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The article is located at: http://www../Responses/Osama/umar_mary3.htm

Well, apparently Shamoun just does not know when to quit! When he gets refuted, he comes back for more, in order to save face.

Lets examine his latest response to me, and see if it actually refutes me!

He Wrote:

On Mary, Muhammad's Concubine (Round Three)

Sam Shamoun

Umar has followed up with yet another reply (*) to our response (*) regarding the status of Mariyah the Copt, i.e. whether she was Muhammad’s slave or his wife.

We won’t be addressing everything he says, since much of what he says really doesn’t rebut anything we had written. We will focus instead on a few of the main points of his paper since this will help support our position.

My Response:

 Folks, just read his desperate comment above in bold. Infact, its pretty obvious you couldn't rebut what I wrote, therefore all you can do is play the " I think I am the best" game, and say I didn't refute anything, while in reality I destroyed your paper.

He Wrote:

Is it Marriage or Pleasure?

Umar says regarding the meaning of Sura 33:52:

So, even though Yusuf Ali says "After that the Prophet did not marry..", the Ayat says he can marry any women that the Prophet (S) possesses (as handmaidens). So Yusuf Ali, agrees with us, when he calls Mariyah a wife of the Holy Prophet (S), however, he differs with us, regarding if she was a handmaiden or not. So let us highlight the bottom line:

He also quotes another Answering Christianity writer Karim:

"Even if we for the sake of argument accept tabaris[sic] time order, then still we can argue that mariyah could aslo[sic] have been a slavegirl (which is also a strong option) , and therefor[sic] in this case it doesn't matter if she arrived in medina at 6 A.H. or 7. A.H. since the prophet after ayat 33:52 was allowed to marryy[sic] slave girls"

This is a rather curious reading of the text which says:

It is not lawful for you (to marry other) women after this, nor to change them for other wives even though their beauty attracts you, except those (captives or slaves) whom your right hand possesses. And Allah is Ever a Watcher over all things. S. 33:52 Hilali-Khan

The natural and normal reading of this passage isn’t that Muhammad was permitted to marry one of his slave girls. On the contrary, the citation is stating that Muhammad was permitted to have as many slave or captive women as he wished. To put it simply, this reference is saying that even though Muhammad couldn’t marry any more women he could still have sex with as many slave or captive women as his heart desired.

My Response:

No, the natural reading of the passage is very clear, and we will allow Ibn Kathir to make it more clearer for Sam, in his Tafsir for Sura 33:52 :

More than one of the scholars, such as Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, Ibn Zayd, Ibn Jarir and others stated that this Ayah was revealed as a reward to the wives of the Prophet expressing Allah's pleasure with them for their excellent decision in choosing Allah and His Messenger and the Home of the Hereafter, when the Messenger of Allah , gave them the choice, as we have stated above. When they chose the Messenger of Allah their reward was that Allah restricted him to these wives, and forbade him to marry anyone else or to change them for other wives, even if he was attracted by their beauty -- apart from slave-girls and prisoners of war, with regard to whom there was no sin on him. Then Allah lifted the restriction stated in this Ayah and permitted him to marry more women, but he did not marry anyone else, so that the favor of the Messenger of Allah towards them would be clear. Imam Ahmad recorded that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said: "The Messenger of Allah did not die until Allah permitted (marriage to other) women for him.'' It was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i in their Sunans. On the other hand, others said that what was meant by the Ayah,

﴿لاَّ يَحِلُّ لَكَ النِّسَآءُ مِن بَعْدُ﴾

(It is not lawful for you (to marry other) women after this,) means, `after the description We have given of the women who are lawful for you, those to whom you have given their dowery, those whom your right hand possesses, and daughters of your paternal uncles and aunts, maternal uncles and aunts, and those who offer themselves to you in marriage -- other kinds of women are not lawful for you.' This view was narrated from Ubayy bin Ka`b, from Mujahid in one report which was transmitted from him, and others. At-Tirmidhi recorded that Ibn `Abbas said: "The Messenger of Allah was forbidden to marry certain kinds of women apart from believing women who had migrated with him, in the Ayah,

﴿لاَّ يَحِلُّ لَكَ النِّسَآءُ مِن بَعْدُ وَلاَ أَن تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكَ حُسْنُهُنَّ إِلاَّ مَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ﴾

(It is not lawful for you (to marry other) women after this, nor to change them for other wives even though their beauty attracts you, except those whom your right hand possesses.) Allah has made lawful believing women, and believing women who offered themselves to the Prophet for marriage, and He made unlawful every woman who followed a religion other than Islam, as Allah says:

﴿وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِالإِيمَـنِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ﴾

(And whosoever disbelieves in faith, then fruitless is his work) (5:5). Ibn Jarir, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that this Ayah is general in meaning and applies to all the kinds of women mentioned and the women to whom he was married, who were nine. What he said is good, and may be what many of the Salaf meant, for many of them narrated both views from him, and there is no contradiction between the two. And Allah knows best.

﴿وَلاَ أَن تَبَدَّلَ بِهِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجٍ وَلَوْ أَعْجَبَكَ حُسْنُهُنَّ﴾

(nor to change them for other wives even though their beauty attracts you, ) He was forbidden to marry more women, even if he were to divorce any of them and wanted replace her with another, except for those whom his right hand possessed (slave women).

The 'natural reading' clearly says he (Prophet Muhammad (S) wasn't allowed to marry anyone, except those who he possessed (meaning slave women etc.,).

He Wrote:

The Quran, after all, does permit men to have women as sex slaves:

And if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphangirls, then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three, or four but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one or (the captives and the slaves) that your right hands possess. That is nearer to prevent you from doing injustice. S. 4:3 Hilali-Khan

Prohibited to you (For marriage) are:- Your mothers, daughters, sisters; father's sisters, Mother's sisters; brother's daughters, sister's daughters; foster-mothers (Who gave you suck), foster-sisters; your wives' mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in, - no prohibition if ye have not gone in; - (Those who have been) wives of your sons proceeding from your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time, except for what is past; for God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful; - Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess: Thus hath God ordained (Prohibitions) against you: Except for these, all others are lawful, provided ye seek (them in marriage) with gifts from your property, - desiring chastity, not lust, seeing that ye derive benefit from them, give them their dowers (at least) as prescribed; but if, after a dower is prescribed, agree Mutually (to vary it), there is no blame on you, and God is All-knowing, All-wise. S. 4:23-24 Y. Ali

And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual acts) Except from their wives or (the captives and slaves) that their right hands possess, for then, they are free from blame; S. 23:5-6

O Prophet (Muhammad SAW)! Verily, We have made lawful to you your wives, to whom you have paid their Mahr (bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage), and those (captives or slaves) whom your right hand possesses - whom Allah has given to you, and the daughters of your ‘Amm (paternal uncles) and the daughters of your ‘Ammah (paternal aunts) and the daughters of your Khal (maternal uncles) and the daughters of your Khalah (maternal aunts) who migrated (from Makkah) with you, and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet, and the Prophet wishes to marry her; a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers. Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives and those (captives or slaves) whom their right hands possess, - in order that there should be no difficulty on you. And Allah is Ever OftForgiving, Most Merciful. S. 33:50 Hilali-Khan

And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts from illegal sexual acts) except with their wives and the (women slaves and captives) whom their right hands possess, for (then) they are not to be blamed, S. 70:29-30 Hilali-Khan

My Response:

And I have already acknowledged that in the previous rebuttal. I will post it again:

"

