Lecher

By Al-Ansar

I noticed on the main site of Faith Freedom International that there were arguments put forth by certain disciples of Ali Sina who claim that the Glorious Prophet Muhammad was a lecher because of a certain incident which supposedly happened in Medina in the year 627.

According to the Islamic critic's arguments, they believe that the story of the Prophet and Zaynab "prove" that Muhammad was a lecher, and a lustful womanizer. However, they lacked the knowledge and ability to critically examine this certain incident which they believe tarnishes the character of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Prophet manumitted and adopted Zayd ibn Haritha before he received the Divine Revelation. He and Khadijah began to regard Zayd as their own son, and he came to be known by the Pagan Arabs as "Zayd bin Muhammad." It was the custom of the pagan Arabs to adopt boys and regard them as their own flesh and blood.

Zayd was one of the first Muslims and he migrated to Medina with the Prophet in the year 622. When Zayd was in his forties, the Prophet arranged a marriage between Zayd and Zaynab. Reportedly, the Prophet thought that they were a good match and he tried to show through this marriage that all humans are equal.

However, the marriage was rocky from the get-go and Zayd and Zaynab proved to be incompatible with each other. After about a year or so, Zayd approached the Prophet and complained about Zaynab, and he requested a divorce from her. The Prophet however, told him to stay patient and fear Allah. However, the divorce was initiated anyway and both Zayd and Zaynab were left single.

The real argument of the Non-Muslims' regarding this story is of a reported incident which happened between Muhammad and Zaynab. Reportedly, The Prophet went to Zaynab's house looking for Zayd. However, Zayd was absent at the time and Zaynab came to the house greeting him, half-dressed. The Prophet fell in love with her and demanded Zayd to divorce her in order for the Prophet to marry her. However, the filthy arguments put forth by the Non-Muslims cannot even be backed up by the hadith they source from!

Here is the Quranic verse that they believe was "fabricated" by the Prophet to fulfill his "lecherous" desires:

Quran 33:37- "And when you said to him to whom Allah had shown favour and to whom you had shown a favour: Keep your wife to yourself and be careful of (your duty to) Allah; and you concealed in your soul what Allah would bring to light, and you feared men, and Allah had a greater right that you should fear Him. But when Zayd had accomplished his want of her, We gave her to you as a wife, so that there should be no difficulty for the believers in respect of the wives of their adopted sons, when they have accomplished their want of them; and Allah's command shall be performed.

They believe that this verse is in direct reference to the story they believe proves that the Prophet was a lecherous and immoral individual. The story is famous amongst the Anti-Islamic critics and is frequently brought up in their writings and their debates with Muslims.

Here is the Hadith itself:

The Messenger of God came to the house of Zayd b. Harithah. (Zayd was always called Zayd b. Muhammad.) Perhaps the Messenger of God missed him at that moment, so as to ask, "Where is Zayd?" He came to his residence to look for him but did not find him. Zaynab bt. Jash, Zayd's wife, rose to meet him. Because she was dressed only in a shift, the Messenger of God turned away from her. She said: "He is not here, Messenger of God. Come in, you who are as dear to me as my father and mother!" The Messenger of God refused to enter. Zaynab had dressed in haste when she was told "the Messenger of God is at the door." She jumped up in haste and excited the admiration of the Messenger of God, so that he turned away murmuring something that could scarcely be understood. However, he did say overtly: "Glory be to God the Almighty! Glory be to God, who causes the hearts to turn!"

When Zayd came home, his wife told him that the Messenger of God had come to his house. Zayd said, "Why didn't you ask him to come in?" He replied, "I asked him, but he refused." "Did you hear him say anything?" he asked. She replied, "As he turned away, I heard him say: ?Glory be to God the Almighty! Glory be to God, who causes hearts to turn!'"

So Zayd left, and having come to the Messenger of God, he said: "Messenger of God, I have heard that you came to my house. Why didn't you go in, you who are as dear to me as my father and mother? Messenger of God, perhaps Zaynab has excited your admiration, and so I will separate myself from her." Zayd could find no possible way to [approach] her after that day. He would come to the Messenger of God and tell him so, but the Messenger of God would say to him, "Keep your wife." Zayd separated from her and left her, and she became free.

