Our Blessed Prophet Muhammad

Man, who insists calling himself a rational creature, is at times so irrational that he simply cannot distinguish between what is glaringly ugly, false, mischievous, deceptive and devilish from what is honorable, just, sacred, beautiful and divine. This is not so because man lacks faculty to differentiate between good and bad or between the ugly and beautiful, but solely because man gets subjected to importunity, obstinacy and bigotry. He refuses to labor for finding the truth. And when man does find or comes across the truth, he does not stand up as a gentleman to recognize and repent for his wrong. Man rather attempts to escape from his own discovery under family, community, school, country, race and other such general considerations. He does not want to face the discomfort of incurring the displeasure of those to whom he belongs. Worst of this stock are the people like the author of Satanic Verses, who aspire no more beyond petty material gain or to derive pleasure by haunting the multitude of millions for no good reason.

Tirade Against The Holy Prophet (pbuh)

Among abuses hurled at Islam over the past 14 centuries, the worst target of such invective, vulgar and gratuitous attacks has been the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself - particularly his family life. The antagonists portray the Prophet�s wives in the most indecent manner. These people know that the House against which they pour out their venom is the most revered by every and any Muslim holding even a grain of faith. The Prophet�s wives, according to Qur�anic parlance, are the �Mothers of the Faithful� - revered by Muslims equal to Prophet himself.

The hostile and venomous attacks merit harsher treatment, yet we chose to overlook the insanity and take up the subject positively, particularly for the benefit of those who earnestly look for truth and per chance do not have access to authentic source. For refutation of the wild allegations of sensuality leveled against the Holy Prophet (pbuh), we can do no better than quote the considered views of various Western scholars who are not carried off their feet by prejudice and bias. For convenience, we may also point out that the following text has been adopted from The Mothers of the Believers (Ummahatul Mominin) authored by Zafar Ali Qureshi (1986). The books quotes the views of certain otherwise bigoted writers, who could not help but admit the high moral character of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and the real motives which prompted him to marry more than one wife. We divide the life of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) into four periods as under:

(1) Initial 25 years

(2) From 25 - 50 years

(3) From 51 - 54 years

(4) After the age of 55 years

1. Prophet�s Initial 25 Years

The Holy Prophet (pbuh) was born in a society which may be called a �free society, where there was no bar to having extramarital relations. The Prophet was very handsome and well-built. However, his youthful life up to the age of 25, when passions are very strong, presents a spectacle of unblemished moral life. No critic, Eastern or Western, has been able to raise finger of scorn in this period of his life.

Sir William Muir, a very hostile critic, admits: All authorities agree in ascribing to the youth of Mahomet a modesty of deportment and purity of manners rare among the people of Mecca.

P. de Lacy Johnstone writes in his work Mohammad and His Power: He enjoyed a high character among the citizens and nothing stands against his name.

Rev. Marcus Dods states in his work Mohammed, Buddha and Christ: His unmarried youth had been exceptionally pure.

Emile Dermengham records in his Life of Mahomet: Mahomet�s youth has been chaste.

2. Life Between 25 - 50 Years Of Age

At the age of 25, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) married Khadija who was 40 years old. Before this marriage, she had been married twice and had children born out of these unions. The Prophet (pbuh) remained wedded to her for 25 years and all his children except Ibrahim were born to her. The Prophet�s married life was a model of conjugal happiness. The Prophet did not marry any other wife in Hazrat Khadija (ra)�s life.

Leon Nemoy writes in the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: Undoubtedly a marriage of convenience (Khadija on her part needed an energetic and experienced businessman to manage her mercantile interests) it developed, however, into a nearly ideal companionship of affection and mutual respect. Muhammad (pbuh) took no other wives during Khadija�s lifetime and ever thought of her in terms of deep gratitude.

Rev. Hughes records in his classic Dictionary of Islam: The house of Muhammad

and Khadija was bright and happy one and their marriage fortunate and fruitful.

The Holy Prophet (pbuh) used to praise Khadija very much. Hazrat A�isha (ra) said that she felt very jealous and once said to the Prophet, "Has not Allah given you a better wife than her?" The Prophet (pbuh) got very angry and said, "By Allah, He has not given me a better wife than her. She became a Muslim when others disbelieved in me. She testified to my truthfulness when others called me a liar. She gave me all her wealth when others made my life miserable. She bore me children when I did not have children from my other wives."

Emile Dermengham states that the Prophet (pbuh) remained faithful to one wife much older than himself for a quarter of a century.

John Davenport records in his An Apology for Muhammad and Koran: Mohammed�s gratitude to her memory survived her to his latest hour.

