Woman in Other Civilizations
The foregoing account may have struck the reader who is full of admiration for the Arabs and their civilization, including the Arabs of pre-Islam, as somewhat exaggerated. Such a reader is certainly excused for so thinking, for he must be comparing the picture we have given with the actualities of the present age, intermingled as they certainly are with the ideal relations between man and woman, parents and children. Such comparisons, however, are false and lead the investigator astray. If the comparison is to be fruitful, one should undertake to contrast Arab society as we have described it in the seventh century C.E. with other societies of the same period. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that Arab society, despite all its aberrations, was far superior to the societies of Asia and Europe. We do not have enough information to speak with authority on Chinese or Indian society of that age. But we do know that Europe was wallowing in such darkness that its family structure stood little higher than the most primitive levels of human organization. The Imperium Romanum, possessor of the law, master of the world, and the sole competitor of the Persian Empire, regarded woman as far more inferior to man than she was in the Arabian desert. In Roman law, woman was regarded as a piece of movable property, owned by a man and disposable by him in any way he wished. The Roman male citizen exercised the right of life and death over his women, and did so by law. The law enabled the Roman citizen to treat his women as he would his slaves, making no distinction between them. It regarded a woman as the property of her father, then of her husband, and finally of her son. The right of property exercised over her person was complete, just as complete as the right of property over animals, things, and slaves. Moreover, woman was looked upon as a source of desire. Like an animal, she was not expected to have any control over her sex life. Because morality did not apply to her, it was necessary to fabricate the western artificial framework of absolute chastity in order to instill a sense of ethics in man-woman relations. This necessary though artificial framework furnished the womanly ideal of that society for several centuries afterwards. It will be recalled that Jesus-May God’s peace be upon him-was quite compassionate toward women, and that when his disciples expressed surprise at his fair treatment of Mary Magdalene, he proclaimed: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” [John, 8:7] Despite this charitable attitude toward women on the part of Christianity, Christian Europe continued to deride woman and to hold her in the greatest contempt very much as pagan Europe had done before. Europe did not only regard the relation of man to woman merely as a relation of male and female. It coalesced with this relationship that of owner to owned, master to slave, and the honorable to the dishonorable and contemptible. These attitudes have so determined the mind of Europe so long that for centuries the Europeans have asked whether woman has a soul; whether she is a morally responsible being; whether she is to render account on the Day of Judgment; or whether, like an animal, she is devoid of soul, subject to neither judgment nor responsibility, and entitled to no place at all in the kingdom of God.
Muhammad and Social Reconstruction
Led by divine revelation, Muhammad recognized that there can be no social reconstruction of society without the cooperation of all its men and women members in mutually helping, loving, and sympathizing with one another. He realized that no society is viable where women do not enjoy rights as well as duties, where these rights and duties are not exercised in cooperation, reciprocal love and respect, and where men are nonetheless the leaders. To realize these conditions in Arab society quickly and by force of authority was not an easy affair. However strong the faith of Muhammad’s Arab followers, to take them slowly forward without exposing them to undue hardships was surer to succeed than otherwise. Slow progress intensifies the faith of the adherents and wins more converts, whereas forced progress creates dissension and weakens the faith of many. The same was true of every social reconstruction God prescribed for the Muslims. Indeed, the same progressive reconstruction characterized the religious duties of Islam, namely prayer, fasting, zakat, abstaining from gambling, eating pork, and the like. Muhammad began to teach social reconstruction and to define the rights and duties of men and women to one another by talking about exemplary instances occurring between himself and his wives which all Muslims could witness. The veil was not imposed upon the wives of the Prophet until shortly before the Campaign of al Khandaq, and the limitation of polygamy to four was not imposed until after that Campaign, indeed a whole year there-after. It would be interesting to see how the Prophet anchored the relationships of man and woman to sound foundations and how he prepared his followers for the equality of men and women under Islam. Islam wanted its women to have the same rights even as they have duties. But it wanted these rights and duties to be exercised in an atmosphere of mutual love, fairness, and compassion, and its men to enjoy the position of leadership.
