Does the Holy Quran Contain an Indication of the Crime of Aisha within the Battle of the Camel? (2 of 2)

Published in May 3, 2018

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

 We tackle further indications within the Quranic Chapter 66, titled "The Prohibition".

Introduction:

1-  Some people express their astonishment at the fact that the Quranic Chapter 66 mentions a private matter that took place between Muhammad and some of his spouses; the query posed here is a follows: why such private matter is recorded in the Quranic text which is recited/read and will be recited/read until the end of days?

2- The Quran is no jest/joke; God says in the Quran: "By the sky that returns. And the earth that cracks open. It is a Decisive Word. It is no joke." (86:11-14); this is about the evil plotting and scheming of Qorayish: "They plot and scheme. But I plot and scheme. Therefore, give the disbelievers respite, a brief respite." (86:15-17). We tackle in detail the evil schemes of Qorayish in our book (in English) titled "The Unspoken-of History of the Pre-Umayyad 'Righteous' Caliphs" (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=83) and in our two articles (in English) about Abou Bakr as the spy/agent of Qorayish who watched Muhammad closely and he was even with him inside the cave within Muhammad's journey of immigration from Mecca to Yathreb (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18031/ http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=18037). The contents of our two articles and our book provide an overview of the personality of Abou Bakr and his daughter Aisha. We provide some details in the points below.

Firstly:

 The Quranic Chapter 66 begins with severe rebuke addressed to Muhammad because he prohibited something made by God as legal/permissible/lawful so that he would please his wives: "O prophet! Why do you prohibit what God has permitted for you, seeking to please your wives? God is Forgiving and Merciful." (66:1). We assert the following points.

1- To prohibit what is permitted by God is a grave sin and a flagrant violation of God's Right to be the Only Legislator in His Religion: "O you who believe! Do not prohibit the good things God has permitted for you, and do not commit aggression. God does not love the aggressors." (5:87); see also 16:116-117 and 10:59-60.

2- The Quran does not tell us about the permissible item that Muhammad has prohibited while seeking to please his wives; the focus is on the severe reproach addressed directly to Muhammad in 66:1; we conclude from the phrase "...God is Forgiving and Merciful." (66:1) that Muhammad repented and implored God for pardon and forgiveness and God has pardoned him.

3- God says in the Quran: "God has decreed for you the dissolution of your oaths. God is your Master. He is the All-Knowing, the Most Wise." (66:2); this implies that Muhammad, within the event described in 66:1, made an oath and he should atone for it while seeking God's pardon. 

4- This sin was committed because Muhammad sought to please his wives, and this incurred upon him severe rebuke from the Lord God; hence, there is a contradiction between pleasing/gratifying the Lord God and pleasing these wives.

Secondly:

 We see an example of the guiding inspiration/revelation given to Muhammad by God expressed in this verse: "The prophet told something in confidence to one of his wives. But when she disclosed it, and God made it known to him; he communicated part of it, and he avoided another part. Then, when he informed her of it, she said, "Who informed you of this?" He said, "The All-Knowing, the All-Informed, informed me."" (66:3). This raises the issue of the relation between the guiding revelation/inspiration and the written Quranic revelation.

1- There is guiding inspiration/revelation given to the Lord God's prophets/messengers apart from the revealed Scriptures; this is exemplified by God's command to Noah to build the Ark to save the believers as no one else would believe with him; see 11:36-37 and 23:27-29. Moses received guiding inspiration/revelation on several occasions before he was given Scripture at Mount Al-Tur in Sinai during the exodus; more examples of guiding inspiration/revelation are found in the Quranic Chapters 2, 7, 20, and 26.

2- Muhammad was no exception to this rule; he received guiding inspiration/revelation from the Lord God, as per many Quranic indications; e.g., about immigration, the prediction of victory during the battle of Badr and the battle of the confederates, the prohibition of adopting sons while giving them one's name, and the guiding inspiration/revelation in 66:3.

