seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 33:46. And a caller towards God by His leave, and an illuminating beacon.
47. And give the believers the good news that for them is a great reward.
48. And do not obey the blasphemers and the hypocrites, and ignore their insults, and rely on God. God is a sufficient protector.
49. O you who believe! When you marry believing women, but then divorce them before you have touched them, there is no waiting period for you to observe in respect to them; but compensate them, and release them in a graceful manner.
50. O Prophet! We have permitted to you your wives to whom you have given their dowries, and those you already have, as granted to you by God, and the daughters of your paternal uncle, and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncle, and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you, and a believing woman who has offered herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desires to marry her, exclusively for you, and not for the believers. We know what We have ordained for them regarding their wives and those their right-hands possess. This is to spare you any difficulty. God is Forgiving and Merciful.
51. You may defer any of them you wish, and receive any of them you wish. Should you desire any of those you had deferred, there is no blame on you. This is more proper, so that they will be comforted, and not be grieved, and be content with what you have given each one of them. God knows what is within your hearts. God is Omniscient and Clement.
52. Beyond that, no other women are permissible for you, nor can you exchange them for other wives, even if you admire their beauty, except those you already have. God is Watchful over all things.
Here's the commentary.The words clearly imply that one who could give light to others and raise them from the depth of vice and immorality to the height of purity and perfection could not himself be in the darkness of impurity.
The Prophet is here spoken of first as one bearing witness to lost humanity, to men who had lost all idea of God-consciousness, that there is a God. More than that he was a bearer of good news to humanity that God still remembered mankind, and that He had sent His Prophet to make this fallen humanity rise to spiritual eminence by holding communion with Him, but at the same time he was a warner, too, and told them that, if they persisted in their evil ways, they would suffer evil consequences; thus he was an Inviter to Allåh and the Sun of righteousness.
In the mention of annoying talk there is a clear reference to the carpings of his petty-minded critics, who try to misrepresent the greatest source of righteousness which the world has ever witnessed, as an evil. The Prophet is told to disregard this annoying talk, as the time would come when the question would be asked, as it is already being asked, how is it that the Prophet illumined the world and opened the flood-gates of light to a benighted world, if it was darkness that reigned supreme in his own mind?
The reason for putting this ordinance here, in speaking of the Holy Prophet’s marriages, seems to apply to the Holy Prophet’s marriage with a woman named Asmå’, daughter of Nu‘mån Kindß. Before he went in to her she asked for a divorce, and the Prophet released her as she had desired. It is related that ‘Umar decided against her being regarded as a wife of the Prophet.
That his wives were lawful for the Prophet goes without saying. It appears that this revelation came after 4:3, which limits the number of wives a man can take under exceptional circumstances to four. The Prophet was, however, told that he should not divorce the excess number for this reason.
The marriages of the Holy Prophet have furnished his critics with the chief implement of attack on him, and the low-minded missionary has gone so far as to call him a voluptuary on that account, though he dare not apply that word to the husband of a hundred wives. Therefore I give below full particulars regarding the Prophet’s marriages. His life as regards his marriages may be divided into four periods. Briefly these are: (1) A celibate life up to twenty-five. (2) A married state with one wife from 25 to 54. (3) Several marriages from 54 to 60. (4) No further marriage after 60. As regards the first period, the life of a celibate youth living in a warm country till 25, the testimony of a hostile writer like Sir William Muir is that “all authorities agree in ascribing to the youth of Mu√ammad a modesty of deportment and purity of manners rare among the people of Mecca”. In fact, in Arabia at the time profligacy was the order of the day and it was among people who prided themselves on loose sexual relations that the Prophet led a life of transcendent purity.
Then comes the second period from 25 to 54. His first marriage was contracted while he was twenty-five years of age, and the widow Khadßjah whom he married was forty years old, i.e., fifteen years his senior. It was with her, and her alone, that he passed all the years of his youth and manhood until she died three years before the Hijrah, when he was already an old man of fifty. This circumstance alone is sufficient to give the lie to those carpers who call him a voluptuary. After her death, while still at Makkah, he married Saudah, a widow of advanced age. He also married ‘Å’ishah, his only virgin wife, while still at Makkah, but her marriage was consummated five years afterwards in the 2nd year of the Hijrah.
