greater part in disobedience to God (by her eating fruit from the tree of knowledge and also giving it to Adam) reads more like a “tale of woe” or the Brothers Grimm, more than anything to do with real moral values or jurisprudence, which a religious text would teach. Even Aesop’s fables is much more a collection which impresses the reader with its’ moral-humanist values and directives than many parts of the Bible do. “An eye for an eye” is more in keeping with the inherited laws of a Prophet, like the Ten Commandments, (e.g. “Thou shalt not kill”). So it isn’t difficult to analyze where some verse are merely the whim of a human author (who wrote and thought as others of the period wrote and thought), and not the clear commands, prohibitions, warnings, or punishments of the Divine Will.

Ancient Arabia was inclusive of different religions and peoples which were always in opposition or engaging in wars.

Christians of Byzantium were defeated and later on, the Romans saw a comeback as prophesied in the Chapter “The Romans”, in a battle in which the Romans, who had been on the brink of utter defeat and no point of return, were able to muster their forces to defeat the Persians. This was a victory over Paganism openly celebrated by the Muslims and remembered in Islam’s writings which have been spread for the last 1400 years. The battle took place in 7 AH. (The Hijri calendar begins with the migration to Medina and the founding of the Islamic state in the 14th year of Prophethood).

(Revise – add link to video)

Islam prevailed in the end, which led to sweeping changes and pan Islamism, or Islam’s dominance over much of the known world as it were, peerlessly for centuries.

Islam is the religion accepted by God

P.111, of the pocket prayer book, “Fortress of the Muslim”, reads,

(#90)

“We have entered a new day upon the natural religion of Islam, the word of sincere devotion, the religion of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the faith of our father Ibrahim. He was upright (in worshipping Allah), and a Muslim. He was not of those who worship others besides Allah.”

(At night, one would say “night” instead of “day”).

This is Islam, the religion of all of the Prophets of Allah, and none other is accepted by Him, nor will adherents of other false deities enter Paradise, but all the people will be questioned about what they used to do, and the unbelievers will be forever consigned to Hell. (Allah is the First and the Last, which means there is nothing before Him or After Him. In terms of His power and what He wills, He cannot be countered, His will is the final one, and no one has any say or ability to do anything without His granted permission.)

Marriage – some important points

Just to finish off the discussion on child marriage, child brides, or early marriage in Islam, and specifically in ancient Arabia, and the Prophet Muhammad’s marriages, comparing some of the marriages and drawing parallels between marriage to a slave and marriage to a young girl.

The Prophet married two slave women, and also some captives; he freed one of them as a condition (or marriage gift). The woman who was Umm Walid, and therefore a free woman at the time of the death of the Prophet, was Mariyah the Copt, who as mentioned was a gift from one of the powerful rulers at the time, a king of Egypt (named Muqawqis). Another woman who the Prophet married, before or in step with her conversion to Islam, one (or three)month(s) after the death of her first husband and father in one of the decisive battles, Safiyah was a captive of war, but the Prophet released her and married her as well. Aisha, RA, called her “a jewess” because of evident jealousy, but the Prophet told her that Safiyah, RA, had already accepted Islam; therefore, it isn’t conceivable that she was not willing to marry the Prophet of Islam when he proposed to her, even if that happened only one month after her initial shock at losing both her husband and her father. If she had been opposed to the marriage, as a free woman (before and after her conversion) she could have been granted a divorce, if the marriage didn’t suit her. In a specific verse, Allah Himself asked all of Muhammad’s wives to choose between their fealty to him or freedom and a good provision; sometimes they used to complain about their condition, because the prophet, SAWS, was well known for his simple living and asceticism. All of his wives definitely showed their fealty to him and purity of faith after the said verse was revealed and the choice was clearly offered them - a life of simplicity and Islam, or a life of grandeur and freedom from their marriage to Muhammad. (Revise – add reference) Later, I will tell more about the condition of women at the time, in an upcoming blog post and also give detailed information about practices of women, both Muslims and non-Muslims, at the time of revelation - to show how these women lived, loved and even battled.