3- In any case, the only criterion and source available for us to get to know this the guiding inspiration/revelation is the Divine Scripture: the Quran. God's Word is the Absolute Truth; we must never rely on man-made narratives and books to tell us about the guiding inspiration/revelation, as such books are nothing but falsehoods and lies ascribed forcibly to God's Religion. Even when Sunnite books offer 'interpretation' of some Quranic verses that contain indications of the guiding inspiration/revelation, the authors of such books ascribe lies to God and they never confine their ponderings to the Quran itself. Hence, we assert in this article that since God does not tell believers in the Quran about the details of the prohibited item(s) in 66:1 while reproaching Muhammad, we are not to offer any surmises and guesses; Sunnite authors fell into this trap and committed the sin of ascribing lies to the Lord God.    

4- We focus here, within the topic at hand, on the fact that the guiding inspiration/revelation interferes in serious, decisive issues; hence, the situation in 66:1-3 is serious enough (it is not a trivial matter), and it has entailed guiding inspiration/revelation recorded in the Quranic text which will be recited/read until the end of days.

Thirdly:

 We focus here on the phrase (The prophet told something in confidence to one of his wives) mentioned in 66:3. God says in the Quran: "The prophet told something in confidence to one of his wives. But when she disclosed it, and God made it known to him; he communicated part of it, and he avoided another part. Then, when he informed her of it, she said, "Who informed you of this?" He said, "The All-Knowing, the All-Informed, informed me."" (66:3)

1- We infer that when Muhammad confided to one of his wife a secret (which we do not know since it is not mentioned in the Quran), the secret was let out of the bag to other people.

2- We are not to ask about what this secret was since God does not mention any details about it in this context; the sinful imams/authors of the earthly religion have invented many lies about this topic as per their whims and desires.

3- The only thing we can safely infer is that this secret was about a serious issue; it entailed the guiding inspiration/revelation first and then it is mentioned in the Quranic revelation. This serious issue entailed that Muhammad interrogated the wife who divulged this secret an the wife who spread it to others. This serious issue entailed that God has warned and threatened these wives within direct discourse addressed to them in the Quranic Chapter 66.

4- We, ourselves, do not see any link between divulging this secret and the situation in 66:1 about Muhammad's prohibiting a permissible item(s) to please his wives; this is because Muhammad is severely reproached in 66:1, whereas in the situation of divulging the secret, the severe rebuke focuses on two unnamed wives of Muhammad and that God has supported Muhammad.

Fourthly:

 These two unnamed wives are warned severely and threatened by God in this direct discourse addressed to both of them: "If you repent to God, then your hearts have listened. But if you band together against him, then God is his Ally, as is Gabriel, and the righteous believers. In addition, the angels will assist him." (66:4).

1- We see here threat, reproach, and forcing these wives to choose between repentance or standing against Muhammad; God and His angels and the pious believers side with Muhammad of course. 

2- This threat and warning is of a very serious nature and it is never repeated elsewhere in the Quranic text. The Quran does not mention anywhere that God and His angels and the pious believers side with Muhammad against, for instance, his arch-enemies among the Qorayish and Meccan disbelievers who schemed and conspired all the time.

3- Do we find here the shadows of the two wives Aisha daughter of Abou Bakr and Hafsa daughter of Omar?

4- This brings us to the topic of the secret divulged by one wife to the other wife.

4/1: This issue is clearly NOT about something personal like the one mentioned in 66:1; rather, it is a serious issue concerning the Yathreb city-state and preaching Islam (i.e., the call to God's Religion). This serious issue is implied and never clearly mentioned as we infer from the phrase (he communicated part of it, and he avoided another part) in 66:3.

4/2: The topic of the Quran-based Yathreb city-state is the main focus on the Quranic revelation within many verses containing legislations and verses about its history. Among these verses are the ones that contain severe rebuke addressed to hypocrites, those sick at heart, and those believers who allied themselves to the Qorayish aggressors; these verses are found in Quranic Chapters 66, 5, and 9 which were revealed/descended shortly before Muhammad's death.