While the Messenger of God was talking with 'A'isha, a fainting overcame him. When he was released from it, he smiled and said, "Who will go to Zaynab to tell her the good news, saying that God has married her to me?" Then the Messenger of God recited: "And when you said unto him on whom God has conferred favor and you have conferred favor, ?Keep your wife to yourself .'"- and the entire passage.

According to 'A'isha, who said: "I became very uneasy because of what we heard about her beauty and another thing, the greatest and loftiest of matters - what God had done for her by giving her in marriage. I said she would boast of it over us." (The History of Al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam, translated by Michael Fishbein [State University of New York Press, Albany, 1997], Volume VIII, pp. 2-3; bold emphasis ours)

Hypothetically, let us assume that this narration was true. Does this prove that the Glorious Prophet was a lecher? Hardly so! Notice the sentences I underlined. The Prophet came to Zayd's house and found Zaynab half-dressed so he TURNS AWAY FROM HER and he refuses to enter the house, hardly constituting the actions of a lustful, immoral man. And notice how the Prophet repeatedly told Zayd to keep his wife, proving that the Prophet was not a man with lustful actions and desires.

However, when reporting this story, Tabari failed to provide a chain of narrators, and there is not a single chain of narrators at all, regarding this hadith. It just begins with, "It was said that...." This hardly a trustworthy narration and it in fact was discarded by several Islamic scholars:

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) ( This is an excellent resource for those who want to learn more about Islam, highly recommended)

"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)

This story was a favourite by the Anti-Islamic critics but it is rejected by many major scholars and Muslims all over agree that this story is a mere fabrication and that isn't to be taken seriously whatsoever. However, I would have absolutely no problem at all even if this story was true, as it does not prove anything against the Noble character of the Prophet. The Anti-Islamic critics seem to forget that the Prophet Muhammad was a man, who was able to fall in love with someone. Notice the parts of the story I underlined. The Prophet supposedly was at the door of Zaynab's house and he saw her undressed. What does the Prophet do? He turns away from this woman and he refused to enter the door when she requested his presence! Is this the character of a lustful old lecher or is this the actions of a Noble Human being who was caught in an uncomfortable predicament and therefore turns his head?

The Anti-Islamic critics also launch this pathetic charge against the Prophet without even defining or setting a clear criteria of exactly what a lecher is, and what lust is. I will save them the trouble by quoting both dictionary definitions of what lechery and lust is:

Lechery:
n., pl. -ies.
1. Excessive indulgence in sexual activity; lewdness.
2. A lecherous act.
Lust:

n.
1. Intense or unrestrained sexual craving.
2.
a. An overwhelming desire or craving: a lust for power.
b. Intense eagerness or enthusiasm: a lust for life.
3. Obsolete. Pleasure; relish.
intr.v., lust?ed, lust?ing, lusts.

If the Prophet was a lecher, he wouldn't have turned away at Zaynab's request for him to enter the house, he wouldn't have turned his head when he saw Zaynab half-dressed, he would have had intercourse with her right then and there and fabricate a revelation permitting him to commit adultery. He would have had sexual relations with all the women of Medina, and he would have had a harem of countless virgins.
If the Prophet Muhammad was a lecher, then Aisha wouldn't have said:

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."

When the Prophet wished to fondle any of his wives during their periods, he ordered them to put on an Izar, and he did not approach any of them for sexual relations during their menses, because Allah said in the Noble Quran

(The Quran 2:222)- "And they ask you about menstruation. Say: It is a discomfort; therefore keep aloof from the women during the menstrual discharge and do not go near them until they have become clean; then when they have cleansed themselves, go in to them as Allah has commanded you; surely Allah loves those who turn much (to Him), and He loves those who purify themselves."