Ancient marriage - brief

If we compare some of the marriage stories of the earlier prophets we see that it was natural (or the prevalent custom) for men to take in marriage women who they didn’t know (e.g. hadn’t known in any sexual way and after only meeting once or for a brief period of time before marriage). In the story of Abraham we see that he is already married to one wife, and they are both devotees of One True God, Allah. The Pharaoh admires Sara (Abraham’s wife) and gives her a servant woman; Sara gives the woman, Hajar, to her husband as a gift. He marries her and has the child Ishmael. The Bible tells that she was a slave woman. I believe she was his wife and that’s the opinion of the early Muslims, as per the verses of the Qur’an about Hajar.

The story of Moses is a typical “love connection” of an Islamic type. Moses was a stranger with a dangerous past; he comes to a village seeking sustenance, perhaps lodging and some food and water, and security from people who are likely to pursue him for killing one of their own. While he sits off by himself somewhere, under a tree perhaps, he notices two girls who are trying to water their sheep at the common watering hole, but they cannot get close, and hold back due to all the men who are busy with their flocks or camels, etc. Moses goes to them and waters the sheep for them. They are grateful and tell their aged father about Moses and he very quickly offers Moses to marry one of his daughters on the condition that he remain working for the old man for 8 – 10 years, which ever term he wishes to complete. After he has remained in the service of the old man for X years Moses travels with his wife or family and later receives a sign from God, that he is a Prophet and Messenger and he receives the holy tablets, which are the law he must preach to the Jews.

We assume from events in the story that these two daughters are unmarried, but old enough to get married; their ages are not the important part of the story and is not known (the Qur’an also doesn’t give the age or description of the Prophet Muhammad’s wives. The most descriptive passages connected with marriage are about specific problems which occurred, such as the evil saying of the hypocrites against Aisha, RA, and the complaint of a woman whose husband refused to have relations with her, in the custom of ignorance (of pre Islam) which permitted men to ignore their wives but didn’t allow for the women to redress the unfair treatment or receive a divorce.) We notice that marriage happens very easily in the story of Moses. Moses chooses which girl he prefers, and there is apparently no resistance from her regarding the marriage. One of the girls proposes the idea to her father to engage Moses for help in his livelihood, but it isn’t specified which girl Moses chooses or if there were any conflicts as a result of his preferring one over the other.

Muslims’ accounts in the hadiths often give many more details in some things, than one might think necessary; they are not revelation, except for those that are the Prophets rephrasing of what Allah says, or one of the Ahadith Qudsi, which are Allah’s words exactly as revealed as well as the meaning. Some of the accounts (in some hadiths) when scrutinized seem not to hold water, so as I on occasion mention, the hadiths are not all reliable (as to the content or intended or implied meaning), there are hadiths which are not “truthful” narrations even though these might be included in Sahih Bukhari, or other of the famous hadiths collections. I advise Muslims and others that hadiths should be ‘taken with a grain of salt’. Also, most people will misunderstand the sayings because of their lack of education, or their own misconceptions or common widespread misinterpretations or misrepresentations (in dubious books, etc.) and so on. The Qur’an is the word of God, it is in clear language, yet many people do not understand it, because even the Qur’an should be studied (then it reveals more of its greatness, more details about the context of verses and also about the Arabic will be revealed). If one is serious about learning the meanings of the Qur’an, that person should take courses with established schools, e.g. Universities or online courses. By advising people to study Islam I am not trying to discourage people from thinking, but the fact is, most people who comment very negatively and disrespectfully about Islam and topics related to Islam reveal a lot of ignorance, while they claim to be “enlightened” and accuse the Muslims of ignorance. Muslims will often laugh them off, because they know those people to be biased, hateful, ignorant about Islam’s teachings, and that they are arrogant and are really from the blameworthiest people in these times. Many other non-Muslims do not have a specifically anti-Islam or anti-Muslims agenda, or insult any people’s religion, because they understand that freedom is not exclusively for those people who are from the secular societies which have rejected belief in God, but that all people, regardless of race or religion, etc. have basic human rights and the right to freely believe (or teach their children) whatever they choose (being essentially good and right), even if their ‘chosen’ religion or beliefs are passed down to them from their parents or predecessors.