It is no doubt, that the issue of slavery in Islam has been thrown alot of mud on by missionaries. However, they all seem to forget, that in the Holy Qur'an, a slave can request for freedom, and get it, and with the freedom, they receive an amount of money to start their life!:

Noble Verse 24:33 "Let those who find not the wherewithal for marriage keep themselves chaste, until God gives them means out of His grace. And if any of your slaves ask for a deed in writing (to enable them to earn their freedom for a certain sum), give them such a deed if ye know any good in them: yea, give them something yourselves out of the means which God has given to you. But force not your maids to prostitution when they desire chastity, in order that ye may make a gain in the goods of this life. But if anyone compels them, yet, after such compulsion, is God, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful (to them),"

And in Islam, a slave CAN NOT be forced to have relations with the master:

"Musaykah, a slave-girl of some Ansari, came and said: My master forces me to commit fornication. Thereupon the following verse was revealed: "But force not your maids to prostitution (when they desire chastity). (24:33)" (Translation of Sunan Abu Dawud, Divorce (Kitab Al-Talaq), Book 12, Number 2304)"

Also, In Islam, a slave CAN NOT be beaten:

Abu Mas'ud al-Ansari reported: "When I was beating my servant, I heard a voice behind me (saying): Abu Mas'ud, bear in mind Allah has more dominance over you than you have upon him. I turned and (found him) to be Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I said: Allah's Messenger, I set him free for the sake of Allah. Thereupon he said: Had you not done that, (the gates of) Hell would have opened for you, or the fire would have burnt you. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book of Oaths (Kitab Al-Aiman), Book 015, Number 4088)"

Compare the Hadith with this biblical verse:

Exodus 21:20-21 "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property."

Prophet Muhammad (S) even said that the slaves are your brothers:

Narrated Al-Ma'rur: At Ar-Rabadha I met Abu Dhar who was wearing a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a similar one. I asked about the reason for it. He replied, "I abused a person by calling his mother with bad names." The Prophet said to me, 'O Abu Dhar! Did you abuse him by calling his mother with bad names You still have some characteristics of ignorance. Your slaves are your brothers and Allah has put them under your command. So whoever has a brother under his command should feed him of what he eats and dress him of what he wears. Do not ask them (slaves) to do things beyond their capacity (power) and if you do so, then help them.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Belief, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 29)"

Also:

"The masters were obliged not to put slaves under hardship; slaves were not to be tortured, abused or treated unjustly. They could marry among themselves - with their master's permission - or with free men or women! They could appear as witnesses and participate with free men in all affairs. Many of them were appointed as governors, commanders of army and administrators. In the eyes of Islam, a pious slave has precedence over an impious free man." Al-Tabataba'i, Tafsir (16:338-358).

And lastly, slaves are kept only during the times of War, after the war is finished, the slave is either set free, or ransomed:

" Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks; At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly (on them): thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom: Until the war lays down its burdens. Thus (are ye commanded): but if it had been God's Will, He could certainly have exacted retribution from them (Himself); but (He lets you fight) in order to test you, some with others. But those who are slain in the Way of God,- He will never let their deeds be lost." ( The Holy Qur'an, Sura 4 Ayat no. 74)

Sheikh Abdullah Yusuf Ali, comments on this verse saying:

" When once the enemy is brought under control, generosity ( i.e., the release of prisoners without ransom) or ransom is reccomended)"

(Source: The Qur'an: Text, Translation, and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, p. 1379, Footnote#4822, Fourth U.S Edition, 2002)

And, Ibn Kathir states:

"(tighten their bonds.) `This is referring to the prisoners of war whom you have captured. Later on, after the war ends and the conflict has ceased, you have a choice in regard to the captives: You may either act graciously toward them by setting them free without charge, or free them for a ransom that you require from them.' It appears that this Ayah was revealed after the battle of Badr. At that time, Allah reproached the believers for sparing many of the enemy's soldiers, and holding too many captives in order to take ransom from them"

(Source: http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=47&tid=48912, bold and underlined emphasis ours)

Reccommended links:

http://answering-christianity.com/umar/slave_girls.htm

http://answering-christianity.com/karim/no_rape_of_female_slaves.htm

http://answering-christianity.com/bassam_zawadi/can_muslim_men_rape_their_slave_girls.htm

https://www.answering-christianity.com/equality.htm

Shamoun comments and says that there is not a single ayat in the Holy Qur'an, that says that sexual relations with a slave is abrogated, but looking at how Islam gave solutions to getting rid of this social illness named slavery, it is evident that Islam respects slaves, and when compared to the Bible, it is way better."

(Source: https://www.answering-christianity.com/umar/umar_mary2_rebuttal.htm )

Furthermore, Sufi Scholar Allama Chaudhri Ghulam Ahmed Parwez states:

"Before the advent of Islam., slavery prevailed all over the world. To men in those days, it seemed perfectly normal for the strong and wealthy to have slaves whom they had captured in war or purchased in the market. The Greeks were the leaders of thought in the ancient world. No Greek thinker had ever raised his voice against the institution of slavery. The Quran proclaimed the equality of all men in the sight of God. It struck at the root of slavery by recognizing the moral worth of man as man. However, there were, at the time of the advent of Islam, numerous slaves, both men and women, in Arabia as elsewhere in the world. The Arab economy was based on slavery. To abolish it at one stroke was impracticable. It could not be done without plunging the whole society into confusion. Yet, in every conceivable way, the Quran discouraged slavery and improved the lot of the slaves. The Muslims were urged to be kind and considerate to their slaves. They were told that to emancipate a slave was a meritorious act. They could atone for some of their offences by setting a slave free. Thus the number of slaves was gradually reduced and society was made less dependent on slave labour. The words "whom your right hand possessed" occurring in the Quran are in the past tense and refer to those who had already been enslaved. When they were emancipated through a gradual process, slavery died a natural death. The main source of slaves-men and women-was prisoners in war. The Quran laid down that they should be set free either for a ransom or as a favour (47 : 4). The door for future slavery was thus closed by the Quran for ever. Whatever happened in subsequent history, was the responsibility of the Muslims and not of the Quran.

Islam brought about a revolution in human relations placing master and slave, man and woman, on a footing of equality before God. In Arabia, as in most other countries, man had been accustomed to look on women just for the gratification of his lust. Marriage was a device to prevent men from quarrelling for the possession of desirable women. The Quran raised the status of women in society and made them equal partners of men in the enterprise of living. "

(Source: Islam: A Challenge to Religion by Allama Ghulam Ahmed Parwez, p. 345-346 Tolu-E-Islam)

He Wrote:

Notice how some of the leading commentators exegeted this specific text. Al-Qurtubi stated:

Mujahid, Saeed bin Jubayr, Ata’a and Al Hakam said: {except what your right hand possesses} means that you are not permitted to marry non-Muslims, such as Jewesses, and Christians, and idolators, who are forbidden to you. You are not allowed to marry an unbeliever since she will become one of the mothers of the believers, even if you like her looks and beauty. EXCEPT what your right hand possesses [for] you can ENJOY them, as in sleeping and having intercourse with them due to the fact that they are owned by you as possessions (Source)

Renowned commentator and historian al-Tabari wrote:

except what your right hand possesses means: you are not permitted to marry other women after the ones that were permitted to you, EXCEPT what your right hand possesses from the slave women, as you can possess as many of the slave women as you desire. (Source)

The late Sayyid Abul A’La Maududi provided his own translation of Sura 33:52:

