Answering FaithFreedom.org

Accusation No.7

“A Lecher”

A “lecher” means a man with strong sexual desire (Source).

Hilariously enough, Aisha (R), the man who Ali Sina and his loonies say was “raped”, refutes this claim:

Sahih Al-Bukhari

Volume 1, Book 6, Number 299:

Narrated 'Abdur-Rahman bin Al-Aswad:

(on the authority of his father) 'Aisha said: "Whenever Allah's Apostle wanted to fondle anyone of us during her periods
(menses), he used to order her to put on an Izar and start fondling her." 'Aisha added, "None of you could control his sexual
desires as the Prophet could."

Sahih Muslim

Book 006, Number 2439:

'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) used to kiss (his wives) while fasting
and embraced (them) while fasting; but he had the greatest mastery over his desire among you.

Secondly, a man who didn’t have control over his desire (a man who was a lecher), would love to touch women wouldn’t he?
However, this wasn’t the case with the Holy Prophet (S):

Sahih Muslim

Book 20, Number 4602:

It has been narrated on the authority of 'A'isha, the wife of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him). She said: When the
believing women migrated (to Medina) and came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), they would be tested in
accordance with the following words of Allah. the Almighty and Exalted: "O Prophet, when believing women come to thee to
take the oath of fealty to thee that they will not associate in worship anything with God, that they will not steal. that, they will not
commit adultery. . ." to the end of the verse (lx. 62).
Whoso from the believing women accepted these conditions and agreed to abide by them were considered to have offered
themselves for swearing fealty. When they had (formally) declared their resolve to do so, the Messenger of Allah (may peace
he upon him) would say to them: You may go. I have confirmed your fealty. By God, the hand of the Messenger of Allah (may
peace be upon him) never touched the hand of a woman. He would take the oath of fealty from them by oral declaration. By
God, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) never took any vow from women except that which God had ordered
him to take, and his palm never touched the palm of a woman. When he had taken their vow, he would tell them that he had
taken the oath from them orally.

However, Ali Sina can argue now and say ‘Well, what about Zaynab Bint Jahsh?”. According to an unauthentic report, the Holy
Prophet (S) saw Zaynab Bint Jahsh changing her clothes, and he began to like her from there. Refuting this baseless story,
Abdul Hameed Siddiqui says:

" So far as the fanciful stories and calumnies of the Orientalists are concerned, we can only say that these are so absurd that
any one having even a grain of sense in him would unhesitatingly reject them as mere fabrications. William Muir and so may
others like him state that the Prophet, having seen Zaynab by change through a half-open door, was fascinated by her
beauty, and that Zayd having come to know of the leanings of his master, divorced her and then she was marred ti
Muhammad. There is absolutely no truth in these stories which have been fabricated in this connection."

(Source: The Life of Muhammad, by Abdul Hameed Siddique, Islamic Publications LTD, p. 214, bold and underlined emphasis
ours)

Sheikh Hammudah Abdallati says:

6. Some of the Prophet's marriages were for legislative reasons and to abolish certain corrupt traditions. Such was his
marriage to Zaynab, divorcee of the freed slave Zayd. Before Islam, the Arabs did not allow divorcees to remarry. Zayd was
adopted by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and called his son as was the custom among the Arabs before
Islam. But Islam abrogated this custom and disapproved of its practice. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon
him) was the first man to express this disapproval in a practical way. So he married the divorcee of his "adopted" son to show
that adoption does not really make the adopted child a real son of the adopting father and also to show that marriage is lawful
for divorcees. Incidentally, this very Zaynab was Muhammad's cousin, and had been offered to him in marriage before she
married Zayd. He refused her then, but after she was divorced he accepted her for the two legislative purposes: the lawful
marriage of divorcees and the real status of adopted children. The story of this Zaynab has been associated in some minds
with ridiculous fabrications regarding the moral integrity of Muhammad. These vicious fabrications are not even worth
considering here (see Qur'an, 33: 36, 37, 40).
(Source: Islam in Focus, p.177-179 by Hammudah Abdallati, bold and underlined emphasis ours)

Shabir Ally also writes:

Q. Is it true that the prophet (pbuh) had fallen in love with Zainab due to her beauty?

A. If that were true it would not detract from the veracity of the prophet. Muslims admit that he was a human being. It is not
unnatural for a man to fall in love. The fact that he is a prophet does not rob him of his natural human emotions. In fact it is
true that he loved his wives.

However, it is not true that he fell in love with Zainab in the way that is claimed by some critics. They say that once the prophet
visited Zaid, the husband of Zainab. Zaid was out at the time, and Zainab was combing her hair. The prophet was struck by
her beauty and immediately left saying something to the effect that God changes the hearts of people. When Zaid learnt about
this incident he offered the prophet that he would divorce Zainab in order that the prophet may marry her. Accordingly, he
divorced her and the prophet married her.

Several things point to the lack of truth in this story. First, it is unlikely that the prophet (pbuh) was suddenly struck by Zainab's
beauty. Zainab was his cousin. He had known her since childhood. Why would she suddenly appear striking after she was
already married to another?