Slavery in early Islam

While many non-Muslim debaters impress on their audiences the fact that Muslim men took slave women and imagine that on the battlefields these women were sexually abused, raped and forced against their will even as the battle was raging, range from obtusely phrased innuendo to blatant lies, often citing hadiths to force thoughts of credibility. The fact is that Muslims were not permitted to freely approach these women for sexual relations until one monthly period and the period of cleanliness which follows; at which time women take a bath. Non-Muslim wives also must purify themselves the way that Muslim wives do, or they cannot have sexual relations with their husbands (a state of “ceremonial impurity”, which is a temporary condition.) A girl who was from a distant tribe would perhaps be able to convince other women, such as wives of her ‘captor’, that she was pregnant or if she were a prepubescent girl she would have to be treated with kindness just as any young Muslim girl; Islam doesn’t permit harming anyone, whether slave woman or the children of slaves. One wonders how many women claimed pregnancy that didn’t exist to resist a forced marriage or becoming a “concubine”. These are details which no one has. But there are things which we can determine logically and by ‘visualizing’ what might have been closer to reality than we could determine from a lackadaisical approach to a study of the hadiths and quick read of some popular myths on less than honest websites and twisted comments by internet trolls.

Widows In the Pre-Islamic era

The practice of the non-believers, or pagans was that a woman would remain at least one year in mourning after the death of her husband. A tradition mentions that before Islam the non-Muslim women would not even entertain guests or leave their homes even for one full year and if a dog came near she would fling a piece of cattle dung at the animal. This is mentioned in the traditions, because some Muslim women had begun later on to ask about whether they could wear kohl (ithmid) for medicinal reasons, while they were in mourning and the Prophet forbade it, mentioning the above example of the pre-Islamic women to strict mourning, while the Muslim women were asking about something which had already been forbidden for widows in mourning, namely beautification, or applying anything such as scent, or beautification products like henna, or eyeliner. (There were other ways to treat eye infections at the time though ithmid is mentioned as one of the most effective treatments.)

The Mourning period

In contrast to the custom of a long period of mourning which lasted one year, or even two years, the Muslim women were permitted to marry by the Prophet; in one case, a woman married one month after the death of her husband, after she gave birth (and presumably after the forty days of postpartum bleeding). Because a pregnant woman’s mourning period is until she delivers, it can vary from days to months. But for other women, the period of mourning will be four months, ten days. It isn’t advised to marry a woman during her period, or postpartum bleeding, because the husband may have difficulty in resisting the urge to have sex with his new bride. Nonetheless, it isn’t strictly forbidden (to have a marriage contract) but Muslims are not permitted during women’s period to have vaginal intercourse. (Sodomy is always strictly forbidden and is considered an abhorrent behavior and a practice of homosexuals and other non-believers who have gone astray).

It wasn’t uncommon therefore, for men to suggest marriage without a direct question to the widow, to reveal their intention by some good or kind words to her, without an outright proposal until her iddah (mourning period) had passed.

We see by these examples, that the mindset of women would not be that they would refuse marriage on the pretext of a (short or long) iddah, and that in fact, some women might prefer to be able to marry as soon as possible after their husband’s passing. Muslim women were allowed to marry any time after their Iddah (specified by Allah, SWT) whereas the pagan women were forced by “cultural custom” to observe a much longer and difficult mourning period. It was the devotion to their culture and religion which served as the deciding factor for both pagans and Muslims. But we see that in either case, regardless of the ease or difficulty for individual women, these women adhered to the customs of the religion and culture to which they subscribed, therefore Muslim women who had previously been pagan or Christian, or Jewish, rejected the practices of their former religion and embraced the Islamic religion and practices which they believed were divinely inspired - they had no objection then to the mandates of the religion, nor the permissions, or obligations which their religion gave or demanded, respectively.

We are to believe, according to Spencer’s account, that Juwairiya, RA, married one month after the death of her husband, and/or (more accurately) because she had completed her iddah, and also was freed at the time of marriage (or around the time of the marriage contract), therefore she did not complete a longer mourning period, because she had embraced Islam after or as per her marriage contract, and her mahr (marriage gift) was her freedom from “captivity” (not slavery), as mentioned in a hadith of the Prophet, SAWS. It is a well-known fact that Muslims are not permitted to mourn for their deceased non-Muslim relatives, even though they are permitted and not responsible for the natural feelings of loss and sadness, especially knowing that their close kin (non-believers) are destined for the Fire. In any case, Juwairiya had some time before her conversion to mourn her dead father, and as for the husband he became a person of no consequence after her marriage to the Prophet and her acceptance of the true religion. The hadith makes no mention of whether she then consummated the marriage or had to wait until after one menstruation and the purification from that, or if she had to wait even longer, e.g. three or four months; it is known, however, that she wasn’t pregnant nor ever bore any children for Muhammad, pbuh, thereafter. (Revising – checking for details of the three sons of Muhammad, pbuh) Another possibility is that she would have been observing the mourning period of a Jewish woman at the time she became a “prisoner of war”, and then it becomes even more important to understand not only Islamic culture and norms, but the culture and religious norms of women who were “people of the book”. As Islam clearly gives the Jews and Christians (and possibly other peoples who had a scripture, such as Hindu or Buddhists, or others) religious rights, then it isn’t beyond reason to question what was the convention (actually, of Jews) at the time of the wars between Muslims and their enemies (or Christians and Jews) who were allies of the pagans, etc.

Just as the Prophet requested to know what the judgment would be in Judaism for people who had broken a covenant, and he applied that judgment on them - not one from Islam, it is reasonable to suggest that perhaps if the women (from the people of the book) would have been given the option to be judged or treated with the respect or rules demanded of their religion; I believe if any woman had petitioned the Holy Prophet, pbuh, he would have answered them with a positive response, due to his extreme equanimity and fairness, and love of peace-making.) Muslims only took slaves under certain conditions, (I will explain more about this later), because it was the only possible option, rather than releasing them, and of course, one of the ways to release “captives”, which was indeed practiced often, was to have the captives’ families or tribes people buy their freedom (ransom them). It would not have been possible to in fact properly cloth and feed prisoners, men and/or women and children, considering the sometimes far reaches to which the Muslims travelled, as well as scarcity of food and water, according to some of the accounts of the conditions at the time of some of the battles which the Muslims had fought and the historical accuracy of such accounts; more than likely, many captives were ransomed and returned to their families unharmed. (That is not all, there is more evidence to prove what I am suggesting, which will follow soon).

This shows that a Muslim can marry a Jew or a Christian as long as she is pious and religious. E.g. Juwairiya had been previously married, and was in any case a pious Jewish woman before her acceptance of Islam and then marriage to the Prophet. It is not permissible for Muslims to marry unbelievers (from the People of the Book) who have been accused of fornication, or are known for unchaste behavior (or Muslims accused or known for such). It is preferable also, for Muslims to marry Muslims as opposed to non-Muslims, as the following verse teaches,

“??” (Revise – add direct quote)

The other important note regarding the marriage of Juwairiya to the Messenger of Allah is that she was originally one of the captured members of her tribe (who had fought against the Muslims and been defeated; these people were war captives). What we call prisoners of war today, is the same as what were the “captives” (or captured enemy fighters, families of the enemies, etc.) of ancient times; the obvious distinction being that women are not considered POWs (unless they have actually participated in the fighting). Women in pre Islamic Arabia used also to go along with the men during ancient battles, but they were mostly water carriers, medieval ‘medics’ and cheerleaders. For a surety the captives didn’t become slaves if they immediately declared their Islam. There are specific hadiths showing the strict rulings regarding newly declared converts; their life, honor and property are sacred; as opposed to “captives” - the wrongful murder of a declared Muslim was recorded, as when a Muslim killed some people he had cornered so they declared their Islam. The Prophet denounced the killing of those people because he said that their declaration was enough to save their lives, and one cannot judge their motives because it is impossible to know whether the people are being untruthful or not. Thabit bin Qais, who's lot had Juwairiya, wrote her a covenant with which she secured her release from captivity and then she was able to marry Muhammad, pbuh.

