A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Does shari’ah law include child marriage? ”   It is important to get some definitions correct, so that we understand what we are actually asking here.   Shari’ah is a legal tradition based on the Qur’an.   It refers to the overarching principles as laid down in the Qur’an, and the ahadits , the prophetic narrations.   As a legal tradition, it is preventive, as opposed to punitive, meaning that there is an emphasis on severe laws as a deterrent, not legal punishments to punish behaviour.   This is the same tradition as Old Testament laws.   The idea behind it is that it is preferable to face punishment for serious transgressions through the hadd , corporal and capital punishment, and be cleansed of that sin, than face Divine Punishment, including Hell, in the Hereafter.   The practical application of shari’ah is known as fiqh , jurisprudence.  ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ If today, Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) comes to your home, and says he wants to marry your 6-year-old daughter, then what would you do? ”   There are a lot of assumptions here, since this is a leading question.   Firstly, in that unlikely scenario, the answer is obviously “no”.   Secondly, the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) is not going to people’s houses to ask for their hand in marriage.   In fact, a look at the sirah , the story of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), there is actually not a single instance where the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), out of his own volition, went and looked for anybody’s hand in marriage.   Thirdly, if this is in reference to the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) marriage to Sayyidatina ‘Aishah bint Abu Bakr ( r.a. ), the circumstances are disputed.   There are those who do believe that they were married when she was 6 years old, and the marriage was consummated when ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Layts Naswr ibn Muhammad as-Samarqandi ( r.a. ) wrote, in his Tanbih al-Ghafilin , that a man came to Sayyidatina ‘Aishah bint Abu Bakr ( r.a. ) and asked, “When will I know that I am pious?”   She replied, “When you realise that you are a sinner.”   He asked again, “And when will I realise I am a sinner?”   She replied, “When you think you are pious.”   This pertains to tawhid al-af’al .  All acts Originate from Allah ( s.w.t. ) so the performance of good deeds is His, and only the intention is ours.  Therefore, when a person thinks that he is pious, he has committed minor shirk , and taken ownership of something that is not his.  And when a person thinks he is a sinner, he has admitted his poverty before the Generous and Merciful Lord.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh ‘Utsman Nuri Tufbas wrote, in “The Prophet Muhammad Muswthafa the Elect ( s.a.w. )”, that Sayyidatina ‘Aishah bint Abu Bakr ( r.a. ) was the only maiden whom the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) married.  Despite her young age, she was very clever, graced with an acute intellect, and a profound understanding.  It was from her that the female companions learned with ease the Islamic principles and regulations, especially those peculiar to women.  Even five to six decades after the passing away of the Messenger ( s.a.w. ), the remaining companions and the rest of the Muslim community, including the children and the grandchildren of that first generation who never had the privilege of physically being in the presence of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), were able to learn Islam directly from her. In hindsight, foreshadowing this was the confirming hadith of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ): “Learn one third of your religion from the house of ‘Aishah.”  This ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following was a discussion thread on my Wall, regarding one of my Quora questions: If today, Muhammad ( s.a.w. ) comes to your home, and says he wants to marry your 6-year-old daughter, then what would you do?   Sister Sofia Chequer : This is one thing I have never understood.   It is pretty damn clear that Sayyidatina ‘Aishah ( r.a. ) was not 9 when she got married.   Why do so many scholars, and I do not mean just the radical ones, insist on that?   Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis : Because, particularly the Shafi’i scholars, they spent several hundred years being invested in the idea that Swahih al-Bukhari is free of error.   If they accept this, they have to admit that the entire madzhab made a mistake edifying a book.   They may claim to argue out of piety; I think it is simply their collective ego.   Sister Sofia Chequer : But does not Imam al-Bukhari ( r.a. ) also states other sources for her a...