Muhammed's Legacy And His Family Life

CHAPTER TWENTY MUHAMMAD’S LEGACY AND HIS FAMILY LIFE Being a supreme ruler in Medina, Muhammad continues to lead as he had in the days of his obscurity, an unpretentious life. Scorning palaces, he continues to live in an ordinary clay house, milks his own goats, and is accessible day or night to the humblest of his subjects. Often seen mending his own clothes, no emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this man in a cloak of his own clouting. The furniture in his household consisted of a mat, an earthen jug and a blanket. These were his furniture when he was the king of Arabia. Muhammad observed the principle throughout his life, that the standard of living of God’s Apostle and his family should not be higher than that of the poorest of the believers. In his book, “Islam a way of life”, Philip K. Hitti summed up Muhammad’s career in the following words: “Judged only by achievement, Muhammad the man, the teacher, the orator, the author, the statesman, and the warrior stands out as one of the ablest men in all history. He laid the basis of a religion – Islam; initiated a state – the caliphate; prompted a culture – the Arabic-Islamic culture; and founded a nation - the Arab nation. He is still a living force in the lives of millions of men.” (The translation of the Quran is presented in bold letters and the explanation in parentheses.) GOD’S FAVOR UPON YOU IS TREMENDOUS (4:113) And but for God’s favor upon you and His grace, some of those [who are false to themselves] would indeed endeavor to lead you astray; yet none but themselves do they lead astray. Nor can they harm you in any way, since God has bestowed upon you from on high this divine writ and wisdom, and has imparted unto you the knowledge of what you did not know. And God’s favor upon you is tremendous indeed. (42:3) Thus has God, the Almighty, the Wise, revealed [the truth] unto you, [O Muhammad,] and unto those who preceded you. [The basic truths propounded in the Quranic revelation are the same as those revealed to all the earlier prophets.] PROPHECIES REGARDING MUHAMMAD (17:107-108) Say: “Believe in it or do not believe.” Behold, those who are already [Before the Quran as such has come within their ken.] endowed with [innate] knowledge fall down upon their faces in prostration as soon as this [divine writ] is conveyed unto them, and say, “Limitless in His glory is our Sustainer! Verily, our Sustainer’s promise has been fulfilled!” [This may be an allusion to the many Biblical predictions of the advent of the Prophet Muhammad, especially to Deuteronomy xviii, 15 and 18 (2:42). In its wider sense, however, the fulfillment of God’s promise relates to His bestowal of a definitive revelation, the Quran, henceforth destined to guide man at all stages of his spiritual, cultural and social development.] (46:9-10) Say: “I am not the first of [God’s] apostles; [Or, “I am but a human being like all of God’s message-bearers who preceded me”. Alternatively, the phrase may be rendered as “I am no innovator among the apostles” - i.e., “I am not preaching anything that was not already preached by all of God’s apostles before me”: which coincides with the Quranic doctrine of the identity of the ethical teachings propounded by all of God’s prophets.] and [like all of them,] I do not know what will be done with me or with you: for I am nothing but a plain warner.” [What will happen to all of us in this world, or both in this world and in the hereafter? Either of these two interpretations implies a denial on the Prophet’s part of any foreknowledge of the future and, in a wider sense, any knowledge of “that which is beyond the reach of human perception” (al-ghayb): see 6:50 or 7:188.] Say: “Have you given thought [to how you will fare] if this be truly [a revelation] from God and yet you deny its truth? even though a witness from among the children of Israel has already borne witness to [the advent of] one like himself, [I.e., a prophet like himself. The “witness” spoken of here is evidently Moses: see the two Biblical passages relating to the advent of

the Prophet Muhammad (Deuteronomy xviii, 15 and 18): “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me”; and “I will raise them up a prophet from among thy brethren, like Unto thee, and will put My words in his mouth.” (See 2:42.)] and has believed [in him], the while you glory in your arrogance [and reject his message]? Verily, God does not grace [such] evildoing folk with His guidance!” MUHAMMAD PROPHET FOR MANKIND (7:156-158) I shall confer it on those who are conscious of Me and spend in charity, and who believe in Our messages those who shall follow the [last] Apostle, the unlettered Prophet whom they shall find described in the Torah that is with them, and [later on] in the Gospel: [The stress on Muhammad been unlettered, i.e., unable to read and write, serves to bring out the fact that all his knowledge of the earlier prophets and of the messages transmitted by them was due to divine inspiration alone, and not to a familiarity with the Bible as such. For the Old Testament predictions of the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (especially in Deuteronomy xviii, 15 and 18), see 2:42; for the New Testament prophecies to the same effect, see 61:6.] [the Prophet] who will enjoin upon them the doing of what is right and forbid them the doing of what is wrong, and make lawful to them the good things of life and forbid them the bad things, and lift from them their burdens and the shackles that were upon them [aforetime]. [A reference to the many severe rituals and obligations laid down in Mosaic Law, as well as to the tendency towards asceticism evident in the teachings of the Gospels. Thus the Quran implies that those “burdens and shackles”, intended as means of spiritual discipline for particular communities and particular stages of man’s development, will become unnecessary as soon as God’s message to man shall have achieved its final, universal character in the teachings of the Last Prophet, Muhammad.] Those, therefore, who shall believe in him, and honor him, and succor him, and follow the light that has been bestowed from on high through him - it is they that shall attain to a happy state. Say [O Muhammad]: “O mankind! Verily, I am an apostle of God to all of you, [sent by Him] unto whom the dominion over the heavens and the earth belongs! [Each of the earlier prophets was sent to his, and only his, community: thus, the Old Testament addresses itself only to the children of Israel; and even Jesus, whose message had a wider bearing, speaks of himself as “sent only unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew xv, 24). In contrast, the message of the Quran is universal - that is, addressed to mankind as a whole - and is neither time-bound nor confined to any particular cultural environment. It is for this reason that Muhammad, through whom this message was revealed, is described in the Quran (21:107) as an evidence of “(God’s) grace towards all the worlds” (i.e. towards all mankind), and as “the Seal of all Prophets” (33:40) - in other words, the last of them.] There is no deity save Him; He [alone] grants life and deals death!” Believe, then, in God and His Apostle - the unlettered Prophet who believes in God and His words - and follow him, so that you might find guidance! REVERENCE DUE TO THE PROPHET (admonition to the contemporaries of the Prophet) (2:104) O you who have attained to faith! Do not say [to the Prophet], “Listen to us,” but rather say, “Have patience with us,” and hearken [unto him], since grievous suffering awaits those who deny the truth. [This admonition, addressed in the first instance to the contemporaries of the Prophet, has - as so often in the Quran - a connotation that goes far beyond the historical circumstances that gave rise to it. The Companions were called upon to approach the Prophet with respect and to subordinate their personal desires and expectations to the commandments of the Faith revealed through him: and this injunction remains valid for every believer and for all times.] (49:1-5) O you who have attained to faith! Do not put yourselves forward [I.e., “do not allow your own desires to have precedence”.] in the presence of [what] God and His Apostle [may have ordained], but remain conscious of God: for, verily,

