Khadija and the Muslim Historians
Khadija and the Muslim Historians
In their history books, the highest tribute that most of the Muslim historians have paid to Khadija, is that she strengthened Islam with her wealth. They pay this tribute and then they pass on to other matters. It is true that it was Khadija's wealth that made Islam viable; but it is only a partial truth. There is little, if any, acknowledgement by the historians of what Khadija's support - material and moral - did for Islam and the Muslims. Far from acknowledging her great services, many of them have either distorted truth or have strangled truth or have cooked up stories of their own, and have dished them out as historical "facts".
Not all the history of the early days of Islam is factual; some of it is 'synthetic'. This synthetic history was written for or was dictated by special interest groups. Many fairy tales found their way into the history of Islam in this manner and Truth was quietly given a burial.
Spinning fairy tales, putting them into circulation and burying truth was a conspiracy in which the leaders of the prayer-congregations, orators of the pulpits in the mosques, teachers in schools, professors in colleges, doctors of law, judges of the courts, courtiers of the kings, sultans and caliphs; and the kings, sultans and caliphs themselves, all had a hand. The historian had little choice in the matter. Even if he was a man of integrity and principle, he dared not challenge the party line. If he did, he could imperil his own life. If he wrote factual history, his wife could become a widow, and his children could become orphans. He, therefore, adopted the 'pragmatic' course. He ditched the truth, and wrote spurious history.
Maulana Shibli Numani
The dean of the Indian historians of Islam, writes in his Life of the Prophet. Volume I (Azamgarh, India, 1976), that during the reign of the caliph Muawiyah (d. A.D. 680), and the later Umayyads, thousands and tens of thousands of Hadith were churned out by hadith manufacturing factories, and were put into circulation. Historians on the payroll of the government, strung togcther fact after fact, and incorporated them in their history books. And for 90 years, the names of Ali ibn Abi Talib, and other members of the Bani Hashim were cursed from every pulpit in the Muslim world - from Sind in India to Spain in Europe. Children were born, they grew up, and they died, hearing these curses and never knowing the truth. In A.D. 750, the Abbasis seized the caliphate, and they exterminated the Umayyads. But they were no less rabid in their animosity to the family of Muhammed Mustafa than were the Umayyads. In fact, some of them outdid the Umayyads in persecuting his children and their supporters. The one characteristic that both dynasties shared, was their built-in animosity to the family and the children of Muhammed Mustafa.
Edward Gibbon
The persecutors of Mohammed usurped the inheritance of his children; and the champions of idolatry became the supreme heads of his religion and empire. (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire)
Robert Payn
...Again and again we shall find Muhammadans mercilessly destroying the living descendants of Muhammad. (p. 84-85).
For 350 years, the descendants of Abu Sufyan and those who claimed descent from Abbas had made war on the descendants of Muhammad's flesh. (p. 193)
Throughout all the centuries of Islam, a strange fate had hovered over the descendants of Muhammad. It was as though that part of the world which eagerly accepted the Messenger of God, had turned forever against his living descendants. (p. 306) (The Holy Sword, 1959)
The campaign of the Abbasi caliphs against the members of the family of the Prophet, or his children, also lasted as long as their caliphate - 500 years. It was during their caliphate that the histories of Islam were written, and Hadith were collected, edited and were published. Some half-hearted attempts were perhaps made by a few conscientious scholars at separating facts from bunk and junk, and at salvaging Truth from the contexture of lies but with little success. Many of the books of history and Hadith are saddled forever with facts or hadith which were planted in them.
History, it has been rightly said, is the propaganda of the victorious party. The victorious parties, in the history of Islam, were, first the Umayyads and then the Abbasis which succeedcd, in the words of Gibbon, in "usurping the inheritance of the children of Mohammed". Once they had the instruments of power in their hands, they were free to write or to manipulate the history of the early days of Islam as they liked. Since most of the books of the history of Islam were 'inspircd' by what the Communists call 'the ruling circles' I shall identify their authors as the "court historians". These historians foisted upon their readers the following three myths vis-a-vis the life of Hadret Khadija, may Allah be pleased with her and bless her.
