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(IslamWeb) By Parvez Ahmed*
When the Nigerian
journalist Isioma Daniel wrote that Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam(PBUH),
would want to take one of the body-flaunting beauties in the Miss World
pageant as his wife, Isioma was, besides exhibiting insensitivity,
factually incorrect.
Muhammad's 12 wives, although not all married to him at the same time,
were modest, courageous, independent, outspoken, righteous, patient and
loyal. They were not known for their physical beauty -- certainly not
the kind that is flaunted in public…
Why did Muhammad (PBUH) marry 12 women? John Esposito, in "Islam: The
Straight Path", writes, "As was customary for Arab chiefs, many were
political marriages to cement alliances. Others were marriages to the
widows of his Companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of
protection."
Muhammad (PBUH) was far ahead of his time by marrying Khadija, a widow
and an independent business owner 15 years older than he was, as his
first wife. This monogamous relationship, which lasted nearly 25 years,
until Khadija's death, was contrary to the then-Jewish, Christian and
Arab traditions that allowed for unlimited wives.
Perhaps even more eye-opening was the fact that Muhammad (PBUH) took
Sawda as his second wife when she was a 65-year-old widow. This marriage
came as a great surprise to Muhammad's contemporaries, who usually took
wives for their wealth or beauty, rarely out of compassion and affording
security to women.
In fact, all but one of Muhammad's wives were widows, and many of them
were over the age of 40 when they married him.
Two of Muhammad's marriages have come under particular attack from those
who never lose an opportunity to promote Islamophobia, much like the
idolaters of Muhammad's time. Even in their enmity, the Meccans of
Muhammad's time never accused him of moral ineptitude.
The current charge that Muhammad (PBUH) took his third wife, Aisha, when
she was a minor is based on apocryphal traditions. The preponderance of
evidence (according to some historians and scholars) suggests that Aisha
was between 16 and 19 years old when she married Muhammad (PBUH). (But
even that she was younger than that does not necessarily mean that she
was under puberty.)
To avoid the kind of excesses that we saw in Nigeria, both Muslims and
non-Muslims need to know the traditions of the other more thoroughly.
Perhaps one place to start is with the figure of Muhammad (PBUH)
Karen Armstrong, in an upcoming PBS documentary titled Muhammad (aired
Dec. 18), says, "Muhammad was a man who faced an absolutely hopeless
situation ... Single-handedly in a space of 23 years he brought peace
and a new hope to Arabia and a new beacon for the world."
* Parvez Ahmed (Orlando Sentinel) is communications director for the
Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations |