054 - Expedition of al-Muraysi & Banu al-Mustaliq

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We have discussed the expulsion of the Banu Nadir.

Zayd ibn Thabit Learns Hebrew

Of the things that occurred around this time, if not slightly before, was the command of the Prophet PBUH to Zayd ibn Thabit (زيد بن ثابت) to learn the Hebrew language. The Prophet PBUH wanted someone trustworthy to know the language. So —Zayd said— he learned it in 15 days flat. Both reading and writing. The Prophet PBUH made a very wise decision in choosing the right person:

1. Zayd was very young, so he had a sharper mind. When the Prophet PBUH came to Madinah, he was around 11 years old, and the tribe of Zayd introduced Zayd to the Prophet PBUH, and told the Prophet PBUH he had already memorized many surahs of the Quran. As we know, Zayd ibn Thabit was one of the main huffaz (حفاظ - memorizers of the Quran), and later on, he became the primary compiler of the Quran — Allah chose him through Abu Bakr and Umar to be the main compiler. So we owe a lot to Zayd ibn Thabit — the structure of the Quran as we have it now, chapter numbers, it was all from Zayd.

2. Zayd grew up with his Jewish neighbors, so he already had some background in Hebrew. It's even said he attended their schools — so he knows some of the language already.

So the Prophet PBUH chose the perfect person. In 15 days, he masters the language. This shows us the eagerness of the sahaba and the genius of Zayd.

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The Prohibition of Alcohol

Some reports say when the Muslims camped outside the fortress of Banu Nadir, Allah revealed the final verse (phase #3) regarding alcohol.


Phase 1:

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ ۖ قُلْ فِيهِمَا إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ وَإِثْمُهُمَا أَكْبَرُ مِن نَّفْعِهِمَا ۗ وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ

"They ask you about gambling and drinking, tell them it has a lot of harm and some good; and the harm far outweighs the good" [see Quran, 2:219]. There is an indication being given that try to avoid alcohol — but there is no explicit prohibition at this phase. This came down before/after Badr [so 1 or 2 AH] — very early in the Madinah phase.

Phase 2:

Then right after Uhud [3 AH], an incident occurred where a drunk sahabi led the prayer and made some ridiculous mistakes. So Allah revealed Surah al-Nisa verse 43:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَارَىٰ

"Don't come close to the salah when you are drunk..." [see Quran, 4:43]. Thus drinking was basically prohibited throughout the day, and it was only allowed post-Isha until pre-Fajr.

Phase 3:

And then finally during the siege of Banu Nadir [4 AH], Allah revealed Surah al-Ma'idah verse 90:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنصَابُ وَالْأَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

"O believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idols, and drawing lots for decisions, are all evil of satan’s handiwork. So shun them so you may be successful" [Quran, 5:90]. Thus alcohol was made haram completely.

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Sabab al-Nuzul of the Verse "There Is No Compulsion in Religion"

We will narrate one final story related to the Banu Nadir, which was peculiarly interesting. The books of seerah gloss over this; it's found in some books of hadith. In Abu Dawud, it's said on the authority of Ibn Abbas that there was a custom in Jahiliyyah that the women who had lots of miscarriages used to say, "O Allah, if you bless me with a son, I'll make him into a Jew." Why? Because the Arabs of Yathrib felt the Jews were superior to them. And frankly, they were. Because the Yathribites were idol worshipers whereas the Jews were the People of the Book. In every single marker, the tribes of the Jews were at a higher level than the tribes of Yathrib: in civilization, education, wealth, religion, etc. So the women of Yathrib as a superstitious custom would say, "I would give my son as a Jew." So there was a group of such people who had been given over to the Banu Nadir. And these young men had grown up and been adopted by the Jewish tribes, and they were —for all practical purposes— considered Jews.