3. Life Between 51 - 54 years of Age

After death of Hazrat Khadija (ra), Khawla bint Hakim suggested to the Prophet (pbuh) that he should marry. When the Prophet (pbuh) inquired as to with whom she proposed his marriage, she suggested Sauda bint Zam�a and A�isha bint Abu Bakr. The Prophet (pbuh) agreed to the proposition. Hazrat Sauda (ra) was married and A�isha, being a minor was simply betrothed. Sauda was the widow of Sukran bin Amr, one of the early followers who had emigrated to Abyssinia to escape persecution at the hands of the Quraish.

Hazrat Sauda (ra) was a widow of mature age. She came in Prophet�s household three years before the Hijrah and remained with him for four years as his only wife.

About her marriage with the Prophet (pbuh), W. Montgomery Watt writes: In the case of Saudah, whom he married in Mecca, the chief aim may have been to provide for the widow of a faithful Muslim.

Sir William Muir states about this marriage: From the time of their marriage shortly after the death of Khadija she continued to be for three or four years the only wife of Mahomet.

A�isha bint Abu Bakr

We come to the Prophet�s marriage with A�isha bint Abu Bakr. She was the only virgin wife of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

Sir William Muir, while speaking about Prophet�s marriage with Sauda, writes about the marriage with A�isha in these words: About the same time he contracted a second marriage with Ayesha, the young daughter of Abu Bakr - a connection mainly designed to cement the attachment with his bosom-friend. The yet undeveloped charms of Ayesha could hardly have swayed the heart of Mahomet.

Washington Irving admits: Perhaps he (i.e. the Prophet) sought, by this alliance, to grapple Abu Bekr still more strongly to his side.

John Davenport records in his Apology for Mohammed and the Koran: .... the principal object of this last union being to cement still more strongly their mutual attachment.

Rev. W. Montgomery Watt states: Since Muhammad had a political aim in nearly all his marriages, he must have seen in this one a means of strengthening the ties between himself and Abu Bakr, his chief follower.

It is admitted by all scholars that A�isha occupies a prominent place amongst the most distinguished traditions (Muhaddiseen) and hundreds of traditions are recorded as having been reported by her from the mouth of the Prophet (pbuh). She was often consulted on theological and juridical objects.

So in this marriage with A�isha, there was a desire to cement the bonds of friendship with Abu Bakr as well as the desire for propagating the teachings of Islam, particularly delicate matters relating to womenfolk, through the Prophet�s wives.

Hafsa bint Umar B.Al-Khattab

Hafsa was married to Khunays b. Hudhafa al-Shami. On return from Badr he died at Medina. Umar offered her hand in marriage to Abu Bakar and Uthman b. Affan, but both declined. The Prophet (pbuh) proposed marrying her and Umar readily agreed. Various Western writers are of the view that this marriage, too, was contracted by the Prophet (pbuh) for cementing his friendship with Umar, his devoted and zealous follower.

In his article on �Hafsa� in the Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam, Henri Lammens, a bigoted priest, admits: Muhammad who wished to secure Umar�s cooperation, married her after the �day of Uhud�.

Sir William Muir, admits that with this marriage the Prophet �bound closer his friendship with her father�.

P. De Lacy Johnstone writes: By his own marriage to Hafsa, Muhammad allied himself as closely to Omar as he already was to Abu Bakr.

John Bagot Glubb records: He (i.e. the Prophet) had already married A�isha, the daughter of Abu Bekr, and his marriage to the daughter of Omar may perhaps be ascribed to his desire to bind his two principal assistants more closely to himself.

In the article on �Hafsa�, in the New Edition of Encyclopaedia of Islam, L.Veccia Vaglieri states: It is very likely that the Prophet was led to contract this marriage for reasons of policy, wishing to strengthen his bonds with such a valuable supporter as Umar, all the more so because shortly before he had asked in marriage Abu Bakr�s daughter, A�isha.

Zainab bint Khuzaima

Zainab bint Khuzaima was married to Tufail bin Harith who divorced her. Then Ubaida b. Harith married her. He was killed at the battle of Badr. The widow who was then 30 years old, needed help and succor and the Prophet married her in Ramadhan 4 A.H. but Ubaida b. Harith died a few months later.

While writing of Sauda bint Zam�a, W. Montgomery Watt states that the "Chief aim may have been to provide for the widow of a faithful Muslim, as also in the later marriage with Zaynab bint Khuzamah!

Umm Salma bint Abi Umayyah

Sir William Muir writes: Umm Salma was the widow of Abu Salma to whom she had borne several children. Both had been exiles to Abyssinia from whence they had returned to Medina. At Ohod, Abu Salma was wounded... It was eight months after the battle of Ohod when Abu Salma died; and four months later, Mahomet married his widow. One of her children was also brought up by him.