Second, the prophet had arranged for her to get married to Zaid. If there was to be an attraction why did the prophet (pbuh)
not encourage her to marry none but himself?

Third, the fact of the matter was that Zaid's marriage proved to be an unhappy one. Zaid was a former slave and as such was
held in low esteem in the eyes of Zainab. He mentioned to the prophet that he intended to divorce his wife. But the prophet
advised him to keep his wife and avoid divorce.

In the meantime, Zaid intended to divorce his wife, Allah intended to marry her to the prophet. Eventually Zaid could maintain
his marriage no longer. He divorced Zainab and Allah declared in his Glorious Book that he has wedded her to the prophet
after the proper waiting period was over.

This marriage served more than one purpose. First, the prophet was responsible for arranging Zainab's marriage to Zaid. In a
sense, then, he was also indirectly responsible for the unhappiness she felt in her marriage. Her marriage to the prophet now
provided her the honour she felt she deserved, and exonerated the prophet.

Second, Zaid had been adopted as the prophet's son. Eventually, however, the Qur'an prohibited the practice of changing the
parental identity of adopted persons. Zaid, then, was to no longer be called "son of Muhammad" but rather "a close friend."
The prophet's marriage to the divorced wife of Zaid was a practical demonstration that the adopted relationship was not equal
to a real blood-relationship. A man cannot marry the divorced wife of his real son but he can marry the divorced wife of his
adopted son.

The abolishment of the age-old practice was a positive improvement for the adopted persons. People outside of Islam still
continue this practice for their own benefit. They adopt children and rob them of their real identify, making them believe they
are real children of the household in which they grow up. When such children realize the truth they suffer much
disappointment and grief. The adoptive process continues for the selfish gain of the adoptive parents.

But is it not true that children sometimes need adoptive parents? Yes. But they also need to preserve their real identify. This is
what Islam ensures. It is the responsibility of the entire community to help children in need. They should be taken in and
nurtured but not confused with one's own children.

The prophet's marriage to Zainab was a bold measure to forever engrave in the minds of his followers that as much as people
would resist change, some changes are worth the effort. Adoptive children should no longer be robbed of their real identities.

The Scholars of IslamToday.Com write:

Question: Al-Salâm `Alaykum. Some non-Muslims informed me of the story of Zaynab bint Jahsh and the verses of the Qur'ân
which were revealed in this context. They said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw her once unveiled or something and
it affected his heart and he said "Glory be to the one who moves our hearts!" Not long after the verses were revealed he was
"convieniently" instructed by the Qur'ân to marry Zaynab, who had previously been the wife of his adopted son. Please explain
this matter to me in detail.

Answered by the Fatwa Department Research Committee - chaired by Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî
As we shall see, the story of Zaynab is actually a good piece of evidence for the genuineness of the Prophet (peace be upon
him), not for his insincerity like Orientalists and some Christian missionaries like to claim.

Zaynab bint Jahsh married the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in 5 AH, when she was thirty-five years old, but only
after her previous marriage, which had been arranged by none other than the Prophet (peace be upon him), had ended in
divorce. Zaynab bint Jahsh was the cousin of the Prophet (peace be upon him). She came from one of the noblest families of
Quraysh and was expected to marry a man with the same high social status.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) knew that piety and not social status was the primary consideration in marriage. He wanted
her to marry Zayd ibn Hârith, a former slave of Khadîjah who the Prophet (peace be upon him) had freed and adopted as a
son at the age of eight.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had watched both Zayd and Zaynab grow up, and thought they would make a good
couple and that their marriage would demonstrate that it was not who their ancestors were, but rather their religiousness that
mattered. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked for her hand on behalf of Zayd, Zaynab’s
family were shocked at the idea of her marrying a freed slave. Moreover, Zaynab had wanted to marry the Prophet (peace be
upon him) and in fact her family had already offered to marry her to him.

At first Zaynab refused. Zayd also had reservations about the idea. However, when both he and Zaynab realized that there
was no difference between what the Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted and what Allah wanted, they both agreed to the
marriage. The Prophet provided a dowry for Zaynab on Zayd’s behalf, consisting of ten dinars, sixty dirhams, a veil, a cloak, a
shirt, and a considerable amount of food and dates.

The marriage, alas, was not a success. Zaynab and Zayd proved to be incompatible for each other. After about a year,
problems arose between them and Zayd complained about her to the Prophet (peace be upon him), who told him to stay with
his wife and fear Allah.

Zayd asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) for permission to divorce Zaynab on more than one occasion, and although the
Prophet (peace be upon him) advised Zayd not to divorce her, the divorce ultimately took place. The Prophet (peace be upon
him) was then ordered by Allah to marry Zaynab, which he did in 5 AH.

The custom among the pagan Arabs was that an adopted son was like a person’s real son. He carried his adopted father’s
name and inherited from him. Islam overturned that custom. Islam, we must understand, came to safeguard lineage. A man
may adopt a child and take care of him, but that child cannot assume the lineage of his adopted father. He must retain his own
family name.