When the expulsion happened, some of the Ansar who had given their sons to the Jews in the days of Jahiliyyah said, "We will not allow our sons to be expelled!" And they wanted their sons to renounce Judaism and convert to Islam. Why? Because clearly, anyone who converts to Islam can stay, and doesn't need to be expelled. And as we mentioned in the last episode, some of them did convert to Islam and thus were allowed to remain with their possessions. But some of them didn't. So these parents wanted to force their adult children to accept Islam even though these children are fully Jewish and believe in their religion. At this, Allah revealed in the Quran the very famous verse:

لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ

"There is no compulsion in religion, for the Truth stands out clearly from falsehood" [Quran, 2:256].

Thus, this verse came down in the favor of the Jews. This is the sabab al-nuzul (سبب النزول - reason of revelation) of the verse. Allah says that Truth and falsehood are clear — so it's up to them to decide. It's their decision, as they are adults now. And once the child is an adult, he/she is completely independent. This shows us Islam does have freedom of religion.

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Freedom of Religion in Islam

Islam does have freedom of religion — but let's be very clear: it's not the way we understand it in the West as well. Yes, we can find a compatible happy means to live, but ideal Islam is not ideal Western civilization. There are many differences.

But Islam allowed a type of religious freedom that was unparalleled during its time when Catholics persecuted the Protestants —their own brethren in Christianity— and vice versa, for thousands of years. In fact, the endless civil wars of Christianity were what gave birth to modern secular values. Whereas Islam didn't have that issue. Our civilization is very different. And we didn't need the type of secularism that exists now. They needed it in order to survive, or else they were at each other's throats. And that's why throughout the 16th-17th century, Thomas Paine and others had to come forth and argue for a type of neutrality for all faiths — because they couldn't live with the notion that one faith is better than others. Whereas we Muslims believe our faith is true, "But hey, if you wanna follow your faith, that's your business. It's your business in this world and in the Next. We're not gonna say it's okay morally, but we'll say it's your business legally." Historically, we see this from the very beginning. The verse [2:256] in the Quran is explicit proof; it came down for the Ansar (Muslims) that they are not allowed to force their own sons back into Islam. And that is a very profound interpretation of freedom that never existed before that point in time.

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The Birth of Hasan ibn Ali RA

Another incident that happened at around this time was the birth of the first grandson of the Prophet PBUH, al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (الحسن بن علي بن أبي طالب) RA. Most authorities say Hasan was born in Sha'ban of the 5th year of the Hijrah, but some say no, it was Husayn (حسين) who was born in Sha'ban 5th year of the Hijrah, which means Hasan was born Ramadan 4th year of the Hijrah, and they deduce this from narrations that say: Between Hasan and Husayn was 10-11 months. So literally, as soon as Fatima RA finished her postpartum bleeding from giving birth to Hasan, she became pregnant with Husayn. When Hasan was born, the Prophet PBUH said to Ali RA, "Show me my son," and then he asked, "What did you name him?" Ali RA said, "Harb (حرب)" meaning "War." It's a common pre-Islamic name — but the Prophet PBUH said, "No, he is not War, rather, he is Beauty (i.e., Hasan)."

(Tangent: And we know from Bukhari's al-Adab al-Mufrad (الأدب المفرد) that the Prophet PBUH would change bad names to good names. It's his sunnah — he never liked bad names. Once, an old lady came to him and he asked, "What is your name?" And she gave a name that basically means ugly, so he said, "No, rather, you are Beautiful (i.e., Hasanah/حسانة)." Even though she was an elderly lady — you should not have a name that is derogatory. Also, any name that was vain, egotistical, or something that would bring about pride, the Prophet PBUH would change it to something that is neutral. This shows us that Islamic names are positive, but not arrogant/conceited. Ummi Salama had a daughter called Barrah (برة) which means "the righteous one — the female who is very pious" — and it's not good to have names that have this connotation of self-piety, so the Prophet PBUH changed her name to "Zaynab (زينب)." It has good meanings, but is not boastful.)