4/3: We know from the Quran that Muhammad was a successful leader of the Yathreb city-state and he achieved victory in most self-defense battles until Arab aggressors converted to the religion of peace (i.e., Islam in terms of overt peaceful behavior) in multitudes; see 110:1-3. This means that he defeated the powerful Qorayish tribe and its people mostly feigned temporary conversion to Islam in terms of peaceful demeanor, while waiting eagerly for the death of Muhammad. Thus, it is hardly expected that such a successful leader like Muhammad would confide a secret about the Yathreb city-state to one of his wives unless this cunning, wily wife managed to win his trust and extracted information from him within crafty scheming; this wife showed her true colors and nature of betrayal when she divulged the secret to another wife (who was her friend) as both women were on good terms with each other despite the typical rivalry of their getting married to one man.     

4/4: Because of the serious nature of this secret, the guiding revelation/inspiration came with warning and threat and so does the Quranic revelation; this is because this secret should never reach the Qorayish spies/agents who settled inside Yathreb. This is why God does not tell us about this serious secret in 66:2-3.

4/5: Do we find here the shadows of the two wives Aisha daughter of Abou Bakr and Hafsa daughter of Omar?

Fifthly:

 The threat and warning addressed to each one among Muhammad's wives as they might get divorced: "Perhaps, if he divorces you, his Lord will give him in exchange wives better than you: Muslims, believing, obedient, penitent, devout, and fasting - previously married, or virgins." (66:5). We infer the following points from 66:5.

1- The negative influence of the two unnamed wives reached the rest of the wives of Muhammad; they are threatened with divorce within a severe reproach and warning.

2- The qualities of the wives who might have replaced them (...believing, obedient, penitent, devout, and fasting...) imply that the wives of Muhammad – at least at the time of this situation – lacked these qualities.

Sixthly:

 God says in the Quran: "O you who believe! Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire, whose fuel is people and stones. Over it are angels, fierce and powerful. They never disobey God in anything He commands them, and they carry out whatever they are commanded. O you who disbelieved! Make no excuses today. You are being repaid for what you used to do. O you who believe! Repent to God with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remit your sins, and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow, on the Day when God will not disappoint the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their Light streaming before them, and to their right, they will say, "Our Lord, complete our Light for us, and forgive us; You are capable of all things."" (66:6-8).

1- The direct discourse here addresses all believers (i.e., in terms of peaceful behavior) to spare themselves Hell (which is not created yet and whose fuel is people and stones) by being true, faithful believers and by their good deeds and the Hell-angels (who are not created yet) never disobey their Lord's commands; they will not be judged like the rest of the angels (see 39:75, 78:38, and 21:26-29). The repentance, remorse, and excuses of disbelievers expressed on the Last Day will never be accepted; real believers must sincerely repent while they are alive on earth so that God will remit their sins and they enter into Paradise. 

2- This preaching/warning addressed to believers is NOT separate from the topic about Muhammad's wives in 66:3-5, especially that the repentant believers will not be disgraced on the Day of Resurrection; rather, they will enjoy the honor of the company of Muhammad and Light will engulf them because of their good deeds and faith; Muhammad's wives should be with them ONLY if they had repented sincerely before their death. 

3- If these wives of Muhammad did not repent, they will be among the hypocrites on the Last Day and will be deprived of Light; if they repent, they will be with Muhammad and true believers/winners in the Light: "On the Day when you see the believing men and believing women - their Light radiating ahead of them, and to their right: "Good news for you today: gardens beneath which rivers flow, dwelling therein forever. That is the great triumph." On the Day when the hypocritical men and hypocritical women will say to those who believed, "Wait for us; let us absorb some of your Light." It will be said, "Go back behind you, and seek Light." A wall will be raised between them, in which is a door; within it is mercy, and outside it is torment. They will call to them, "Were we not with you?" They will say, "Yes, but you cheated your souls, and waited, and doubted, and became deluded by wishful thinking, until the command of God arrived; and arrogance deceived you regarding God."" (57:12-14)

4- Do we find here the shadows of the two wives Aisha daughter of Abou Bakr and Hafsa daughter of Omar?