1. She was forty years old when she and Muhammed al-Mustafa were married.
2. She was married twice before she and Muhammed al-Mustafa were married.
3. She and Muhammed Mustafa had six children - two boys and four daughters.
We shall discuss these myths point by point.
1. Thte Age of Khtadija
Most of the Muslim historians have stated that Khadija was 40-years old when she married Muhammed al-Mustafa. So many historians have repeated this figure that now it is believed as a gospel truth. Yet this figure is open to question on the following grounds:
No historian knows the year in which Khadija was born. The figure "40" is only an estimate, and it is an over-estimate. Whereas it is true that Khadija was older than Muhammed Mustafa, she was not 15 years older as claimed by most of the historians, but only a few years older than him.
Arabia is a very hot country, and Arab girls reach maturity much more rapidly than girls do in cold or temperate climates. Hadhrat Ayesha is said to have been married when she was only nine years old. Other Arab girls were also married quite early. In a country like Arabia, a woman could not spend forty years of her life waiting to be married. At forty, the best years of a woman's life are already behind her - in Arabia or in any other country. But even if she marries at forty, she cannot entertain any hope of having children. Even in cold and temperate zones, a woman, in most cases, is past her child-bearing age at 40. In Arabia, this happens, probably, much earlier.
Khadija spent many years of her life in the single state. As noted before, she received many offers of marriage from the lords and princes of Arabia but she turned them down. They could not impress her with their wealth. If they were rich, she was immeasurably richer than the richest of them. And in such personal qualities as the qualities of head, hand and heart, all of them were like the dust of her feet. Anyone trying to impress her with his wealth or power would be naive, if not foolish, indeed. Therefore, she marked time until the man who really impressed her - Muhammed Mustafa - came along, and she married him.
2. Alleged Marriages of Khadija
Khadija was never married before she married Muhammed Mustafa. Her marriage with Muhammed was her first and last marriage. The same historians who have claimed that Khadija was married twice before she married Muhammed, have reported that all the lords of Quraysh and the princes of the Arabs, sought her hand in marriage but she didn't condescend to consider any of them for a matrimonial alliance. If she had been married twice before, she ought to have had no hesitation in marrying a third time.
3. Khadija's Children
It is alleged by the court historians of the Umayyads that Khadija and Muhammed had six children, and they give their names as follows:
1. Qasim
2. Abdullah
3. Zaynab
4. Rukayya
5. Umm Kulthum
6. Fatima al-Zahra
Muhammed Mustafa and Khadija were the parents of three and not six children. They were:
1. Qasim
2. Abdullah
3. Fatima al-Zahra
Out of these three children, the first two - Qasim and Abdullah - were boys, and both of them died in their infancy, as noted before. The third and their last child was their daughter - Fatima al-Zahra. Who were the other three girls, viz., Zaynab, Rukayya and Umm Kulthum? This question is answered later in this chapter.
All these three claims have gained currency as "facts" but are, nevertheless fairy-tales. The "patina" of age has made them respectable so that most of the Muslims believe them to be true. But these are not by any means, the only tales which, formost Muslims, have acquired the status of facts. There are many other fables which have graduated as facts.
There are many other examples, in both Muslim and non-Muslim history, of mendacity passing for truth. This is precisely what happened in the case of these three canards connected with the story of the life of Khadija; they found general acceptance among the Muslims. Once lies ~et a start, theY refuse to die.
It is also possible that the historians who were collecting material to write the history of the early days of Islam, had access only to those stories which had been skillfully planted in the primary sources by the ruling circles. They were convinced that material obtained through these sources, was authentic, and they incorporated it in their works.