Modern critics of Islam, running the gamut from professors, scientists, to illiterates, dispute with loathing and aggression the claim of Muslims that Islam is a “religion of Peace”. But soon after Islam appeared in seventh century (AD) Muslims revealed an exemplary character, praiseworthy behavior and conduct regarding slaves, and there are many hadiths which highlight the humane actions of the Muslims. (More to follow on this subject later)

Accusations of Rape

The author of ‘Raheeq al Makhtum’ (The Sealed Nectar) writes, “Ignominy followed the children conceived in this way the rest of their lives”. E.g. children born as the result of illicit sexual relations during wars, specifically he mentions the losing side in a war and clear incidents of rape, but also the conduct unbecoming decent people which is mentioned as per pre battle orgies or victory celebration parties wherein women were invited along for prostitution or illicit sex; although most probably equally stigmatizing for children of rape (in other situations not related to the battles - situations in which women didn’t have consensual sex, but were overpowered). (Revising - direct quote)

It was of course a terrible injustice which was practiced by all ancient cultures; Mercifully, Islam intervened to prevent the followers of the Prophet from such a crime. While Islam didn’t prohibit slavery (which was also a widespread and documented practice in all ancient histories), Islam strictly forbade raping women who were in mourning or otherwise were just captured in wars.  It seems quite likely that all women and girls of marriageable age served an iddah and/or were permitted a period of mourning. For example, older Muslim women observe an iddah equal to that of the widows of child-bearing age, which is four months and ten days regardless (of their periods or any other factors). Only pregnancy is the other determinant of what iddah a woman must follow. As well, any person who had experienced a recent loss would be permitted to mourn their family members; therefore, most of the men, women and children were in mourning at the time of their capture. (Sometimes the men were defeated but would quit the battlefield to escape “bondage” or “prisoner of war” status. It was mostly pagan Arabs, or non-believers (Europeans, etc.) who made slaves of prisoners of war, and it was Muslims who took “prisoners of war” and any slaves, (who were already slaves) merely retained their status, until a Muslim would emancipate them or they could purchase their own freedom; both happened beginning after the Migration to Medina (Hijra) when the capture of prisoners and slaves by the Muslims really started. There was no obvious movement encouraging emancipation of slaves by non-Muslims in ancient history. Much later, of course Americans and Canadians began the Underground Railway to the North, to try to make immigration to “freedom” for slaves possible; some of their white allies even risked their lives.

A tradition recalls that the pagans forbid their people from wailing over the dead (which in a normal situation would have been customary) so that the Muslims would not hear them. These were not captured people, but members of tribes or clans who had fought the Muslims and experienced great losses in the battlefield. Largely, only the women and children who accompanied the fighters would have been taken as “prisoners” or “captives” by the Muslims, and few men - people in their homes would have had a choice to cease fighting and call for peace at any point. Likewise, if the Muslims’ conquest of Christian or Jewish tribes was imminent, they would likely have agreed to peace treaties. Only the non-Muslims in Muslim lands proper were required to pay the head tax, for exemption from fighting, which was less than the Zakat of the Muslims, which is due on each family member, unless poor people. The Jizya on the other hand was only demanded of the non-fighting capable non-Muslim men, not their family members or the elderly and women. The non-Muslims who had peace treaties were not “dhimmis” and therefore, paid no head tax, but were governed by the laws of their country and often paid heavy taxes to their own government. This was the case in Constantinople before Mohamed II defeated the Emperor,?, years after the death of his father Sultan Murad, who had been fighting for decades to free Jerusalem from the clutches of the ignoble Christian rule.

Mourning of Muslims

The difference between the period of mourning of the pagans and Muslims is that women in Islam mourn for their husbands four months and ten days, unless they are pregnant, then that is until after childbirth and if the woman remarries (by a wedding contract e.g. an engagement period is observed), marriage (consummation) follows only after forty days post-partum, as mentioned previously. But in case a woman is mourning other family members, the mourning period is 3 days only. Similarly, the mourning period for men, which is the official mourning period required by a Muslim is 3 days, in which time he is not celebrating any marriage of family members or friends, or other activities which normally people not in mourning will celebrate; people may go to the Eid prayers, but with respectfully keeping to the state of mourning, not laughing or celebrating or showing happiness, which would be difficult in any case immediately after a tragic loss. It is thought that after three days one can return to normal activities permitted to people not in mourning. This doesn’t suggest that one cannot have tears and remember the dead occasionally, but this gives Allah His due rights and respect regarding His slaves, who should rely on Him for their needs in times of sadness or worry, and at all times.