No other women are lawful for you after this, nor are you allowed to have other wives instead of them, even if their beauty may be well pleasing to you. You may, however, have slave-girls. Allah is Watchful over everything. (Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur'an, English rendered by the Late Ch. Muhammad Akbar, edited by A.A. Kamal, M.A. [Islamic Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Lahore Pakistan, 4^th edition, August 2003], Volume IV, p. 127)

And then noted:

94. The verse explains why one is permitted to have conjugal relations with one's slave-girls besides the wedded wives, and there is no restriction on their number. The same thing has also been stated in Surah An-Nisa: 3, al-Mu'minun: 6, and al-Ma'arij: 30. In all these verses the slave-girls have been mentioned as a separate class from the wedded wives, and conjugal relations with them have been permitted. Moreover, verse 3 of Surah An-Nisa lays down the number of wives as four, but neither has Allah fixed the number of slave-girls in that verse nor made any allusion to their number in other relevant verses. Here, of course, the Holy Prophet is being addressed and told: "It is not lawful for you to take other women in marriage, or divorce any of the present wives and take another wife in her stead; slave-girls, however, are lawful." This shows that no restriction has been imposed in respect of the slave-girls. (Ibid., p. 131)

The online Shiite Pooya/Ali commentary states:

Aqa Mahdi Puya says:

Allah commanded the Holy Prophet not to marry any woman after the revelation of this verse.

Although his followers are prohibited to marry more than four women (see commentary of Nisa: 3) but muta (temporary marriage) is allowed in addition to four wives (see commentary of Nisa: 24). (Source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

My Response:

The above in no way refutes what I wrote. Let me remind what you *initially* said:

"Second, we highlight the quote from Ali to show Umar what he obviously failed to see:

"This was revealed in A.H. 7. AFTER THAT the Prophet did not marry again EXCEPT THE HANDMAIDEN Mary the Copt, who was sent as a present by the Christian Muqauqas of Egypt. She became the mother of Ibrahim, who died in his infancy.

Ali clearly says that Muhammad married Mariyah AFTER THE COMMAND HAD BEEN GIVEN WHICH PROHIBITED HIM FROM TAKING ANY MORE WIVES! Thus, Ali’s quote ends up proving my point and exposes Muhammad as a sinner who willfully broke the commands of his Lord. Umar may have no problem with his prophet being a willful lawbreaker, deliberately going against the instructions of his own god, in light of the fact that on several occasions Muhammad was rebuked severely for sinning:"

(Source: https://www.answering-christianity.com/umar/umar_mary_rebuttal_2.htm )

You tried to use Yusuf Ali's own quote, to refute me, by saying Yusuf Ali's own quote show the Prophet (S) went against the Qur'an because he married AFTER Sura 33:52. But this has already been refuted, as I said clearly:

"This was revealed in A.H. 7. After that the Prophet did not marry again except the handmaiden Mary the Copt, who was sent as a present by the Christian Muqauqas of Egypt. She became the mother of Ibrahim, who died in his infancy.

(Source: The Quran: Text translation and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Footnote#3754)

And here is Sura 33:52 (again...) :

It is not lawful for thee (to marry more) women after this, nor to change them for (other) wives, even though their beauty attract thee, except any thy right hand should possess (as handmaidens): and God doth watch over all things.

So, even though Yusuf Ali says "After that the Prophet did not marry..", the Ayat says he can marry any women that the Prophet (S) possesses (as handmaidens). So Yusuf Ali, agrees with us, when he calls Mariyah a wife of the Holy Prophet (S), however, he differs with us, regarding if she was a handmaiden or not. So let us highlight the bottom line:"

(Source: https://www.answering-christianity.com/umar/umar_mary2_rebuttal.htm )

So now lets highlight the main point:

Your appeal to Yusuf Ali, by saying as per Yusuf Ali the Holy Prophet (S) went AGAINST the Qur'an by marrying Mariyah only backfires against you, using Yusuf Ali's own words!

He Wrote:

The foregoing demonstrates that the passage is not saying that Muhammad could marry a captive or slave woman, but that he could enjoy them without having to marry them. This interpretation is even reflected in Yusuf Ali’s version:

It is not lawful for thee (to marry more) women after this, nor to change them for (other) wives, even though their beauty attract thee, except any thy right hand should possess (AS HANDMAIDENS): and God doth watch over all things. S. 33:52

Yusuf Ali clearly expressed the view that Muhammad could enjoy those whom his right hand possessed as handmaidens, not as wives.

My Response:

 Moreover, why would Yusuf Ali now contradict himself? He says in the commentary Mariyah the handmaiden married the Prophet (S) after the revealing of the Ayat, therefore, the commentator is suggesting that in no way the Ayat says the Prophet (S) couldn't marry slavewoman, but shows that indeed he could marry slavewoman, hence he married Mariyah the Copt!

He Wrote:

Furthermore, even if we concede for a moment that Umar is correct in his analysis of the text this still wouldn’t support his interpretation since the immediate context only permitted Muhammad from enjoying those women who were taken as spoils of war:

O Prophet! Lo! We have made lawful unto thee thy wives unto whom thou hast paid their dowries, and those whom thy right hand possesseth of those whom Allah hath given thee as spoils of war, and the daughters of thine uncle on the father's side and the daughters of thine aunts on the father's side, and the daughters of thine uncle on the mother's side and the daughters of thine aunts on the mother's side who emigrated with thee, and a believing woman if she give herself unto the Prophet and the Prophet desire to ask her in marriage - a privilege for thee only, not for the (rest of) believers - We are Aware of that which We enjoined upon them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess - that thou mayst be free from blame, for Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. Thou canst defer whom thou wilt of them and receive unto thee whom thou wilt, and whomsoever thou desirest of those whom thou hast set aside (temporarily), it is no sin for thee (to receive her again); that is better; that they may be comforted and not grieve, and may all be pleased with what thou givest them. Allah knoweth what is in your hearts (O men), and Allah is ever Forgiving, Clement. It is not allowed thee to take (other) women henceforth, nor that thou shouldst change them for other wives even though their beauty pleased thee, save those whom thy right hand possesseth. And Allah is ever Watcher over all things. Sura 33:50-52 Pickthall

My Response:

Furthermore, we would like to remind Shamoun that we do not fully support the idea that Mariyah was a handmaiden, and then married to the Prophet (S), however we do not out rule this possibility. We only cited Yusuf Ali, so that the reader can decide as to which stance makes more sense to them.

He Wrote:

The problem for Umar is that Mariyah wasn’t from the spoils of war but a gift given to Muhammad, which disqualifies her for marriage! In fact, this is the very reason why the following Muslims argued against the view that Muhammad married Mariyah:

Moreover, it is clear from the Qur’an (33:49-52) that the Prophet (sws) could only free and marry slave girls who were made prisoners in war. He was not allowed to marry gifted slave women that had been set free. (The Case of Maria the Coptic; online source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

As far as the slave girl Hadhrat Maria Qibtia (ra) is concerned, the Prophet (pbuh) kept her as a slave girl because he was barred from marrying those slave girls who were not part of the booty of war, in the same verse that governed his marriage regulations. Hadhrat Maria Qibtia (ra) was presented to the Prophet (pbuh) by the ruler of Egypt. He loved her very much and treated her very well, in order to set an example for the Muslims in treatment of their slaves. (Mr. Amar Ellahi Lone, The Marriages of the Prophet (pbuh); online source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

My Response:

Again, this is the best part about discussions like this. The whole idea is for the reader to decide which stance makes more sense to them. If the reader feels Yusuf Ali is correct, then they would side with Yusuf Ali on his stance, if they feel the above sources cited by Sam are correct, then they would support him.

