{"id":487,"date":"2015-02-26T14:42:48","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T14:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/azmi.co\/cust\/ngba-wp\/?page_id=487"},"modified":"2022-03-01T17:14:52","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T17:14:52","slug":"zainab-scandal-mohammad","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/?page_id=487","title":{"rendered":"MOHAMMAD-ZAINAB SCANDAL"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the name of All\u0101h,<\/span>
\nthe Beneficent, the Merciful.<\/span>
\nPeace and Blessings of All\u0101h on Mohammad.<\/span>
\nDEDICATED TO<\/span>
\nAll\u0101h\u2013the Glorious and the High,<\/span>
\nLord of the worlds<\/span>
\nAND TO<\/span>
\nMohammad\u2013who brought the world<\/span>
\nto our feet and eternity to our arms.<\/span>
\n*<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ZAINAB SCANDAL<\/span><\/span>
\nZainab, a \u201cvery beautiful\u201d cousin of the Prophet Mohammad, was married to Zaid, a former slave and adopted son of the Prophet. This marriage was arranged by the Prophet himself.\u00a0\u00a0 Ibn Warraq wrote in his book\u00a0Why I am not a Muslim<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(pp. 99, 100):\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOne day the Prophet set out to visit his adopted son Zaid. \u2026<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0 On the day concerned, Zaid was not at home, but Zaynab, rather lightly clad, and hence revealing a great many of her charms, opened the door to the Prophet, and asked him in. As she hastily prepared to receive him, Muhammad was smitten by her beauty: \u201cGracious Lord! Good Heavens! How you do turn the hearts of men!\u201d exclaimed the Prophet. He declined to enter and went away in some confusion. However, Zaynab had heard his words and repeated them to Zaid, when he returned home. Zaid went straight to the Prophet and dutifully offered to divorce his wife for him. Muhammad declined, adding, \u201cKeep your wife and fear God.\u201d Zaynab now seemed quite taken with the idea of marrying the Prophet, and Zaid, seeing that Muhammad still yearned for her, divorced her. Still, fear of public opinion made Muhammad hesitate: after all, an adopted son was in every respect equal to a natural son; therefore, such a union would have been seen as incestuous by the Arabs of his time <\/span>(this is nonsense: the Arabs could not hold such a marriage as being \u201cincestuous\u201d seeing that All\u0101h already revealed that an adopted son is not your real son\u2013Qur\u2019an 33:4. Arguably, after Zaid divorced Zainab she was no longer his wife and she was open for anyone to marry her according to Islamic prescription)<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 As always, a revelation came to him in time, enabling him to \u201ccast his scruples to the wind.\u201d\u00a0<\/span> \u2026The Muslim sources themselves give the entire story a sexual interpretation: Zaynab\u2019s beauty, her state of undress, her charms revealed by a gust of wind, Muhammad\u2019s remarks and signs of confusion.\u201d <\/span>(That Muslim sources give the entire story a sexual interpretation does not mean they are right).<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Response:<\/span><\/span> \u00a0To respond to this folly, it is necessary to comment on the Qur\u2019anic verses relating to Zainab and Zaid. (The following material is taken from Muhammad Ali\u2019s Qur\u2019anic commentaries on 33:36-37. Emphasis\/color added): <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it behoves not a believing man<\/span>
\nor a believing woman, when All\u0101h<\/span>
\nand His Messenger have decided<\/span>
\nan affair, to exercise a choice<\/span>
\nin their matter\u201d<\/span>
\n(Qur\u2019an 33:36).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll the commentators agree that this verse was revealed on the occasion when the Holy Prophet demanded Zainab, his cousin through his aunt, in marriage for Zaid, his adopted son. Both Zainab and her brother were averse to this match, because Zaid was a freedman, and it was in obedience to this revelation that their scruples were overcome and Zainab accepted Zaid for her husband\u2026.The verse has no connection with the subsequent events, which brought about the divorce and Zainab\u2019s marriage with the Holy Prophet. It, moreover shows that it was the Prophet himself who had arranged this marriage<\/i><\/strong><\/span> between Zainab and Zaid, and were it not in deference to his wishes, Zainab would never have consented to the alliance.\u201d\u00a0(It is doubtful that Mohammad would have insisted that Zainab should marry Zaid if Mohammad had desired Zainab for himself).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when thou saidst to him\u00a0<\/i>to whom <\/span>
\nAllah had shown favour and to whom<\/span>
\nthou hadst shown a favour: Keep<\/span>
\nthy wife to thyself and keep thy duty<\/span>
\nto Allah; and thou concealedst\u00a0<\/i>in thy heart <\/span>
\nwhat Allah would bring to light,<\/span>
\nand thou fearedst men, and Allah has <\/span>
\na greater right that thou shouldst fear Him.<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/i>So when Zaid dissolved her marriage-tie,<\/span>
\nWe gave her to thee as a wife, so that there<\/span>
\nshould be no difficulty for the believers<\/span>
\nabout the wives of their adopted sons,<\/span>
\nwhen they have dissolved their marriage-tie\u201d<\/span>
\n(Qur\u2019an 33:37)<\/span><\/p>\n