Other reports state that she had several children and the Prophet (pbuh), knowing her plight, undertook to be a father to all her children. She was 29 years old at the time of her marriage to the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

It may be stated that out of several Muslims who had taken refuge in Abyssinia some had died there. Their widows and children who were left without their bread-winners needed help and succor. By marrying such widows the Prophet (pbuh) discharged his obligations to the families of his dead followers who had suffered because of their loyalty to Islam.

In his article on Islam in the work Religious Systems of the World, Dr. Leitner says: The king (Negus of Abyssinia) did not give them up to their persecutors (Qurysh). Some of them died in Abyssinia and their widows, who would otherwise have perished, Muhammed took into his household. The idea that the Prophet had any improper intention in so doing is without foundation; especially if we consider that he had given abundant proof during his youth of continence.

Umm Habibah bint Abu Sufyan

Her name was Ramlah. She was daughter of Abu Sufyan, who before accepting Islam, was the implacable enemy of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). She was married to Ubaidallah bin Jahsh. He emigrated with Umm Habibah to Abyssinia but turned Christian there. However Umm Habibah remained firm in her faith in Islam. When the Prophet (pbuh) heard about her plight, he sent a message to the Negus with marriage proposal with Umm Habibah. This was agreed to by her.

Washington Irving writes in his work The Life of Mahomet: The widow was the daughter of Mahomet�s arch-enemy, Abu Sofian; and the Prophet (pbuh) conceived that a marriage with the daughter might soften the hostility of her father - a political consideration.

William Muir, admits that the Prophet (pbuh) "hoped to make Abu Sofian, the father of Umm Habibah, more favourable to his cause."

Umm Habibah was 35 years old at the time of her marriage with the Prophet (pbuh).

Emile Dermengham writes: Being no longer young, her status in the harem was not important, but the marriage, apart from giving an honourable position to the widow of a well-known man, it brought together the Prophet (pbuh) and her father.

In his article on �Abu Sufyan� in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, W. Montgomery Watt states that Muhammad�s marriage to his daughter may have softened his heart �Certainly when Muhammad (pbuh) marched on Mecca soon after (Hudaibiya), Abu Sufyan along with Hakim of Hizam came out and submitted to him.

So the question of providing relief and succor to the needy widow who was stranded in a foreign land and political considerations were at work in contracting this marriage with Umm Habibah.

We shall deal with the marriage of Zainab bint Jahsh at the end because a lot of malicious and venomous allegations have been leveled against the Holy Prophet (pbuh) which require some detailed examination and refutation.

Juwariya bint Harith

According to W. Montgomery Watt, Juwariya was the daughter of the chief of the tribe of al-Mustaliq with whom Muhammad (pbuh) had been having special trouble.

Sir William Muir tells us in his Life of Mahomet that the Bani Mustalick, a branch of Khuza�a, hitherto friendly to his cause were now raising forces with the view of joining the Coreish in the threatened attack on Medina. He resolved by a bold inroad to prevent this design.

In the battle of Mariysah the enemy were worsted and a rich booty fell to the lot of Muslims. Juwariya fell to the lot of Thabit bin Qais Ansari. Taking her social standing in view he fixed nine ounces of gold as her ransom money. Juwariya came to the Prophet (pbuh) for help in raising the ransom. The Prophet (pbuh) said to her, "How about my paying your ransom money and marrying you?" She agreed, the ransom was paid and the Prophet (pbuh) married her.

Commenting on this, Sir William Muir writes: As soon as the marriage was noised abroad, the people said that the Bani Mustalick were now become their relatives, and that the rest of the prisoners should go free, as Juweiria�s dower; and �no woman, said Ayesha�, telling the story in after days, �was ever a greater blessing to her people than this Juweiria�.

Washington Irving states: .... her ransom was paid by the Prophet to Thabet; her kindred were liberated by the Moslems, to whose lot they had fallen; most of them embraced the faith.

Emile Dermengham writes: To confirm this alliance and supply a dower for the fiance the Mussulmeen released a hundred prisoners. El-Hareth, the Sheikh, his son and several others of the Bani Mostaliq were immediately converted.

Sir John Glubb says in his book Life and Times of Muhammad: ... it won over Bani Mustaliq to Islam more successfully than a battle.

So in the case of this marriage, political consideration weighed in the matter. The tribe was won over and enmity turned into friendship and blood relationship.

Safiya bint Huyayy

She belonged to the Jewish tribe of Bani Nadhir. Her father Huyayy b, Akhtab was one of those who had settled at Khaibar. Safiya had been the wife of Sallam b.Mashkam who had divorced her. Then Kinana b. al-Rabi had married her at the end of 6th A.H. or early 7th A.H. When the Prophet (pbuh) attacked Khaibar to thwart the machinations of the Jews they were overwhelmed. Safiya fell to the lot of Dihya al-Kalbi as a war prisoner. The Prophet (pbuh) redeemed her from Dihya and her dower consisted in her emancipation. The Prophet (pbuh) proposed marriage to her which she accepted and became a Muslim. It appears that the Prophet (pbuh) wanted to soften the hostility of the Jews by entering into blood-relationship with them as he had done in the case of Bani Mustaliq.

Commenting on this marriage, W. Montgomery Watt writes in his work Muhammad at Medina: There may also have been political motives in these unions with Jewesses Safiya and Rayhana.

Maimuna bint Harith

Masud bin Amr Thaqafi had married Maimuna in the Jahiliya, then divorced her. Then Abu Rahm bin Abdul Uzza married her. He died and then the Prophet (pbuh) married her in 7 A.H.

When the Prophet had gone on Umra after Hudaibiya, he thought of marrying Maimuna. He sent Aris b. Kholi and Abu Rafi�i to Abbas b. Abdul Muttalib and sought the hand of Maimuna in marriage. She was living with Abbas. This was agreed to and the marriage was solemnized in a village near Mecca.

About this marriage various Western authors have expressed the following viewpoints:

In his article on �Maimuna� in the Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam, Frants Buhl states that the Prophet "wooed her primarily, no doubt, for political reasons".

Sir William Muir writes in his Life of Mahomet: Another sister of Maimuna was the mother of Khalid bin Walid. Not long after the marriage of his aunt to the Prophet (pbuh), Khalid repaired to Medina, and gave in his adhesion to the cause of Islam.

Emile Dermengham records in his Life of Mahomet that this marriage established an excellent relationship between the Prophet (pbuh) and her nephew, Khalid b. Walid, the distinguished general.

Washington Irving writes in his Life of Mahomet: This was doubtless another marriage of policy, for Maimuna was fifty-one years of age and a widow, but the connection gained him two powerful proselytes. One was Khalid Ibn al-Walid, a nephew of the widow, an intrepid general ... The other proselyte was Khalid�s friend, �Amr bin al�Aas. ...

Sir William Muir writes at another place: The position of Mahomet at Mecca was greatly strengthened by the accession of such leading men.

Marriage with Maimuna was the last marriage contracted by the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

Zainab bint Jahsh

The marriage of Zainab bint Jahsh with the Holy Prophet (pbuh) has been made the target of most hostile, scurrilous and venomous remarks against the Prophet. We shall show how bigotry and malice can stoop down to any depths to sully the honor of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

Before we take up the question of the marriage of Zainab bint Jahsh with the Holy Prophet (pbuh), we first state the facts about the marriage of Zainab with Zaid bin Haritha, after whose divorcing, the Prophet (pbuh) married her.

Zaid bin Haritha was made a slave in early life. He was brought to Mecca and purchased by Khadija who presented him to the Prophet (pbuh). He treated him so nicely and lovingly that when Zaid�s father came to redeem him, he refused to go along with him and preferred to remain with the Prophet, who freed him and adopted him, in the custom of the Arabs then, as his son. Zaid was known as Zain bin Muhammad.

Zainab bint Jahsh was the daughter of Umaymah bint Abdul Muttalib, aunt of the Prophet (pbuh), sister of his father Abdullah b. Abdul Muttalib.

In accordance with the notions of Islam of doing away with the distinctions of caste and colour, of high and low, of free men and slaves, the Prophet (pbuh) thought of marrying Zainab bint Jahsh - his first cousin, with Zaid bin Haritha - his freedman and adopted son. According to a version of Ibn Abbas, cousin of the Prophet, recorded in Tabarani, the Prophet proposed marriage to Zainab. She thought that the Prophet (pbuh) himself was asking her hand in marriage. When, however, she learnt that the Prophet was asking her hand for Zaid bin Haritha, she refused, felt uneasy, and said, �I am from Quraish. I don�t like it. I am better than him in lineage." In some other version, she is reported to have said, "O Apostle of Allah, I am from Quraish. I am the daughter of your aunt. I don�t like him for myself." Then the verse of the Qur�an was revealed:

"And it becometh not a believing man and a believing woman that when Allah and His Messenger have decided an affair (for them) that they should (after that) claim any say in their affairs; and who so is rebellious to Allah and His Messenger he verily goeth astray in error manifesto." (Qur�an 33:30)

All the Commentators of the Holy Qur�an are of the unanimous view that this verse was revealed in connection with Zainab�s refusal to marry Zaid bin Haritha. However, when Zainab and her brother heard this verse, they acquiesced and entrusted the matter to the Prophet (pbuh) who solemnized the marriage of Zainab bint Jahsh with Zaid bin Haritha. However, this marriage did not run its smooth course and ended in a divorce. More than one author has thrown light on the reasons for the dissolution of this marriage.