God is all-hearing, all-knowing! O you who have attained to faith! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, [This has both a literal and a figurative meaning: literal in the case of the Prophet’s Companions, and figurative for them as well as for believers of later times - implying that one’s personal opinions and predilections must not be allowed to overrule the clearcut legal ordinances and/or moral stipulations promulgated by the Prophet (see 4:65).] and neither speak loudly to him, as you would speak loudly to one another, [I.e., address him, or in later times speak of him, with unbecoming familiarity.] lest all your [good] deeds come to nought without your perceiving it. Behold, they who lower their voices in the presence of God’s Apostle - it is they whose hearts God has tested [and opened] to consciousness of Himself; [and] theirs shall be forgiveness and a reward supreme. Verily, [O Prophet,] as for those who call you from without your private apartments - most of them do not use their reason: [While this relates in the first instance to the Prophet, it may also be taken to apply to any supreme leader of the community who acts as the Prophet’s successor (khalifah) and rules in his name, i.e., under the aegis of Islamic Law. As regards the Prophet himself, the above exhortation to reverent behavior implies, in the view of many outstanding Islamic thinkers, a prohibition to “call out to him” when visiting his tomb.)] for, if they had the patience [to wait] until you come forth to them [of your own accord], it would be for their own good. Still, God is much forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

WIVES OF THE PROPHET In Mecca, Muhammad first marriage was truly a love marriage. When they married, Khadijah was 40 and twice widowed and Muhammad was in his early twenties. She had been his closest friend and confidant as well as mother of his children. The Prophet had all his children from his first wife except Ibrahim whose mother was Mariyah. He remained true and loyal to Khadijah for twenty eight years until he was over fifty years old and Khadijah over 65 when she died. For all his youthful life, Muhammad practiced monogamy until Khadijah died. Aishah once said of Khadijah: “I never felt so jealous of any women as I did of Khadijah, though she had died three years before the Prophet married me, and that was because his Lord had ordered him to give her the glad tidings that she would have a place in paradise.” It was only after Muhammad became a great chief in Medina that he was expected to have many wives but most of his marriages were politically or socially motivated. When Khadijah passed away, Muhammad married an old widow Sawdah who was a wife of one of the early converts of Islam and suffered much harm for the sake of the faith. She was 65 years old, poor and had no one to care for her. As Muhammad formed his new super tribe, he was eager to forge marriage ties with some of his closest companions, to bind them closer together. Muhammad married Aishah, the daughter of Abu Bakr (who later be the first caliph after Muhammad’s death), when she was about nine years old. By most accounts, she lived with her parents until she reached puberty or until “fully grown”. Such a marriage was customary in seventh century world. Aishah was highly respected by her husband and Muslim community because of her superior intellect and great contribution to Islam. Large body of Prophet’s sayings and Traditions were recorded from her first hand account and interpretations. She lived 48 years after the Prophet’s death and played a major role in educating the coming generation. Child marriages are commonly practiced even today in many parts of the world. It makes sense to start the process of procreation as early as possible, when your life expectancy is less than 40 years. By marrying their daughters early, poor parents are relieved of economic burden of clothing and feeding that child. The custom of arranged marriages for children was a direct result of Moses directing his army to save the virgins women and children of the enemy for themselves (Deuteronomy 20:13-14). Indeed when Mary was pregnant with Jesus, she was merely a teenager. Thus it has been the custom for parents to betroth their children at the

early age. Often, the marriage ceremony was performed, but the child remained with their parents until adolescence. The custom prevails even today through North Africa, Middle-east, and Southeast Asia. The Prophet lived for 5 or 6 years up to his 56 th year of age with Sawdah and Aishah. Hafsa was the daughter of Umar, (second Caliph). Her husband died in the battle of Badr. By marrying Hafsa Muhammad cemented his relationship with his deputy, Umar. Muhammad married his two daughters to Uthman ibn Affan (third caliph) and Ali ibn Abi Talib (fourth caliph). In the same year Zaynab became a widow and offered to marry the Prophet but he refused. He then gave her in marriage to Zayd to remove all distinction between slave and master. The marriage proved a failure and led to divorce. Afterwards Zaynab relations and she requested the Prophet to take her as a wife. (See details below) Muhammad’s another wife was also named Zaynab whose husband fell at the battle of Badr leaving her poor and with several children. She died 3 months after she married the Prophet. Umm Salamah was a widow of Abu Salamah who died from the wounds he received in the battle of Uhud. In the battle of Muraisi, Jawairiya the daughter of an Arab chief and widow was captured. Through this marriage, one hundred families of Banu Mustaliq who fell prisoners secured release. Umm Habibah’s husband turned a Christian in Abyssinia. The Prophet was betrothed to her by the Negus on the latter’s request. Mariyah the Copt was presented to the Prophet by the king of Egypt. In the same year, Maimuna offered her hand to the Prophet and it was accepted. In the battle of Khyber, Safiyyah, daughter of a Jewish chief was one of the prisoners. She lost her husband in the same battle. This marriage was out of alliance with the Jewish tribes. The verses limiting number of wives to four was revealed when the Prophet already had more than four wives. Which one of his wives Muhammad should divorce? Since the Prophet’s wives cannot remarry after divorce, an exception was made and Muhammad was allowed to keep all of his wives. The Prophet led a monogamous life during his youth under relatively normal circumstances, but in the times of crises, he had to take several wives. From the 56th year up to 60th year (3-7H), Muhammad took nine wives in quick succession. It was during this period that large number of widowed were left behind without any means of support after martyrdom of their husbands in the cause of Islam. After the conquest of Mecca and ushering of relative peace, he did not contract any more marriages. Most of the marriages Muhammad contracted were with old widows with liabilities in order to support them. It would have been an unrealistic burden on women to abolish polygyny because warfare had depleted the number of men in the communities and a woman needed the support of a marriage for her own financial well-being. Some of the women he married were related to the chiefs of other tribes who became the allies of ummah He also broke the barrier of inter-tribal, interracial and inter-religious marriages. Muhammad had a Jewish, a Christian and a black woman as his wife. Muhammad numerous wives have occasioned a good deal of prurient interest in the West, but it will be mistake to imagine the Prophet basking decadently in sensual delight, like some of the later Islamic rulers. Muhammad spent most of his day tending to the matters of government and security. He participated in most of the battles. Most of the nights, he spent in deep meditation and prayers. He often fasted for days. There was no time for conjugal luxury. From all his later wives, he only had a son with Mariyah. His wives were sometimes more of a hindrance than pleasure and on many occasions displayed mutual jealousy. When they were squabbling over money, the Prophet threatened to divorce them all unless they lived more frugally (see 33:28 below). MUHAMMAD A MODERN HUSBAND