He Wrote:

Still others believe that the expression "those whom your right hand possesses" doesn’t refer to slaves or captives at all. They take the view that this is simply another way of referring to women that a person has married. Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote:

52c. By those whom thy right hand possesses are indicated the wives of the Prophet whom he lawfully married. (online source)

My Response:

Okay, nothing important here.

He Wrote:

Muhammad Asad stated:

Some commentators (e.g., Tabari) assume that this restriction relates to the four categories of women enumerated in verse 50 above: it is, however, much more probable that it is a prohibition barring the Prophet from marrying any woman in addition to those to whom he was already married (Baghawi, Zamakhshari). Some of the earliest, most outstanding authorities on the Quran, like Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, Ibn Zayd (all of them cited by Ibn Kathir), or Al-Hasan al-Basri (quoted by Tabari in his commentary on verses 28-29), link this prohibition of further marriages with the choice between the charms of worldly life and the good of the hereafter with which the wives of the Prophet were confronted on the strength of verses 28-29, and their emphatic option for "God and His Apostle" (cf. note on verse 29 above). All those early authorities describe the revelation of verse 52 and the assurance which it was meant to convey to the wives of the Prophet - as God’s reward, in this world, of their faith and fidelity. Since it is inconceivable that the Prophet could have disregarded the categorical injunction, "No [other] women shall henceforth be lawful to thee", the passage in question cannot have been revealed earlier than the year 7 H., that is, the year in which the conquest of Khaybar and the Prophet’s marriage with Safiyyah - his last marriage - took place. Consequently, verses 28-29 (with which, as we have seen, verse 52 is closely connected) must have been revealed at that later period, and not, as some commentators think, in the year 5 H. (i.e., at the time of the Prophet’s marriage with Zaynab). - … I.e., to divorce any of them with a view to taking another wife in her stead (with the prohibitive accent on the "supplanting"- i.e., divorcing - of any of his wives). … In my opinion, the expression ma malakat yaminuka (lit., "what thy right hand possesses", or has come to possess") has here the same meaning as in 4: 24, namely, "those whom thou hast come to possess through wedlock" (see note on surah 4: 24); thus, the above verse is to be understood as limiting the Prophet’s marriages to those already contracted. (Asad, The Message of the Quran, ff. 65-67; online source; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Moreover, Asad claimed that it is inconceivable that Muhammad could have violated the Quran’s command to marry other women, forcing him to conclude that this verse must have been composed before 7 AH. Now let us compare this with Yusuf Ali’s note once again:

This was revealed in A.H. 7. AFTER THAT the Prophet did not marry again except the handmaiden Mary the Copt, who was sent as a present by the Christian Muqauqas of Egypt. She became the mother of Ibrahim, who died in his infancy. (The Quran: Text translation and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, fn. 3754)

My Response:

The important thing to note here right now is where he says the Ayat is revealed in 7 A.H.

He Wrote:

Umar cites another reference which basically agrees with Ali:

It is commonly agreed that it was after the Prophet had married Maymuna, giving him now nine wives (A'isha, Sawda, Hafsa, Umm Salama, Zainab bint Jahsh, Juwayriyya, Umm Habiba, Safiyya and Maymuna), that the following ayat was revealed:

It is not lawful for you (O Muhammad, to marry more) women after this, nor to exchange them for other wives, even though their beauty is pleasing to you, except those whom your right hand possesses (as maid servants); and Allah is always watching over everything. (Quran 33:52)

AFTER THIS, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not marry again. When however, the Christian ruler, or Muqawqis, of Egypt, sent him two Christian slave girls who were sisters as a gift (in response to the Prophet's letter inviting him to embrace Islam), along with a fine robe and some medicine the Prophet, accepted one of the slave girls, Maria, into his household; he gave her sister Serene, to a man whom he wished to honor, namely Hassan ibn Thabit; he accepted the robe; and he returned the medicine with the message, "My Sunna is my medicine!" This occurred in 7 AH, when the Prophet was sixty years old and Maria was twenty years old.

(Source: http://www.anwary-islam.com/women/pwife_maymuna.htm); bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)

This source expressly says that Muhammad received Mariyah in 7 AH after the prohibition of Sura 33:52 was given. Hence, Yusuf Ali and the above reference have Muhammad basically marrying Mariyah after 7 AH, which Asad argued was inconceivable since this would mean that Muhammad broke Allah’s injunction!

My Response:

Again, what the above reference is noting is that Mariyah was a MAID SERVANT or in other words a HANDMAIDEN. Therefore, if Mariyah arrived after the Ayat was revealed, the marriage would still be legal, as per the above source, and Yusuf Ali etc.

As for breaking the prohibition for contract of marriage, we have already responded to this. The Ayat (Sura 33:52), as agreed by the scholars cited, gives permission for the Prophet (S) to marry the ones whom he possessed, therefore the Holy Prophet (S) did not go against the Holy Qur'an when he married Mariyah.

He Wrote:

More importantly, even if she did arrive before this prohibition was issued she still wouldn’t be eligible for marriage on the grounds that she was a gift and not a prisoner of war. Muhammad, according to the context, was allowed to marry only captives taken from the battle.

My Response:

WHAT?????????

Ladies and gentlemen, not only is the above one of the most ludacris statements I have ever read, but it clearly shows how desperate Shamoun is to prove that Mariyah the Copt isnt a wife of the Prophet (S), and is (as he likes to put it) a "sex slave".

He Wrote:

Here we summarize the various Muslim explanations regarding Sura 33:52:

   1. The natural reading of the text isn’t that Muhammad could marry any of the slave or captive women in his possession. Rather, the verse is saying that Muhammad could enjoy as many slave women as he desired, that he could have unlimited concubines. Since two of Umar’s sources say that Mariyah came after this prohibition had been given Muhammad couldn’t have therefore married her without violating Allah’s command.

My Response:

The reading of the text clearly says the Prophet (S) can marry those whom his right hand possessed. Obviously, Shamoun can bring scholars who say that stance is wrong, and most likely they are of the view that Mariyah isn't a wife of the Prophet (S). Again, your appeal to Yusuf Ali to refute me only backfired against you.

He Wrote:

2. Still others interpret the words "those whom thy right hand possesses" as not referring to slave or captive women that Muhammad could enjoy, but to those whom Muhammad had lawfully married. They thus see the last clause as reinforcing the point that Muhammad could not take additional wives or replace the ones he had. Much like with the first explanation, this interpretation rules out the possibility of Muhammad having married Mariyah since she arrived after the prohibition had been passed.

My Response:

The "others" referred to here by Shamoun is Muhammad Asad. Muhammad Asad's stances on the verses are clear, however the reason why I cited him was to show that himself clearly says the Ayat (Sura 33:52) came after 5 A.H., specifically 7 A.H.

He Wrote:

3. The immediate context defines the slave women whom Muhammad could enjoy as those taken as prisoners of war. This has led certain Muslims to conclude that Muhammad could not have married Mariyah since she was a gift and not a prisoner of war. This also means that even if Mariyah had been sent to Muhammad before the ruling of Sura 33:52, she still wouldn’t have been eligible for marriage.

My Response:

Already responded to above.

So now lets summarize the points:

1) Shamoun initially appealed to Yusuf Ali to refute me, but it only backfired against him.