In Abu Dawud, it's narrated that the Prophet PBUH gave adhan in Hasan's right ear. (Note: Most of the ahadith about aqiqah involved Hasan. We learn them from the Prophet PBUH instructing Fatima and Ali what to do about Hasan.) He told Fatima RA, "Shave off his hair, and give the weight of his hair in silver in charity (i.e., give some trivial amount in charity)." And then Fatima RA said, "Should we perform an aqiqah for him?" He PBUH said, "No, I will do it"—the Prophet PBUH was so happy and proud. So he performed the aqiqah for Hasan, and he was the one who sacrificed the two sheep and made the invitation.

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Hadiths & Blessings of Hasan and Husayn RA

Hasan and Husayn both have incredibly high status in Islam, and our Prophet PBUH loved them immensely. There are so many ahadith about Hasan and Husayn. Of them:

1. Hasan is the one who crawled onto the Prophet's PBUH back when he was in sajdah, and the Prophet PBUH didn't get up — to allow the kid to play on his back.

2. Another time, when the Prophet PBUH was giving a khutbah, Hasan and Husayn came in from Fatima's house. They were wearing a long red thobe, and they tripped over the thobe and tripped over each other, so both of them fell in the masjid. The Prophet PBUH stopped the khutbah, rushed to pick them up, carried them both in each hand, and then said, "Verily, what Allah says is true, 'Your wealth and children are a test' [Quran, 64:15]," i.e., "These two sons of mine were tripping and I could not be patient enough to let them get to me, so I stopped the khutbah and came and picked them up."

3. And the famous hadith of Bukhari: The Prophet PBUH intentionally held Hasan throughout the khutbah, and he says during the khutbah, "This son of mine is a sayyid/سيد (one of respect/an undisputed leader), and a day will come when he shall cause reconciliation between two large groups of Muslims." And that is exactly what happened as we know. (By the way, notice the Prophet PBUH called both groups "Muslims." So the groups who say "one was Muslim the other was fasiq/kafir" have gone against what the Prophet PBUH said.) When Ali RA was assassinated by the proto-kharijites, the people of Madinah gave their bay'ah to Hasan RA, so Hasan became the 5th khalifa. And up north in Syria, Muawiyah was also given bay'ah by his people. So for six months, there was a type of stalemate, and there was talk of war. Muawiyah said when he heard there would be a major war, "If we fight them and they fight us, and we kill them and they kill us, who will be left of the Muslims? Go send a message to him (Hasan) and see if he is willing for any sulh (صلح - reconciliation)." (Muawiyah of course was not willing to give up his position. But still, we say radi-Allahu-anh.) People had been killed for the last 3 years, there was a major war going on, and people were willing to die again; so when the message of Muawiyah reached al-Hasan, al-Hasan gave a very emotional, powerful lecture in Madinah, as recorded in the books of history: "Do you really want to go on to the death and let Allah decide? Or for the sake of the ummah, let us give up the khilafa with some conditions." And his followers agreed to give up the khilafa. So after 6 months, Hasan basically abdicated and resigned — and this was in Rabi' al-Awwal of 41 AH. And thus, Muawiyah became the undisputed khalifa. (Trivia: A lot of Muslims don't know this, but we Sunnis believe [the correct position is that] there were 5 Rightly Guided Khalifas — and Hasan was the 5th of them even though he ruled only for 6 months. In Musnad Imam Ahmad, the Prophet PBUH said, "Khilafa will be amongst you for 30 years upon the methodology of the Prophet, then there shall be a righteous kingdom for as long as Allah wills, then that will be taken away, and then there shall be an unrighteous/tyrannical kingdom/rulership for as long as Allah wills, and then it will come back to khilafa upon the methodology of the Prophet," and then he PBUH was quiet. Notice the Prophet PBUH said, "For 30 years" — and subhan'Allah, this is accurate down to the very month: The Prophet PBUH passed away in Rabi' al-Awwal, and Hasan was abdicated in Rabi' al-Awwal 30 years after.)