Muhammad scrupulously helped with the chores and mended his own clothes. When the Prophet wife Aishah was asked, what did the Prophet use to do at home? She answered, “He used to work for his family.” Muhammad was a remarkable modern husband who truly enjoyed the company of his wives and related to them with respect and understanding, often relying on their advice. He often liked to take one of them on an expedition and would consult them and take their advice seriously. Muhammad had granted to his wives a position hitherto unknown in Arabia. Some of his male companions were astonished by his leniency towards his wives and the way they stood up to him and answered him back. Umar ibn al Khattab said, “My wife came once seeking to dissuade me from doing what I had planned to do. When I answered her that this was none of her business, she said: ‘How strange of you Umar! You refuse to be told anything whereas your daughter Hafsah may criticize her husband, the Prophet of God and do so strongly that he remains upset the whole day long.’ Umar later confronted her daughter and Hafsah answered: ‘Indeed, I and other wives do criticize him.’ Umar warned her daughter that this will bring both punishment of God and wrath of his Prophet. He left his daughter and went to visit Umm Salamah, Umar close relative and another wife of the Prophet. Upon asking her the same question, Umm Salamah replied: ‘How strange O Ibn al Khattab! ‘Are you going to interfere in everything, even in the Prophet’s own domestic affairs?’ ELECTIVE VERSES BLOOD RELATIONSHIPS (33:1-5) Prophet! Remain conscious of God, and defer not to the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites: for God is truly all-knowing, wise. And follow [but] that which comes unto you through revelation from thy Sustainer: [Indicating that He is the source of all revelation.] for God is truly aware of all that you do, [O men]. And place thy trust in God [alone]: for none is as worthy of trust as God. Never has God endowed any man with two hearts in one body: [This connects with the preceding passage, implying that man cannot be truly conscious of God and at the same time defer to the views of the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites. Beyond this, however, the above sentence forms a conceptual link with the sequence, which states that it is against the God-willed laws of nature - and, therefore, unreasonable and morally inadmissible - to attribute to one and the same person two mutually incompatible roles within the framework of human relationships.] and [just as] He has never made your wives whom you may have declared to be “as unlawful to you as your mothers’ bodies” [truly] your mothers, [This is a reference to the pre-Islamic Arabian custom called zihar, whereby a husband could divorce his wife by simply declaring, “You are henceforth as unlawful to me as my mother’s back”, the term zahr (back) being in this case a metonym for “body”. In pagan Arab society, this mode of divorce was considered final and irrevocable; but a woman thus divorced was not allowed to remarry, and had to remain forever in her former husband’s custody. As is evident from the first four verses of surah 58 (Al-Mujadalah) which was revealed somewhat earlier than the present surah - this cruel pagan custom had already been abolished by the time of the revelation of the above verse, and is mentioned here only as an illustration of the subsequent dictum that the “figures of speech [lit., “your sayings”] which you utter with your mouths” do not necessarily coincide with the reality of human relations.] so, too, has He never made your adopted sons [truly] your sons: [I.e., in the sense of blood relationship: hence, the marriage restrictions applying to real sons - and, by obvious implication, daughters as well - do not apply to adoptive children. This statement has a definite bearing on verses 37.] these are but [figures of] speech uttered by your mouths - whereas God speaks the [absolute] truth: and it is He alone who can show [you] the right path. [By bringing into being the factual, biological relationship of parent and child in distinction from all man-made, social relationships like husband and wife, or foster-parent and adoptive child. The Quran frequently uses the metaphor of God’s “speech” to express His creative activity.] [As for your adopted children,] call them by their [real] fathers’ names: this is more equitable in the sight of God; and if you know not who their

