Tell me about Islam
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Muslima
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| Thanks for the chuckle, lol ! The craziness that some people believe, smh |
What's it like being Muslim? Well, it's hard to find a decent halal pizza place and occasionally there is a hashtag calling for your genocide...
Anonymous
Are you Muslim? Your information is incorrect. If you doubt my information, I encourage you to sit down with an Imam and ask him your questions. Its terribly irresponsible of you to keep publishing false information about our beloved Prophet. Read books written by Karen Armstrong, an author who wrote correctly about Islam even though she herself never converted to Islam. I don't know if your purpose is to exploit information or if you are simply misinformed. Aisha was engaged earlier but the marriage was not consummated until age 14. Engagements at this age was perfectly normal in 600 AD. If people can accept and even deem holy an out of wedlock birth, which in Mary's time was disgraceful and quite scandalous, surely they can accept that girls in 600 AD were married at age 14. |
Anonymous
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And I will add, I make no apologies for Muhammad. If you study his life (read Karen Armstrong's books), you will have profound respect for the way he lived his life. His first wife was 40 yrs old. He wanted to show his community that it was permissible and encouraged to marry widows. Many in his time would not. His youngest wife was 14 and that was Aisha. Aisha's father was the one who approached Muhammad to ask that he marry her. Aisha herself wrote of her love and admiration for Muhammad.
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Anonymous
The women and girls are not being abducted and sold as sex slaves? Why is that funny? |
Muslima
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Ok, for some perspective, the minimum age for marriage in the US-State of Delaware in year 1880 was 7 and 10 in most of the other states.
Now, authentic Hadith reports do show us that the prophet Muhammad saw did marry Aisha at the age of 6, but they also show the consummation of the marriage was completed when she was 9 years old. As a Muslim, I have no shame in sharing this. The West says, he married a child, don't they? And some Muslims when they are told this get embarrassed, their faces become red, and they don't know how to answer, they start stuttering. Did you know that American reformers were shocked to discover that the laws of most states set the age of consent at the age of ten or twelve, and in Delaware, the age of consent was only seven? Now during the Prophet saw's time it was a NORM to be married at a young age. This is why the people of Quraish and other Arabian tribes at Prophet's time found absolutely no fault in their marriage. They detested Islam, they did everything to belittle the Prophet, tried to prevent Islam from spreading and even attempted to kill the Prophet saw ! However, they raised no objection to the marriage of the Prophet saw to Aisha since at those times such a thing was not considered 'immoral'. It ought also be noted that Aisha was engaged to Jubayr before Prophet Muhammed saw. This indicates the age of marriage and engagement in Prophet' saw's time. However, the engagement was later nullified by Jubayr's parents due to Abu Bakr (Aisha's dad) embracing Islam.Thus the history demonstrates that the age of the marriage was lower and relative to olden times, the marriage of the Prophet was not abnormal and there was nothing immoral about it. It was a norm at biblical times to be wedded at puberty or earlier, the age of consent one century ago in a 'modern country' was as low as 10 or 12, even 7 in Delaware! Even in our times, in certain societies, the age of consent is as low as 12 or 13. In the light of historical evidences, the marriage cannot be criticized. ALSO it is important to know: Aisha's parents were the ones who married her to our Prophet saw , and that no Muslim or even pagan objected to the marriage because it was widely practiced. It is important to know that girls during the Biblical and Islamic days used to be married off at young ages when they either had their first periods, or their breasts start showing off. In other words, when they turn into "women", then they get married off. Prophet Muhammad's saw marriage with Aisha was 100% legal and acceptable by all laws and Divine Religions!So to call Prophet Muhammad saw a pedophile for marrying a girl that was OFFERED TO HIM by her parents and was accepted by all of the people back then including the enemies of Islam, the pagans, is quite absurd. A lot of the things we do today are not right in the eyes of many. Our "standards" today mean nothing to what took place 1400 years ago. Today, anyone under 18 years old is considered a "child", a baby still under his mommy's and daddy's care. Back then on the other hand, people who reached the age of 18 were considered wise and very mature.