2) Most likely after realizing his appeal to Yusuf Ali refuted him, he desperately brought scholars to refute Yusuf Ali' position in order to save face.

Now we move on to our analysis of the alleged "contradiction" cited by Sam Shamoun. We title this:

                           Contradiction, or just bad handling of the text??

He Wrote:

Since Umar was in such a rush and so excited to refute Ali Sina and myself he seemed to have overlooked the fact that his main reference which states that the majority of Muslim scholars believe that Mariyah was a wife contradicts the so-called sound narrations. Here is Umar’s quote:

    However, the vast majority of Muslim scholars agreed that the wives of the prophet (pbuh) were:

        1. Khadijah

        2. `A’isha bint Abu Bakr

        3. Sawda bint Zum`ah

        4. Hafsa bint `Umar

        5. Zaynab bint Khuzaymah

        6. Um-Habibah bint Abu Sufyan

        7. Um-Salamah

        8. Zaynab bint Jahsh

        9. Juwariyah bint al-Harith

        10. Safiyah bint Hayi ibn Akhtab

        11. Maymunah al-Hilaliyah

        12. Mariya al-Qibtiya (Who was from Egypt.)

    (May Allah be pleased with all of them). These are the names upon whom the scholars agreed. (source)

My Response:

Later on, we will see how Shamoun now contradicts himself later on, right now lets just take a good look at the list again.

He Wrote:

According to Muslim sources Khadijah died before Muhammad migrated to Medina. While he was in Medina one of his wives died before he did, Zaynab bint Khuzaymah. If the above list is correct then this means that Muhammad left behind ten wives when he died. Yet the hadiths and the sira state that Muhammad had nine wives when he died, eight of whom he would spend a day with:

    The apostle consummated his marriage with eleven women, two of whom died before him, namely Khadija and Zaynab. He died leaving the nine we have mentioned. With two he had no marital relations, namely Asma’ d. al-Nu‘man, the Kindite woman, whom he married and found to be suffering from leprosy and so returned her to her people with a suitable gift; and ‘Amra d. Yazid the Kilab woman who was recently an unbeliever. When she came to the apostle she said ‘I seek God’s protection against you,’ and he replied that the one who did that was inviolable so he sent her back to her people. Others say that the one who said this was a Kindite woman, a cousin of Asma’ d. al-Nu‘man, and that the apostle summoned her and she said ‘We are a people to whom others come; we come to none!’ so he returned her to her people.

    There were six Quraysh women among the prophet’s wives, namely, Khadija, ‘A’isha, Hafsa, Umm Habiba, Umm Salam, and Sauda.

    The Arab women and others were seven, namely, Zaynab d. Jash, Maymuna, Zaynab d. Khuzayma, Juwayriya, Asma’, and ‘Amra. The non-Arab woman was Safiya d. Huyay b. Akhtab of B. al-Nadir. (The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Karachi Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth Impression 1995), p. 794; bold and underline emphasis ours)

    Narrated ‘Ata:

    We presented ourselves along with Ibn ‘Abbas at the funeral procession of Maimuna at a place called Sarif. Ibn ‘Abbas said, "This is the wife of the Prophet so when you lift her bier, do not jerk it or shake it much, but walk smoothly because the Prophet had NINE WIVES and he used to observe the night turns with eight of them, AND FOR ONE OF THEM THERE WAS NO NIGHT TURN." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 5)

    Narrated Anas:

    The Prophet I used to go round (have sexual relations with) all his wives in one night, and he had nine wives. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 6)

    Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) had nine wives. So when he divided (his stay) with them, the turn of the first wife did not come but on the ninth (day). They (all the wives) used to gather every night in the house of one where he had to come (and stay that night). It was (the night when he had to stay) in the house of ‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her), when Zainab came there. He (the Holy Prophet) stretched his hand towards her (Zainab), whereupon she (‘A’isha) said: It is Zainab. Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) withdrew his hand. There was an altercation between the two until their voices became loud (and it was at that time) when Iqama was pronounced for prayer. There happened to come Abu Bakr and he heard their voices and said: Messenger of Allah, (kindly) come for prayer, and throw dust in their mouths. So the Prophet (may peace be upon him) went out. ‘A’isha said: When Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) would finish his prayer there would also come Abu Bakr and he would do as he does on such occasions (i. e. reprimanding). When Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) had finished his prayer, there came to her Abu Bakr and spoke to her (‘A’isha) in stern words and said: Do you behave like this? (Sahih Muslim, Book 008, Number 3450)

Umar may want to argue that certain hadiths claim that Muhammad made rounds with eleven of his wives which would therefore include Mariyah since without her the number would only be ten. The problem with this view is that Muhammad didn’t have eleven wives at one time since Zaynab had died before Mariyah had arrived. Note the date which Umar places Mariyah’s arrival:

    So if Mariyah Qibtiyya arrived at the Holy Prophet (S) household just after the Prophet returned from signing the treaty, which occured[sic] in Dhi Qa'd of 6 A.H., then the right dating of her arrival should be around the ending of A.H. 6 and the beginning of 7 A.H.

6-7 AH gives us a rough date of 629-630 AD. Yet Zaynab died roughly three to four years before Mariyah arrived:

    According to Ibn ‘Umar [al-Waqidi] – Kathir b. Zayd – al-Muttalib b. ‘Abdallah b. Hantab, and also Muhammad b. Qudamah – his father: The Prophet asked Zaynab bt. Khuzaymah al-Hilaliyyah, Umm al-Masakin, in marriage, and she entrusted her affairs to him. He let it be known that he gave her twelve and a half ounces [of gold] as bridal gift. The marriage took place in Ramadan, thirty-one months after Emigration/February 625. She stayed with him eight months, then died at the end of Rabi‘ II, thirty-nine months after [the Emigration]/October 626. The Prophet said the prayers over her brier and buried her at al-Baqi. (The History of al-Tabari: Biographies of the Prophet’s Companions and Their Successors, translated by Ella Landau-Tasseron [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1998], Volume XXXIX (39), p. 164; bold and capital emphasis ours)

With Zaynab dead, Muhammad would have had nine wives. If we then add Mariyah to the list then this means that Muhammad had ten wives at one time, contradicting the traditions which place the number at either nine or eleven.

Moreover, there seems to be a logical explanation why a tradition exists indicating that the number of Muhammad’s wives during his later years was eleven. It seems that some of the narrators were thinking of all the women Muhammad married, including Khadija and Zaynab, which would bring the total to eleven. With this number in mind they may have mistakenly narrated that Muhammad had eleven wives even later in his life. This explanation seems quite plausible when we take into consideration the following narration:

    Narrated Qatada:

    Anas bin Malik said, "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night and they were eleven in number." I asked Anas, "Had the Prophet the strength for it?" Anas replied, "We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty (men)." And Sa’id said on the authority of Qatada that Anas had told him about nine wives ONLY (not eleven). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 5, Number 268)

Note how one narrator corrects the previous narrator’s claim that according to Anas Muhammad had eleven wives and says they were actually nine altogether. This furnishes evidence that certain narrators mistakenly placed the number of wives at eleven due to having in the back of their mind the fact that Muhammad had a total of eleven wives throughout his lifetime.

Therefore, the foregoing data provides additional evidence, this time from the so-called sound hadiths, that Mariyah could not have been one of Muhammad’s wives.

