The story of Hafsa and Maria in Surat at-Tahreem
The Sources for the whole story is found in Al-Tabari Volume 9, Pages 137-141, Al-Tabari Volume 39, pages 193-195, Ibn Sad Volume 8, pages 148-151, Al Tabari Volume 39, page 165, Ibn Sad Volume 8, page 106, 154.
One of Answering Islams vile, perverted and unprofessional authors Silas writes:
Here is the reference. NOTE: Words in [ ] type brackets are mine In the "Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir", mention is made of Mariyah. On page 151, it says "He [the Lord of Alexandria] presented to the prophet Mariyah, her sister Sirin, a donkey and a mule which was white....The apostle of Allah liked Mariyah who was of white complexion and curly hair and pretty.... Then he cohabited with Mariyah as a handmaid and sent her to his property which he had acquired from Banu al-Nadir." The note for the word "handmaid" says "Handmaids gained the status of wedded wives if they bore children. They were called "umm walad" and became free.
This story is also supported by Tabari's History, volume 39, page 194. Here is the quote: (my words are in ( ) parenthesis). "He (Muhammad) used to visit her (Mariyam) there and ordered her to veil herself, [but] he had intercourse with her by virtue of her being his property." The note (845) on this says, "That is, Mariyah was ordered to veil herself as did the Prophet's wives, but he did not marry her."
All these sources are weak, Muslim scholars don't accept them. As for the tafsirs, most of the time they don't have isnads as Ibn Taymiyyah said:
One of Answering Islams vile, perverted and unprofessional authors Silas writes:
Here is the reference. NOTE: Words in [ ] type brackets are mine In the "Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir", mention is made of Mariyah. On page 151, it says "He [the Lord of Alexandria] presented to the prophet Mariyah, her sister Sirin, a donkey and a mule which was white....The apostle of Allah liked Mariyah who was of white complexion and curly hair and pretty.... Then he cohabited with Mariyah as a handmaid and sent her to his property which he had acquired from Banu al-Nadir." The note for the word "handmaid" says "Handmaids gained the status of wedded wives if they bore children. They were called "umm walad" and became free.
This story is also supported by Tabari's History, volume 39, page 194. Here is the quote: (my words are in ( ) parenthesis). "He (Muhammad) used to visit her (Mariyam) there and ordered her to veil herself, [but] he had intercourse with her by virtue of her being his property." The note (845) on this says, "That is, Mariyah was ordered to veil herself as did the Prophet's wives, but he did not marry her."
All these sources are weak, Muslim scholars don't accept them. As for the tafsirs, most of the time they don't have isnads as Ibn Taymiyyah said:
Shaykh ibn Taymiyyah said:
Allah has provided evidence (i.e. Isnad) establishing the authenticity or lack thereof of the narrations that are necessary in matters of the religion. It is well known that most of what was reported in aspects of Tafsir (commentaries on the Qur'an) is similar to narrations reporting Maghazi (or Seerah) and battles, promoting Imam Ahmad to state that three matters do not have Isnad: Tafsir, Mala'him (i.e. great battles), and Maghazi. This is because most of their narrations are of the Maraseel (plural for Mursal) type, such as narrations reported by Urwah Ibn az-Zubair, ash-Sha'bi, az-Zuhri, Musa Ibn Uqbah and Ibn Ishaq." (Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu' Al Fataawa, Volume, 13, page 345)
In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
The opening verses of Sūrat al-Taḥrīm describe an incident in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited himself from something in order to please his wives. The classical commentators provide two opinions: one is strong and authentic, and the other is weaker and provokes controversy.
It has been authentically narrated on the authority of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet prohibited himself from drinking honey to please his wives. Aisha and Hafsa were upset that the Prophet was spending more time with his wife Zainab on account of a honey drink she would serve him, so they secretly agreed to pretend to be offended by the odor. The Prophet did not want to offend his wives, so he swore an oath never to drink it again. Allah revealed the verses telling the Prophet not to prohibit what is lawful.
Aisha reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would spend time with his wife Zainab bint Jahsh and he would drink a concoction of honey. Hafsa and I agreed that whomever the Prophet visited first, we would say, “I notice a strong odor of mimosa gum on you.” The Prophet visited one of them and she said this to him, so the Prophet said:
بَلْ شَرِبْتُ عَسَلًا عِنْدَ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ جَحْشٍ وَلَنْ أَعُودَ لَهُI have taken a honey drink at Zainab’s house and I will not do it again.
The verse was revealed:
لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَWhy do you forbid yourself from what Allah has made lawful for you? (66:1)Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1474, Grade: Sahih
The authenticity of this narration is agreed upon according to Al-Bukhari and Muslim. Al-Bukhari included it in his explanation of Sūrat al-Taḥrīm. Moreover, Aisha was the direct witness about whom the verses speak, so she would know best what really happened.
An alternative explanation of the passage has been narrated by others. In this version, the Prophet prohibits himself from being intimate with his concubine wife to please his other wives. In particular, it is alleged that Hafsa became upset when the Prophet was intimate with Maria the Copt in her house and on her bed, saying:
أَيْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فِي بَيْتِي وَعَلَى فِرَاشِيO Messenger of Allah, in my house and on my bed?Source: Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī 66:1
This narration comes on the authority of Zaid ibn Aslam who was from the third generation and not a witness to the events in question. Hence, Ibn Hajar rules that this narrations’s chain of authorities is incomplete (mursal) in Fatḥ al-Bārī 9/288. For this reason, the explanation was not universally agreed upon by the classical commentators.
Al-Qurtubi mentions first the story of Aisha followed by narrations that include Maria, then he says:
أَصَحُّ هَذِهِ الْأَقْوَالِ أَوَّلُهَا وَأَضْعَفُهَا أَوْسَطُهَاThe most correct of these opinions is the first of them, and the weaker of them are the others.Source: Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī 66:1
In other words, the authentic explanation is the one given by Aisha and the stories that include Maria are weak by comparison.
Ibn Al-Arabi concludes:
وَإِنَّمَا الصَّحِيحُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ فِي الْعَسَلِ وَأَنَّهُ شَرِبَهُ عِنْدَ زَيْنَبَ وَتَظَاهَرَتْ عَلَيْهِ عَائِشَةُ وَحَفْصَةُ فِيهِ وَجَرَى مَا جَرَى فَحَلَفَ أَلَّا يَشْرَبَهُ وَأَسَرَّ ذَلِكَ وَنَزَلَتْ الْآيَةُ فِي الْجَمِيعِIndeed, the only authentic narration is that it was about honey, that the Prophet drank it with Zainab, and Aisha and Hafsa pretended to be offended by it. There occurred what occurred and the Prophet made an oath never to drink it again. He confided that to his wife and the verse was revealed regarding all of them.Source: Aḥkām al-Qur’ān 66:1
In sum, the story about the dispute between Hafsa, Maria, and the Prophet does not have a strong basis in Islam. It is part of the apocryphal traditions that are of varying and questionable degrees of authenticity. Rather, the strongest explanation of the passage, passed down by the direct witness Aisha through an unbroken chain of authorities, is that the verses were revealed about a honey drink.
Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.