4. The Prophet PBUH said, "Hasan and Husayn are the leaders of the young men of Jannah, and their father is better than them."

And we can go on and on — Hasan and Husayn, they deserve entire lectures by themselves.

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The Expedition of al-Muraysi'/Banu al-Mustaliq

The next major incident that occurred was the Expedition of al-Muraysi' (المريسيع)/Banu al-Mustaliq (بني المصطلق). Both names are given in the classical books. Al-Muraysi' was the location and Banu al-Mustaliq was the tribe. The Banu al-Mustaliq lived at a pond called Muraysi'. They lived next to this water pool between Makkah and Madinah — south of Madinah. They had one of the most prestigious idols of Arabia — Manat. (Note: Al-Lat, Uzza, and Manat are the three main idols in pre-Islamic Arabia, as mentioned in the Quran.) And the Banu al-Mustaliq had an alliance with Abdul Muttalib in the days of Jahiliyyah. So when the Quraysh attacked Madinah, the Banu al-Mustaliq sided with the Quraysh against the Muslims — they helped them in the Battle of Uhud against the Muslims. Additionally, their location was very useful for the Quraysh: It was a safety zone for the Quraysh — not too far away from Madinah; only a day or two's journey away.

After Muslims' 'defeat' at Uhud, the news came that the leader of Banu al-Mustaliq, al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar (الحارث بن أبي ضرار), wanted to launch a surprise attack on the Muslims. (Why? Because just like other small tribes, they were hurting economically from the tensions between the Muslims and the Quraysh.) When the Prophet PBUH heard of this, the first thing he did was confirm the rumor. How? He sent a sahabi by the name of Buraydah ibn al-Husayb (بريدة بن الحصيب). Buraydah pretended to be a Bedouin and said to al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar, "I have heard that you are launching an attack against the Muslims, I want to join so I can get a share of the booty" — this was a ruse. And Buraydah was a warrior, so al-Harith was happy and said, "Yes, it's true. And you can join us." Then during the night, Buraydah escaped and informed the Prophet PBUH of the news. And al-Harith had no clue what was happening, and therefore, when the Muslims launched an attack on the Banu al-Mustaliq, it was a complete surprise.

The Prophet PBUH immediately rallied together over 700 sahaba, and they launched a complete surprise attack — and it was a very easy victory. 30 of the sahaba were fully armed, with horses, weapons, etc., and it was a complete walkover victory. Because it was so easy, many munafiqs participated in this expedition. Why? Because there is no possibility that there will be a major battle — a complete surprise attack against one small tribe. Thus for *this* battle, the munafiqs volunteered, including Abdullah ibn Ubayy. Even though they were all absent from Badr and Uhud, they all came for this expedition. And actually, because they came along, a number of issues happened on the way back from the expedition — as we will discuss in the next episode.

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When Did the Expedition Take Place?

When did this occur? Ibn Ishaq, al-Tabari, and Ibn al-Athir say Sha'ban 6th year Hijrah. Others say 4th year. Ibn Sa'd, al-Zuhri, Ibn Hajar, and Ibn Kathir all say 5th year, the same month Hasan was born.

Ghazwa al-Muraysi' was important not because of the battle, but because of the incident of the Slander of Aisha RA — the Slander of Aisha RA occurred on the return from Muraysi'. So when did it happen? Huge controversy: There are classical scholars on each side. Ibn Ishaq says 6th year, but this is problematic because in the incident of the Slander, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh has a very important statement in it, and we know that he died right after the Battle of Khandaq [5 AH]. So most likely, Muraysi' occurred in 5th year. As for the opinion that says 4th year: Some of the earliest scholars counted the first year as being one year after the Hijrah took place (i.e., 1 AH for us is 0 AH to them; so their 1 AH is our 2 AH) — thus maybe those scholars who say it took place in the 4th year, they really mean 5th year. So the strongest position is in the 5th year — Sa'd ibn Mu'adh simply could not have been a part of Muraysi' if it took place in the 6th year. Thus we say Muraysi' and the incident of Aisha RA took place in the 5th year of the Hijrah. (But make a note because most of the seerah books followed Ibn Ishaq and say it occurred in the 6th year.)

