In Arabia as a whole, the tide had turned in Muhammad’s favor, but within Medina the opposite was true. There the conflict had become more venomous than ever; every day Ibn Ubayy insinuated that had he retained the leadership, Yathrib could have been pacified without incurring the lethal enmity of the most powerful city in Arabia. Muhammad’s enemies rarely attacked him openly, but conducted a somewhat underhanded smear campaign. His controversial attempt to improve the status of women was a godsend to them, and they began to circulate malicious and salacious rumors about his wives. Some made it known that they had their eye on some of the more attractive members of his harem and intended to marry them after his death—a suggestion that carried more than a hint of assassination.2 It was whispered that Muhammad was now too old to satisfy his wives or that he had a testicular hernia.3 There was a good deal of spiteful gossip about ‘A’isha and a young man called Safwan ibn al-Mu‘attal. When people crowded into his family quarters to put their questions and complaints to Muhammad, some of the men had actually insulted his wives before his very eyes. The situation was getting out of hand. At night, when it was cooler, Medina came to life, and people liked to walk about and socialize outside, enjoying the fresher air, but since the siege, women had been attacked on the streets. When the Prophet’s wives went out together, the Hypocrites had started to follow them, yelling obscene suggestions and making lewd gestures.4 When challenged, they protested that in the darkness they had mistaken the women for slave girls, who were considered fair game for this type of harassment.
Muhammad was emotionally and physically drained by the strain of the last few years. He had always been emotionally dependent upon his women and this made him vulnerable. When he decided to take another wife, tongues started to wag again.5 Zaynab bint Jahsh had always been close to Muhammad; she was his cousin, but she was also the wife of Zayd, his adopted son. Muhammad had arranged the match himself shortly after the hijrah, even though Zaynab had been far from enthusiastic: Zayd was not physically pre-possessing and she may even then have been interested in Muhammad himself. Zaynab was now in her late thirties, but, despite the harsh climate and conditions of Arabia, she was still extremely beautiful. A pious woman, she was a skilled leather-worker and gave all the proceeds of her craft to the poor. Muhammad seems to have seen her with new eyes and to have fallen in love quite suddenly when he had called at her house one afternoon to speak to Zayd, who happened to be out. Not expecting any visitors, Zaynab had come to the door in dishabille, more revealingly dressed than usual, and Muhammad had averted his eyes hastily, muttering “Praise be to Allah, who changes men’s hearts!” Shortly afterwards, Zaynab and Zayd were divorced. The marriage had never been happy and Zayd was glad to release her. This story has shocked some of Muhammad’s Western critics who are used to more ascetic, Christian heroes, but the Muslim sources seem to find nothing untoward in this demonstration of their Prophet’s virility. Nor are they disturbed that Muhammad had more than four wives: why should God not give his prophet a few privileges? What scandalized his opponents in Medina was the fact that Zaynab had been married to Zayd: Arabs regarded adoption as conferring an almost biological relationship and there was much scandalized talk about incest. Muhammad was reassured on this point by a revelation that assured him that Allah himself desired the match and that it was not sinful to marry the spouse of an adopted child.6 ‘A’isha, who was always prone to jealousy, happened to be with Muhammad when he received this divine message. How very convenient! she remarked tartly, “Truly thy Lord makes haste to do thy bidding!” As usual, tensions in the harem reflected divisions in the community as a whole: Muhammad’s marriage to one of his own cousins would further the political ends of the Prophet’s family, advancing the cause of the ahl al-beit.
Because of the scandal, Muhammad insisted that the entire community attend the wedding celebrations. The courtyard was crowded with guests, many of them hostile to the Prophet, and the atmosphere would not have been pleasant. Eventually the party began to break up, but a small group remained behind in Zaynab’s new apartment, apparently blissfully unaware that it was time for the bride and groom to be alone. Muhammad left the room and sat with his other wives, hoping that these tactless guests would take the hint. “How do you like your new companion?” ‘A’isha inquired acidly, when he dropped in on her. He eventually returned to Zaynab’s hut, where the revellers were finally being ushered out by his friend Anas ibn Malik. As he entered the room, Muhammad somewhat impatiently drew a curtain (hijab) between himself and Anas, uttering the words of a new revelation:
O you who have attained to faith! Do not enter the Prophet’s dwellings unless you are given leave; [and when invited] to a meal, do not come [so early as] to wait for it to be readied: but whenever you are invited, enter [at the proper time]; and when you have partaken of the meal, disperse without lingering for the sake of mere talk: that, behold, might give of-fence to the Prophet, and yet he might feel shy of [asking] you [to leave]: but God is not shy of [teaching you] what is right.