fathers were, [call them] your brethren in faith and your friends. [I.e., make it clear that your relationship is an adoptive one, and do not create the impression that they are your real children - thus safeguarding their true identity.] However, you will incur no sin if you err in this respect: [I.e., by making a mistake in the attribution of the child’s parentage, or by calling him or her, out of love, “my son” or “my daughter”.] [what really matters is] but what your hearts intend - for God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace! PROPHET AS A SPIRITUAL FATHER AND HIS WIVES AS MOTHERS OF BELIEVERS (33:6-8) The Prophet has a higher claim on the believers than [they have on] their own selves, [seeing that he is as a father to them] and his wives are their mothers: [This verse points to the highest manifestation of an elective, spiritual relationship: that of the God-inspired Prophet and the person who freely chooses to follow him. The Prophet himself is reported to have said: “None of you has real faith unless I am dearer unto him than his father, and his child, and all mankind”. The Companions invariably regarded the Prophet as the spiritual father of his community. Some of them hardly ever recited the above verse without adding, by way of explanation, “seeing that he is as a father to them”; hence the interpolation, between brackets, of this phrase. As regards the status of the Prophet’s wives as the “mothers of the believers”, this arises primarily from the fact of their having shared the life of God’s Apostle in its most intimate aspect. Consequently, they could not remarry after his death (see verse 53 below), since all the believers were, spiritually, their “children”.] and they who are [thus] closely related have, in accordance with God’s decree, a higher claim upon one another than [was even the case between] the believers [of Yathrib] and those who had migrated [there for the sake of God]. [The two passages (8:75 or 33:6) have basically a similar (namely, spiritual) import - with the difference only that whereas the concluding sentences of 8:75 refer to the brotherhood of all believers in general, the present passage lays stress on the yet deeper, special relationship between every true believer and God’s Apostle.] Nonetheless, you are to act with utmost goodness towards your [other] close friends as well: this [too] is written down in God’s decree. [I.e., towards all other believers, as stressed so often in the Quran, and particularly in 8:75: in other words, a believer’s exalted love for the Prophet should not blind him to the fact that all believers are brethren (49:10). The extremely complex term maruf rendered here in this context as “innermost goodness”, may be defined as any act or attitude the goodness whereof is evident to reason.] And lo! We did accept a solemn pledge from all the prophets [This parenthetic passage connects with verses 1-3 above, and relates to every prophet’s pledge - i.e., sacred duty - to convey God’s message to man, and thus to act as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner.] - from you, [O Muhammad,] as well as from Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary -: for We accepted a most weighty, solemn pledge from [all of] them, so that [at the end of time] He might ask those men of truth as to [what response] their truthfulness [had received on earth]. And grievous suffering has He readied for all who deny the truth! [See 5:109 and 7:6 - “We shall most certainly call to account all those unto whom Our message was sent, and We shall most certainly call to account the message-bearers themselves”.] STANDARD OF LIVING OF MUHAMMAD (33:28-29) O prophet! Say unto your wives: “If you desire [but] the life of this world and its charms - well, then, I shall provide for you and release you in a becoming manner; [By the time this verse was revealed the Muslims had conquered the rich agricultural region of Khaybar, and the community had grown more prosperous. But while life was becoming easier for most of its members, this ease was not reflected in the household of the Prophet who, as before, allowed himself and his family only the absolute minimum necessary for the most simple living. In view of the changed circumstances, it was no more than natural that his wives were longing for a share in the comparative luxuries which other Muslim women could now enjoy: but an

acquiescence by Muhammad to their demand would have conflicted with the principle, observed by him throughout his life, that the standard of living of God’s Apostle and his family should not be higher than that of the poorest of the believers.] but if you desire God and His Apostle, and [thus the good of] the life in the hereafter, then [know that], verily, for the doers of good among you God has readied a mighty reward!” [When, immediately after their revelation, the Prophet recited the above two verses to his wives, all of them emphatically rejected all thought of separation and declared that they had chosen “God and His Apostle and the good of the hereafter”. Some of the earliest Islamic scholars held that the subsequent revelation of verse 52 of this surah constituted God’s reward for this attitude.] SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND PRIVILEGES OF PROPHET’S WIVES (33:30-34) O wives of the Prophet! If any of you were to become guilty of manifestly immoral conduct, [Regarding this connotation of the term fahishah, see 4:16. This term comprises all that may be described as a “gross sin”.] double [that of other sinners] would be her suffering [in the hereafter]: for that is indeed easy for God. But if any of you devoutly obeys God and His Apostle and does good deeds, on her shall We bestow her reward twice-over: for We shall have readied for her a most excellent sustenance [in the life to come]. O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any of the [other] women, provided that you remain [truly] conscious of God. [And, thus, conscious of your special position as the consorts of God’s Apostle and mothers of the believers”.] Hence, be not over-soft in your speech, lest any whose heart is diseased should be moved to desire [you]: but, withal, speak in a kindly way. And abide quietly in your homes, and do not flaunt your charms as they used to flaunt them in the old days of pagan ignorance; [The term jahiliyyah denotes the period of a people’s - or civilization’s - moral ignorance between the obliteration of one prophetic teaching and the emergence of another; and, more specifically, the period of Arabian paganism before the advent of Muhammad. Apart from these historical connotations, however, the term describes the state of moral ignorance or unconsciousness in its general sense, irrespective of time or social environment. (See also 5:50.)] and be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto God and His Apostle: for God only wants to remove from you all that might be loathsome, O you members of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you to utmost purity. And bear in mind all that is recited in your homes of God’s messages and [His] wisdom: for God is unfathomable [in His wisdom], all-aware. [For the meaning of the term latif as applied to God, especially in combination with the term khabir, see 6:103.] ZAYD MARRIAGE WITH ZAYNAB Several years before Muhammad’s call to prophethood, his wife Khadijah made him a present of a young slave, Zayd ibn Harithah, a descendant of the North-Arabian tribe of Banu Kalb, who had been taken captive as a child in the course of one of the many tribal wars and then sold into slavery at Mecca. As soon as he became the boy’s owner, Muhammad freed him, and shortly afterwards adopted him as his son; and Zayd was among the first to embrace Islam. Years later, impelled by the desire to break down the ancient Arabian prejudice against slaves or even a freedman’s marrying a free-born woman, the Prophet persuaded Zayd to marry his (Muhammad’s) own cousin, Zaynab bint Jahsh, who, without his being aware of it, had been in love with Muhammad ever since her childhood. Zaynab and her relatives rejected this marriage proposal on the basis of her superior lineage from noble Quraysh family. Upon insistence of the Prophet, she consented to the proposed marriage with great reluctance, and only in deference to the authority of the Prophet. Since Zayd, too, was not at all keen on this alliance (being already happily married to another freed slave, Umm Ayman, the mother of his son Usamah), it was not surprising that the marriage did not bring happiness to either Zaynab or Zayd.