If the Prophet Muhammad was a man who "fabricated" revelations in order for him to achieve his "lecherous" whims and desires, then he wouldn't have "fabricated" such a revelation preventing him from having sexual relations with his wives during their menses. Allah also said in the Noble Quran:

(The Quran 2:187)- "It is made lawful to you to go into your wives on the night of the fast; they are an apparel for you and you are an apparel for them; Allah knew that you acted unfaithfully to yourselves, so He has turned to you (mercifully) and removed from you (this burden); so now be in contact with them and seek what Allah has ordained for you, and eat and drink until the whiteness of the day becomes distinct from the blackness of the night at dawn, then complete the fast till night, and have not contact with them while you keep to the mosques; these are the limits of Allah, so do not go near them. Thus does Allah make clear His communications for men that they may guard (against evil)."

What type of lecher would "fabricate" such a law anyway? If the Prophet was a lecher, he wouldn't have "fabricated" such a revelation preventing him from having any sexual relations during the daylight period of Ramadan. In fact, Allah also said in the Noble Quran:

(The Quran 33: 52) - "It is not allowed to you to take women afterwards, nor that you should change them for other wives, though their beauty be pleasing to you, except what your right hand possesses and Allah is Watchful over all things."

Allah eventually prevented the Prophet from marrying any other woman after this revelation! Would a "False Prophet" who "fabricates" revelations to fulfill his desires actually write down such a verse, preventing him from marrying any other women? Do you honestly believe that after reading such a verse, you would conclude that the Prophet fabricated the Quran to meet his desires? Allah says in the Noble Quran:

(The Quran 53:2-5)- "Your companion does not err, nor does he go astray. Nor does he speak out of desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed, The Lord of Mighty Power has taught him."

The Quran clearly is not a book that was written for the desires of the Holy Prophet, nor would he be a man who would have any lecherous immoral desires in him.

All of his actions prove otherwise. This following hadith highlights the situation with Zaynab and how the Prophet actually felt about such a revelation. Many claim that the Prophet forced Zayd to divorce his wife when it was proven in Islamic sources that the marriage was rocky from the get-go. The Prophet actually told Zayd to keep his wife numerous times, as shown in the hadith below.

Narrated Anas:
Zaid bin Haritha came to the Prophet complaining about his wife. The Prophet kept on saying (to him), "Be afraid of Allah and keep your wife." Aisha said, "If Allah's Apostle were to conceal anything (of the Quran) he would have concealed this Verse." Zainab used to boast before the wives of the Prophet and used to say, "You were given in marriage by your families, while I was married (to the Prophet) by Allah from over seven Heavens." And Thabit recited, "The Verse:-- ?But (O Muhammad) you did hide in your heart that which Allah was about to make manifest, you did fear the people,' (33.37) was revealed in connection with Zainab and Zaid bin Haritha." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 516)

This hadith and a close study of the actual incident put forth by many Anti-Islamic critics negates any of their claims against the character of the Holy Prophet.

Many do not understand the fact that Zayd was not the Prophet's son, but he was only the Prophet's adopted son. Muhammad practically showed the distinction between adopted sons and biological sons by marrying the ex-wife of his adopted son.

It is forbidden in Islam to call an adopted son as your own, because it basically robs the adoptee of his or her own identity and honour, but Islam came to set a new honorable and distinguished status amongst orphan children.

However, this doesn't prove that Islam came to take away all rights from orphaned children. It doesn't automatically mean that orphaned children in Islamic societies should be deserted and scorned. Allah set a defined status and position for orphans in an Islamic society, a position of honour and dignity.