For men there is no Iddah, logically there is no reason for it, because men are permitted to marry more than one wife, and the husband cannot bear a long period of abstinence. This doesn’t mean men do not experience mourning, but they are only required to mourn for three days, thereafter they are permitted to marry again, and also, women’s iddah is out of the due respect which women are intended in Islam for the marriage relationship and husband. In Islam, if a woman dies and her husband is pleased with her, she will enter Paradise. There is no equivalent promise that a man who dies and his wife is pleased with him, that he will enter Paradise. Therefore women understand better the need to be respectful to their husbands even when they are angry, not only because they wish for good relations to continue, even if they are experiencing a rocky patch or some minor problems which can plague marriages sometimes.

There are special supplications for one in such a situation, and prayers to make for the dead, etc. One can say, inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajioon, and other supplications to receive Allah’s mercy at the times of sadness or difficulty, worry and loneliness, etc. Muslims always are taught to remember that this life is the preliminary stage of struggle and hardship which we must all pass through, and mold our behavior and actions accordingly. As well, Muslims are hopeful that they will be reunited with their loved ones in the next eternal life, in the eternal abode, after the middle stage of separation of the body and soul at death (when the soul is permitted to rise to the heavens, and greeted by the angels, or not permitted to rise to the heavens, and sent back as a cursed and rejected soul, and then comes a period of existence in the grave, when the soul is returned to the body and is shown its destination - either a good or an evil end. On the Day of Judgment all the people will be resurrected. There is also a punishment for some in their graves, specifically any sinners who had not repented and non-believers. The funeral prayer and other prayers for the dead are required by the community of Muslims (fard al kifaya) and men usually will attend the funeral procession, while women may attend the prayer for the dead, such as is done at the masjid al Haram, in Mecca, during pilgrimage seasons, when literally millions of people pray in the funerals of any dead who are buried during those times. And each month millions of Muslims pray in Mecca, and will pray at least some of the funeral prayers, which will include men, women or children.

Slavery – Permissions and Obligations of the Muslim

The Marriage of the Prophet to Juwairiyah and her release from “captivity” prove that the Prophet could marry a woman after the dissolution of her marriage, but that she observed the obligatory days of her iddah, and he wouldn’t have consummated the marriage with her until she had one menstrual period, to ensure she wasn’t pregnant, in which case sexual relations are forbidden, until she delivers, even if nine months must pass. So in reality, many Muslim men, who also had pregnant slave women, (because a similar ruling would apply to them), would not have had sexual relations with those women, at least until their delivery and the postnatal period had been observed. It is important to be clear on this point, that Juwairiyah was not a “slave”, but actually she was a woman of an important tribe, which is why Nadir Ahmed is adamant in his debate with Robert Spencer; this tells that she was freed from “captivity” (not from “slavery”). She was a war captive, not a slave. Thus, it should become more apparent, over time, as one studies the situation in details that the Muslims didn’t take any of Juwairiyah’s tribe as “slaves” but rather as “war prisoners”. The only exception would have been people who were in fact slaves of the captives. They would have remained slaves for the time being, or until someone released them. Also, a Muslim is permitted to free his own slaves, and captives, but not the slaves or captives of others. (If we think about the modern story of Yvonne Ridley, who was a “captive” of the Taliban in Afghanistan (not the Taliban in Pakistan, which is another distinct group with their own leaders), no one ever said or asked her if she had been a “slave” of the Taliban, or how that must have been. We know that she was never sexually harassed or hurt in any way, and was released merely for “[promising] to read the Qur’an”.

The first to free his captives at the time of the Muslims victory over some Bedouins was the Prophet Muhammad, then he asked the Muslims if they would also release their captives, but the Muslims refused at first; they had besides captives, other war booty, including coins or gold which the enemy had brought with them and even women and children, or families, to encourage their bravery in the battle; unfortunately for them, they lost and ran away, thus the captives were only women and children, and maybe a few men, who weren’t fighters, such as slaves or elderly or boys who don’t yet fight.