The fact is that the unanimous position of the Muslim scholars is that Muhammad left behind nine wives when he died. Note for instance the response given by the Salafi scholars at www.Islamqa.com to the question of whether Muhammad had eleven or nine wives:

    The scholars differ concerning the number of wives that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had. The majority are of the view - WHICH IS CORRECT - that he had eleven wives with whom he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) consummated marriage, AND HE LEFT NINE OF THEM BEHIND WHEN HE DIED. Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid and Zaynab bint Khuzaymah - may Allaah be pleased with them both - died before him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

    This is the view of his companions, as the imams narrated from them in their saheeh books. ...

    Mu'aadh ibn Hishaam narrated from his father, according to a report narrated by al-Bukhaari (265) from him alone, that there were eleven wives, BUT HE WAS MISTAKEN; the correct view is that he went around to nine wives.

    Ibn Hajar said:

    Ibn Khuzaymah said: Mu'aadh ibn Hishaam was the only one who narrated that from his father, and it was narrated by Sa'eed ibn 'Uroobah and others from Qataadah but they said "nine wives." Al-Bukhaari referred to the report of Sa'eed ibn Abi 'Uroobah in a mu'allaq report here, but twenty chapters later he narrated it in a mawsool report when he said: "He used to go around his wives in one night, and at that time he had nine wives."

    Fath al-Baari, 1/377.

    Ibn al-Qayyim said:

    There is NO SCHOLARLY DISPUTE concerning the fact that he left nine behind when he died and that he used to give a portion of his time to eight of them. Those nine were: 'Aa'ishah, Hafsah, Zaynab bint Jahsh, Umm Salamah, Safiyyah, Umm Habeebah, Maymoonah, Sawdah and Juwayriyyah. The first of his wives to follow him after he died was Zaynab bint Jahsh in 20 AH and the last of them to die was Umm Salamah in 62 AH during the caliphate of Yazeed.

    Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/114

    With regard to his female slaves, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had four female slaves.

    Ibn al-Qayyim said:

    Abu 'Ubaydah said: He had four: Maariyah who was the mother of his son Ibraaheem; Rayhaanah; another beautiful slave women who he got among some of the prisoners of war; and a slave woman who was given to him by Zaynab bint Jahsh.

    Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/114. (Question #13344: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have nine wives or eleven?; source; capital and underline emphasis ours)

Interestingly, this source lists Mariyah as one of the slaves of Muhammad, not his wife!

My Response:

Now we will show how Shamoun’s appeal to the Sihah Sittah will only backfire against him.

Hafaz Ibn Hajar the Author of Fatih Al Bari was reported to have said:

‏قال ابن خزيمة : تفرد بذلك معاذ بن هشام عن أبيه ورواه سعيد بن أبي عروبة وغيره عن قتادة فقالوا " تسع نسوة " . انتهى . وقد أشار البخاري إلى رواية سعيد بن أبي عروبة فعلقها هنا ووصلها بعد اثني عشر بابا بلفظ " كان يطوف على نسائه في الليلة الواحدة وله يومئذ تسع نسوة " وقد جمع ابن حبان في صحيحه بين الروايتين بأن حمل ذلك على حالتين لكنه وهم في قوله " أن الأولى كانت في أول قدومه المدينة حيث كان تحته تسع نسوة والحالة الثانية في آخر الأمر حيث اجتمع عنده إحدى عشرة امرأة " وموضع الوهم منه أنه صلى الله عليه وسلم لما قدم المدينة لم يكن تحته امرأة سوى سودة ثم دخل على عائشة بالمدينة ثم تزوج أم سلمة وحفصة وزينب بنت خزيمة في السنة الثالثة والرابعة ثم تزوج زينب بنت جحش في الخامسة ثم جويرية في السادسة ثم صفية وأم حبيبة وميمونة في السابعة وهؤلاء جميع من دخل بهن من الزوجات بعد الهجرة على المشهور واختلف في ريحانة وكانت من سبي بني قريظة فجزم ابن إسحاق بأنه عرض عليها أن يتزوجها ويضرب عليها الحجاب فاختارت البقاء في ملكه والأكثر على أنها ماتت قبله في سنة عشر وكذا ماتت زينب بنت خزيمة بعد دخولها عليه بقليل قال ابن عبد البر : مكثت عنده شهرين أو ثلاثة . فعلى هذا لم يجتمع عنده من الزوجات أكثر من تسع مع أن سودة كانت وهبت يومها لعائشة كما سيأتي في مكانه فرجحت رواية سعيد . لكن تحمل رواية هشام على أنه ضم مارية وريحانة إليهن وأطلق عليهن لفظ " نسائه " تغليبا . وقد سرد الدمياطي - في السيرة التي جمعها - من اطلع عليه من أزواجه ممن دخل بها أو عقد عليها فقط أو طلقها قبل الدخول أو خطبها ولم يعقد عليها فبلغت ثلاثين وفي المختارة من وجه آخر عن أنس " تزوح خمس عشرة : دخل منهن بإحدى عشرة ومات عن تسع " . وسرد أسماءهن أيضا أبو الفتح اليعمري ثم مغلطاي فزدن على العدد الذي ذكره الدمياطي وأنكر ابن القيم ذلك . والحق أن الكثرة المذكورة محمولة على اختلاف في بعض الأسماء وبمقتضى ذلك تنقص العدة . والله أعلم

Bukhari has pointed to a narration of Saeed bin Abi Aruba, and related it here and attached it to the twelfth chapter and narrated it in these words:

“He used to go around to his nisaana [females; women], and in those days he had nine nisaana” Ibn Habana has collected among the sahih, between two narrations, that it conveys two conditions: But that was because of his saying, “the first was upon his arrival in medina where under him were nine niswas, and the second condition was at the other time when he had collected under him eleven women” the doubt in it is that when he came to medina, he did not have under him any other women except Sauda. Then he came upon Aisha, then he married Umm Salima, and Hafsa, and Zainab d/o Hazima, in the year third and fourth (AH). Then he married Zainab d/o Jahash in the fifth and Javeria in the 6^th, then Safia, Umm Habiba and Maimoona in the seventh. And these were all the women he married after the hijira that is known. He differed about Rehana. She was from Sabi bin Quraiza. Ibn Ishaaq decided that he proposed to marry her and imposed hijaab upon her, and she chose to stay in his posession, and most probably she died before him in the year 10 AH. Similarly, zainab bin khazima died a little while after he married her. Ibn Abdul Barr says that she stayed with him two or three months. Until that he had not gathered under him more than nine women. Besides, Sauda had gifted her day to Aisha, when he would come home.

Then the narration of Saeen returns : But the narration of Ibn Hasham carries the possibility that he joined maria and rehana together and applied upon them the term “nisaana”, most probably. Dhumyaatee had enumerated in his seerat he gathered: someone informed him that the number of women whom he SAW, married, or just did nikah with, or divorced after nikah before he married them, or proposed for them but then did not do nikah with them reached thirty. [The Women] from among them, says another source, Anas, “ there were fifteen, and he married eleven of them.” Abu Al fatah Al Yamaree also enumerated the names of the women; then he mistakenly added to the number that Dhumyaatee had mentioned. But Ibn Qayyim disagrees with that. He adds the names of most of the possible women, but differed in some of the names.

(Source: http://hadith.al-islam.com/Display/Display.asp?Doc=0&Rec=451 , bold and underlined emphasis ours , translated by Dr. Munir Munshey)

Note how he also includes Rehana in it too. We have no problem with that whatsoever, infact its rather interesting that they brought up Rehana. Allama Shibli Nu'Mani comments on this and says:

" Several historians record that out of the Quraiza prisoners, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered a woman- Raihana by name- to be kept apart, and a few days later took her to wife. The historians who maintain that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not mind having conjugal relations with slave-girls, have cited two examples, one in the case of Raihana and the other in case of Mariyah Qibtiya. Christian historians have fondly believed and painted it in the darkest colours. One of these writers in a most sarcastic manner says: "The founder of Islam having enjoyed the sight of 700 assassinations came home to delight in.." In fact the whole story is pure fiction.