(Quran Surah 33:4)- "Allah has not made for any man two hearts inside his body. Neither has He made your wives whom you declare to be like your mother's backs, your real mothers, nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons. That is but your saying with your mouths. But Allah says the truth, and He guides to the Right Way. Call them (adopted sons) by the names of their fathers: that is more just with Allah. But if you do not know their father's names, call them your brothers in faith and your freed slaves. And there is no sin on concerning that in which you made a mistake, except to what your hearts deliberately intend. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Narrated Sahl bin Sa'd: The Prophet said, "I and the person who looks after an orphan and and provides for him, will be in Paradise like this;" putting his index and middle fingers together. (Sahih Bukhari Vol 8 Hadith 34)

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "Avoid the seven great destructive sins." The people enquire, "O Allah's Apostle! What are they? "He said, "To join others in worship along with Allah, to practice sorcery, to kill the life which Allah has forbidden except for a just cause, (according to Islamic law), to eat up Riba (usury), to eat up an orphan's wealth, to give back to the enemy and fleeing from the battlefield at the time of fighting, and to accuse, chaste women, who never even think of anything touching chastity and are good believers. (Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 4 Book 51 Number 28)

Allah also says in the Noble Quran:

(The Quran 6:152): And do not approach the property of the orphan except in the best manner until he attains his maturity, and give full measure and weight with justice-- We do not impose on any soul a duty except to the extent of its ability; and when you speak, then be just though it be (against) a relative, and fulfill Allah's covenant; this He has enjoined you with that you may be mindful;

(The Quran 17:34)- "And draw not near to the property of the orphan except in a goodly way till he attains his maturity and fulfill the promise; surely (every) promise shall be questioned about."

(The Quran 76:8-9) - "And they give food out of love for Him to the poor and the orphan and the captive. (Saying) We only feed you for Allah's sake; we desire from you neither reward nor thanks"

(The Quran 93:9)- "Therefore, as for the orphan, do not oppress (him)."

The Prophet did not marry Zaynab to fulfill his desires, but he married her to demonstrate a law in a practical way, and there never was anything wrong with the marriage right from the get-go, as Zayd was his ADOPTED son and not his biological son.

None of the "evidences" put forth by the bigoted Anti-Islamists have helped their cause in any way, shape or form. In fact, if the Prophet was a lecher, then he would have flirted with and made love with any woman whom he had happen to came across. Well in the below hadith, it is proven otherwise:

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. (Sahih Muslim Book 20 Hadith 4602)

The Prophet's hand never touched the hand of a woman! Are these the actions of a lecher? Wouldn't a lecher take advantage of his position of authority and abuse and rape any woman he desired? Why would the Prophet command modesty in regards to believing men and women, and this command was further reiterated in the Noble Quran?

Summary:
The Anti-Islamic critics use inconsistent arguments in order for them to levy charges against the Prophet. These "free-thinkers" are the same individuals who accept immoralities such as homosexuality to be rampant in their society. They have absolutely no problem with adultery or fornication and their criteria to judge something as acceptable or not is not consistent and not clearly laid out.

The people who condone a society which allows such horrific acts such as gay marriage do not have a position of authority to judge whether the Prophet was wrong for marrying a woman through her consent. It truly is sad and ridiculous to hear such accusations levied against the Prophet, especially in the insulting manner that is shown on the FaithFreedom website.

There are no substantial and genuine arguments that prove that the Prophet did anything wrong at all, when he married the ex-wife of his adopted son, THROUGH HER CONSENT. This marriage was not prohibited and Allah permitted such a marriage through His Divine Law.

This marriage did not automatically strip away the rights of an orphan, because Islam came to establish a distinguished position in society for orphaned children. Islam repeatedly commanded the good treatment of orphans, the Prophet himself was an orphan, and even taking away an orphan's property is one of the Seven Major Sins according to the hadith!

When one reads the hadith, he notices the Prophet's behaviour in front of women. The Prophet's behaviour was far from being a lecherous individual and in fact, there was no man as moral as the Prophet was. Aisha herself said that the Prophet was a man who could control his desires unlike any other.

A lecher would be one who would set no limits on permissable sex. A lecher would not be fasting and abstaining from sexual relations during the daylight hours. The Prophet himself fasted often, not only during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
This topic and thus this argument has failed in the cause of the Anti-Islamic movement. It is humiliating for them to come to the internet and argue such ridiculous and weak arguments, to try and blemish the character of the Prophet although they themselves have no problem with much more immoral actions.

And Allah Knows Best!