The allegations pertaining to the age, marriage(s), and children of Khadija, were prompted by two reasons, viz.,
1. Khadija was the mother of Hadhret Fatima al-Zahra; and she was the mother-in-law of Ali ibn Abi Talib; and the grandmother of Hasan and Husain. She, therefore, could not escape the animosity that the Umayyads and the Abbasis had nursed against all members of the family of Muhammed Mustafa, especially against Ali, Hasan and Husain. The historians, for the most part, shared this animosity with their paymasters; but if they didn't, they could forfeit their livelihood or even life itself. They, therefore, had to invent some fact or facts which would minimize Khadija's importance. In selecting facts which they or their forerunners had invented, they considered themselves free to exercise their discretion - or their fantasy. But to make their accounts convincing, they had to be extremely subtle or else their animosity would become too obvious, and the worth of their works of history would become dubious.
2. The mercenary historians wanted to tell their readers that among the wives of the Prophet, there were some who were just as great or perhaps even greater, than Khadija, and that such a wife was Ayesha. They had to glorify Ayesha at the expense of Khadija. These historians entertained no fear for the thesis which they were trying to develop from any other wife of Muhammed Mustafa but they were not sure if their efforts to show Ayesha as superior to Khadija would be successful. But they were serendipitous people and made the discovery that Khadija was forty years old, and was married twice before she married Muhammed. It was a discovery which, in their opinion, could militate against Khadija. On the other hand, they asserted that Ayesha was not only very young and beautiful but also was a virgin. Through the exercise of such arbitrary logic the historians built up their thesis of the superiority of one wife over the other wives. But did the Prophet marry Ayesha for her youth, beauty and virginity? Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad answers this question in his book, Aysha. as follows: As far as we know, the Messenger of Allah did not marry for children. Generally speaking, he married for two reasons, viz.,
1. Some women became utterly helpless after the death of their husbands. They had no next-of-kin to support them. The Apostle married them to provide a home to them.
2. The Apostle wished to break the resistance of the Arab tribes to Islam. One way to do so was, for him to marry the women of those tribes.
There was also a third reason for some of the marriages of the Prophet, viz., if he was a teacher for Muslim men, his wives had to be teachers for Muslim women, in all matters of faith and religion. They explained to the Muslim women the meaning of Quran, and they taught them how to apply the laws of Islam in their personal lives. With the exception of Khadija, the Apostle married all other women for one or more of these reasons. His marriage with Khadija was the only one which rested upon affection, love and friendship; and for him, it fulfilled all the aims of marriage. Khadija also taught the laws of Islam to Muslim women but she did so more by example and less by precept as noted before.
The court historians of the Muslims have been repeating some falsehoods and half-truths for centuries, and through such repetition, they have succeeded in convincing the Muslim umma (community) that Khadija was widowed twice before her marriage with Muhammed al-Mustafa. Writing on the subject of the marriage of Khadija, the author of Raudhatus-Safa says: The principal hgures of Quraysh wished to marry Khadija and they proposed to her but she did not agree to marry any of them. (Volume 2, page 271). And the author of Raudhatul-Ahbab writes as follows: All the nobles of Quraysh sought marriage with Khadija but she refused to consider any of them. (Volume 1, page 105).
According to the venal historians, at her marriage with Muhammed Mustafa, Khadija was already widowed twice; and she was 40 years old. If this is true, then it means that she was already a middle-aged woman, or perhaps - in a country like Arabia - even past middle-age; and the bloom of youth had long since departed from her. Why were then the lords of Quraysh and the princes of the Arabs so eager to marry her? After all, being rich and powerful as they were, they could have very easily found many young and beautiful women, among them virgins, to marry. Why would they want to marry a widow who was not so young either? It will also not be correct to say that they were lured by Khadija's wealth. They were themselves very rich.
