Apropos of: Ahlelbayt.com's 'The Wives of Nuh (AS) and Lut (AS)'

Note: This page answers only selective parts of the article in question
Please Visit SDOL.org's "Ayesha's Role in Islam".

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/ahlel-bayt/wives-of-nuh-and-lut The Quran emphatically declares that the pure should only marry the pure. Allah commands: “Marry those among you who are single and the righteous ones among yourselves, male or female.” (Quran, 24:32) Allah further declares: “Impure women are for impure men and impure men are for impure women. Pure women are for pure men and pure men are for pure women.” (Quran, 24:26) The Ahlus Sunnah uses this as proof that Aisha must be pure, since the Prophet married her. The Prophet, after all, would not knowingly violate the Quran and marry someone who is impure. Since the Prophet was pure, he must only marry the pure.

You must note that the impurity here refers only towards adultery.

This verse enunciates a fundamental principle: Impure men are a fit match for impure women and pious men are a fit match for pious women. It never happens that a man is good in all other aspects but is addicted to a solitary vice. As a matter of fact, his very habits, manners and demeanour, all contain a number of evil traits, which sustain and nourish that single vice. It is impossible that a man develops a vice all of a sudden without having any trace of its existence in his demeanour and way of life. This is a psychological truth which everybody experiences in the daily lives of the people. How is it then possible that a man who has all along lived a pure and morally clean life, will put up and continue to live for years in love with a wife who is adulterous? Can a woman be imagined who is an adulteress, but she does not manifest her evil character through her talk, gait, manners and deportment? Is it possible for a virtuous man of high character to live happily with a woman of this type? What is being suggested here is that people in future should not credulously put their belief in any rumour that reaches them. They should carefully see as to who is being accused and on what account and whether the accusation fairly sticks on the person or not. And when there exists no trace of evidence to support the accusation, people cannot believe it just because a foolish or wicked person has uttered it.
Tafheem ul Quran, by Abul Ala Maududi, Tafseer of Surah 24, Verse 26

The verse implies that if an adultress is married to a pious man for long, then that means the man is not pious at all because he approves of the apparent and obvious actions of her wife, which a pious cannot.

We never blamed Aisha for Adultery (God forbid).

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/ahlel-bayt/wives-of-nuh-and-lut The Shia revile Aisha , so to counter this argument, the Shia bring up the wives of Prophet Nuh and Prophet Lut. Both of these women were married to pure Prophets, and yet they themselves were impure and will burn in Hell-Fire, according to the following verse in the Quran: “Allah has made an example for those who are an unbelieving people: the wife of Nuh and the wife of Lut. They were married to two of Our servants who were believers, but they betrayed them and were not helped at all against Allah. They were told: ‘Enter the Fire along with all who enter it.’” (Quran, Surat at-Tahrim: 10) However, it seems that this argument is inconsistent and we hope to, Insha-Allah, show that if anything, the fact that these two Prophets had sinful wives is only a testament against Shi’ism, since it creates a logical inconsistency in the Shia theology (which we shall examine in this article). The Quran clearly says that a pure man should not marry an impure woman. In fact, Ayatollah Khomeini said: “It is forbidden in Islam to marry the Fasiqoon (sinners).” So the obvious question is: why did Prophet Nuh and Prophet Lut do so? The Ahlus Sunnah has a simple answer to this question: Prophet Nuh and Prophet Lut  did not know about their wives’ sinfulness at the time that they were getting married. Hence, they did not violate Allah’s commands willfully. They did not marry sinful women intentionally. Had the two known that their wives would be Kufaar (disbelievers), it is likely that they would never have married them in the first place. But only Allah knows Al-Ghaib (the Unseen), and only Allah  knew their eventual destination of Hell-Fire.

It is defacto that a Muslim must marry a Muslim woman, judging her by her piety. The events which lead to our disliking of Ayesha occur after her marriage to Rasool (SAW), and after his (SAW) demise. How can Ayesha be a sinner before her marriage when she did not fight a war against Imam Ali (AS) then, or plotted against Rasool (SAW) then?

The author states that because Nuh (AS) and Lut (AS) were not aware of the sin of their wives, they ended up with hell-bound women. They did not marry sinful women intentionally.

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/ahlel-bayt/wives-of-nuh-and-lut To this, a Shia might respond that perhaps Prophet Muhammad likewise married Aisha without knowing her true nature. Perhaps he too married an impure person without knowing. However, here a problem arises within Shia theological beliefs. The Shia adamantly believe that the Prophet and the Imams know the Al-Ghaib (the Unseen); they have knowledge of everything in the heavens and the earth. So it is not possible for the Prophet not to know the nature of Aisha since–according to the Shia–he must know everything. Al-Islam.org says “Imam Ali said: “I swear by God Who holds my soul in His hand that I know all that the Prophet knew, and that I know all of the past and all of the future, up until the Day of Resurrection.” source: http://al-islam.org/leadership/” According to Al-Kafi, the most reliable of the four Shia books of Hadith, the Imams could supposedly tell who is going to Paradise and who is going to Hell-Fire merely by listening to a person’s voice: “By listening to the voice of a person, the Imams can tell if the person was destined to go to hell or to heaven; they would thus answer his questions accordingly.” (Usool Al-Kafi, p. 185) Hence, the Shia cannot make the claim that the Prophet did not know the nature of Aisha when he married her. If Aisha was impure and sinful, then the Prophet knew it (according to the Shia belief). If the Prophet then knowingly married an impure and sinful person, then the Prophet was violating multiple verses in the Quran which forbid this.