It is recorded in the Tafsir Khazin: Zaid came to the Holy Prophet and said, "I want to divorce Zainab." The Prophet (pbuh) enquired, "What is the matter with you? Do you find anything bad in her?" Zaid replied, "No, Apostle of Allah! I have seen nothing but good in her. But she takes too much airs on her noble lineage and torments me with her tongue." The Prophet said, "Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allah in her case."

But Zaid divorced Zainab. ... Zurqani states that Zaid divorced her because of his dislike of her on account of her taking airs on her high pedigree. ... Baladhuri writes in his Ansab al-Ashraf: Zaid complained to the Prophet (pbuh) and said that Zainab is bad-tempered and asked the Prophet�s permission for divorcing her. But the Prophet said to him, "Keep thy wife to thyself and fear Allah."

On the other hand, it must be stated in defence of Zainab, that in deference to the wishes of the Holy Prophet she had agreed to marry Zaid. Zaid was of swarthy complexion, short statured with a flat nose. Whatever may be the case, the fact remains that there was incompatibility of temperaments between Zaid and Zainab, and the couple could not pull on for long and the marriage ended in divorce of Zainab by Zaid. All the exhortations of the Prophet (pbuh) to Zaid to keep his wife to himself failed in their purpose.

Mirza Abu�l Fazl throws some light on the role of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in this matter in these words: ...But from the moment it was clear that the relation of Zaid and Zainab could not last long, it became a cause for grave anxiety to Mohammed. He had arranged the marriage when the people of Zainab were averse to it, and now he was to be the cause of disgrace to the family. Not long after, his apprehension proved true; Zaid divorced Zeinab.

The position of Mohammed (pbuh) at this juncture may well be imagined. In fact, he was responsible for this �unequal� union in a world divided by color and caste, which had extinguished the spark of human instinct of love and affection; and he certainly owed it to her people who were more than humiliated and disgraced by this divorce of their daughter by a freedman, which must have touched their sense of honor and not a little injured them in the eyes of their people, to undo all by manfully coming forward to accept the hand of Zeinab; and amidst the great rejoicing of her people Mohammed (pbuh) married Zeinab.

Before the Prophet (pbuh) actually married Zainab, he had some apprehensions that since the pagan Arabs considered their adopted sons as their real sons, his idea of marrying Zainab bint Jahsh might not provoke some adverse comments from the common folks. At this juncture Allah revealed verses of the Qur�an whereby he was told not to fear the common folks but to fear Allah alone. He was further commanded as a duty to marry Zainab, wife of his adopted son, so that this age-old pagan custom of considering marriage with the wives of their adopted sons as something unlawful and sacrilegious might be done away with, as Muhammad (pbuh) "is not the father of any male member of the community." And that he was the last Prophet of Allah to undo the pagan custom, which no other person of lesser authority could do. The verses run as under:

"And recall what time thou wast saying unto him (Zaid) on whom Allah had conferred favour and thou hadst conferred favour: �Keep thy wife to thyself and fear Allah�; and thou wast concealing in thy mind that which Allah was going to disclose, and thou wast fearing mankind whereas Allah had a better right that Him thou shouldst fear. Then when Zaid had performed his purpose concerning her, We wedded her to thee, so that there should be no blame for believers in respect of wives of their adopted sons, when they have performed their purpose concerning them.

No blame there is upon the Prophet in that which Allah hath decreed for him. That hath been Allah�s dispensation with those who have passed away afore - and ordinance of Allah hath been a destiny destined.

Those who preached the message of Allah and feared Him, and feared none save Allah, and Allah sufficeth as a Reckoner.

Muhammad is not the father of any of your males, but the Apostle of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; And Allah of everything is ever the Knower."

(Qur�an 33: 37-40)

The Prophet carried out this directive of Allah by marrying Zainab bint Jahsh. It did not provoke much adverse comments by the people at large. This has, however, been the subject of most hostile, malicious and scurrilous comments by a large majority of the Orientalists on the basis of a �cock and bull� story fabricated by an evil-minded person. Those who are eager to know who the person was and what story he narrated may find it recorded in the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa�d coming from the narration of his teacher, Muhammad b. Umar al-Waqidi.

About Muhammad bin Umar al-Waqidi, however, we quote the views of various reputable scholars, critics and connoisseurs of Hadith in this respect:

Imam Shafi�i, one of the most penetrating brains of Islam, a great jurist and versatile scholar said, "All the books of Waqidi are lies." At another place he said, "There were seven persons in Medina who used to fabricate �chain of narrators�, Waqidi was one of them."

Ibn Madni, teacher of Imam Bukhari, said: Waqidi has got 20,000 traditions for which there is no basis or authority.