When the Bedouins returned asking for their families, the Muslims refused, then the Prophet, pbuh, had them consider instead if they would choose between giving up the booty (gold and cattle) or the women and children, the Muslims then chose to give up the women and children at that point. Thus, the captives were released. It isn’t clear, if there were others such as “slaves” who would have been, according to the rules of war “booty” and not “captives” set to be released as the rest of the people. Strictly speaking, slavery means that one isn’t free to do anything, without the permission of one’s master; this made slavery the most terrible state one could imagine, because it is akin to being a prisoner, unable to move about freely, to marry without permission, or to have full control of one’s destiny, as far as Allah permits freedom to humans. Islam therefore did not permit Muslims to take Muslims as slaves, (which is what most people study) but it also didn’t encourage Muslims to take other free people as slaves. The slaves that did happen to live during the early period of revelation and in the next few centuries diminished in number. There is a proper website and Muslim spokesman, who teaches the exact roads to emancipation of slaves which Islam adopted, which made it all but impossible for the number of slaves in Muslim-majority countries to increase, in fact it almost guaranteed that eventually Muslims would no longer own slaves. (Add link to website e.g. Fadel Solaiman, Bridgesfoundation.org/)

Another point which needs more clarification, and proofs, which I will try to research myself, is that maybe Safiyah’s iddah was three months and not one month. I am not sure why this would be, but it is only something someone told me, which needs verification. For now, I am saying that it could be that her iddah was one month (and ended after one period and her purification from that).

Islam doesn’t permit harming women; this intimates no permission to have sexual relations during women’s menses or postpartum bleeding. They may fondle and kiss, but not have sexual intercourse. If a woman was previously married and already pregnant it would have been difficult to live with her, without having intercourse, so it runs counter to logic that this would have been the first choice of many men. In fact, any woman could declare that she was pregnant and would be for the time, beyond the legally permissible wives or other category of permissible women e.g. slaves. Eventually the real situation would come to light, so there would have been no point in lying except fear of the immediate actions of the Muslims (no doubt something they had not had previous experience with, or they would have known that Muslims do not rape women on the battlefield, as Robert Spencer and others claim.)

The non-Muslims assumed that because many of their former enemies (who had before Islam been like godless heathens) and others of their former or present enemies (who were pagans or Jews or Christians or Persians with a different religion, etc.) would rape women in the battlefield, simply because it was a common feature of the aggression and retaliatory nature of previously fought battles. In fact, due to the Muslims surprising self-control, self-respect and decency, many non-believers soon embraced Islam due to the indelible impression of the kind of war which Muslims fought, free of all the base actions of some of the peoples’ pre Islamic actions from which they had turned 180 degrees. The Muslims compared to their former selves were like light and darkness. To the unclouded mind and the pure heart, it was obvious that Islam was the reason for this great change.

Similarly, pregnant slave women were off limits; one could fondle or cuddle her, but not more than that. But I suspect much less than that would have been permissible regarding any pregnant woman, whether free or slave woman. Even a woman, who declared her Islam, might be freed if she already was a slave; she could be married but could not consummate the marriage; due to these reasons, I believe previously married women (whose marriages are annulled as per the Islamic ruling on captives) were not the obvious choice for Muslim men; one never knew if she were pregnant until after a month’s time had passed, otherwise her pregnancy would prevent marriage, or cohabitation (with slaves) until her prescribed time was over.

The specific hadith/story which tells this is “??”

We can begin to understand that many of the captured women were probably pregnant at the time of their capture, as that is largely the condition of women in ancient times, another large number of women would have been breastfeeding, if they had infants. These would not have been forbidden for Muslim men. But these women would also have had an iddah, waiting period of at least one month, if not pregnant (with another child).If again pregnant, they would not be permissible to marry at that time.