On several occasions Zayd was about to divorce his new wife who, on her part, did not make any secret of her dislike of Zayd and each time they were persuaded by the Prophet to persevere in patience and not to separate. In the end, however, the marriage proved untenable and Zayd divorce Zaynab in the year 5 H. Shortly afterwards the Prophet married her in order to redeem what he considered to be his moral responsibility for her past unhappiness and to demonstrate that divorcee of ex-slave was worthy of being a wife of the prophet and thus one of the “mother of believers”. DIVINE REPRIMAND (33:37) And lo, [O Muhammad,] you did say to the one to whom God had shown favor and to whom you had shown favor, [I.e., Zayd ibn Harithah, whom God had caused to become one of the earliest believers, and whom the Prophet had adopted as his son.] “Hold on to your wife, and remain conscious of God!” And [thus] would you hide within yourself something that God was about to bring to light - [Namely, admitting that the marriage of Zayd and Zaynab, which had been sponsored by Muhammad himself, and on which he had so strongly insisted, was a total failure and could only end in divorce. This would have given his critics a great opportunity to question his judgment.] for you did stand in awe of [what] people [might think], whereas it was God alone of whom you should have stood in awe! [Referring to this divine reprimand (which, in itself, disproves the allegation that the Quran was composed by Muhammad), Aishah is reliably quoted as having said, “Had the Apostle of God been inclined to suppress anything of what was revealed to him, he would surely have suppressed this verse”.] MARRIAGE BETWEEN MUHAMMAD AND ZAYNAB (33:37-39) [But] then, when Zayd had come to the end of his union with her, [Thus divorcing her] We gave her to you in marriage, so that [in future] no blame should attach to the believers for [marrying] the spouses of their adopted children when the latter have come to the end of their union with them. [And [thus] God’s will was done. [Thus, apart from the Prophet’s desire to make amends for Zaynab’s past unhappiness, the divine purpose in causing him to marry the former wife of his adopted son (stressed in the phrase, “We gave her to you in marriage”) was to show that - contrary to what the pagan Arabs believed - an adoptive relationship does not involve any of the marriage-restrictions which result from actual, biological parentand-child relations (see 33:4).] [Hence,] no blame whatever attaches to the Prophet for [having done] what God has ordained for him. [I.e., his marriage with Zaynab, which was meant to exemplify a point of canon law as well as to satisfy what the Prophet regarded as his personal moral duty.] [Indeed, such was] God’s way with those that have passed away aforetime [I.e., the prophets who preceded Muhammad, in all of whom, as in him, all personal desires coincided with their willingness to surrender themselves to God: an inborn, harmonious disposition of the spirit which characterizes God’s elect and - as the subsequent, parenthetic clause declares - is their “destiny absolute”.] and [remember that] God’s will is always destiny absolute-; [and such will always be His way with] those who convey God’s messages [to the world], and stand in awe of Him, and hold none but God in awe: for none can take count [of man’s doings] as God does! MARITAL LAWS EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE PROPHET The injunction below, relating to certain marital problems which affect the believers in general, forms an introduction to the next verse, of the discourse on the marital laws applying exclusively to the Prophet: thus, it connects with the passage beginning with the words, “O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any of the [other] women” (verse 32), as well as with the subsequent reference to his marriage with Zaynab (verse 37).] (33:50-53) O Prophet! Behold, We have made lawful to you your wives unto whom you have paid their dowers, [See 2:236.] as well as those whom your right hand has come to possess from among the captives of war whom God has bestowed upon

you. [As pointed out in several places (see, in particular, 4:25), Islam does not countenance any form of concubinage, and categorically prohibits sexual relations between a man and a woman unless they are lawfully married to one another. In this respect, the only difference between a “free” woman and a slave is that whereas the former must receive a dower from her husband, no such obligation is imposed on a man who marries his rightfully owned slave (lit., “one whom his right hand possesses”) - that is, a woman taken captive in a just war (jihad) waged in defense of the Faith or of liberty (2:190 and 8:67) -: for, in such a case, the freedom conferred upon the bride by the very act of marriage is considered to be equivalent to a dower.] And [We have made lawful to you] the daughters of your paternal uncles and aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and aunts, who have migrated with you [to Yathrib]; [This was - in addition to his not being allowed to divorce any of his wives (see verse 52 below) - a further restriction imposed on the Prophet in the matter of marriage: whereas all other Muslims are free to marry any of their paternal or maternal cousins, the Prophet was allowed to marry only such from among them as had proved their strong, early attachment to Islam by having accompanied him on his exodus (the hijrah) from Mecca to Medina. According to ancient Arabian usage - the term “daughters of your paternal uncles and aunts” comprises not only the actual paternal cousins but, in general, all women of the tribe of Quraysh, to which Muhammad’s father belonged, while the term “daughters of your maternal uncles and aunts” comprises all women of his mother’s tribe, the Banu Zuhrah.] and any believing woman who offers herself freely to the Prophet and whom the Prophet might be willing to wed: [The relevant clause reads, literally, “if she offered herself as a gift to the Prophet”. Most of the classical commentators take this to mean “without demanding or expecting a dower”, which, as far as ordinary Muslims are concerned, is an essential item in a marriage agreement (see 4:4 and 24, and 2:236).] [this latter being but] a privilege for you, and not for other believers - [seeing that] We have already made known what We have enjoined upon them with regard to their wives and those whom their right hands may possess. [The above parenthetic sentence refers to the previously revealed, general laws relating to marriage (see 2:221, 4:3-4 and 19-25), and particularly the laws bearing on the question of dower.] [And] in order that you be not burdened with [undue] anxiety - for God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace - [know that] you may put off for a time whichever of them you please, and may take unto you whichever pleases you; and [that,] if you seek out any from whom you have kept away [for a time], you will incur no sin [thereby]: [Thus, the Prophet was told that he need not observe a strict “rotation” in the conjugal attentions due to his wives, although he himself, impelled by an inborn sense of fairness, always endeavored to give them a feeling of absolute equality.] this will make it more likely that their eyes are gladdened [whenever they see you], [I.e., by the inner certainty that whenever he turned to any of them, he did so on impulse, out of genuine affection, and not out of a sense of marital obligation.] and that they do not grieve [whenever they are overlooked], and that all of them may find contentment in whatever you have to give them: for God [alone] knows what is in your hearts - and God is indeed all-knowing, forbearing. [According to a hadith on the authority of Aishah, the Prophet used to divide his attentions equitably among his wives, and then would pray: “O God! I am doing whatever is in my power: do not, then, blame me for failing in something which is in Thy power alone, and not in mine!” - thus alluding to his heart, and to loving some of his wives more than others.] No [other] women shall henceforth be lawful to you [It is a prohibition barring the Prophet from marrying any woman in addition to those to whom he was already married. The prohibition of further marriages with the choice between the charms of worldly life and the good of the hereafter with which the wives of the Prophet were confronted on the strength of verses 28-29, and their emphatic option for “God and His Apostle” (see verse 29 above). All those early authorities describe the revelation of verse 52 and the assurance which it was meant to convey to the wives of the Prophet - as God’s reward, in this world, of their faith and fidelity. Since it is