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The Outcome of the Expedition

As we said, the battle was not important. The Prophet PBUH attacked them, most likely on Monday 2nd Sha'ban 5 AH. He left Madinah and surprise attacked them right after Fajr. They were so unprepared that the women were collecting the water, children going outside to play, etc. And when they saw the Muslims coming, they almost immediately surrendered. The bulk of the tribe, over 2,000 camels, 5,000 sheep, and 1,000 people were taken prisoner of war/captives. Most of them were women and children. Only a handful of the Banu al-Mustaliq died. As for the Muslims, there was not a single casualty except for one accidental misfiring. One of the Ansar mistaken a Muhajir, Hisham ibn Subaba (هشام بن صبابة), for an enemy and killed him.

Hisham had a brother in Makkah named Miqyas ibn Subaba (مقيس بن صبابة). When Miqyas heard his brother had been killed, he pretended to convert to Islam, went to Madinah, and demanded the blood money (100 camels). So the Prophet PBUH gave him the blood money as this was a shar'i matter. But then the same night, Miqyas killed the Ansari who had killed his brother, and then he took the camels and fled back to Makkah. (Footnote: This man, Miqyas, was one of the nine people whom the Prophet PBUH said during the Conquest of Makkah [later in 8 AH], "Catch them dead or alive; no mercy" — and indeed, this was deserved. What he did was the height of treachery and treason. Another side note: Out of the nine who were not given amnesty, five of them were actually forgiven — only three men [one of them Miqyas] and one woman were executed.)

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Three Incidents That Happened After the Expedition

It was a massive victory for the Muslims with very minimal effort and fighting. The story of Banu al-Mustaliq is not significant for the battle, but the events after. Three things happened:

1. The Slander of Aisha RA;

2. Marriage to Juwayriyya bint al-Harith (جويرية بنت الحارث) RA;

3. The revelation of Surah al-Munafiqun (سورة المنافقون).

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1. The Slander of Aisha RA

The first of them is the Slander of Aisha, which we will delay until the next class because that is going to take an entire lesson or a lesson and a half.

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2. Marriage to Juwayriyya bint al-Harith RA

The second of them is the addition of one more of the Mother of the Believers, and that is Juwayriyya bint al-Harith (جويرية بنت الحارث), the daughter of the chieftain of the Banu al-Mustaliq. In Ibn Ishaq, Aisha RA narrated: "Juwayriyya was captured and given to an Ansari named Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas (ثابت بن قيس بن شماس), and she agreed with Thabit to purchase her own freedom." A slave being able to purchase his/her freedom is something that is uniquely Islamic. The Quran says, "If any of those [bondspeople/slaves] in your possession desire a deed of emancipation [i.e., want to purchase their own freedom], make it possible for them if you find goodness in them" [Quran, 24:33]. Juwayriyya was the daughter of the chieftain and she didn't want to remain a slave, so immediately, she negotiated and arranged to free herself. Aisha RA says, "She was very sweet and very beautiful; and no one saw her except that he was captivated by her beauty." Juwayriyya came knocking on the door of the Prophet PBUH (Aisha's house), asking for monetary help to get her freedom. (Her father by the way was not taken prisoner. He and the other noblemen had fled.) Aisha RA says, "As soon as I saw Juwayriyya, I hated her, because I knew the Prophet PBUH would see in her what I was seeing." Juwayriyya introduced herself and said to the Prophet PBUH, "I am the daughter of the chieftain of my tribe. And you have seen what has happened to me; I have arranged to free myself from Thabit, so help me in this matter." The Prophet PBUH said, "What if I give you something better?" She said, "What?" He said, "I will free you myself and marry you"—and she agreed to this. And the Prophet PBUH made her mahr her freeing her. The mahr was the freeing.