Yahya bin Mueen said: Waqidi has falsely imputed some 20,000 traditions to the Apostle of Allah.

Imam Bukhari said: He is discarded in narration of Hadith. Ahmed b.Hanbal, Ibn Mubarak, Ibn Numeer and Isma�il bin Zakariya have discarded him. He said at another place: Ahmed bin Hanbal called him a liar.

Imam Nasa�i, author of one of the Sihah Sittah (Six canonical books) said: It is considered among the �weak� narrators who are well known for telling lies in respect of the Apostle of Allah. And they are four: Waqidi in Medina, Muqatil in Khorasan, Muhammad bin Saeed, the �hanged one� in Syria and named the fourth also.

Abu Da�ud, compiler of one of the Sihah Sittah, said: I do not write traditions of Waqidi nor do I narrate on his authority. I am convinced that he forged traditions.

Ishaq b. Rahweh said: I am of the view that he used to concoct traditions.

Abu Zar�a al-Razi, Abu Bashar al-Dulabi and Uqailee said: He is discarded in traditions.

Abu Hatim said: He used to concoct traditions.

Imam Nuwawwi said: All have agreed that Waqidi is �weak� in reporting traditions.

Dhahabi said: All are unanimous on the unreliability of Waqidi.

Ibn Khallikan said: The traditions received from Waqidi are considered to be of �weak� authority and doubts have been expressed on the subject of his veracity and reliability.

Ibn Sayyid an-Nas says in his Uyun al-athar that people have made much criticism about him. He is considered �weak� in reporting traditions and allegations of concocting Ahadith on his part have been levelled against him.

Waqidi is a favorite with the Orientalists since they can find a lot of fabricated and concocted material in his reports. They always find excuses for praising him. But sometimes they are also compelled to admit the truth about him i.e. his unreliability.

B.H. Stern says about his not laying much stress on the criticism of Isnad: As far as criticism of the isnad is concerned, al-Waqidi was not regarded with favour by the orthodox theologians and scholars of his period and later times; such people as Ibn Hanbal, al-Bukhari, Ibn Mu�in and Ibn Mubarak disapproved of him ...It seems his fault lay in the fact that he was more interested in the matn rather than the isnad.

Sir William Muir states: Neither he (i.e. Waqidi) nor any other writers of the time was addicted to the use of reason and argument. The sole ambition of each was to collect the largest number of traditions and to transmit them with exactness.....Waqidi seems to have taken as few traditions as possible from the Sunna.....His great learning enabled him to assign ten different authorities for a single tradition, with as many varying texts of the same; and to supply many interesting anecdotes which had escaped Ibn Ishaq and his other predecessors.

In his article on Waqidi, in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, Horovitz says: Muslim scholars reject him for Hadith proper.

In his book Master Historians, Angus Butterworth castigates Gibbon for his use of Waqidi�s unreliable material in these words: For the history of Mohammed he, in common with other contemporaries took without question the dubious material to be found in the romances of al-Waqidi.

Even Sprenger, who is very hostile to the Prophet, admits the unreliability of al-Waqidi in these words: According to the canons of traditional criticism Wackidi is reckoned untrustworthy, partly because he was uncritical in the choice of his authorities and not himself invariably true.

Sir William Muir�s remarks that Waqidi supplied interesting anecdotes left by Ibn Ishaq and others are a pointer in the direction that such �interesting anecdotes� must have been coined by Waqidi himself, otherwise there is no reason why Ibn Ishaq and others should have omitted to mention anything important pertaining to the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

The second such person in the chain of narrators, was Abdullah bin A�amar al-Aslami, about whom the said Muslim scholars expressed similar remarks as in case of al-Waqidi. We , therefore, need not repeat all that.

We need also not to say anything about Muhammad b. Yahya b. Habban who, though considered reliable and who was the first person, said to have narrated the story, but he died more than a century after the death of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). If at all Muhammad b. Yahya b. Habban had got anything to do with this tradition, how did he come to know about this story after the lapse of a century? The story does not reach any Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) nor any member of his household.

On the face of it, it is a spurious piece of lie fabricated just to defame the Holy Prophet (pbuh). Those who have happened to read this story in any source, must always keep in mind that Ummul Mo�mineen Zainab bint Jahsh was 38 years old at the time she got married to the Prophet. She was his first cousin. The Prophet (pbuh) had seen her from the stage of a crawling babe to a full grown woman. If he was at all interested in her and her beauty, he could have married her when young and virgin. Now when she had passed all these stages this talk of her beauty pouring in the Prophet�s family, causing anguish of heart to the other ladies, is a blatant lie, a sheer concoction of some dirty mind.