inconceivable that the Prophet could have disregarded the categorical injunction, “No other women shall henceforth be lawful to you”, the passage in question cannot have been revealed earlier than the year 7 H., that is, the year in which the conquest of Khaybar and the Prophet’s marriage with Safiyyah - his last marriage - took place. Consequently, verses 28-29 (with which, as we have seen, verse 52 is closely connected) must have been revealed at that later period, and not, as some commentators think, in the year 5 H. (i.e., at the time of the Prophet’s marriage with Zaynab).] - nor you are [allowed] to supplant [any of] them by other wives, [I.e., to divorce any of them with a view to taking another wife in her stead (with the prohibitive accent on the “supplanting”- i.e., divorcing - of any of his wives).] even though their beauty should please you greatly -: [none shall be lawful to you] beyond those whom you [already] have come to possess. And God keeps watch over everything. [Lit., “what your right hand possesses”, or has come to possess has here the same meaning as in 4:24, namely, “those whom you have come to possess through wedlock”; thus, the above verse is to be understood as limiting the Prophet’s marriages to those already contracted.] RESPECTING PROPHET’S PRIVACY AND HIS EXALTED STATUS (33:53) O you who have attained to faith! Do not enter the Prophet’s dwellings unless you are given leave; [and when invited] to a meal, do not come [so early as] to wait for it to be readied: but whenever you are invited, enter [at the proper time]; and when you have partaken of the meal, disperse without lingering for the sake of mere talk: that, behold, might give offence to the Prophet, and yet he might feel shy of [asking] you [to leave]: but God is not shy of [teaching you] what is right. [The above passage is meant to stress his unique position among his contemporaries; but as is so often the case with Quranic references to historical events and situations, the ethical principle enunciated here is not restricted to a particular time or environment. By exhorting the Prophet’s Companions to revere his person, the Quran reminds all believers, at all times, of his exalted status (see 2:104); beyond that, it teaches them certain rules of behavior bearing on the life of the community as such: rules which, however insignificant they may appear at first glance, are of psychological value in a society that is to be governed by a genuine feeling of brotherhood, mutual consideration, and respect for the sanctity of each other’s personality and privacy.] HIJAB FOR PROPHET’S WIVES (33:53-58) And [as for the Prophet’s wives,] whenever you ask them for anything that you need, ask them from behind a screen: this will but deepen the purity of your hearts and theirs. [The term hijab denotes anything that intervenes between two things, or conceals, shelters or protects the one from the other; it may be rendered, according to the context, as barrier, obstacle, partition, screen, curtain, veil, etc., in both the concrete and abstract connotations of these words. The prohibition to approach the Prophet’s wives otherwise than “from behind a screen” or “curtain” may be taken literally - as indeed it was taken by most of the Companions of the Prophet - or metaphorically, indicating the exceptional reverence due to these “mothers of the faithful”. The above verse was prompted by a need to separate public from private space, was later misconstrued and turned into a segregation of the sexes. The requirement of hijab was solely meant for the Prophet’s wives because this verse addresses only Prophet’s wives and not women in general.] Moreover, it does not behove you to give offence to God’s Apostle - just as it would not behove you ever to marry his widows after he has passed away: that, verily, would be an enormity in the sight of God. Whether you do anything openly or in secret, [remember that,] verily, God has full knowledge of everything. [However,] it is no sin for them [I.e., the wives of the Prophet (connecting with the injunction, in verse 53 above, that they should be spoken to “from behind a screen”).] [to appear freely] before their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their womenfolk, or such [male slaves] as their right hands may possess. But [always, O wives of the

Prophet,] [This interpolation is conditioned by the feminine gender of the subsequent plural imperative ittaqina.] remain conscious of God - for, behold, God is witness unto everything. Verily, God and His angels bless the Prophet: [hence,] O you who have attained to faith, bless him and give yourselves up [to his guidance] in utter self-surrender! Verily, as for those who [knowingly] affront God and His Apostle - God will reject them in this world and in the life to come; and shameful suffering will He ready for them. [In classical Arabic, the term lanah is more or less synonymous with banishment; hence. God’s lanah denotes His rejection of a sinner from all that is good or exclusion from His grace. The term malun which occurs in verse 61 below signifies, therefore, “one who is bereft of God’s grace”.] And as for those who malign believing men and believing women without their having done any wrong - they surely burden themselves with the guilt of calumny, and [thus] with a flagrant sin! RENUNCIATION OF MARITAL LIFE The sixty-sixth surah, At-Tahrim (prohibition) revealed in the second half of the Medina period - probably in 7 H - this surah has been occasionally designated as “The Surah of the Prophet” as the first half of it deals with certain aspects of his personal and family life. (66:1-2) O Prophet! Why do you, out of a desire to please [one or another of] your wives, impose [on yourself] a prohibition of something that God has made lawful to you? But God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace: [There are several essentially conflicting - and, therefore, in their aggregate, not very trustworthy - reports as to the exact reason or reasons why, at some time during the second half of the Medina period, the Prophet declared on oath that for one month he would have no intercourse with any of his wives. Still, while the exact reason cannot be established with certainty, it is sufficiently clear from the above-mentioned ahadith that this emotional, temporary renunciation of marital life was caused by a display of mutual jealousy among some of the Prophet’s wives. In any case, the purport of the above Quranic allusion to this incident is not biographical but, rather, intended to bring out a moral lesson applicable to all human situations: namely, the inadmissibility of regarding as forbidden (haram) anything that God has made lawful (halal), even if such an attitude happens to be motivated by the desire to please another person or other persons. Apart from this, it serves to illustrate the fact - repeatedly stressed in the Quran - that the Prophet was but a human being, and therefore subject to human emotions and even liable to commit an occasional mistake (which in his case, however, was invariably pointed out to him, and thus rectified, through divine revelation).] God has already enjoined upon you [O believers] the breaking and expiation of [such of] your oaths [as may run counter to what is right and just]: for, God is your Lord Supreme, and He alone is all-knowing, truly wise. [See 2:224, which shows that in certain circumstances an oath should be broken and then atoned for: hence the above phrase, “God has enjoined upon you the breaking and expiation”).] DIVULGING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION (66:3-5) And lo! [It so happened that] the Prophet told something in confidence to one of his wives; and when she thereupon divulged it, and God made this known to him, he acquainted [others] with some of it and passed over some of it. [There is no reliable Tradition as to the subject of that confidential information. Some of the early commentators, however, connect it with the Prophet’s veiled prediction that Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab would succeed him as leaders of the Muslim community; the recipient of the information is said to have been Hafsah, the daughter of Umar, and the one to whom she disclosed it, Aishah, the daughter of Abu Bakr. If this interpretation is correct, it would explain why the Prophet “acquainted others with some of it and passed over some of it”: for, once his confidential prediction had been divulged, he saw no point in