Islam Forbids Fornication
As we saw earlier, the relationship between man and woman among the Muslims of the period, as among all Arabs, was limited to that of male to female. Fornication, exposure of the woman’s flesh and ornaments in a way inviting molestation by men and arousing in them sexual desire, dominated the relationship. There was little or no room for any relationships expressing human spirituality, or for any communion between man and woman in their service to God. The presence of Jews and munafiqun in Madinah and their hostility to the new faith caused many of their men to molest the Muslim women and led, as in the case of Banu Qaynuqa‘, to serious harm and injury to Muslim women. A great many unnecessary problems resulted from this situation. Had the Muslim women not exposed themselves outside their homes, thus inviting fornication, their identities would not have been known to the public and they would not have been harmed. Had this been the case, the Muslims would have avoided all these problems and could have made a fair start toward realizing the equality which Islam sought to realize between the sexes. This ideal might have been realized even without hardship to Muslim men and women. It was in this spirit that the Qur’an announced
“Those who harm the believers unjustly, whether men or women, do great wrong. O Prophet, command your women, your daughters, and the women of the believers to lengthen their garbs that they may not be harmed. God is merciful and compassionate. If the munafiqfcn, those who are ill of heart or cause agitation in the city do not stop their evil work, We shall give you mastery over them and the power to terminate forthwith their residence in your midst. They shall be accursed wherever they go, seized, and put to the sword. That is the pattern of God, already realized in earlier history and immutable for ever and ever.” [Qur’an, 33:58-62]
With this simple introduction, the Muslims were taught the necessity of outgrowing the customs of their predecessors. The Islamic legislation aimed at reorganizing society on a foundation of pure family life, free of intrusion from the outside. To reach this purpose, Islam declared adultery a grave sin. In consequence, the Muslims learned to appreciate the evil inherent in a woman’s fornication and entanglement outside her family. The Qur’an said,
“Command the believers to lower their eyes and to live a life of chastity. That is better for them, for God knows what they do. Command the women believers also to lower their eyes, to live the life of chastity, not to show off their beauty and ornaments except what must be shown in the course of daily life. Command them to cover themselves up, not to show their beauty and ornamentation except to their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons or the sons of their husbands, their brothers or the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, their women-slaves or eunuchs, or immature children. Command them not to stamp their feet in order to show off their hidden ornaments. O Believers, repent to God that you may achieve felicity.” [Qur’an, 24:30-31]
Thus Islam worked toward the transformation of man-woman relations into one in which sex is possible only when legitimate, and illegitimate sexual relationships are condemned as evil. In all other matters o
f human life, the relationships of men to women and vice versa are based on a foundation of absolute equality. Everybody is a servant of God, and everybody is mutually responsible for promoting virtue and the fear of God. If anyone stirred the sexual passion in other people, he would be guilty and obliged to repent and atone to God.
All this, however, was not sufficient to transform Arab character and wean it away from its original customs. Unlike the repudiation of associationism, the tranformation of character could not be brought about with speed. This was only natural, for once a material has been given a certain form, it is not easy to transform that material except slowly and progressively. Even so, the desired change cannot be too radical. Human life is such that inherited custom and local traditions knead and mold it into a definite pattern. If this pattern is to bring change, it must be done slowly by degrees. Moreover, no such gradual change may be undertaken unless man transforms his inner self. It is possible for man to change one aspect of himself by removing the hindrances abetting such change in that aspect. That is precisely what Islam did with the Muslims when it converted them to the unitization of God, to faith in Him, in His Prophet, and in the Day of Judgment. But many other aspects of Arab character, especially the material or social aspects, were not so radically transformed but remained nearer to what they had been before Islam. Arab laziness and love of conversation with women, traits kneaded into their character by life in the desert, were chronically resistant to change.
The Prophet’s Home and His Wives
In spite of the aforementioned rectification by the new religion of the relationships between the sexes, the Muslims did not depart radically from their previous customs. Often, one of them would enter the Prophet’s house and stay there for a long time enjoying conversation with the Prophet or with his wives. But the Prophet had no time to spend on listening to each of his visitors, nor could he tolerate them to converse with his wives and broadcast their gossip. Seeking to free the Prophet from these minor cares, God revealed the following verses:
“O Men who believe, do not enter the house of the Prophet without permission. Do not wait there until meal time, but eat if food is served. Enter therein if you are invited; but once fed, disperse and do not tarry. Such gossiping in his presence harms the Prophet, who is shy to ask you to leave. But God is not shy of saying the truth. And if you ask the wives of the Prophet for something, then talk to them from behind a curtain. That is purer and more seemly for you and for them. It behooves you not to hurt the Prophet of God nor to marry his wives after him. If you do, your deed will be a great crime in God’s eye.” [Qur’an, 33:53]
While this verse was addressed to the believers, the following was addressed to the Prophet’s wives:
“O Wives of the Prophet, you are distinguished only as long as you are righteous. Do not, therefore, be soft or tempting in speech lest the ill-hearted fall to temptation. Be always gentle and good. Maintain your homes with dignity and do not show off yourselves as pre-Islamic women were wont to do. Observe prayer, pay the zakat, and obey God and His Prophet. God only wishes to keep you pure and to remove from you all uncleanliness and temptation.” [Qur’an, 33:32-33]
Social Foundations of Muslim Brotherhood
On this foundation Islam sought to construct the social order of the human community. Its core was the new relationship between man and woman. By its means Islam sought to remove the unchallenged dominion sex had hitherto exercised over this relationship. Its aim was to direct the community to a higher life where man might enjoy the pleasures of this world without corrosion of his moral fabric, and to lead man to a spiritual relationship with all creatures transcending agriculture, industry, trade, and the other preoccupations of life-the relationship implicit in the life of faith which makes man the partner of angels. Other means which Islam employed for that same purpose were fasting, prayer, and zakat-by virtue of what each commands against adultery, injustice and evil doing and by virtue of what each enjoins by way of self-purification, submission to God alone, fraternity between the believers, and communion between man and all that is.