And it has also to be remembered that it was the Prophet (pbuh) himself who had arranged her marriage with Zaid b. Haritha. For further refutation of the baseless criticism of the Holy Prophet we can do no better than quote the considered views of some Western scholars who are not carried off by blind prejudice in this matter:

R. Bosworth Smith writes in his work Mohammed and Mohammedanism:

His (i.e. the Prophet) marriage with Zainab, the wife of his freedman and adopted son, after her divorce from him, bears on the face of it a worse complexion; but I am satisfied, after a close examination of the circumstances of the case, that it does not bear the interpretation usually placed upon it by Christians. It raised an outcry among the Arabs of the Ignorance, not because they suspected an intrigue on the Prophet�s part to secure a divorce; but because they looked upon an adopted son as though he were a real son, and considered therefore that the marriage fell within the prohibited degree. This restriction, which Muhammad, for whatever cause, considered to be an arbitrary one, he abolished by this marriage, not for his own benefit only but for that of the Arabs at large ...much that was comparatively innocent has been made to wear the appearance of deep guilt.

In the footnote Bosworth Smith writes:

It should be remembered, however, that most of Muhammad�s marriages may be explained, at least, as much by his pity for the forlorn condition of the person concerned, as by other motives. They were almost all of them with widows who were not remarkable either for their beauty or their wealth, but quite the reverse. May not this fact, and his undoubted faithfulness to Khadija till her dying day, and till he was fifty years of age, give an additional ground to hope that calumny or misconception has been at work in the story of Zainab? For example, Zainab was the Prophet�s cousin, and there was nothing to prevent his having married her himself when both he and she were younger, instead of giving her in marriage to his freedman �Muhammad, by his subsequent marriage with her removed a restriction which he thought [in fact, ordained by Allah] unnecessary; and showed that at all events he saw nothing degrading in a marriage connection with a freedman. Anyhow it is certain, if he [Zaid] had suspected, as Christians have done, anything in the nature of an intrigue on his part to alienate his wife�s affection from him, he could not have served him as he did even to the day of his death with all the loyalty and devotion of a zealous disciple.

As regards the promulgation of Sura 33:37-40 which, it is contended by the Orientalists, the Prophet (pbuh) produced to suit his purpose, the tragedy of thinking of these critics is that they do not consider Muhammad as a Prophet of God, and also do not accept the position that the Prophet could get revelations from the God. They consider themselves as the favorites of heaven and that Divine revelation is the sole prerogative of Jews and Christians, the Chosen of the Lord, to the entire exclusion of the rest of humanity!

R.Bosworth Smith gives a very cogent rejoinder to these critics who contend that the Prophet (pbuh) produced this sura for his ends. He writes: The promulgation of this Sura, whatever it proves about Muhammad (pbuh) seems to me to prove not his conscious insincerity, but the reverse; he had already attained this end, why then blazon his shame if shame he felt it to be? Why forge the name of God? Why lay himself open to the crushing retort which his enemies would at once bring against him? ...Surely a single act of conscious imposture in the matter of the Kuran would have sapped all his strength ...It would have made such a speech as that wherein, at the very close of his life, Samuel-like he boldly challenged all Musulmans to mention aught against that they had against him, impossible.

Dr. Leitner, too, refutes the baseless allegations made in the matter of Prophet�s marriage with Zainab. He writes: The story of the marriage of the Prophet with Zainab, the divorced wife of his freedman and adopted son, Zaid, has also, given rise to misconception. It may be premised that the heathen Arabs considered it wrong to marry the divorced wife of an adopted son, although they had no objection to marry the wives (excluding their own mother) of a deceased father, just as some people nowadays might not mind breaking the Decalogue who would on no account �whistle on a Sunday�.

Mohammed excluded all this �nonsense� by saying that an adopted child was not a real child; and this being so, it could not be supposed to be within the prohibited degree. To affirm this truth and not to justify a new marriage, the Prophet received a revelation which has been misconstrued as a sanction to a wrongful act.

Rev. W. Montgomery Watt writes: The most natural explanation of the Qur�nic passages is to suppose that there was something objectionable about the equating of adoptive sons with real ones, and that it was desirable that there should be a complete break with the past in this respect. The Qur�an implies that Muhammad (pbuh) had originally been unwilling to marry Zainab and afraid of public opinion, but had come to acknowledge the marriage as a duty imposed on him by God; his marriage demonstrated to the believers that there was no blame in marrying the divorced wife of an adoptive son. The criticism of Muhammad (pbuh), then, was based on a pre-Islamic idea that was rejected by Islam, and one aim of Muhammad (pbuh) in contracting the marriage was to break the hold of the old idea over men�s conduct.

For further refutation of the charge we reproduce here the views of various Western scholars who have rebutted the charge in their own way.