withholding it any longer from the community; nevertheless, he alluded to it in deliberately vague terms - possibly in order not to give to the succession of Abu Bakr and Umar the appearance of an apostolic sanction but to leave it, rather, to a free decision of the community in pursuance of the Quranic principle of consultation to choose a leader (see 42:38).] And as soon as he let her know it, she asked, “Who has told you this?” [I.e., that she had broken the Prophet’s confidence.] - [to which] he replied, “The All-Knowing, the All-Aware has told me.” [Say, O Prophet:] [Although in the sequence the Prophet is referred to in the third person, it is obvious that it is he who is commanded through revelation to speak thus to his wives Hafsah and Aishah; hence the above interpolation.] “Would that you two turn unto God in repentance, for the hearts of both of you have swerved [from what is right]! [Referring to Hafsah, who betrayed the Prophet’s confidence, and to Aishah, who by listening contributed to this betrayal.] And if you uphold each other against him [who is God’s message-bearer, know that] God Himself is his Protector, and [that,] therefore, [I.e., in consequence of the fact that God Himself protects him.] Gabriel, and all the righteous among the believers, and all the [other] angels will come to his aid.” [O wives of the Prophet!] Were he to divorce [any of] you, God might well give him in your stead spouses better than you - women who surrender themselves unto God, who truly believe, devoutly obey His will, turn [unto Him] in repentance [whenever they have sinned], worship [Him alone], and go on and on [seeking His goodly acceptance] - be they women previously married or virgins. [I.e., like the actual wives of the Prophet, one of whom (Aishah) was a virgin when she married him, one (Zaynab bint Jahsh) had been divorced, while the others were widows. This allusion, together with the fact that the Prophet did not divorce any of his wives, as well as the purely hypothetical formulation of this passage, shows that it is meant to be an indirect admonition to the Prophet’s wives, who, despite their occasional shortcomings - unavoidable in human beings - did possess the virtues referred to above. On a wider plane, it seems to be an admonition to all believers, men and women alike.] THE FAREWELL PILGRIMAGE (632) The Prophet set forth towards Mecca accompanied by all his wives and followed by a great multitude, numbering any where from 90,000 – 114,000 for the farewell pilgrimage. On Friday, the 9th of Dhu al Hijjah the Prophet recited the following divine revelation: (9:3) And a proclamation from God and His Apostle [is herewith made] unto all mankind on this day of the Greatest Pilgrimage: [The day of the Greatest Pilgrimage probably refers to the last pilgrimage led by Muhammad in 10 H. and known to history as the Farewell Pilgrimage. If this assumption is correct, it would justify the conclusion that verses 9:3 was revealed during the Farewell Pilgrimage, and were followed by several other parts of the Quran.] “God disavows all who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him and [so does] His Apostle. Hence, if you repent, it shall be for your own good; and if you turn away, then know that you can never elude God!” TODAY I HAVE PERFECTED YOUR RELIGIOUS LAW (5:3) Today have I perfected your religious law for you, and bestowed upon you the full measure of My blessings, and willed that self-surrender unto Me (al-islam) shall be your religion. THE HUNDRED-TENTH SURAH, AN-NASR (SUCCOR) [After the verse 5:3 , the hundred-tenth surah, An-Nasr (succor) was revealed at Mina, a little over two months before his death this is unquestionably the last complete surah conveyed by him to the world. Companions concluded that his mission was fulfilled, and that he was about to die. As a matter of fact, the only revelation which the Prophet received after An-Nasr was verse 281 of Al-Baqarah.]

