Prophet (saws) marriage to aisha
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
When searched
for`Criticisms of Muhammad` i found a short essay on it in the www.wikipedia.org
to
quote each and every criticisms and ask question would be tiresome i would like
to ask mainly abt one heading in it,"Aisha" Please go thruough it in
the following link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Muhammad
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Prophet (saws)
marriage to aisha
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
It has indeed been accurately reported that the Messenger
of Allah (saws) married Hadrat Aisha (r.a.) when she was 6 years of age, and
the marriage was consummated when Hadrat Aisha (r.a.) reached the age of
puberty at nine.
Whatever the noble Messenger of Allah (saws) did and said,
there is a perfect explanation and a valid reason; as everything the Prophet
(saws) did and said was done under the direct guidance of the All Knowing, All
Wise, Allah Subhanah!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzab verse 21:
There is indeed the best example for you to
follow, in the Messenger of Allah, for
every such person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah
much.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah
Aaraat verse 157:
(So, now
mercy has been assigned to those) who follow this Messenger, the Gentile Prophet, whose mention they shall find in the Torah
and the Gospel with them. He enjoins
them to do good and forbids them from evil;
he makes pure things lawful for them and impure things
unlawful; he relieves them of their
burdens and frees them from the shackles (of rites and rituals) that bound them. For this reason, those alone who believe in him, support him,
succour him, and follow the Light
that has been sent down with him shall attain true ‘success’.
The life of the Messenger of Allah (saws) is to be an
example for the believers until the end of time. Amongst the duties and responsibilities that
comes with the appointment of Prophethood is that the Prophet (saws) enjoins
what is good and forbid what is evil, he (saws) makes pure things lawful for
the believers and impure things unlawful, he (saws) relieves the believers of
the burden the society has unlawfully put upon them with their man-made laws,
etc.
Sometimes the man-made social laws are so established and
so overpowering that it is inconceivable for man to go against them; and it is
specially in these circumstances that the Prophet (saws) is commanded to lead
by example and break the illegal social laws and customs which are established
in society, so that there remains absolutely no doubt regarding the lawful and
unlawful.
If one studies the various marriage of the Messenger of
Allah (saws) and the circumstances and conditions in which they were
accomplished, one would get a picture of how the example is set by the
Messenger of Allah (saws) himself so that there remains no doubt in the minds
of the believers after him.
The first marriage of Prophet Mohamed (saws) was
formalized with Hadrat Khadijah (r.a.), who was a widow and about 15 years
older than him. That set an universal
and timeless example for the believers until the end of time that it is
absolutely legal and permissible for them to marry a woman who is a widow, or
to marry a woman who is much older than the man in age. Just compare this with the social custom of
some societies where a widow was forced to burn herself in the pyre of her
deceased husband, leave alone allowing her to re-marry!
Another illegally established man-made social custom and
law which was challenged by Islam was the marriage of a man to the divorced
wife of his adopted son! In the days of
ignorance, when a man adopted a son, all the social laws of inheritance,
becoming a mehram, marriage, etc. were levied upon the adopted son exactly as
if the son was born from the loins of the man or woman. But Islam made a clear distinction between
one who is born from one’s loins and one who is adopted; and to break this
illegal and established social custom and law, Allah Subhanah commanded the
Prophet (saws) to marry the divorced wife of his adopted son, Hadrat Zayd ibn
Haritha (r.a.). One can only imagine the
chaos, criticism, and ridicule the ignorant amongst the then society would have
heaped on this act of the Prophet (saws), whom Allah Subhanah married to Hadrat
Zainab (r.a.), the divorced wife of his adopted son, Hadrat Zayd ibn Haritha
(r.a.).
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzaab verses 36-39:
36 It is not fitting for a Believer man or woman when a matter has been
decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if
anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.
37 Behold! Thou (O Prophet) didst say to one who had received the grace
of Allah and thy favor (Zayd): "Retain thou (in wedlock) thy wife (Zainab)
and fear Allah." But thou didst
hide in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest: thou didst fear
the people but it is more fitting that thou shouldst fear Allah. Then when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage)
with her with the necessary (formality), We
joined her in marriage to thee: in
order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the Believers in (the
matter of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have
dissolved with the necessary (formality) (their marriage) with them:
and Allah's command must be fulfilled.
38 There can be no difficulty to the Prophet in what Allah has
indicated to him as a duty. It was the practice (approved) of Allah amongst
those of old that have passed away and the command of Allah is a decree
determined.
39 (It is the practice of those) who preach the Messages of Allah and
fear Him and fear none but Allah: and enough is Allah to call (men) to account.
Such was the severity of the illegal social
impermissibility for a man to marry the divorced wife of his adopted son, that
the Messenger of Allah (saws) feared that the disbelievers, who never missed an
opportunity to ridicule and challenge his Message, would make a huge hue and
cry about this marriage of the Prophet (saws). Such was the social opposition, that Allah
Subhanah revealed the above verses of the Quran and Declared that ‘We (Allah) joined her (Zainab) in marriage to thee (O Prophet): in
order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the Believers in (the matter
of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have
dissolved with the necessary (formality) (their marriage) with them!’
If some people are unable to understand or comprehend or
accept the wisdom behind every deed of the Messenger of Allah (saws); the
ignorance and short-coming of wisdom is in the person’s mind, not in the deed
of the noble Messenger of Allah (saws)!
The man-made laws today allows a girl to choose to marry
anyone of her choice, only after she
reaches a particular age of 18 or 21 or whatever! Who chose this age? What is the wisdom behind choosing this
age? Why 18 or 21, why not 25 or 12? Some might say 18 is too young? Some might argue 18 is too old? Some might say this and some might say that? Who has the right to decide?
In Islam, the believers have submitted their will to the
Will of their Lord in every aspect of their life. Allah is He Who Created the heavens and the
earth and everything that exists in between, and He Created everything to Absolute
Perfection! There is absolutely no
flaw or error in any of His Creation!
The same Allah created man, and He it is, Who gave mankind its nature. Thus, He has a bigger right that He Decree
what is allowed and prohibited in the life of His creatures. And Allah it is, Who has declared it legal
and permissible for a believer to seek a woman in marriage, regardless of her
age!
One thing to note here is that Allah has not Commanded
that the believers must marry women only when they are below the age of
puberty; but the Law revealed by the Lord has only held such a marriage as
permissible and lawful for those who wish to do so, provided all the obligatory
conditions of the prescribed marriage contract are honored.
The examples in the marriages of the Messenger of Allah
(saws) serve to break the self-imposed restrictions and ‘taboos’ which the
ignorant societies unlawfully force down the throats of mankind.
The issue with some people today is that whenever the
un-godly world makes a law or regulation, they humbly accept and submit to
it! But when Allah and His Messenger
(saws) decree a law or regulation, or allow something as lawful and declare
something as unlawful, they have a real problem with it!!!!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzaab verse 36:
36 It is not fitting for a Believer man or woman, when a matter has
been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their
decision: if anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly
wrong Path.
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and well
wisher in Islam,
Burhan