 All the reports stating how Raihana came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) have either been taken from Waqidi or Ibn Ishaq.  But Waqidi has explicitly stated that she was duly wed. Ibn Sa'd's verion, borrowed from Waqidi, reports Raihana herself saying, " Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set me free and married me."

 Hafiz Ibn Hajar, in his Isabah, quotes the following from Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan's History of Medina " And Raihana, of the tribe of the Quraiza who was a wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) lived in this house."

  Hafaiz Ibn Minda's book  Tabaqat al-Sahaba which has been the main source for the later traditionalists contains the following words: "Raihana was taken captive then set her fere and she went to her own family and lived with her people like a purdah observing lady." Hafaz Ibn Hajar, after having quoted it, remarks, " It is a highly signifacant fact to which Ibn al-Athir paid no heed." Hafiz Ibn Minda's version establishes the fact that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had set her free and that she lived with her family like a respectable lady. We hold this vesion to be the whole truth, and even if it is supposed that she entered the Prophet's Haram, she was certainly a married wife and by no means a slave girl"

(Source: Sirat Un Nabi by Allama Shibli Nu'Mani rendered into English by M. Tayyib Bakhsh Budayuni, p. 125-126 Vol. II, Kazi Publications Lahore)

Furthermore, in the maroon, we find this commentary:

"Biographical works have three versions of reports about Raihana. One, that she was set free and went back to her people to live a secluded life. This is reported by Ibn Minda and stands uncorroborated. Second, that the Prophet set her free and had a mind to let hier live as a wife like the other wives, but, realising the extraordinary responsibility of a wedded woman, she preferred to serve as a slave-girl. This is what Ibn Ishaq reports. Third, that the Prophet left the decision to her own choice, and then she embraced Islam, and the Prophet set her free and married her. This is Waqidi's report quoted by Ibn Sa'd through various chains : and Waqidi has declared it to be the proved version. See Kitab al-Bidaya, Ibn Kathir Vol. V, p.305. And Imam Zohri also corroborates the marriage version. See previous reference. For details refer to Isabah, account of Raihana."

So the Hadiths as cited by Shamoun further exposes him, and shows that there is the possibility that the term of nisaana was applied upon Mariyah and Rehana.

Hence, today we have scholars who debate about if Mariyah is a wife of the Prophet (S) or not, and again as cited above, the majority agree Mariyah was indeed a wife of the Prophet (S)!

Sam Shamoun then cites the Salafi scholars of Islam-qa, however these scholars say that there is no scholarly dispute about how many wives the Prophet (S) left behind, but we would have to disagree with that stance, as the scholars of Islamonline.net clearly say some sources say Mariyah is a wife, and others say Mariyah wasn't a wife:

"Was Maria the Copt a Slave, a Concubine, or a Wife of the Prophet?

Slavery already existed long before Islam. It was a system whereby a human captured in wars or kidnapped could be sold as a “possession.” That term applied to both sexes, not to women only. In some cultures slaves were considered subhuman and treated brutally. In Europe, for example, Romans threw Christian slaves to the lions while the public cheered; female slaves were thought to have no souls and were tortured mercilessly; slaves lived in degrading conditions; both sexes were forced to offer sexual favors to their masters; and as “possessions” they had no choice, no will, and no rights.

Islam recognized the human rights of slaves and encouraged Muslims to set slaves free. Islam prohibited adultery and homosexuality, and prevented forcing female slaves into sexual acts against their will. Islam encouraged educating them, setting them free, then legally marrying them and giving them their moral and financial rights. The reward for this—as mentioned in Prophetic Hadith—is eternal residence in Paradise.

Maria (may Allah be pleased with her) was not a concubine; she was a slave owned by Egypt’s Christian governor, who offered her and her sister Serine—among other presents—as a “gift of good will” to the Prophet in reply to his envoys inviting him to Islam. On her way from Egypt to Madinah, she was curious to learn about “her new master” and listened to his Companions talk about him. As a result, she became Muslim before meeting Muhammad. Scholars’ opinions vary of her status afterwards; here is the opinion I support:

One of the prominent Al-Azhar scholars, Sheikh Abdul Majid Subh, states:

“Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), instead of taking concubines, entered into lawful marriages based on reason and wisdom. Maria the Copt was given to him as a present, but rather than taking her as a concubine, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married her, thus elevating her status by marriage.”

(Source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1123996016508&pagename=IslamOnline-English-AAbout_Islam/AskAboutIslamE/AskAboutIslamE )

Whats even more interesting is that on the same web page, I found this:

" Who Were the Prophet’s Wives?

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) married 12 wives in his life. When he died he had 9 wives. They have a very special status in the hearts of Muslims as the “Mothers of the Believers,” as the Qur’an instructs, and they are the source of a great amount of wisdom which they learned while living close to such a great man. Perhaps you’d like to research a bit to find their beautiful stories, so here are their names: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Sawdah bint Zam’ah, `A’ishah bint Abi Bakr, Hafsah bint `Umar ibn Al-Khattab, Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, Umm Salama, Zaynab bint Jahsh, Juwayriah bint Al-Harith, Umm Habibah, Safiyah bint Huyay ibn Akhtab, Maymunah bint Al-Harith, Maria the Copt."

Now, lets move on to our analysis of Sam's heading on the majority of the scholars.

He Wrote:

Is the Majority Always Right?

Umar repeatedly asserts that the majority of Muslim scholars believe that Mariyah was Muhammad’s wife:

    It doesn't matter if the different views are found among the scholars, here is the bottom line:

    The majority agree, that she is indeed a wife of the Holy Prophet (S) !

He gets this information from the following source:

    The books of sirah (the biography of the Prophet Muhammad) differ on the number of his wives (may Allah bless all). The main reason behind the differences in the number of his wives is - in most of the cases - due to the reliance on weak non-authentic hadiths.

    However, the vast majority of Muslim scholars agreed that the wives of the prophet (pbuh) were:

        1. Khadijah

        2. `A’isha bint Abu Bakr

        3. Sawda bint Zum`ah

        4. Hafsa bint `Umar

        5. Zaynab bint Khuzaymah

        6. Um-Habibah bint Abu Sufyan

        7. Um-Salamah

        8. Zaynab bint Jahsh

        9. Juwariyah bint al-Harith

        10. Safiyah bint Hayi ibn Akhtab

        11. Maymunah al-Hilaliyah

        12. Mariya al-Qibtiya (Who was from Egypt.)

    (May Allah be pleased with all of them). These are the names upon whom the scholars agreed.

    Some books list Mariya as a concubine, yet the opinion I more lean toward is that she was one of the prophet’s wives and was not a concubine. Mariya was honored and respected by the prophet (pbuh), as well as his family and companions. (Prophet’s Illiteracy and Mariya; source)

My Response:

Okay, nothing much here, just the same source cited before.