The famous scholar, Thomas Carlyle writes: Mahomet himself, after all that can be said about him, was not a sensual man. We shall err widely if we consider this man as common voluptuary, intent mainly on base enjoyments, - nay on enjoyment of any kind. His household was of the frugalest; his common diet barley-bread and water; sometimes for months there was not a fire once lighted on his hearth. They record with just pride that he would mend his own shoes, patch up his own cloak. A poor, hard-toiling, ill-provided man; careless of what vulgar men toil for. Not a bad man, I should say; something better in him than hunger of any sort, or these wild Arab men fighting, jostling three and twenty years at his hand, in close contact with him always, would not have reverenced him so! ...No emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this man in a cloak of his clouting.

J.W.H. Stobart writes in his work Muhammad and His Power: His domestic conduct was that of a faithful and affectionate husband, whilst his reserved, mediative, and sober manners in public secured him the love and praise of his fellow townsmen. It is impossible to suppose, if his conduct and character had been licentious and hypocritical, that the reputation which he established and maintained would have been as high and faultless as it was.

Lord Headley, the Muslim convert, wrote in his book The Three Great Prophets of the World: He was deeply attached to Ayesha and the other wives he married were the widows of his friends who had fallen n fighting his defensive engagements. The position of �widow� has always been a sad one in the East and it is not difficult to imagine that the tender heart of Muhammad (pbuh) went out to those defenceless ones whose protectors had given their lives in his glorious cause, and he did the best for them by letting them have the shelter of his home. As actual wives he had no need of them but as protector of the friendless he did the right thing and secured the blessings of many whose life would otherwise have been cheerless and unhappy.

Will Durant, who had attacked the Prophet, admits: Some of his marriages were acts of kindness to the destitute widows of his followers and friends. ...Some were diplomatic marriages ...Some may have been due to a perpetually frustrated hope for a son...

John Davenport observes in his work An Apology for Mohammed and the Kuran: It should be remembered that he lived from the age of five-and-twenty to that of fifty years satisfied with one wife; that until she died at the age of sixty-three he took no other, and that left him without male issue; and it may then be asked, �is it likely that a very sensual man, should be contented for five-and-twenty years with one wife, she being fifteen years older than himself; and is it not far more probable that Mohammad (pbuh) took the many wives he did during the last thirteen years of his life chiefly from a desire of having male issue?

Writing in his work Studies in a Mosque, Stanley Lane-Poole refutes the charge in these words: The simple austerity of his life, to the very last, his hard mat for sleeping on, his plain food, his self-imposed menial work, point him as an ascetic rather than a voluptuary in most senses of the word ...A great deal too much has been said about his wives. It is a melancholy spectacle to see professedly Christian biographers gloating over the stories and fables of Mohammed�s domestic relations like the writers and readers of �society� journals ...Be it remembered that, within his unlimited power, he need not have restricted himself to a number insignificant compared with the harems of some of his successors, that he never divorced one of his wives, that all of them save one were widows ...Several of these marriages must have been entered into from the feeling that those women whose husbands had fallen in battle for the faith, and who had been left unprotected, had a claim upon the generosity of him who prompted the fight. Other marriages were contracted from motives of policy, in order to conciliate the heads of rival factions.

After all, the overwhelming argument is his fidelity to his first wife ...he married Khadija, who was fifteen years older than himself, with all the added age that women gain as quickly in the East. For five-and-twenty years Mohammad (pbuh) remained faithful to his elderly wife, and when she was sixty-five, and they might have celebrated their �silver wedding�, he was as devoted to her as when first he married her. During all these years there was never a breath of scandal. Thus far Mohammed�s life will bear microscopic scrutiny �Then Khadija died; and he married many women afterwards ...he never forgot his old wife, and loved her best to the end, when I was poor she enriched me, when they called me a liar she alone believed in me, when all the world was against me she alone remained true. This loving, tender memory of an old wife, laid in the grave belongs only to a noble nature; it is not to be looked for in a voluptuary.

Prof. Vaglieri has the following to say: Enemies of Islam have insisted in depicting Muhammad as a sensual individual and a dissolute man, trying to find in his marriages evidence of a weak character not consistent with his mission. They refuse to take into consideration the fact that during those years of his life when by nature the sexual urge is strongest, although he lived in a society like that of the Arabs, where the institution of marriage was almost non-existent, where polygamy was the rule, and where divorce was very easy indeed, he was married to one woman alone, Khadija, who was much older than himself, and that for twenty-five years he was her faithful, loving husband. Only when she died and when he was already more than fifty years old did he marry again and more than once. Each of these marriages had a social and political reason, for he wanted through the women he married to honour pious women, or to establish marriage relations with other clans and tribes for the purpose of opening the way for the propagation of Islam. With the sole exception of A�isha, he married women who were neither virgins, nor young nor beautiful.