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What's it like being Muslim? Well, it's hard to find a decent halal pizza place and occasionally there is a hashtag calling for your genocide...
Anonymous
Ahh, so we are past the first muslim defense that she really wasn't that old. sorry, that it historical fact. Now to the second muslim defense, that everyone did it. SECOND MUSLIM DEFENSE: Morality is relative to one’s culture. Another method of defending Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha is the Muslim appeal to moral relativism. According to this view, since different cultures have different standards of morality, it is wrong to criticize the standards of others based on one’s own ethical system. Consider the following responses by Maqsood Jafri and Abdur Rahman Squires: The Arabs practiced polygamy. In the wake of custom the Prophet Muhammad married some ladies. Hazrat Khadijah was fifteen years older [than] him at the time of marriage. Most of them were his age sake. In his fifties he married Hazrat Aiysha, the daughter of Hazrat Abu Bakr when she was just bloomed to youth. Hinting this marriage some of the orientalists charge Prophet Muhammad as a "pedophile". It was not only the Prophet Muhammad who had married a young girl [but] even the father of Hazrat Aiysha, Hazrat Abu Bakr had also married a young girl in his sixties. It was . . . part of the prevalent Arab culture and custom. Hence not to be taken seriously.[15] The large majority of Islamic jurists say that the earliest time which a marriage can be consummated is at the onset of sexual maturity (bulugh), meaning puberty. Since this was the norm of all Semitic cultures and it still is the norm of many cultures today—it is certainly not something that Islam invented.[16] Thus, since the practice of marrying young girls was "part of the prevalent Arab culture and custom," it is "not to be taken seriously" as a criticism of Islam. RESPONSE: Islam is utterly inconsistent with moral relativism. This defense is truly amazing, for, when defending Muhammad’s moral perfection, Muslims often maintain that Muhammad condemned the Arab culture for the prevalent immorality: After spending his life in such chaste, pure and civilized manner, there comes a revolution in [Muhammad’s] being. He wearies of the darkness and ignorance, corruption, immorality, idolatry, and disorder which surround him on all sides. . . . He wants to get hold of that power with which he might bring about the downfall of the corrupt and disorderly world and lay the foundations of a new and better one. . . . He wanted to change the whole structure of society which had been handed down to them from time immemorial.[17] Muslims are quick to point out immorality around the world, especially in the West. It seems, then, that they are suggesting a very inconsistent message. When confronted with an immoral practice in another culture, Muslims cry out in one accord, "We condemn these practices, for they are against the eternal, perfect, and unalterable Law of God!" Yet, whenever the moral character of Muhammad is being scrutinized, Muslims suddenly say, "Don’t judge Muhammad! You should remember that he was from a different culture! Marrying young girls was common in Arabia, and it still is, thanks to Muhammad’s precedent. Different people have different moral standards, so no one should worry about Muhammad’s sexual relationship with a nine-year-old girl." This convenient switch from moral absolutism to moral relativism is logically unacceptable. If it is wrong to judge the practices of another culture, then both Muhammad and the Qur’an were wrong for condemning immoral practices in Arabia. But if condemning immoral practices is acceptable, then Muslim apologists need a better response to criticisms of Muhammad’s relationship with Aisha. |
Anonymous
Notice that anon hasn’t offered a single quotation from any Muslim source claiming that Aisha was a teenager when Muhammad first had sex with her. Why not? Because there are no such sources. The problem with anon's selective and carefully edited defense (other than the complete lack of references) is that it ignores the numerous accounts we possess which record Aisha’s age when her marriage was consummated. Many of these accounts are from Aisha herself. Indeed, the evidence for Muhammad’s marriage to the young Aisha is as strong as the evidence for just about any other fact in Islam. We have copious traditions from Islam’s most trusted historical sources reporting Muhammad’s marriage proposal when Aisha was six or seven years old, as well as his consummation of that marriage when she was nine: Sahih al-Bukhari 3896—Narrated Hisham’s