Then the news spread among the Ansar that the Prophet PBUH had married Juwayriyya. So they said, "How can we have the in-laws of the Prophet PBUH as our slaves?" So one by one they began freeing every single captive, until all of them were freed, down to the last person. Then al-Harith came to Madinah to negotiate a ransom for his people (he didn't know all of what was going on), and he asked for his daughter back. The Prophet PBUH said, "It's her decision (it's up to her) — she can go back [with you] if she wants." (Note: From this, the fuqaha derive that the husband has the right to give the wife the right of divorce with a time period. E.g., If the situation is very tense but the husband does not want to divorce, he can tell the wife, "Look, you know, think about it; and if you really want it [want the divorce], then the decision is yours" — and he can say, "I give you an hour" or "a day" etc., — give a time period basically. So he's handed over the right of talaq to his wife. And this is in essence what the Prophet PBUH is giving to Juwayriyya.) But of course, just like Zayd ibn Harithah, Juwayriyya willingly chose the Prophet PBUH over her own father. So Juwayriyya remained with the Prophet PBUH. When al-Harith saw his own daughter willingly choose the Prophet PBUH over him, this affected him so much that he embraced Islam.

The Entire Tribe of al-Mustaliq Embraced Islam

When al-Harith embraced Islam, the whole tribe embraced Islam because he was the chieftain. So the Prophet PBUH made him the leader again, and gave him back all of the wealth, sheep, goats, and camels. So the entire tribe returned back to the status quo, except they are Muslims now. Can you believe the beauty of the story? And this shows us the real meaning of what is qital and jihad in the Way of Allah — it's not for ghanima, it's not for wealth, it's not for power. Nobody forced the Banu al-Mustaliq; they simply saw the beauty and reality of Islam and so they embraced it. And they were allowed to go back exactly as they were — with the added beauty of Islam. And Aisha RA comments, "I don't know of any lady who brought more blessings to her tribe than Juwayriyya." That her one decision to marry the Prophet PBUH changed everything.

The Prophet's PBUH marriage to Juwayriyya clearly shows us some of the primary wisdoms of the multiple marriages of the Prophet PBUH.

Virtues of Juwayriyya RA

Juwayriyya was known for her piety, fasting, and generosity.

Once, the Prophet PBUH visited her on Friday, and she was fasting. He asked her, "Did you fast the day before or intend to fast the day after?" She said, "No, I'm just fasting today on Friday" — and he gave her a shar'i ruling that, "In that case, do not choose only Friday as a day of fasting." (And as we know, we don't specialize Friday for fasting. If we want to fast on Friday, fast the day before or after as well — join it with something.)

Also, one time, the Prophet PBUH went to pray Fajr from Juwayriyya's house, and she was in her musalla (مصلى - praying space) area doing dhikr (ذكر - remembrance of Allah). He returned later on in the middle of the day and there she was sitting in the exact same place still doing dhikr. So he asked her, "Have you remained in the same place since Fajr?" She said, "Yes." Then the Prophet PBUH said, "Should I not tell you of a dhikr that if you do it, it will give you all of the reward you have done?" And he taught her a beautiful dhikr. The dhikr of 4, 5, 6 hours will be done in this simple phrase if you say it properly with Iman and ikhlas (إخلاص - sincerity):

سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ

عَدَدَ خَلْقِهِ

وَرِضَا نَفْسِهِ

وَزِنَةَ عَرْشِهِ

وَمِدَادَ كَلِمَاتِهِ

Glory and praise be to Allah

as much as the number of His creation

as much as pleases Him

as much as the weight of His Throne

and as much as the ink of His words

And Juwayriyya lived a relatively long life; she died at the age of around 65 in the 50th year of the Hijrah, the same year as Hasan RA.