And as for the Prophet’s wives, whenever you ask them for anything that you need, ask them from behind a screen: this will but deepen the purity of your hearts and theirs.7
The revelation went on to ordain that Muhammad’s wives should not remarry after his death, and ordered them to wear their jilbab (which could refer to various garments) in a distinctive way, so that they could be recognized in the street and avoid harassment.8
The hijab verses have become extremely controversial.9 They would eventually—about three generations after the Prophet’s death—be used to justify the veiling of all women and their segregation in a separate part of the house. But they must be seen in context. They occur in Surah 33, which also deals with the siege, and must be considered against this frightening backdrop. These directives did not apply to all Muslim women, but only to Muhammad’s wives. They were prompted by the thinly disguised threats of Muhammad’s enemies, the aggressive encroachment upon his personal space, and the abuse to which his wives were subjected almost daily. The poisonous atmosphere of Medina after the siege had compelled Muhammad to change his personal arrangements. Henceforth there would be no open house; instead of crowding freely into his wives’ apartments, Muslims must approach them from behind a protective screen. The word hijab comes from the root HJB: to hide. The curtain established a threshold; it shielded a “forbidden” or “sacred” (haram) object, like the damask cloth that covered the Kabah. In times of vulnerability, women’s bodies often symbolize the endangered community, and in our own day, the hijab has acquired new importance in seeming to protect the ummah from the threat of the West.
Muhammad had not wanted to separate his private life from his public duties. He continued to take his wives on military expeditions, though they would now remain in their tent. But the other women of the ummah continued to move around the oasis freely. The hijab was not devised to divide the sexes. In fact, when the revelation had come down, the curtain had been drawn between two men—the Prophet and Anas—to separate the married couple from the hostile community. The introduction of the hijab was a victory for ‘Umar, who had been urging the Prophet to segregate his wives for some time—a somewhat superficial solution to a complex problem. Muhammad had wanted to change people’s attitudes, and the imposition of this external barrier was a compromise, because it did not require Muslims to exercise an internal control over their actions. But he gave in to ‘Umar, because of the crisis that was tearing Medina apart.
But the situation did not improve. A few weeks after the introduction of the hijab, Muhammad’s enemies orchestrated a vicious attack on ‘A’isha, which devastated the Prophet and almost succeeded in dividing the community.10 ‘A’isha was an easy target. Everybody knew that she was Muhammad’s favorite. She was beautiful, spirited, proud of her prominent position, jealous, outspoken, not without egotism, and had doubtless made many enemies. On this occasion, Muhammad had chosen ‘A’isha to accompany him on an expedition against an ally of the Qura
ysh who had somewhat menacingly encamped a little closer to Medina than usual. According to Muhammad’s spies, the Quraysh had persuaded them to attack the oasis. It was a successful raid: the Muslims intercepted them at the Well of Muraysi on the Red Sea coast and managed to carry off two hundred camels, five hundred sheep, and two hundred of their women. Juwayriyyah bint al-Harith, daughter of the chief, was among the captives. ‘A’isha’s heart sank as soon as she set eyes on her, because Juwayriyyah was so pretty, and, sure enough, during the negotiations that followed the raid, Muhammad proposed marriage to seal the alliance with her father.