father: Khadija died three years before the Prophet departed to Al-Madina. He stayed there for two years or so and then he wrote the marriage (wedding) contract with Aishah when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consummated that marriage when she was nine years old. Sahih al-Bukhari 5158—Narrated Urwa: The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death). Sahih Muslim 3310—Aisha reported: Allah’s Apostle married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old. Sahih Muslim 3311—Aisha reported that Allah’s Apostle married her when she was seven years old, and she was taken to his house as a bride when she was nine, and her dolls were with her; and when he (the Holy Prophet) died she was eighteen years old. Sunan Abu Dawud 2116—Aishah said: The Apostle of Allah married me when I was seven years old. (The narrator Sulaiman said: Or six years.) He had intercourse with me when I was nine years old. This is just a sample of the early Muslim traditions reporting Muhammad’s marriage to the young Aisha, but it is sufficient to show that she certainly wasn’t fifteen years old at the time of the consummation, as some Muslims claim. (For a fuller treatment of the early evidence regarding Muhammad’s marriage to the young Aisha, click here.) In addition to traditions concerning Aisha’s age, various ahadith also provide details about how the relationship began and progressed: Sahih al-Bukhari 3895—Narrated Aishah that the Prophet said to her, “You have been shown to me twice in my dream. I saw you pictured on a piece of silk and someone said (to me), ‘This is your wife.’ When I uncovered the picture, I saw that it was yours. I said, ‘If this is from Allah it will be accomplished.’” After having this dream about Aisha (who couldn’t have been more than six years old at the time), Muhammad proceeded to ask her father Abu Bakr for her hand in marriage. Abu Bakr understandably objected at first, but Muhammad was able to persuade him to consent. Sahih al-Bukhari 5081—Narrated Urwa: The Prophet asked Abu Bakr for Aishah’s hand in marriage. Abu Bakr said, “But I am your brother.” The Prophet said, “You are my brother in Allah’s religion and His Book, but she (Aishah) is lawful for me to marry.” The marriage contract was subsequently written. However, Aisha became extremely ill, so she wasn’t taken to his house for consummation until three years later: Sahih al-Bukhari 3894—Narrated Aishah: My marriage (wedding) contract with the Prophet was written when I was a girl of six (years). We came to Al-Madina and we dismounted at the place of Bani Al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on, my hair grew (again) and my mother, Umm Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became normal, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, “Best wishes and Allah’s Blessing and good luck.” Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah’s Messenger came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age. Once Aisha was a part of Muhammad’s household, she became his favorite wife, even after he had married several other women. Indeed, Muhammad’s other wives had to plead with him for equal treatment (to no avail): Sahih al-Bukhari 2581—Narrated Urwa that Aishah said: “The wives of Allah’s Messenger were in two groups.” Urwa added: One group consisted of Aishah, Hafsa, Safiyya and Sauda; and the other group consisted of Umm Salama and the other wives of Allah’s Messenger. The Muslims knew that Allah’s Messenger loved Aishah, so if any of them had a gift and wished to give to Allah’s Messenger, he would delay it till Allah’s Messenger had come to Aishah’s home and then he would send his gift to Allah’s Messenger in her home. The group of Umm Salama discussed the matter together and decided that Umm Salama should request Allah’s Messenger to tell the people to send their gifts to him in whatever wife’s house he was. Umm Salama told Allah’s Messenger of what they had said, but he did not reply. Then they (those wives) asked Umm Salama about it. She said, “He did not say anything to me.” They asked her to talk to him again. She talked to him again when she met him on her day, but he gave no reply. When they asked her, she replied that he had given no reply. They said to her, “Talk to him till he gives you a reply.” When it was her turn, she talked to him again. He then said to her, “Do not hurt me regarding Aishah, as the Divine Revelations do not come to me on any of the beds except that of Aishah.” Thus, Aisha held a place of special favor among Muhammad’s wives, which caused a great deal of tension among the women. Since it may be taken as historically certain that Aisha was