Allah says: “Nor has He made your adopted sons your sons. Such is only your (manner of) speech by your mouths. But Allah
tells you the Truth, and He shows the right way that is correct. Call them by the names of their fathers: that is more just with
Allah. But if ye know not their father’s names, (then they are) your brothers in faith, or your wards.” [Sûrah al-Ahzâb: 4-5]

By marrying Zaynab, the Prophet (peace be upon him) demonstrated in the clearest possible way that in Islam an adopted son
is not the same as a natural son and that the guardian of an adopted son is permitted to marry a woman who was once
married to that adopted son.

As for the verse itself, Allah says: “And (remember) when you said to him on whom Allah has bestowed grace and you have
done a favor: ‘Keep your wife to yourself, and have fear of Allah.’ But you did hide in yourself that which Allah will make
manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him. So, when Zayd had completed his
aim with her, We gave her to you in marriage, so that there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of the wives of their
adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them. And Allah's command must be fulfilled.” [Sûrah al-Ahzâb: 37]

Ibn Jarîr narrated that `Â’ishah said: “If Muhammad were to have concealed anything that was revealed to him of the Book of
Allah, he would have concealed the verse: ‘But you did hide in yourself that which Allah will make manifest, you did fear the
people whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him’.”

Allah had already revealed to him that Zaynab bint Jahsh was going to be one of his wives. The Prophet (peace be upon him)
did not speak about this matter. Then Allah revealed this verse.

This verse is clearly not the statement of a false Prophet making up verses trying to justify his desires. If the
Prophet (peace be upon him) had ulterior motives, he could have gone about the matter in a much more subtle way and
gotten what he wanted. Instead, he was put on the spot to do something he otherwise would not have wanted to do. The last
way we would describe the situation of the Prophet (peace be upon him) here is to call it “convenient”.

This, however, was from Allah’s wisdom. If the Prophet (peace be upon him) had only said to the people that since adopted
sons are not true sons, therefore men may marry the ex-wives of their adopted sons, it would not have had the same effect.
Cultural practices and taboos are quite strong. For instance, as Muslims we all know that race and ethnicity are not important.
However, we can see the problems that almost invariably arise when a Muslim girl wants to marry a Muslim boy from a different
ethnic background. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was commanded to marry her by way of example.

In the very next verse, Allah continues: “There can be no difficulty upon the Prophet in what Allah has obliged him to do. That
was Allah's way with respect to those who have gone before. And the command of Allah is a decree determined.” [Sûrah al-
Ahzâb: 38]

You mention the story that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw Zaynab not fully dressed and became full of desire for her
and said something indicating his desire to marry her. Then when Zayd divorced her, the verse was revealed “…you did hide
in yourself that which Allah will make manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear
Him…” According to the story, the thing that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was concealing in his heart was his desire to
marry Zaynab.

This story is a favorite of the Orientalists and is patently false. Please understand that many people concocted
false stories and false hadîth for various reasons. That is the reason why the science of hadîth came about.
Hadîth are graded as authentic (sahîh), good (hasan), weak (da`îf), rejected (munkar), and fabricated (mawdû`).
This grading is not arbitrary and not according to anyone’s desires. A hadîth is graded based on a study of the
chain of transmission by way of which it reached us. If a chain of transmission has gaps in it or contradictions or
contains people who were known liars, then the hadîth is not acceptable.

This story is baseless. It does not come to us with any chain of transmission worth mentioning. If we wish to believe this story,
we might as well believe anything that people tell us.

This story is found in some books like al-Tabarî’s Tafsîr, but he relates it without any chain of transmission and starts by
saying: “It was said that…”

For this reason, Ibn Kathîr does not mention it at all in his commentary of the Qur’ân. In his monumental work on history, al-
Bidâyah wa al-Nihâyah, Ibn Kathîr discusses the marriage of Zaynab bint Jahsh and mentions that there were some strange
stories circulated by the early scholars, but many of them were dubious and should be abandoned.

Of course, Orientalists and other enemies of Islam gleefully reproduce this story so they can have some dirt to throw on the
Prophet (peace be upon him). They fail to mention that the story is baseless and has no claim to authenticity. They
just pass it on as fact.

And lastly, Allama Shibli Nu’Mani writes:

" Tabari has it that once the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) visited the house of Zaid. Zaid was not at
home, and Zainab was dressing herself. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw her doing that, and
turned back saying : " Glory to Allah, Most High and glory to him who turns the hearts". Zaid came to know of it. He came to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, " I may divorce Zainab if you have come to like her."

I have quoted that dirty narration with a pricking of conscience. But to report a blasphemy is not to commit a blasphemy. This
is the single report that forms the mainstay of authority for the Christain historians. But the poor fellows do not know what
value this narration holds when critically viewed in the light of the principles set by the traditionalists. Tabari, the historian
has taken this story from Waqidi, the well-known liar and fabricator. He coined such fictions to provide some sort of
sanction for the licentiousness of the 'Abbasid caliphs."

(Source: Sirat-Un-Nabi, by Allama Shibli Nu'Mani, rendered into English by M. Tayyib Bahksh Budayuni, Kazi Publications
Lahore, Vol. II, p. 128-129, bold and underlined emphasis ours)

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