(Was it lust for Zainab that Mohammad concealed in his heart, or was it fear of his niece\u2019s marriage dissolving?\u00a0 It is odd that if Mohammad had written the Qur\u2019an as some say, and if he was guilty of lust for Zainab, that he should have entered such a verse into the Qur\u2019an that would cast aspersions upon his character. It is odd that All\u0101h and Mohammad would consider Mohammad\u2019s \u201clove\u201d \u2013an emotion instilled by All\u0101h\u2013 for a woman as something to be \u201cfeared\u201d of All\u0101h.<\/span> To say that All\u0101h would bring to light Mohammad\u2019s desire by having him marry Zainab would be to imply that All\u0101h would cause the dissolution of this marriage in order to satisfy Mohammad\u2019s carnal desire. This is absurd. All\u0101h instructs us to seek conciliation rather than dissolution; and the Prophet taught that of all the things All\u0101h has made, divorce is the most shameful).\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis verse [Qur\u2019an 33:37, quoted above] consists of two distinct and separate parts, the first dealing with Zaid\u2019s divorce of Zainab, and the second beginning with so when Zaid<\/i>, etc; with the Holy Prophet\u2019s marriage with Zainab, and therefore a full explanation of the events in connection with this marriage is necessary. Zaid belonged to the tribe of Kalb, and was taken prisoner in childhood and sold as a slave at Makkah, where he was bought by Khadijah\u2019s brother, who gave him over to his sister, and she in her turn presented him to the Holy Prophet, who, as was his wont, liberated him. But Zaid was so much attached to the Holy Prophet, that when the Prophet gave him the option of accompanying his father to his home or of remaining with him, Zaid chose the latter course. On account of his great attachment, Zaid was called the son of Muhammad, and he was one of the early converts to Islam. It is to these events that the opening words of the verse refer, when they speak of Zaid as being one to whom Allah as well as the Prophet had shown favour.
\nZainab was the daughter of the Prophet\u2019s own aunt, Umaimah, daughter of \u2018Abd al-Muttalib. She was one of the early converts to Islam, and the Holy Prophet proposed to her brother that she should be given in marriage to Zaid. Both brother and sister were averse to this match, and only yielded under pressure from the Holy Prophet, for which see the last note. It is related that they both desired that the Holy Prophet himself should marry Zainab.<\/i> <\/span>In fact, when marriage was first proposed to Zainab, she gave her assent under the impression that the Prophet wanted her for himself (Rz), but the Prophet insisted that she should accept Zaid<\/span><\/em> (IJ).
\nThe marriage was, however, not a happy one. Zainab was harsh of temper, and she never liked Zaid on account of the stigma of slavery, which attached to his name. Differences arose, and Zaid expressed a desire to the Holy Prophet of divorcing Zainab. The news was grieving for the Prophet, for it was he who had insisted upon the marriage, and he therefore advised Zaid not to divorce her. He feared that people would object that a marriage which had been arranged by the Prophet was unsuccessful. According to one interpretation, it is to this circumstance that the words refer, and thou fearedst men, and Allah has a greater right that thou shouldst fear Him<\/i>. According to this interpretation it is also to the same matter that the words and thou concealedst in thy heart what Allah would bring to light<\/i> refer, for the Prophet did not like that the disagreements between Zainab and Zaid should become generally known. The Prophet\u2019s injunction to Zaid not to divorce his wife is contained in unmistakable terms in the Holy Qur\u2019an. But it was all in vain, and Zaid at last divorced Zainab. According to another interpretation, however, the words and thou concealedst in thy heart<\/i> to thou shouldst fear Him<\/i>, are a continuation of the advice which the Prophet gave to Zaid not to divorce Zainab (Rz). This interpretation suits the context even better than the first interpretation, for as we are further told in v. 39, the prophets fear none but God.
\nAfter Zainab was divorced the Holy Prophet took her in marriage, that being the wish of the lady and her relatives before her marriage with Zaid, and the Prophet was, now that the marriage arranged by him proved unsuccessful, morally bound to accept their wishes. Moreover, the Qur\u2019an had declared against an adopted son being regarded as if he were a real son, and now there was an opportunity where the Holy Prophet could by his own example deal a death-blow to that custom. This reason is plainly given in the second part of the verse: We gave her to thee as a wife, so that there should be no difficulty for the believers about the wives of \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0their adopted sons<\/i>. The Qur\u2019an does not give any other reason for the marriage.
\nThis simple story is made the basis of a mean attack on the Holy Prophet. It is stated that the Prophet having seen Zainab by chance through a half-open door, was fascinated by her beauty, and that Zaid, having come to know of this, divorced her, and then she became the Prophet\u2019s wife. That Muir and Arnold, not to mention more prejudiced writers, accept this, only shows how far religious prejudice may carry \u201ccriticism.\u201d It is admitted that Zainab was the daughter of the Prophet\u2019s real aunt; it is admitted that she was one of the early believers in Islam who fled to Madinah; it is admitted that the Prophet himself had arranged the marriage between Zaid and Zainab; and finally it is admitted that Zainab desired, as did also her brother, before she was married to Zaid, that she should be taken in marriage by the Holy Prophet. What was it then which prevented the Prophet from marrying her when she was a virgin? Had he not seen her before? <\/span>He was so closely related to her that on the face of it such a supposition is absurd. Then there was no seclusion of women before Zainab\u2019s marriage with the Prophet,<\/span> a fact the truth of which is attested by Muir himself. Having not only seen her when she was a virgin, but knowing her fully well on account of her close relationship to him and her early belief in Islam, while both she and her relatives were desirous that the Prophet should take her for a wife, what hindered the Prophet from marrying her? The story is so absurd that any man possessing ordinary common sense would unhesitatingly reject it.\u201d<\/span> (Comm.1990, 1991).<\/span><\/p>\n