Allamah Ali Ahmed Abul Qasim al-Kufi questions the story of the two marriages of Khadija before her marriage with Muhammed Mustafa. He writes in his book, Al-IstiPhatha:
Khadija did not marry anyone before she married Muhammed Mustafa. All historians have unanimously stated that everyone of the chiefs of Quraysh proposed marriage to Khadija, but she turned down all those proposals with contempt. At length she married Muhammed Mustafa. This made the ladies of Quraysh very angry with her. They said that when the lords and princes proposed marriage to her, she refused. And yet, when a young man of Bani Hashim who did not have any wealth or power, proposed to her, she accepted. These ladies could not understand why Khadija spurned the requests of the rich and the powerful nobles of Arabia for marriage, and went ahead and married a poor man. This is proof that Khadija did not marry anyone before marrying Muhammed ibn Abdullah.
Some people pose the question that if it is assumed that Khadija was married twice before her marriage with Muhammed, and that she was 40 years old at her last marriage, is there anything reprehensible about it? No! If a man or a woman is married more than once or is 40 years old, there is nothing reprehensible about it. The question is not if it is true or false if Khadija was married more than once or if she was 40 years old at her last marriage. The only question is: is it a historical fact that Khadija was married thrice; or that she was 40 years old at her last marriage. It is not.
If one agrees with the venal historians that Khadija was married thrice, and she was 40 years old at her last marriage, nothing diminishes from her status. She remains sublime. But it is simply not true that she was a 40-year old widow when she married Muhammed Mustafa, and, therefore, it is unethical to interpolate falsehoods in the story of her life, or the life of any other man or woman, for that matter. Every man is entitled to his own opinions but not to his own facts. If a seeker of truth wishes to separate facts from opinions, he can do so with the aid of intellectual and logical analysis. His search for deduction from fixed principles will be a rewarding experience.
Zaynab, Rukayya and Umm Kulthum
Before Khadija married Muhammed Mustafa, there were three girls living in her house in Makka. Their names were Zaynab, Rukayya and Umm Kulthum. They were the daughters of her deceased sister. Their father had died earlier, and when their mother also died, Khadija brought them into her own house. After Khadija's marriage, all three girls stayed with her as her wards. They probably called Khadija their mother and they probably called Muhammed Mustafa their father. And according to Arab usage, they were known as his daughters because they lived in his house, and he was their legal guardian. Zaynab was the eldest of these three girls. She was married to a man called Abul-As ibn er-Rabi'. In 624 he came with the pagan army of Makka, and fought against Muhammed Mustafa in the battle of Badr. He was captured but he ransomed his freedom, and returned to Makka. Later, he accepted Islam. The other two girls - Rukayya and Umm Kulthum - were married to Utba and Utayba - the sons of Abu Lahab and Umm Jameel. All three girls were married before the dawn of Islam; the husbands of all three, therefore, were idolaters. After the Proclamation of Islam, Abu Lahab and his wife, Umm Jameel, both arch-enemies of Islam, were made subjects of a curse in chapter 111 of Quran Majid. This aroused their wrath, and they ordered their sons - Utba and Utayba - to divorce their wives and to send them to their home. Both girls - Rukayya and Umm Kulthum - were divorced, and they returned to the house of Khadija. Sometime later, Rukayya was married to Uthman bin Affan, a member of the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh, and a future khalifa of the Muslims. She died in 624 in Medina. After her death, her sister, Umm Kulthum, was also married to Uthman b. Affan.
Muhammad Husayn Haykal
He (Muhammad) married Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum to Utbah and Utaybah, the sons of his uncle, Abu Lahab. These marriages did not last, for soon after the advent of Islam, Abu Lahab ordered his two sons to divorce their wives. It was Uthman that married both of them one after the other. (The Life of Muhammad, Cairo, 1935)
The court historians of the Umayyads, inspired by Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty, and his successors, claimed that Rukayya and Umm Kulthum were the daughters of Muhammed Mustafa and Khadija. Since they were married to Uthman - an Umayyad - they called him Zul-Nurayn, i.e., the owner of two lights - Rukayya and Umm Kulthum. Yet only a little earlier, both of these lights had belonged to two idolaters of Makka. Each of these idolaters was, therefore a Dhawin-Nur - the owner of one light which he passed on to Uthman. After all, the light or the lights remained the same; only the ownership changed!