Seventhly:

 God says in the Quran: "O prophet! Strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with them. Their abode is Hell. What a miserable destination!" (66:9). We assert the points below.

1- The command (strive) has nothing to do with the command (fight) which is linked to self-defense endeavors; i.e., the command to strive for God's sake serving His cause means to warn everyone by preaching the Quran.

2- The command in 66:9 means that Muhammad is to warn and preach the disbelievers and the hypocrites known to him as such; there were those adamant in hypocrisy inside Yathreb who concealed their feelings/stances and whom Muhammad never knew; see 9:101.

3- Hence, explicit, frank hypocrites are the ones intended in 66:9; they were the ones who freely urged sin and advised against good deeds in Yathrebian streets: "The hypocrite men and hypocrite women are of one another. They advocate evil, and prohibit righteousness, and withhold their hands. They forgot God, so He forgot them. The hypocrites are the sinners." (9:67); the true, faithful believers had the right and freedom to urge good deeds and advise against sin: "The believing men and believing women are friends of one another. They advocate virtue, forbid evil, perform the prayers, practice charity, and obey God and His Messenger. These-God will have mercy on them. God is Noble and Wise. God promises the believers, men and women, gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever, and fine homes in the Gardens of Eden. But approval from God is even greater. That is the supreme achievement. O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with them. Their abode is Hell-what a miserable destination! " (9:71-73). Hence, such overt, explicit hypocrites were preached and warned by Muhammad as per 66:9 and 9:73, within the context of declaring evil stance en masse in 9:67 and within the context of what Muhammad had suffered from his wives, especially the two unnamed wives, in the Quranic Chapter 66.

4- Do we find here the shadows of the two wives Aisha daughter of Abou Bakr and Hafsa daughter of Omar?

Eighthly:

 God says in the Quran: "God illustrates an example of those who disbelieve: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. They were under two of Our righteous servants, but they betrayed them. They availed them nothing against God, and it was said, "Enter the Fire with those who are entering." And God illustrates an example of those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, "My Lord, build for me, with you, a house in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds, and save me from the unjust people." And Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her womb, and so We breathed into her by Our Spirit; and she believed in the Truth of her Lord's Words and His Books, and was one of the devout people." (66:10-12).

1- Within this context of warning/preaching, God provides at first examples of sinful, disbelieving women (the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot) and the models of faith and piety: also two women (Moses' Pharaoh's wife and Mary the daughter of Imran).

2- The purpose here is clear enough, as we show in the following points.

2/1: The discourse here, as per its context, is addressing Muhammad's wives; the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot betrayed their husbands (this is NOT sexual infidelity; see our article (in English) about the concept of betrayal in the Quran on this link: http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=17265). This betrayal (as per Quranic terminology within Quranism) refers only to conspiring against the call/preaching of the Divine Truth or God's Religion. The exemplary models in piety and faith are other two women: Moses' Pharaoh's wife and Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.

2/2: The lesson drawn here is that being a wife of a prophet of God does not make any woman immune against committing sins; any prophet will never be of any benefit for any wife on the Day of Resurrection; i.e., if a wife of any prophet was a sinful, disbelieving woman who died without repentance and she had disobeyed God, she will enter into Hell. The lesson drawn here is that guidance is an individual responsibility and part of personal freedom of choice; one's chosen belief and deeds will lead inevitably to an eternity either in Hell or Paradise in the Hereafter.

2/3: The Quranic warning/preaching addressed to Muhammad's wives employs two examples of evil, disbelieving women (in 66:10) and two models of pious, believing women (in 66:11-12). Muhammad's wives had to choose between both types of behavior; the same idea of choice is repeated in 33:28-34 and 66:4.

Lastly:

 After the completion of the descent/revelation of the Quranic text and the death of Muhammad, the history of human mortals in Arabia such as Muhammad's wives and his companions/contemporaries began. History is written by mortal men; it never mentions those pious ones who seek no superiority on earth nor corruption (see 28:83); rather, it mentions those who sinful ones who struggled for wealth and authority; history mentions the deeds committed by Aisha daughter of Abou Bakr.