In the name of God, the most gracious, the dispenser of grace: (110:1-3) When God’s succor comes, and victory, and you see people enter God’s religion in hosts, [I.e., the religion of self-surrender to God: See 3:19 - “the only (true) religion in the sight of God is (man’s) self-surrender unto Him”.] extol your Sustainer’s limitless glory, and praise Him, and seek His forgiveness: for, behold, He is ever an acceptor of repentance. [Implying that even if people should embrace the true religion in great numbers, a believer ought not to grow self-complacent but should, rather, become more humble and more conscious of his own failings. Moreover, the Prophet is reported to have said, “Behold, people have entered God’s religion in hosts - and in time they will leave it in hosts”.] THE LAST SERMON During the farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad delivered one of the noblest sermons of his career, while sitting on his camel. It began: “Ye people! Listen well to my words, for I know not whether another year will be vouchsafed to me after this year to find myself amongst you at this place. Your lives and property are sacred and inviolable amongst one another until ye appear before the Lord, as this day and this month is sacred for all; and (remember) ye shall have to appear before your Lord, who shall demand from you an account of all your actions. Thus do I warn you. Whoever of you is keeping a trust of someone else shall return that trust to its rightful owner. All interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer inequity. God has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to my uncle Abbas ibn Abd al Muttalib shall henceforth be waived.” “Every right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived. And the first such right that I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabiah ibn al Harith ibn Abd al Muttalib. (Rabiah, a cousin of the Prophet was murdered as a child by members of the tribe of Huzail, but his murder was not yet avenged.) O Men the devil has lost all hope of ever being worshipped in this land of yours. Nevertheless, he still is anxious to determine the lesser of your deeds. Beware of him, therefore, for the safety of your religion. O Men, intercalation or tampering with the calendar is evidence of great unbelief and confirms the unbelievers in their misguidance. They indulge in it one year and forbid it the next in order to make permissible that which God forbade, and to forbid that which God made permissible. The pattern according to which the time is reckoned is always the same. With God, the months are twelve in number. Four of them are holy. Three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the month of Jumada and Shaban. O Men, to you a right belongs with respect to your women and to your women a right with respect to you. It is your right that they not fraternize with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to commit adultery. But if they do, then God has permitted you to isolate them within their homes and to chastise them without cruelty. But if they abide by your right, then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them, for they are your partners and committed helpers. Remember that you have taken them as your wives and enjoyed their flesh only under God’s trust and with His permission. Reason well, therefore, O Men, and ponder my words which I now convey to you. I am leaving you with the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Prophet. If you follow them, you will never go astray. O Men, hearken well to my words. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to your own selves. O God, have I conveyed Your message?” THE LAST REVELATION (2:281) And be conscious of the Day on which you shall be brought back unto God, whereupon every human being shall be

repaid in full for what he has earned, and none shall be wronged. [According to the uncontested evidence of Ibn Abbas, the above verse was the last revelation granted to the Prophet. Muhammad died after short illness on 8 th of June, 632 and was buried under the floor of the mud hut of his wife, Aishah.] MUHAMMAD THE LAST OR SEAL OF ALL PROPHETS But while the Muslim Prophet comes chronologically at the bottom of this long and honorable list, in significance he is ranked at the top. He is the “seal (khatam) of the prophets” (see 33:40 below), the last to be charged by God. His dispensation sums up and supplements all preceding ones; eventually it supplants them all. The abrogation of the older revelations was necessitated by their falsification by Jews and Christians. Muhammad is reported to have said repeatedly “no Prophet after me.” Through Muhammad God sent his final word to mankind. No one can thereafter improve on it. The blend of admiration, respect and affection which the devout Muslim feels for Muhammad is an impressive fact of religious history. Rarely will he mention the Prophet’s name without the benediction “Peace be upon him!” And today as for fourteen centuries the faithful will be found praying, “Salam upon you, O Prophet of God.” The following are the verses where Muhammad is eluded as the last prophet: (2:252-253) These are God’s messages: We convey them unto you, [O Prophet,] setting forth the truth - for, verily, you are among those who have been entrusted with a message. Some of these apostles have We endowed more highly than others: among them were such as were spoken to by God [Himself], and some He has raised yet higher. [This appears to be an allusion to Muhammad as he was the Last Prophet and the bearer of a universal message applicable to all people and to all times. By “such as were spoken to by God” Moses is meant (see 4:164).] (17:54-55) Your Sustainer is fully aware of what you are [and what you deserve]: if He so wills, he will bestow [His] grace upon you; and if He so wills, He will chastise you. Hence, We have not sent you [unto men, O Prophet.] with the power to determine their fate, [An alternative, equally acceptable rendering of the above phrase would be, “We have not sent you charged with responsibility for their conduct.”] seeing that thy Sustainer is fully aware of [what is in the minds of] all beings that are in the heavens and on earth. But, indeed, We did endow some of the prophets more highly than others – [This seems to be an allusion to the role of Muhammad as the Last Prophet: despite his personal inability to “determine the fate” of the people to whom he conveyed God’s message, that message is destined to remain alive forever.] (25:51-52) Now had We so willed. We could have [continued as before and] raised up a [separate] warner in every single community: [But We have willed instead that Muhammad be Our last prophet and, hence, a warner unto all people for all times to come.] hence, do not defer to [the likes and dislikes of] those who deny the truth, but strive hard against them, by means of this [divine writ], with utmost striving. (33:40) [And know, O believers, that] Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, [I.e., he is the spiritual “father” of the whole community, and not of any one person or particular persons - thus, incidentally, refuting the erroneous idea that physical descent from a prophet confers, by itself, any merit on the persons concerned.] Muhammad is God’s Apostle and the Seal of all Prophets. And God has indeed full knowledge of everything. [I.e., the last of the prophets, just as a seal (khatam) marks the end of a document; apart from this, the term khatam is also synonymous with khitam, the “end” or “conclusion” of a thing: from which it follows that the message revealed through Muhammad - the Quran - must be regarded as the culmination and the end of all prophetic revelation.] (33:45-48) [And as for you,] O Prophet - behold, We have sent you as a witness [to the truth], and as a herald of glad tidings and a warner, and as one who summons [all men] to God by His leave, and as a light-giving beacon. And [so,] convey to the believers the glad tiding that a great bounty from God awaits them; and defer

not to [the likes and dislikes of] the deniers of the truth and the hypocrites, and disregard their hurtful talk, and place your trust in God: for none is as worthy of trust as God. PROMISE OF EMINENCE FOR FOLLOWERS OF MUHAMMAD (43:40-44) Can you, perchance, [O Muhammad,] make the deaf hear, or show the right way to the blind or to such as are obviously lost in error? [This rhetorical question implies a negative answer: See 35:22 - “You can not make hear such as are deaf of heart like the dead in the graves”.] But whether We do [or do not] take you away [before your message prevails] - verily, We shall inflict Our retribution on them; and whether We show you [or do not show you in this world] the fulfillment of what We have promised them - verily, We have full power over them! So hold fast to all that has been revealed to you: for, behold, you are on a straight way; and, verily, this [revelation] shall indeed become [a source of] eminence for you and your people: but in time you all will be called to account [for what you have done with it]. [The meaning is that on the Day of Judgment all prophets will be asked, metaphorically, as to what response they received from their people (See 5:109), and those who professed to follow them will be called to account for the spiritual and social use they made - or did not make - of the revelation conveyed to them: and thus, the eminence promised to the followers of Muhammad will depend on their actual behavior and not on their mere profession of faith.]