The Muslims camped at Muraysi for three days, but, despite the positive outcome of the ghazu, the simmering tension between the Emigrants and the Helpers escalated into a serious incident. While the Muslims were watering their camels at a well, local people from two different tribes—one confederated to the Quraysh, the other to the Khazraj—started to quarrel about a fairly trivial matter. Before long there was a full-scale brawl, and the combatants called upon the Muslim bystanders for help. The Emigrants rushed to the aid of the tribesmen who were allied to the Quraysh, while the Helpers from Khazraj rallied round their opponents. In a matter of moments, in direct violation of the Qur’an, Muslim was fighting Muslim. When they heard the news, ‘Umar and some of Muhammad’s other companions rushed in to stop this unseemly fighting, but Ibn Ubayy was enraged: how dared ‘Umar prevent the Khazraj from helping their own allies! “They seek to take precedence over us!” he cried. “By Allah, when we return to Medina, the higher and mightier of us will drive out the lower and the weaker.” A bystander ran immediately to report this to Muhammad, who paled when he heard this latest threat. ‘Umar wanted to have Ibn Ubayy executed immediately, but Muhammad restrained him: did he want it said that the Prophet killed his own companions?11 But he gave the Muslims orders to decamp immediately and begin the trek home, even though this meant travelling through the worst heat of the day—something he had never done before.
During one of the halts, ‘A’isha slipped away to relieve herself, and when she returned, found that she had mislaid her necklace. It had been a wedding gift from her mother, and she could not bear to lose it, so she went back to search for it. While she was gone, the men lifted her litter—duly shrouded with the hijab—onto her camel, assuming that she was safely inside, and the party moved off without her. ‘A’isha was not too distressed when she discovered the deserted campsite, because she knew that it was only a matter of time before somebody missed her. She sat down to wait and sure enough, her old friend Safwan ibn al-Mu‘attal, who had fallen behind the others, turned up and put her on the back of his own camel. When ‘A’isha rejoined the expedition with Safwan, the old rumor about their illicit relationship started up again, and Muhammad’s enemies gleefully imagined the worst. It was not surprising that ‘A’isha had fallen for Safwan, Ibn Ubayy remarked loudly, because he was so much younger and more attractive than her husband. The scandal rocked Medina, and the story seemed so plausible that some of the Emigrants began to believe it and even Abu Bakr, ‘A’isha’s father, began to suspect that it might be true.
More seriously, Muhammad himself began to doubt ‘A’isha’s innocence—a telling sign of his waning confidence during this difficult period. For a few days he seemed confused and uncertain. His need for ‘A’isha was so great that, faced with the possibility of losing her, he seemed confused and hesitant. He no longer received any messages from God; it was the first time, since the very beginning of his prophetic career, that the divine voice had fallen silent. Ibn Ubayy continued to exploit the situation, and old tribal hatreds flared, as the Khazraj, Ibn Ubayy’s tribe, threatened to fight the Aws, who argued that the people who were stirring the scandal should be immediately executed. The situation was so grave that Muhammad was forced to summon all the chiefs of Medina to a meeting and ask for their support should he find it necessary to take action against Ibn Ubayy, who was threatening his family.
Finally Muhammad went to confront ‘A’isha, who had taken refuge in her parents’ home. She had wept for two days but her tears dried like magic as soon as her husband entered the house and she faced him calmly. Muhammad urged her to confess her sin honestly; if she repented, God would forgive her. But with great dignity, the fourteen-year-old girl stood her ground and gazed steadfastly at her husband as she made her reply. There seemed little point in her saying anything at all, she said. She could not admit to something she had not done, and if she protested her innocence, nobody—not even her own parents—would believe her. She could only repeat the words of the prophet Jacob: “Patience in adversity is most goodly in the sight of God; and it is to God [alone] that I pray to give me strength to bear the misfortune which you have described to me.”12 She then turned silently and lay down on her bed.
Muhammad knew ‘A’isha through and through, and she must have convinced him, because as soon as she had finished speaking, he fell into the deep trance that was so often a prelude to revelation. He swooned and Abu Bakr put a leather cushion under his head, while he and his wife waited, terrified, for God’s judgment. “Good news, ‘A’isha!” Muhammad cried at last: God had confirmed her innocence. Overcome with relief, her parents urged her to get up and come to her husband but ‘A’isha remained implacable. “I shall neither come to him nor thank him,” she replied. “Nor will I thank the both of you, who listened to the slander and did not deny it. I shall rise and give thanks to Allah alone!”13 Duly chastened, Muhammad humbly accepted the rebuke, and went to recite the new revelation to the crowd that had gathered outside.14 A personal and political tragedy had been averted, but doubts remained. The distressing incident had shown how vulnerable Muhammad was. Was he—as Ibn Ubayy had so cruelly suggested—a spent fire?
