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Hello,Please read this article from Arab News Religious Editor Prominent Religious Scholar, Historian Mr. Adil Salahi
Mohiuddin@ Anwar is suggesting the following article from http://www.arabnews.com: Loving Father of Four Daughters
Adil Salahi, Arab News
The Prophet (peace be upon him) had four daughters, all born to Lady Khadeejah, his first wife who lived with him for 25 years without him thinking of taking another wife, even though polygamy was accepted as perfectly normal in the Arabian society and allowed under Islam. All his daughters were born before he began to receive divine revelations. In Arabia, daughters were far from welcome. The Qur'an tells us that the birth of a daughter was received by her father with excessive gloom. "They (i.e. the unbelievers in Arabia) assign daughters to God, who is limitless in His glory, whereas for themselves they choose what they desire. And when any of them is given the happy news of the birth of a girl, his face darkens and he is filled with gloom. He tries to avoid all people on account of the (allegedly) bad news he has received, (debating within himself) shall he keep the child despite the shame he feels, or shall he bury it in the dust? Evil indeed is their judgment." (16: 57-59) Burying a daughter alive when she is very young was a common practice among them. A daughter was an unproductive member of the family, and she could not fight in the frequent tribal wars that plagued Arabia at the time. On the contrary, she could bring shame upon her family and tribe, if she were to be guilty of immoral conduct. Hence, getting rid of her was, to them, a preferable option. Right from the first day his first daughter, Zaynab, was born, Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the kindest of fathers. The very name he chose for her is indicative. It is made up of two words, zayn, which means 'ornament', and ab, which means 'father'. So, he called her the ornament or the jewel of her father, indicating how pleased he was to have her. He felt the same with every one of his daughters. He loved them, played with them and gave them the best upbringing. At the time, a woman who gave birth to more daughters than sons was blamed for the fact, and could suffer ill treatment by her husband and his family. Not so in the case of Khadeejah, whose two sons by the Prophet died in infancy. He was a most loving husband who appreciated the fine qualities of his wife and loved her tenderly. Zaynab married Abu Al-Aas ibn Al-Rabie, a man with fine character and high integrity. However, for nearly 18 years after the start of the Islamic message he remained an unbeliever. His wife had to be separated from him on account of that, joining her father in Madinah in year 2 but reunited with her husband in year 6 when he declared himself a Muslim and joined the Muslims in Madinah. The Prophet's two daughters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthoom, had a similar pattern of life. Both were engaged to two brothers who were cousins of the Prophet, Utbah and Utaybah, sons of his uncle, Abu Lahab. However, when Muhammad started to receive God's revelations and became a Prophet, his uncle took a very hostile attitude to his message. In his opposition, he ordered his two sons to split with the Prophet's daughters. Reports are unclear whether the two marriages were already solemnized. Most probably they were. Thus, the two young women were divorced through no fault of theirs. The only reason was that their father-in-law, the Prophet's uncle, was fiercely opposed to the message his nephew received from on high. Ruqayyah, the elder of the two, was soon married to Uthman ibn Affan, who was one of the earliest followers of Islam. When the Prophet encouraged some of his companions to immigrate to Abyssinia, Uthman was the first to do so with his wife. Indeed, the couple were the first ever to immigrate for their faith since the time of the Prophet Lot. However, they returned to Makkah after spending a period of time in Abyssinia and joined other Muslims when they immigrated to Madinah a few years later. Tragedy soon hit the young family, and Ruqayyah died at the time of the Battle of Badr, which took place only 18 months after the Prophet's immigration to Madinah. Uthman keenly felt his grief. He was a very sensitive and shy person. The Prophet once saw him looking very sad. In reply to the Prophet's enquiry, Uthman said: "Has anyone suffered what I have suffered? The Prophet's daughter has died, leaving me shattered, grieving not only for her death but also for the fact that my special relation with you has come to an end." The Prophet felt keenly for Uthman and gave him Umm Kulthoom, his other daughter, as wife. He was the only one privileged to marry two daughters of the Prophet. This earned him the title Dhu al-Noorayn, or the man with two lights. Umm Kulthoom lived several years with her husband, but again Uthman was to suffer a tragedy when she died in year 9 of the Islamic calendar, i.e. one year before the Prophet passed away. The Prophet, who grieved for Umm Kulthoom, the third of his four daughters to die during his lifetime, also felt for Uthman. He said: "Had we had a third daughter, we would give her to Uthman in marriage." Fatimah, the Prophet's youngest daughter, was married to Ali, his cousin. Perhaps the Prophet did not love anyone as he loved Fatimah. When he returned from a trip or an expedition, he would call on her before he went home. When she came to visit him, he would stand up to greet her, kiss her and let her sit in his place. People who wanted to speak to the Prophet about a difficult subject, or were too shy to put a request to him, would seek her help in doing so. She would willingly speak on their behalf. In most cases, the Prophet would grant them what they requested, unless it was not allowed in Islam. Fatimah lived very happily with Ali, giving him his two sons, Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn. She was the only one of the Prophet's seven children to survive him. She, however, was the first of his family to die after he had passed away, with barely six months separating their deaths. Thus, none of the Prophet's four daughters lived to reach forty years of age. May God bless their souls. |