very young when her marriage to Muhammad was consummated, critics sometimes charge that Muhammad’s preference for Aisha reveals his preference for young girls. We find some amount of support for this view in Sahih al-Bukhari: Sahih al-Bukhari 2967—Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah: . . . When I took the permission of Allah’s Messenger, he asked me whether I had married a virgin or a matron and I replied that I had married a matron. He said, “Why hadn’t you married a virgin who would have played with you, and you would have played with her?” I replied, “O Allah’s Messenger! My father died (or was martyred) and I have some young sisters, so I felt it not proper that I should marry a young girl like them who would neither teach them manners nor serve them.” Sahih al-Bukhari 6130—Narrated Aishah: I used to play with the dolls in the presence of the Prophet, and my girl friends also used to play with me. When Allah’s Messenger used to enter (my dwelling place), they used to hide themselves, but the Prophet would call them to join and play with me. (The playing with the dolls and similar images is forbidden, but it was allowed for Aishah at that time, as she was a little girl, not yet reached the age of puberty.) Nevertheless, it must be noted that, if Muhammad had truly been obsessed with young girls, he could have taken many others as his wives. Muhammad eventually held complete power in Medina and later in Mecca, yet he didn’t build himself a harem of young girls. Since there isn’t enough evidence to support the charge that Muhammad had a perverted obsession with prepubescent girls, critics should be careful when making such a claim. To sum up, the evidence makes it abundantly clear (1) that Muhammad had sexual intercourse with Aisha when she was very young, (2) that this relationship was pursued by Muhammad after he had dreamed about her, and (3) that she was his favorite wife. With so much historical data concerning the age of Aisha, it should be obvious that Muslims who deny her young age do so out of embarrassment |
Anonymous
His first wife was an extremely wealthy widow and Mohammed's status increased commensurately when he married her. His youngest wife was engaged to him at age nine and the marriage took place a few years later - many think when she was 12 (menstruating) and 14 is an outside estimate. This is an example of why "sitting down with an imam" is not going to provide an unbiased perspective. Instead you will get selective spin. |
Anonymous
PS. I'm not the previous poster. But the facts that I've cited are well known, they are consistent with the previous poster's facts, and they have been accepted history in the Muslim world for centuries. |
Anonymous
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I think everybody should have to read the Quran (and the New Testament and key parts of the Old Testament). It's a very difficult task, though, because context is indeed vital, and this history is critical for interpreting various revelations in the Quran. Many Quranic revelations occurred as a result of different events in the life of Mohammed and the growing Muslim community. Within Mohammed's own lifetime, Islam went from being the religion of a small group of his followers to a religion that conquered other cities and towns. This is reflected in the changing nature of the revelations. Islam gradually became more confident about challenging internal dissent and outsiders, and the later revelations are very different from the early revelations. Changes in Mohammed's own life were also accompanied by revelations (for example his first wife died and he subsequently took on additional wives, eventually going beyond the 4 wives allowed other Muslim men--historians often argue that these additional marriages were to build alliances). Thus, it's possible to pull from different parts of the Quran to support very, very different interpretations of issues. However, I think asking an Imam is going to result in interpretations that are just as biased as Muslima's posts here. Similarly, "Sheikh Wikipedia" will often lead you to the rabid anti-Muslim posters. There are some thoughtful exegesis via Google and books, but it would take a whole lot of work, and a whole lot of reading, to sort the wheat from the chaff. It's not for the faint of heart! |
Anonymous
I think you may be mistaken about this, Sister. The hadith are not always reliable. Check out www.supremeislamiccouncil.com |
Muslima