He Wrote:

He also conveniently quotes only a portion of Wikipedia’s entry on Mariyah, but doesn’t bother to mention what they write under the subheading Maria and her sister sent from the Patriarch:

    Many Muslim sources say that Muhammad later freed and married Maria, but it is not clear if this is historical fact or historical apology. Some Muslim traditions claim that Muhammad offered to free Maria, but that she chose to remain a slave. To further complicate matters, slaves were to be automatically freed upon conversion to Islam, so it is not clear why Maria would have to be explicitly freed if she had already converted. (Source, as accessed on 16 March 2006; bold and underline emphasis ours)

My Response:

Here is the part which Shamoun forgot to note:

“Some Muslim traditions claim that Muhammad offered to free Maria, but that she chose to remain a slave. To further complicate matters, slaves were to be automatically freed upon conversion to Islam, so it is not clear why Maria would have to be explicitly freed if she had already converted. (Source, as accessed on 16 March 2006; bold and underline emphasis ours)"

The above in bold is infact very true, as the Prophet (S) has done this before. First, let us re-examine what Allama Shibli Nu'Mani says:

“Notwithstanding all that, the Potiphar of Egypt did not embrace Islam. Of the two girls sent by him, one was Mariya Qibtiya, who was married to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the other Sirin , who was married to Hasan; the mula was named Duldul, frequently mentioned in books on traditions. In the battle of Hunain, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was on the back of this very animal. Tabari says that Mariya was Qibtiya and Sirin were real sisters, and through the teachings of Hatib Ibn Abi Balta'a, who had been sent as a messenger to the Potiphar of Egypt, both had embraced Islam before reaching the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). What one has to note here is that these ladies were not slave girls and that they had already accepted Islam. We should hence conclude that Mariya Qibtiya entered the Prophet's household as a duly wedded wife, and not as a slave girl."

(Source: Sirat-Un-Nabi by Allama Shibli Nu'Mani rendered into English by M. Tayyib Bakhsh Budayuni p. 253, Vol. II Kazi Publications Lahore, Second Edition)

And,

 

" It would be in the fitness of things to say a few words about the magnanious treatment that was accorded to the prisoners of war by Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions. This noble attitude which they showed can be fully appreciated if we review it in the context of the circumstances which led to the war. The Prophet and his companions had endured for full fifteen years unspeakable insults and injuries at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca so much so that they were obliged to bid goodbye to their native place and seek shelter into a far-off place. The Meccans who were thirsty for their blood did not allow them to lead a life of peace even in their new abodes. They fell upon them with all their forces in order to exterminate them root and branch. Fate, however, decided otherwise and they were defeated by a small army of the Muslims. Amidgst such feelings of bitterness the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) remained calm and self-possessed. No atrocity was perpetrated upon the prisoners. Out of the seventy-two captives only two were executed, viz., al-Nadir b. al-Harith and Uqbah b. Abi Mu'ayt who were notorious for their unrelenting hostility towards the Muslims. The rest of the captives were treated with utmost kindness and consideration. "Blessings on the men of Medina," said one of these in later days, "they gave us wheaten bread to eat when there was little of it, contenting themselves with dates." It is not surprising, therefore, that some of the captives, yielding to these influences, embraced Islam and were therefore immediately set free. The rest were kept for ransom. But this was long before Quraysh could humble themselves to visit Medina for the purpose. The spell of kindly treatment was thus prolonged and left a favourable impression on the minds of those even who did not at once go over to Islam.

The ransom of each prisoner varied with his financial position, ranging from one thousand dirhams to four thousand. The poor who could not afford to pay were set f ree without any compensation. Those who could read and write were given the charge of small children. Each one of them had to teach ten of their wards and when they became proficient in reading and writing, their instructor was granted liberty. This condition of securing freedom throws a good deal of light on the value which Islam attaches to learning."

(Source: The Life of Muhammad PBUH by Abdul Hameed Siddiqui, p.185-186, Islamic Publications LTD.)

Thus, freeing slaves because they have converted to Islam is a Sunnah, and something done by the Holy Prophet (S) in the past, when the slave converted to Islam!

He Wrote:

All Umar is doing at this point is to commit the fallacy of appealing to the majority (ad populum).

My Response:

Besides all that, I brought proof to support my claims. For example, Shamoun has yet to bring a good response to my claim on Mariyah living seperate away from the household of the Prophet (S), (and later on, we will see how Shamoun fails in his attempt to reply to it).

He Wrote:

An important question that needs to be asked is who counts the "majority" of scholars? This is one source that claims so, but how do we know that what the authors of this reference have read really accounts for the majority? The majority of the early commentators? The majority of recent commentators? Commentators who published in which languages? Commentators from all Muslim sects or only from their own Muslim sect?

My Response:

I dont think I need to elaborate on the word 'scholars'. Its pretty clear what it means, everything above is just twist and turn.

Moreover, the word "scholars" should ring a bell in everyone’s ears. Scholars are people who study more then all of us, so if its one person who knows what their talking about, its the scholars!

Unlike Sam's friends on pal talk, these guys have studied their religion from top to bottom.

They aren't like Sam Shamoun's friend "Dk-man7" (who likes to forward messages with Shamoun’s insults), who "claims" he's a scholar:

Dk-man7: listen

Dk-man7: before you talk with a scholar like me

Dk-man7: you need to do your homework

Dk-man7: okay?

He Wrote:

Furthermore, instead of counting evidence Umar needs to start weighing it. In other words, it is not how many sources say a given thing, since the majority can be wrong as history amply attests, but the weight and the value of the sources being presented. It is the quality, not quantity, of the evidence that matters.

My Response:

Yes indeed, quality matters more then quantity. But lets just say for example, you had one website with one very good article, and another website with 5 very good articles ( more then the other), which one would you visit more often??

My claim that Mariyah was a wife of the Holy Prophet (S) and not a sex slave is backed up by common sense, logical explanations, and the majority of the Ulema. However, Sam Shamoun feels otherwise hence he once told me this in PM on paltalk:

Answering Islam: the idiot is u

Answering Islam: for not learning to read

ISLAM_THE_TRUE_DEEN:  look whos talking

Answering Islam: the ulema are not in the majority regarding ur lie

He Wrote:

In our initial article, we presented several sources to prove our case, much of which came from early and very credible Muslim scholars and historians. In fact, here is a list of Muslims, both ancient and modern, which claim that Mariyah was a concubine or didn’t list her as one of the wives.

   1. Ibn Ishaq.

   2. Al-Tabari.

   3. Ibn Kathir.

   4. Al-Qurtubi.

   5. Al-Jalalayn (the two Jalals).

   6. Ibn Sa’d.

   7. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr.

   8. Abu ‘Ubaydah

   9. Ibn al-Qayyim.

  10. Zubayr ibn Bakkar.

  11. G.F. Haddad.

  12. Moiz Amjad of the www.understanding-islam.org website.

  13. Tariq Mahmood Hashmi of the www.studying-islam.org website.

  14. The Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam.

My Response:

Note how Shamoun puts Sheikh G.F. Haddad on his list, yet he contradicts him with his interpretation of the Hadiths above.

Sheikh G.F. Haddad says:

Was Mariya al-Qibtiyya ever a spouse?

No. Mariya al-Qibtiyya was never a spouse but rather a surriyya - with tashdid of the ra and its kasr - until the passing of the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, as explicitly stated by al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar in his al-Muntakhab min Kitab Azwaj al-Nabi salla Allahu `alyhi wa-Sallam (Risala 1983 ed. p. 60):

„Wa-tuwuffiya Rasulullah (salla Allahu `alayhi wa-Sallama) wa-Mariyatu fi mulkih, fa`ataqat, fa`taddat `alayhi thalatha hiyadin ba`dah.“