Were these girls the daughters of Muhammed Mustafa and Khadija as claimed by the mercenary historians? The answer to this question should be sought in (A) Quran Majid, and (B) the testimony of history. Their answer, set forth hereunder, is unequivocal:
A. The Testimony of Quran Majid
If the light of guidance of the Book of Allah means anything to the Muslims, then these three girls - Zaynab, Rukayya and Umm Kulthum - were not, and could not have been the daughters of the Apostle of God and Khadija. They were orphans. The only connection the three of them had with Muhammed and Khadija, was that at one time they lived in their house. Khadija was a patroness of orphans (and widows) even before her marriage. If Muhammed Mustafa and Khadija had been the parents of these three girls - Zaynab, Rukayya and Umm Kulthum - they would not have given them in marriage to the worshippers of idols which the husbands of all three of them were. It is true that all three girls were married before the sun of Islam rose above the horizon; but then, Muhammed did not violate any of the imperatives of Quran Majid at any time - before or after he was ordained messenger of Allah. Muhammed never committed a pagan act at any time in his life. And Quran is explicit on the prohibition of the marriage of a Muslim woman to a pagan. The proscriptive commandment on the marriage of a Muslim woman and a polytheist was revealcd in the following verses of the Book of Allah:
1. DO NOT MARRY (YOUR GIRLS) TO UNBELIEVERS. (2:221)
2. BELIEVING WOMEN ARE NOT LAWFUL (WIVES) FOR THE UNBELIEVERS, NOR ARE THE (UNBELIEVERS) LAWFUL (HUSBANDS) FOR THEM.
There are other verses in Quran which, without referring specifically to marriage, make it impossible for a Muslim to give his daughter or daughters to an idolater. Some of them are:
1....THE CURSE OF ALLAH IS ON THOSE WITHOUT FAITH. (2:89)
2....ALLAH IS AN ENEMY TO THOSE WHO REJECT FAITH. (2:98)
3. O YE WHO BELIEVE! TRULY THE PAGANS ARE UNCLEAN. (9:28)
No Muslim would be so reckless as to presume that Muhammed Mustafa contravened the prohibitions of Quran by giving his daughters to those men whom Allah has cursed: whose enemy He is, and who are unclean. To a Muslim, the verses of Quran Majid quoted above, prove conclusively that Zaynab, Rukayya and Umm Kulthum, all three, married at one time to the idolaters, were not the daughters of Muhammed Mustafa and Khadija.
A Muslim - any Muslim - even a marginal or a statistical Muslim - will bridle if it is suggested to him that he give his daughter or daughters in marriage to an idolater or even to a Jew or a Christian. Yet the same Muslim - and the situation reeks with irony - will believe, without so much as a twinge, that his own Prophet, Muhammed Mustafa - the Interpreter and Promulgator of Quran - gave three of his daughters to three idol-worshippers in Makka!
B. The Testimony of History
Muhammed Mustafa was extremely fond of children. He was especially fond of the children of his daughter, Fatima Zahra. Her children - Hasan and Husain - were the pupils of his eyes. He pampered them. They rode on his neck and shoulders even when he was leading public prayers. He even interrupted his speeches to play with them if they came into the mosque. When they were with him, he forgot all the burdens, cares and problems of state and government. They brought to him the happiest moments of his life. And it appeared as if he could not bestow enough encomiums upon them and their mother. It is, therefore, a matter of historical curiosity why he never mentioned Zaynab, Rukayya and Umm Kulthum at any time. The parents give same love to all their children, and do not make any distinction between them. But judging by the traditions and historical literature of the time, the Apostle was not even aware that three women called Zaynab, Rukayya and Umm Kulthum existed. For the Messenger of Allah, the years in Makka following the Proclamation of Islam, were fraught with perils. Every day brought new perils and new challenges to him. And yet, Rukayya and Umm Kulthum are never mentioned as giving any service to their father at any time. On the other hand, his daughter, Fatima Zahra, helped him, both in Makka and Medina, in various emergencies. Both Rukayya and Umm Kulthum were many years older than Fatima. They ought to have comforted their father whenever he was oppressed by the infidels in Makka or was wounded in battles in Medina. But they never did. The truth made manifest both by the prohibitions of the Book of Allah, and by the logic of history, is that Rukayya and Umm Kulthum were not the daughters of Muhammed Mustafa and Khadija.