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Those who listen to the Word and follow the best meaning in it; those are the ones whom God has guided, and those are the ones endued with understanding. (Qur’an 39:18) The Qur'an was revealed 1400+ years ago, into an oral society, in the middle of the desert; for some, on the other side of the world, that's a long distance, physically and culturally. Civilization as we knew it changed dramatically in that timespan. Not to mention the language barrier, both for non-Arabs and (to a lesser extent) Arabs ; the Qur'an is in fusha, classical Arabic. Given the cultural, geological, and socio-political changes, one would conclude that the people who were there when the Qur'an was revealed* would be the best interpreters. They understand the context, the culture, the language, all of it. Aisha (radiallahu anhaa) said essentially this when asked about the prophet Muhammad saw. She said: "His personality was the Qur'an." That is: he was a walking, talking, living, breathing embodiment of the Qur'an. He understood it, lived it, and implemented it , all of it, without exception, as it was revealed to him and preserved throughout time. if you want to understand who is the best to interpret the Qur'an and sunnah, and Islam in general, the answer is the ones who are most knowledgable and closest to it. Rasulullah died. He's gone. But he did one very important thing before he died: he taught the Qur'an to his companions, both in letter and in interpretation. They, too, died; but they passed this on to the tabi'een, who passed it on, down through the chain of scholarship throughout time until today. For us, today, scholars are the ones who are the best fit to understand the Qur'an. Many of them spent decades of their lives studying Arabic, studying the life of rasulullah, the biographies of companions and scholars, and the various sciences (more than a dozen!) of the Qur'an in an attempt to give us, to the best of their ability, the real, true interpretion of Islam. Yes, difference of opinion exists. It existed in the time of rasulullah (he clarified it), and it existed after him; that doesn't take away from what Islam is. This is why I said ask for the Imam's credentials, any learned Imam who understands the science of the Quran can give you a clear concise explanation of a Quranic verse you have questions about, it is not that complicated! |
Anonymous
If anyone does not wish to trust the word of one imam, then they should a few different imams. One great scholar that makes himself very accessible is Ahmad Sakr in CA. Imam Mohammad Joban works in Redmond, WA and he graduated from Al Azhar University. It is possible to call reputable Imams and get a general consensus on major issues. |
Anonymous
You need to read the Bible the way it was meant to be read and not the way your fundie Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher taught you. When Jesus said "I am the way", most scholars believe he meant my way is the way. In other words, love God and love each other. Period. End of discussions. Most Christians (certainly not all) add a bunch of bullshit to His words- "Love everyone-as long as they are Christians" "Love everyone-unless they are gay" "Love everyone-but it's ok to kill some people" "Love everyone-but not people who have abortions" On and on and on.... That is NOT what Jesus taught. He said "Love God" and "Love each other". No qualifiers. He was a perfect example of all that we should be working towards- loving, compassionate, and forgiving. When he said "I am the way, the truth, the light no one comes to the Father except by me" He meant that you will never be a part of that collective consciousness of love, of good, unless you learn to be like me. His death viewed correctly was the ultimate example of love. |
Muslima
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I know that some Muslims do say that Aisha was older and there is a difference of opinion about this Allahu Ahlam! I go by the Bukhari hadith where she states that the marriage was consummated when she was 9 years old. Subhanallah, as Muslims we have nothing to be ashamed of, whether Aisha R.A was 9 years old, 14, or 16 shouldn't make a difference to us. In seventh-century Arabia, adulthood was defined as the onset of puberty. (This much is true, and was also the case in Europe). What's more, Aisha r.A had already been engaged to someone else before she married our Rassul saw suggesting she had already been mature enough by the standards of her society to consider marriage for a while. A stateswoman, scholar, mufti, and judge, Aisha combined spirituality, activism and knowledge and remains a role model for many Muslim women today. The gulf between her true legacy and her depiction in Islamophobic materials is not merely historically inaccurate, it is an insult to the memory of a pioneering woman. |