Tangent: It Is Not Haram to Want to Marry a Woman for Her Beauty

Question: What if someone says, "What do you say about Juwayriyya's beauty and youth? Was this not something the Prophet PBUH was interested in?"

Answer: What is the problem with the Prophet PBUH being a normal man? Some [Muslim] groups say the Prophet PBUH did not have any such desires. But frankly, Aisha RA knows her husband better than we do. Some groups have this notion that the Prophet PBUH was somehow superhuman — that he never gets hungry, never gets tired, doesn't have any desire, etc., but this is not what the Quran says. The Quran says: "Say, [O Prophet,] 'I am only a man like you'" [Quran, 18:110]. He gets hungry, he gets tired, he bled in the Battle of Uhud, and yes, he has desires. And for us, the perfection of the Prophet PBUH is to make him a normal man who can control his desires — not to make him an angel. For us, this is the ultimate role model. And yes, he sees in Juwayriyya exactly what Aisha RA said he would see. There is nothing haram about being attracted to someone and wanting to marry. He simply proposed — it's an offer. And he gave the offer for her to leave him afterward as well. So this notion that the Prophet PBUH should not be a man, is completely wrong. And look at what happened — he married Juwayriyya and she saved her entire tribe. What is the haraj (حرج) in that? And Allah SWT has allowed for our Prophet PBUH what He has not allowed for others — and this is something that is well known in the Quran. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with saying what Aisha RA said. And also, adding to this, our Prophet PBUH was also thinking long term, "What if I marry the daughter of the chieftain?" And there's no doubt the Prophet PBUH saw good in the chieftain al-Harith and his tribe.

Tangent: Islamic Notion of 'Slavery'

The notions of Islamic 'slavery' are so different than black slavery that existed in America 200 years ago. It's an insult to call Islamic 'riq (رق)' slavery. (Note: There is no doubt that in the history of humanity, one of the worst manifestations of slavery was what took place in 17th-18th century America; far worse than ancient Greece, China, Arabia, etc.)

Islam came and brought forth a system that was unparalleled. When the world practiced a barbaric system of slavery, our shariah humanized it and gave it a perfect system, so much so that if the abd (عبد) demanded freedom (just like Juwayriyya), you have to give it to them. And the beauty of our system is that Islam does not need slavery, i.e., Islamic shariah is complete without the system of slavery. If slavery exists, our shariah tells us to treat abd humanely; but if it is abolished and gone, then the entire chapter of the laws of riq can be cut off and our shariah is still perfect without it. And as far as we know, no ulama in the world is calling for a return of slavery.

And what is the source of abid (عبيد) in Islam? Only one source: captives or prisoners of war who are not ransomed. Our Prophet PBUH said, "The worst of mankind is a person who caught a free man and sold him as a slave," and he PBUH said Allah's curse in on them and Allah will not look at them. (Thus what happened in the slave trade saga is clearly haram.) So there is only one source of abid in Islamic law, and that is, as we said, captives or prisoners of war who are not ransomed — because realistically speaking, what are you going to do with them? Are you going to kill them? Are you going to put them in prison? For how long? Who is going to feed them? So realistic solution: Islamic society absorbs them. And by absorbing them, each one is taken care of, is fed, is given shelter, and eventually, they all willingly embrace Islam and are freed. This is the reality. And historically speaking, many of these abid eventually founded their own dynasties. The most famous example is the Mamluks (مملوك). They were called Mamluks because they were slaves. (Tangent: And eventually, the Mamluks became the very last of the dynasties before colonialism — the very last of the Mamluks fought the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte. It's surreal.)

Islam encouraged the freeing of slaves — so many kaffarahs deal with freeing a slave, e.g., "If you break your oath, free a slave!" "If spouses had intercourse during the day in Ramadan, free a slave!"

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3. The Revelation of Surah al-Munafiqun

Will be discussed in the next episode, insha'Allahu ta'ala.

[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, March 2021]