The subject of the age, the alleged marriages and the number of children of Khadija, is not one on which the faith of a Muslim depends; it does not. But a Muslim must uphold historical integrity. Khadija was the benefactress of Islam and the Muslims. The least that the Muslims can do to acknowledge their gratitude to her, is not to twist facts into pretzels still less to fabricate facts of their own; and to distort plain truths into conundrums. Truth must be upheld at all costs whether it benefits or hurts friends or foes. A man may be eager to show his loyalty to his heroes, and the cult of hero worship may prompt him to glorify them. But if he is a Muslim, he must not do so at the expense of truth. If he does, he will merit the displeasure of Allah Who says in His Book:
1. AND COVER NOT TRUTH WITH FALSEHOOD, NOR CONCEAL THE TRUTH WHEN YE KNOW (WHAT IT IS). (2:42)
2....WHO IS MORE UNJUST THAN THOSE WHO CONCEAL THE TESTIMONY THEY HAVE FROM ALLAH? BUT ALLAH IS NOT UNMINDFUL OF WHAT YE DO!
3. THOSE WHO CONCEAL THE CLEAR (SIGNS) WE HAVE SENT DOWN, AND THE GUIDANCE, AFTER WE HAVE MADE IT CLEAR FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BOOK, - ON THEM SHALL BE ALLAH'S CURSE, AND THE CURSE OF THOSE ENTITLED TO CURSE, (2:159)
4. CONCEAL NOT EVIDENCE; FOR WHOEVER CONCEALS IT, - HIS HEART IS TAINTED WITH SIN. AND ALLAH KNOWETH ALL THAT YE DO. (2:283)
Allah has commanded Muslims to acknowledge and to express their gratitude for the bounties He has given them.
BUT THE BOUNTY OF THY LORD REHEARSE AND PROCLAIM (93:11)
If Muslims are sincere in expressing their gratitude to Khadija, they should spike the falsehoods vis-a-vis the story of her life. These falsehoods have been in circulation for much too long. There is no better way for the Muslims to rehearse and to proclaim the bounty of the Lord than by giving their loyalty to Truth - to Absolute Truth. By giving their loyalty to Truth, they will also win the pleasure of Allah Ta'ala. Khadija was the favorite slave of Allah, and the first wife of His friend and messenger, Muhammed Mustafa. She was unique; she was incomparable, and she was a special in the sight of Allah Who sent His greetings and salutations to her through the Archangel Gabriel! May Allah bless His slave, Khadija.
The following verses of Quran Majid are addressed to those sincere and loving slaves of Allah who put His pleasure ahead of their own pleasure, and who seek His pleasure in selfless service to His Creation. Khadija was one of the foremost of those slaves of Allah.
(To the soul of the righteous will be said:)
O THOU SOUL, IN (COMPLETE) REST AND SATISFACTION! COME BACK THOU TO THY LORD, WELL-PLEASED (THYSELF), AND WELL-PLEASED UNTO HIM! ENTER THOU, THEN, AMONG MY DEVOTEES! YEA, ENTER THOU MY HEAVEN! (89:27-30)
May Allah bless Khadija and may He elevate her to the highest ranks in the hierarchy of His true and faithful friends.
May Allah bless Muhammed Mustafa, and his Ahlel-Bayt. Through him mankind received the Blessing of the Light of Islam.