But in March 628, the month of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Muhammad made a startling announcement that proved to be an extraordinary demonstration of his prophetic genius.15 It seems that he had no clearly defined plan at the outset, but only a dimly perceived insight. He told the Muslims that he had had a strange, numinous dream: he had seen himself standing in the Haram of Mecca, with the shaven head of the pilgrim, wearing the traditional hajji costume and holding the key to the Kabah, filled with a serene assurance of victory. The next morning, he announced that he intended to make the hajj and invited his companions to accompany him. It is easy to imagine the fear, wonder, and uncertain joy that filled the Muslims when they heard this startling invitation. Muhammad made it clear that this would not be a military expedition. Pilgrims were forbidden to carry weapons during the hajj and he had no intention of violating the Meccan sanctuary where all fighting was forbidden. ‘Umar objected. The Muslims would go like lambs to the slaughter! It was essential that they were able to defend themselves! But Muhammad was adamant. “I will not carry arms,” he said firmly. “I am setting out with no other end than to make the pilgrimage.” The pilgrims would wear no armour, but simply the traditional white robes of the hajji; at the beginning of the journey, they could carry a small hunting knife to kill game, but they would have to lay these aside once they had made their formal consecration. They would have to march unarmed into enemy territory.
None of the Bedouin who had joined Muhammad’s confederacy was prepared to take the risk, but about a thousand Emigrants and Helpers volunteered. Even Ibn Ubayy and some of the Hypocrites decided to go; two women Helpers, who had been present at the Pledge of ‘Aqabah, were allowed to join the party, and Umm Salamah accompanied Muhammad.
The Muslims set off with the camels that they would sacrifice at the climax of the hajj. At the first stop, Muhammad consecrated one of these camels in the traditional way, making special marks on it, hanging the ritual garments around its neck, and turning it in the direction of Mecca. He then uttered the pilgrim cry: “Here I am, O God, at your service!” The news of this audacious expedition spread quickly from one tribe to another, and the Bedouin followed their progress intently as the hajjis made the long journey south. Muhammad knew that he was
placing the Quraysh in an extremely difficult position. Every Arab had the right to make the hajj and if the Quraysh, the guardians of the Haram, forbade a thousand pilgrims who were punctiliously observing the rites to enter the sanctuary, they would be guilty of a gross dereliction of duty. But it would also be intolerably humiliating for the Quraysh if Muhammad did enter the city, and it soon became clear that the Qurayshan leadership was determined to stop Muhammad at any price. In an emergency meeting of the Assembly, Khalid ibn al-Walid was dispatched with two hundred cavalry to attack the defenseless pilgrims.
When he heard this grave news, Muhammad was filled with anguish for his tribe. The Quraysh were so blinded by the sterile hatred of warfare that they were prepared to violate the sacred principles on which their entire way of life depended. What was the point of such intransigence? “Alas Quraysh!” he cried, “War has devoured them! What harm would they have suffered if they had left me and the rest of the Arabs to go our own ways?” The expedition was going to be quite different from what he had imagined. Because of his dream, Muhammad had probably expected to be admitted to Mecca, and have the opportunity to explain the principles of Islam to the Quraysh in the peaceful conditions imposed by the hajj. But he could not turn back now. “By Allah,” he resolved, “I will not cease to strive for the mission with which God has entrusted me until he makes it victorious or I perish.”16 His first task was to get the pilgrims safely into the sanctuary. The Muslims found a guide from the friendly Bedouin tribe of Aslam, who led the party by a circuitous, rugged path into the area where all violence was forbidden. As soon as he entered the sacred zone, Muhammad reminded the pilgrims that they were engaged in a strictly religious activity. They must not allow themselves to be carried away by the excitement of homecoming; there must be no facile triumph; and they must put their sins behind them. Now they should make their way to the nearby well of Hudaybiyyah, getting their camels to kick up the sand so that Khalid and his men would know exactly where they were.
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