The Campaign of Banu Lihyan
The slow reorganization of society in preparation for the great transformation for which Islam was preparing humanity did not prevent Quraysh and the tribes from lying in wait for Muhammad. Nor did it prevent Muhammad from taking the requisite precaution and being always on the alert, ready to strike terror in the hearts of his enemies should the need arise. A case in point was the campaign of Band Lihyan. Six months after the destruction of Band Qurayzah, it came to Muhammad’s notice that the Band Lihyan were marching from a locality near Makkah. Immediately, he remembered the case of Khubayb ibn ‘Adiy and his companions, who were murdered by Band Lihyan at the well of al Raji two years ago, and sought to avenge them. However, he did not announce his purpose for fear that the enemy might be alerted and take refuge. He therefore announced that he wanted to go to al Sham and, after mobilizing his forces, he led them toward the north. When he felt secure that neither the Quraysh nor their neighbors were aware of his intentions, he turned to Makkah and proceeded in its direction full haste until he reached the camping grounds of the tribe of Band Lihyan at ‘Uran. Some people, however, had noticed his change of direction, and eventually the Banu Lihyan were informed of his plan. They took refuge in the heights of the surrounding mountains, gathering with them their cattle and property. The Prophet, therefore, could not reach them. He sent Abu Bakr and a hundred cavalrymen in hot pursuit until they reached a place not far from Makkah called ‘Usfan. He himself returned to Madinah on a day that was remembered for the hardship to the traveller which its extreme heat presented, as the following tradition clearly states
“We returned and, by God’s leave, we repent to God and praise Him. We take shelter and refuge in God from the travail of travel, the sadness of tragedy, and the realization of loss in relatives and property.”
The Campaign of Dhu Qarad
A few days after Muhammad returned to Madinah, a group led by ‘Uyaynah ibn Hisn raided the outskirts of the city, seized the camels grazing in the area, killed their shepherd, and carried off his wife. Apparently, he thought that the Muslims would not realize what had happened in time to catch up with him. Salamah ibn ‘Amr ibn al Akwa‘ al Aslami, however, who happened to be going that way to the forest with bow and arrows, beheld the raiders running away with their booty as they passed through the place called Thaniyyah al Wada near al Sal’. He followed them, shot arrows at them and called for help throughout the pursuit. His call was soon heard by the Prophet who alerted the people of Madinah, and Muslim cavalrymen came out from every direction. Muhammad ordered them to pursue the raiders immediately, and he followed a little later with another force until he arrived at the mountain of Dhu Qarad. ‘Uyaynah and his companions pressed ever faster toward Ghatafan where they could find protection from its tribesmen and escape from the Muslims. The Madinese cavalry overtook the enemy’s rear, seized the stolen camels, and liberated the captive woman. Some companions were prepared to press the pursuit further and avenge the Muslims against ‘Uyaynah. The Prophet advised against this course, knowing that ‘Uyaynah and his companions had already reached the tribe of Ghatafan and had fallen under their protection. The Muslims therefore returned to Madinah bringing with them the liberated woman and the camels. While in captivity and driving her own camel, the Muslim woman vowed that should that camel ever bring her back home, she would sacrifice it to God. When she informed the Prophet of her vow in Madinah, the Prophet answered: “What a terrible reward you propose to the camel which served you and carried you to freedom! That is clearly an evil act, and no vow to perform an evil is valid.”
The Campaign of Banu al Mustaliq
Muhammad remained in Madinah for about two months, until the campaign of Banu al Mustaliq at al Muraysi‘, which has arrested the attention of every biographer of the Arab Prophet and every historian. The importance of this campaign lies not in its military significance, but rather, in the
internal division which it almost caused within the Muslim community, and which the Prophet settled resolutely. Another important aspect of this campaign is its connection with the Prophet’s marriage to Juwayriyyah, daughter of al Harith. A third aspect is its connection with the malignant slander of ‘A’ishah who, though hardly seventeen years of age, was able to repulse these falsehoods by her strong faith and sublime character.
The news reached Muhammad that the Banu al Mustaliq, a clan of Khuza’ah tribe, were mobilizing for war in the vicinity of Makkah and inciting the Arab tribes around them to assassinate Muhammad. Their leader was al Harith ibn Abu Dirar. Acting quickly in seizing the initiative, Muhammad hastened to strike and take them by surprise as was his custom. The two divisions of al Muhajirun and al Ansar which rallied to his immediate call were led by Abu Bakr and Sa’d ibn ‘Ubadah, respectively. The Muslims encamped near a well called al Muraysi‘, not far from the encampment of their enemies. The allies of Banu al Mustaliq ran away upon hearing the news of the advancing Muslim army, with the result that the Banu al Mustaliq themselves were quickly encircled. In the short engagement which followed, the Muslims lost one man, Hisham ibn al Khattab by name, who was killed accidentally by a fellow Muslim. After losing ten men, the Banu al Mustaliq realized that they had better surrender to the Muslim forces. They were all made captives and their cattle confiscated.
The Life of Muhammad Page 48