Significantly, Ibn Warraq conjoins 33:4 which says that All\u0101h has not given man two hearts \u2013meaning that one cannot obey All\u0101h and the disbelievers at the same time, as noted from verses 1 to 3\u2013<\/span> with 33:36-37 which deals with Zainab affair; and he writes: \u201cThe most natural and immediate reaction to the preceding account (the Zainab affair) must surely be that of the Prophet\u2019s own wife, Aisha, who is said to have remarked wittily on this occasion, \u201cTruly, your God seems to have been very quick in fulfilling your prayers.\u201d (p. 100). <\/span><\/p>\n

(It is intriguing that this remark of \u2018Aisha is interpreted to mean that she was doubtful (or cynical) of the Prophet\u2019s truthfulness, when in fact it could merely have been an observation on her part\u2013(Bokhari Vol. 6, #311). But \u2018Aisha also eloquently said about the Prophet that \u201cWhoever tell you that he concealed (some of All\u0101h\u2019s orders), is a liar\u201d\u2013(Bokhari Vol. 6. #378). Notably, Allah \u2019hastened\u2019 to the aid of \u2018Aisha also, when she was slandered\u2013Qur\u2019an 24:11-20; Bokhari Vol. 6 #274).<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

But this remark of Aisha was not made on the occasion of the Zainab affair as Ibn Warraq claims. This remark was made on another occasion permitting the Prophet to temporarily postpone company with a wife that he was supposed to be with\u2013(Qur\u2019an 33:50-51; Bokhari Vol. 6, # 311-312. See Mohammad-Hafsa scandal (& Mary)<\/a><\/span>.
\n<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

The entire Zainab story \u2013her marriage to Zaid, a former slave, her divorce and her remarriage to the Prophet\u2013<\/span> is a guidance for Muslims; in that it shows that a freed-man could marry a free woman and that a man could marry the wife of his adopted son.
\n\u00a0 \u201cThe Muslim sources\u201d that \u201cgive the entire story a sexual interpretation\u201d need to reason the Qur\u2019an and Islamic history carefully.<\/span><\/span>
\n<\/i>For a comment on Ibn Warraq\u2019s book see\u00a0Why I am not a Muslim-Ibn Warraq<\/a><\/span>).<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Whereas Christians use invention to blacken the Prophet in his marriage to Zainab to have Indonesian (and other Muslims) apostatized from Islam \u2013and there is nothing sinister about a man marrying the ex-wife of his adopted son (an adopted son is not your real son).<\/span><\/span>
\nIn the Bible God gave David\u2019s wives to David\u2019s neighbor to sex them\u2013(2 Samuel 12:11); gave little virgin girls as war booty (sex slaves) to soldiers and priests\u2013(Numbers 31:17-40); and Jesus (the Christians\u2019 God) effected his own conception with his mother :<\/span>
\n“Mary\u2026. was found with child OF THE HOLY GHOST<\/strong>\u2026.for that which is\u00a0CONCEIVED<\/strong>\u00a0in her\u00a0IS OF THE HOLY GHOST;<\/strong>\u201d \u201cThe\u00a0Holy Ghost<\/em>\u00a0SHALL COME UPON THEE<\/strong> (Mary), and the power of the Highest<\/em>\u00a0shall overshadow thee: therefore also that the holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be\u00a0CALLED<\/strong>\u00a0the Son of God.\u201d<\/span> (For full text see Jesus-had s-x with his mother<\/a><\/span>).<\/span>
\nThese Christians are pitiful, pathetic people. They are to look at their own Book. Christians need to cultivate dignity and maturity.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the name of All\u0101h, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Peace and Blessings of All\u0101h on Mohammad. DEDICATED TO All\u0101h\u2013the Glorious and the High, Lord of the worlds AND TO Mohammad\u2013who brought the world to our feet and eternity to our arms. * \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-487","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=487"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5616,"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/487\/revisions\/5616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nogodbutallah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}