Then followed the flight to Madßnah, and subsequent to the Flight he had to fight many battles with his enemies, the Quraish, or such tribes as sided with the Quraish. The result of these battles was a great discrepancy between the number of males and females, and as his favourite followers fell in the field of battle fighting with his enemies, the care of their families devolved upon the Prophet and his surviving companions. In the battle of Badr fell Khunais, son of Ïudhåfah, and the faithful ‘Umar’s daughter Ïaf©ah was left a widow. ‘Umar offered her to ‘Uthmån and Ab∂ Bakr in turn, and she was at last married by the Holy Prophet in the third year of the Hijrah. ‘Abd Allåh, son of Ja√sh, fell a martyr at U√ud, and his widow Zainab, daughter of Khuzaimah, was taken in marriage by the Prophet in the same year. In the next year Ab∂ Salamah died, and his widow, Umm Salamah, was taken to wife by the Prophet. The events are narrated in the last section, leading to Zainab’s divorce by Zaid; the Prophet married her in the fifth year of the Hijrah under circumstances already narrated. Umm Ïabßbah was one of his devoted followers who fled to Abyssinia with her husband, ‘Ubaid Allåh, who there became a Christian, and when he died his widow found comfort in being taken as a wife by the Holy Prophet in the seventh year of the Hijrah.
Besides these widows of his faithful followers whom it fell to his lot to take under his protection, the Prophet took three widows of his enemies in marriage, and in each case this step led to the union and pacification of a whole tribe. These three, Juwairiyah, Maim∂nah and ˝afiyyah, he married in the years six and seven of the Hijrah. Regarding one of these, it is sufficient to note that, when the Prophet took Juwairiyah for a wife, over a hundred families of the tribe of the Banß Mu©∆aliq, to which tribe she belonged, were at once liberated by the Muslims.
The fourth period is that when war came to an end; a reference to this is contained in v. 52: “It is not allowed to thee to take wives after this”.
Thus it will be seen that all the marriages of the Prophet were due either to feelings of compassion for the widows of his faithful followers or to put a stop to bloodshed and ensure union with some tribe. Compare also 4:3a, where it is shown that the permission for polygamy was given under similar circumstances; in fact, many of the companions had to follow the example of the Prophet.
As pointed out in the beginning of the last note, the Prophet was specially allowed to retain all his wives when the number allowed was brought down to four in the case of other believers. This was the only privilege allowed to the Prophet and it is to this that the words, especially for thee, refer. What God ordained for the believers is contained in 4:3, and on the revelation of that verse any Muslim who had more than four wives had to divorce the excess number.
This verse must be read along with vv. 28 and 29, where a choice is given to the Prophet’s wives to remain with him or to depart. A similar choice is given here to the Prophet. And when his wives preferred to lead simple lives with him rather than seek worldly goods by leaving him, the Prophet was no less considerate for their feelings; for notwithstanding the choice given to him to retain such of his wives as he liked, he did not exercise this choice to the disadvantage of anyone of them, but retained them all, as they had chosen to remain with him. A reference is, indeed, contained to vv. 28 and 29 in the words that they should be pleased, all of them, with what thou givest them, which indicate that this was altogether a new arrangement in which both parties were given free choice and both sacrificed all other considerations to the sanctity of the marriage-tie.
When the Prophet’s wives chose to remain with him, limitation was placed upon the Holy Prophet, viz., that he should not take any other wife. The Prophet did not contract any marriage after the seventh year of the Hijrah, when this verse was revealed.
This is another limitation, viz., that it was not after this allowed to the Prophet to divorce anyone of those who had chosen to remain with him.
By those whom thy right hand possesses are indicated the wives of the Prophet whom he had lawfully married.
Well, enough reading for today. I'll keep it short and simple.It seems to me the Prophet was marrying women who would have been thrown out on the streets had he not taken them in. In other words.... he cared for the widows of those who fought along side him. According to the commentary... he took in a couple of women who were married to men in an enemy army. When he married them... it allowed him to make peace with the enemy.
Women were free to leave him too. Apparently if they didn't like the marriage relationship.... because marriage to him was to do without any "rich stuff".... they could take their stuff and leave. If they wanted to be with a rich man who would shower them with trinkets.... they were welcome to divorce him.
This Prophet sounds a lot like Solomon. Solomon had 300 wives... and 700 concubines [ladies in waiting so to speak]. If a wife got in a snit and decided she had had enough "waiting" to be with her loving husband.... she could leave and no one would notice.
But a law was passed... the Prophet, unlike Solomon.... couldn't have more than 4 wives. The other wives he had were grandfathered in.... and if any one of them decided to leave him.... well he couldn't replace here until he got down to 4 wives again.
What an arrangement.... Gotta get the number of wives down.... no you cannot exchange one woman for another.... gotta get the number down to 4 wives.