As for girls, there is nothing which proves that Muslim men were predisposed to marry young girls, if anything they preferred to marry women of childbearing age. Also, girls in Islam were not forced into marriage, no matter what age they were. It is a fact, which the non-believers choose to ignore, citing that marriage to Aisha occurred when she was a young girl. There is nothing conclusive on this question of an age limit, however. And as regards the Prophet’s fine character and kindness he wouldn’t have forced anyone to marry him (minus their willingness). The proof of his character is in the hadiths, for people who are intelligent enough to research before spewing wrong claims based on innuendo and lies, which are widespread; there is no reasonable excuse to repeat such claims nor for the refusal to open-mindedly explore the reasons (or lack of proofs) for what many non-believers (and even some Muslims for different reasons e.g. weakness), express, with a mind to hurt the Muslims but which only prove to others who are not of like mind, that they are bigoted and zealous; either atheists with closed-minds, or religiously motivated racists (Zionists and other bigots) who hate Muslims; they hate not only Arabs but the entire community of Muslims, who are not less than one-fifth of the world population and deserve at least that their side of the story, the Islamic story, should be properly heard.

Christopher Hitchens and similar spokespeople for secularism or a new world order, and so on, have all come out blatantly against freedom of speech for Muslims. We saw how Hitchens would not even allow a modern Muslim spokesman to speak without interruption and jeering, while he was explaining the issues of importance around free speech today, which is an urgent and important issue for everyone. Hitchens said, “… in my opinion, the largest and most important group... the people of enlightenment”. He claims more rights to free speech for the atheists, than any other group of people, even including the Jews, in the interview/debate on YT - you can see it by searching the phrase “Christopher Hitchens schools Muslim on free speech”, on my channel or YT. The force of his agenda had been very clearly to undermine the freedom of speech of “believers” and he targeted all religions in general, but not all “hate speech”. Noam Chomsky has said that both Hitchens (“and Sam Harris are”) (or he was, as Hitchens is now dead) “religious extremists” but that their religion is secularism or atheism and “not a religion that you pray to once a week”.

Aisha, RA, is one of the foremost women in Islam, and was one of the best wives and most loved wife and the most cherished of Muhammad’s wives. She never said anything which showed she hated him; on the contrary, since we cite hadiths, let’s recognize that Aisha, RA, was in fact a happy young woman.

When the Prophet died, she was still in the bloom of youth, and she was never heard to say anything negative about the marriage or against her husband, pbuh, all the time until her death. One reads what appear to be accounts of mutual love and togetherness, which defined their relations and permeated marital life.

Notes:


The Qur’an permitted the protection of non-Muslims and captives. “And if any one of the associators (non-Muslims) seek your protection, then protect him so that he may hear the word of Allah and afterwards convey him to his place of safety” (10:6)


Some of the Islamic laws before Mecca, were abrogated (or maybe amended, in other cases) after the conquest of Mecca. The proof is that the “quarter” was given to all who would receive protection from Abu Sufyan, their chief in Mecca who had embraced Islam shortly, and then was honored by this special privilege (his protection was granted by the Prophet, SAWS, to all who either entered Abu Sufyan’s home or the courtyard of the Ka’bah. (P. 138, Islamic Jurisprudence; An International Perspective, C.G. Weeramantry).


The author of the aforementioned text writes, “ The right to request quarter extends beyond the ranks of combatants to women, the sick, the blind and slaves …” Here he cites, “Ibrahim, 1984”. (The book “Islamic Jurisprudence” has been around since the 1960s but has since been revised).


I will discuss newer material in the blog posts coming next week, insha Allah, which will speak to the wrong interpretations of verses in the Qur’an. As well, the following is under consideration for further writing.

Subjects for further investigation:

- In Aisha’s own words, the relationship and love which defined her marriage to the Prophet, pbuh.

- The condition of non-Muslim men and some things about their lives:

- The man who fought for 40 yrs. and never removed his armour.

- The condition of the early Christians, and their daily habits; e.g. superstitions and lack of proper hygiene, fear of water, etc.

 The condition of pagan women and some things about their lives:

- Hind bint Utbah, RA,’s behavior prior to accepting Islam, her slave women or women of her household, etc.

- Slavery, wars and the treatment of women and the lot of children born in fornication during wars, such as occurred commonly, rape or children born of slave women, illegal concubines, or prostitutes, etc. Who were the women that went with these warring tribes? Were they wives, slaves women, prostitutes; it seems they were not legal wives, due to the fact that their children conceived in this way (in the camps or in the back ground of the battles) were ignoble and stigmatized.

- Four types of pre-Islamic marriage, (not ten – correction) and ten men would sleep with a woman, if she became pregnant she would point at one and say he was the father, and he could not refuse.