It is true that we believe that Prophet (SAW) and Mawla Ali (AS) and the Imams to follow, who inherited Rasool (SAW), were blessed with divine knowledge, of the seen and the unseen. But there is a minor detail missing from the above statement, which unfortunately, many shias overlook as well.

Infinite knowledge belongs to Allah alone. He is the omnipotent. He gives as much knowledge to any one, any time, whenever he pleases. The knowledge Rasool (SAW) and Mawla Ali (AS) had was as much as Allah willed them to have, of seen and the unseen. They were and are dependant on Allah, for the bounties he had bestowed on them.

No human has "All" knowledge, or as much knowledge as Allah has, including Rasool (SAW) and Mawla Ali (AS), the city and gate of knowledge.

They ask you about the hour, when will be its taking place? Say: The knowledge of it is only with my Lord; none but He shall manifest it at its time; it will be momentous in the heavens and the earth; it will not come on you but of a sudden. They ask you as if you were solicitous about it. Say: Its knowledge is only with Allah, but most people do not know.
Quran [7:187]

The knowledge of the time when Qayamah takes place is not with Rasool (SAW), but with Allah alone.

Similarly, the prophet (SAW) was not aware of the hypocrites around him:

And from among those who are round about you of the dwellers of the desert there are hypocrites, and from among the people of Medina (also); they are stubborn in hypocrisy; you do not know them; We know them; We will chastise them twice then shall they be turned back to a grievous chastisement
Quran [9:101]

Imam Bukhari testifies that Rasool (SAW) will not be aware of what his comapnions did specially after his (SAW demise:

Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "Some of my companions will come to me at my Lake Fount, and after I recognize them, they will then be taken away from me, whereupon I will say, 'My companions!' Then it will be said, 'You do not know what they innovated (new things) in the religion after you."
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Hadith 584

It is safe to assume that Rasool (SAW) only knew about the future what was revealed to him (SAW). We can not tell if he knew before hands what Aisha would do in the future.

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/ahlel-bayt/wives-of-nuh-and-lut There is no way around this for the Shia. The fact of the matter is that the Shia have no way that they can rationalize the manner in which these two Prophets married sinful women. According to the Shia belief, the Prophets knew the character and destination of these women. It is simply an inconsistency in the Shia belief: were not the two Prophets being sinful by intentionally marrying sinful women?

Instead of trying to find fallacies in Shia beliefs, the Author should have been sincere with the facts, facts that Aisha was a jealous woman, plotted against Rasool (SAW) and lead a rebellion against the caliph of time, Ali (AS), who was given bayah by the companions of Rasool (SAW).

The two prophets, Nuh (AS) and Lut (AS) did not marry sinful woman knowingly and intentionally. Infact it only proves that sharing a prophet's bed does not guarantee some one paradise or saint-hood. Disobedience to the prophet of time leads to hell, irrespective of who you are.

The president of Pakistan is the president of Pakistan, not his wife.

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/ahlel-bayt/wives-of-nuh-and-lut The Ahlus Sunnah, on the other hand, does not have any inconsistencies in its belief. We believe that the Quran commands the Muslim men only to marry pure women. Prophet Nuh and Prophet Lut did not know the nature of their wives when they married them, and hence no blame can be placed on the shoulders of these men. Furthermore, the commandments in the Quran in regards to marrying the pure were commandments given to this Ummah, not necessarily the Ummah of Prophet Nuh and Prophet Lut. The Shariah of these previous Prophets may have differed from the Shariah of Prophet Muhammad. It is known, for example, that other Prophets were allowed to marry more than four wives. So we cannot say anything about Prophet Nuh and Prophet Lut; what we do know is that this Ummah–including our Prophet Muhammad –was forbidden to knowingly marry impure women.

The author said it, Prophet Nuh (AS) and Lut (AS) did not know the nature of their wives at the time of marriage. As far as the Shariah is concerned, Haraam and Halaal do not differ from prophets to prophets as Islam, the religion has always remained same from Adam (AS) to Muhammad (AS), it only progressed towards completion. Other prophets were allowed to marry more than four wives and so was our prophet (SAW), who himself had more than four wives at one point in time:

O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you; and a believing woman if she gave herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to marry her-- specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers; We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess in order that no blame may attach to you; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Quran [33:50]

Our Ummah is forbidden to knowingly marry impure women, Kaafirs and adulteresses, and Aisha was none of them, specially at the time of her marriage with Rasool (SAW).

Source: http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/ahlel-bayt/wives-of-nuh-and-lut In conclusion, the Shia cannot bring up the issue of the wives of Prophet Nuh and Prophet Lut since they themselves do not have a viable explanation for it, whereas the Ahlus Sunnah does. The Shia cannot reconcile their belief that the Prophet and Imams see all of Al-Ghaib and yet they married sinful women, in direct violation of the Quran’s commandments. The Ahlus Sunnah trusts the opinion of Prophet Muhammad ; if the Quran says to only marry the pure and the Prophet marries Aisha , then the Ahlus Sunnah will be the last to question her purity. As believers it should not be our policy to second-guess the Prophet of Islam. The Quran commands the Muslims, including the Prophet, to marry pure women; to say that Aisha was sinful is to say that either the Shia know more than the Prophet (i.e. the Shia know that Aisha is sinful but the Prophet did not), or that the Prophet sinned by violating the Quran and married an impure woman. Neither option is acceptable. The only acceptable position is to say that the Prophet married Aisha who was a pure woman.

It is disappointing to see how people jump to defend the companions of Rasool (SAW) and wives of Rasool to such an extent that if any one of the wife or companion of Rasool (SAW) was a sinner, it would mean that Rasool (SAW) was God Forbid a failure. Why this attitude?

But if they dispute with you, say: I have submitted myself entirely to Allah and (so) every one who follows me; and say to those who have been given the Book and the unlearned people: Do you submit yourselves? So if they submit then indeed they follow the right way; and if they turn back, then upon you is only the delivery of the message and Allah sees the servants.
Quran [3:20]

With the Quran with us today, Rasool (SAW) fulfilled his mission. People, his (SAW) friends, relatives etc, accept Islam and be good or no, does not matter to Prophet (SAW) as every one is answerable for themselves.

Let us leave Ayesha alone for a moment and apply the Authors analogy to something much much greater, the story of Satan.

Similarly, Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "Before he undertook the path of sin, Iblis was with the angels and was called `Azazil.' He was among the residents of the earth and was one of the most active worshippers and knowledgeable persons among the angels. This fact caused him to be arrogant. Iblis was from a genus called Jinn.''
Tafseer Ibn e Kathir, Tafseer of Surah 2, Verse 34

After another 36,000 years they killed Hamus and became disobedient of Allah (SWT). Finally it was the period of Shuma, and when again the Jinns disobeyed Allah (SWT) the Angels came and destroyed this nation. The Angels found only 4 or 6 Jinns who were obeying Allah (SWT), who were hiding inside jungles engaged in duty. It is from these obedient Jinns that the descendents of Jinn remain today. From these obedient Jinns, the Angels found a boy called Azazil, whose fathers name was Khabis and mothers name was Nilbis. The face of Khabis was like a lion and his nature was alike. Nilbis’s face was like a tiger and so was her character. Azazil’s character and face was a mixture of his two parents. Allah (SWT) took him to the place of Angels and he was appointed teacher to them. Azazil was given the title “Angel Makram” (Teacher to Angels). He was also referred to as ”Mu’ellim ul Malakut” (Master of Angels).
http://www.ahlesunnah.com/9.html

Remember how we concluded above that Rasool (SAW) did not know everything, well he did not, but for sure, Allah knows everything.

Allah, the omnipotent, knew everything, all the past, all the future, every creation inside out. Why did he still allow Azazul to be with his blessed Angels. If Allah knew before hands that Azazul would become the wretched Iblis, why did Allah make him the master of Angels and a teacher to angels? According to the author's analogy and conclusions, either Allah was unaware that Azazul would disobey him and become the Satan thus Allah gave him the honor of leading the angels, or Allah allowed his blessed angels to be lead by a wretched to-be-outcast which is against the Adl of Allah. Thus i blame Allah (god forbid) for not choosing the right teacher for the angels wisely. After all, what impact would it have on the angels when they see that the creation which lead them and taught them disobeyed Allah.

Maturity demands that we should not question the wisdom of Allah and his prophets. Ayesha is answerable for her actions and deeds. If she sinned, she disobeyed Rasool (SAW) in any way. she did so out of her free will and will be responsible for it. Those who approve of her disobediences only because she was one of the wives of Rasool (SAW), they approve disobedience to Rasool (SAW). Those who disapprove of her disobediences to Rasool (SAW) only do so because they need to realize what disobedience to Rasool (SAW) is and refrain from it themselves. 

The wives of Nuh (AS) and Lut (AS) were ruined because of their disobedience to their husbands. Has the law changed for other Prophets and their wives?

We, the shia, the Sunni, Muslims, are bound to follow Rasool (SAW) and him alone, not his wives. 

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