It is claimed that Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, married women, who were mostly helpless old widows etc. This claim is generally false. In this article, I show that this claim does not stand to critical scrutiny, when it comes to Muhammad's marriage to Safiya bint Huyay, the wife of a Khaibar Jewish leader, Kinana.
Story behind the story
Muhammad's marriage to Safiya came about after he attacked Khaibar successfully and unprovoked. Here are some quotes to illustrate the circumstances behind and surrounding Muhammad's Khaibar attack (all Hadith quotes are from Bukhari, most authentic source of prophetic tradition):
Volume 1, Book 8, Number 367:
Narrated Abdul Aziz:
Anas said, 'When Allah's Apostle invaded Khaibar, we offered the Fajr prayer there yearly in the morning) when it was still dark. The Prophet rode and Abu Talha rode too and I was riding behind Abu Talha. The Prophet passed through the lane of Khaibar quickly and my knee was touching the thigh of the Prophet. He uncovered his thigh and I saw the whiteness of the thigh of the Prophet. When he entered the town, he said, "Allahu Akbar! Khaibar is ruined." Whenever we approach near a (hostile) nation (to fight), then evil will be the morning of those, who have been warned.' He repeated this thrice. The people came out for their jobs and some of them said, 'Muhammad (has come).' (Some of our companions added, 'With his army.') We conquered Khaibar, took the captives, and the booty was collected. Dihya came and said, 'O Allah's Prophet! Give me a slave girl from the captives.' The Prophet said, 'Go and take any slave girl.' He took Safiya bint Huyai. A man came to the Prophet and said, 'O Allah's Apostles! You gave Safiya bint Huyai to Dihya and she is the chief mistress of the tribes of Quraiza and An-Nadir and she befits none but you.' So the Prophet said, 'Bring him along with her.' So Dihya came with her and when the Prophet saw her, he said to Dihya, 'Take any slave girl other than her from the captives.' Anas added: The Prophet then manumitted her and married her.?
Thabit asked Anas, 'O Abu Hamza! What did the Prophet pay her (as Mahr)?' He said, 'Herself was her Mahr for he manumitted her and then married her.' Anas added, 'While on the way, Um Sulaim dressed her for marriage (ceremony) and at night she sent her as a bride to the Prophet. So the Prophet was a bridegroom and he said, 'Whoever has anything (food) should bring it.' He spread out a leather sheet (for the food) and some brought dates and others cooking butter. (I think he (Anas) mentioned As-SawTq). So they prepared a dish of Hais (a kind of meal). And that was Walrma (the marriage banquet) of Allah's Apostle.'
First, he attacked Khaibar for no reason at all. In above hadith, Muhammad said, as reason for the attack: "…evil will be the morning of those, who have been warned." So, Muslims may argue that the attack motivated by their rejection of Islam even after warning. So what? People reject religions all the time; it's their right. Is that a cause to attack them, harm them, kill them..? Only a Muslim with no rational thinking will see this as an acceptable justification to attack other people.
Second, Muslims attack because of greed. It is all about the booty. In the attack 93 Khaibarites lost life, Safiya's husband was captured, brutally tortured and then killed:
Volume 3, Book 34, Number 437:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet came to Khaibar and when Allah made him victorious and he conquered the town by breaking the enemy's defense, the beauty of Safiya bint Huyai bin Akhtab was mentioned to him and her husband had been killed while she was a bride. Allah's Apostle selected her for himself and he set out in her company till he reached Sadd-ar-Rawha, where her menses was over and he married her. Then Hais (a kind of meal) was prepared and served on a small leather sheet (used for serving meals). Allah's Apostle then said to me, 'Inform those, who are around you (about the wedding banquet).' So that was the marriage banquet given by Allah's Apostle for (his marriage with) Safiya. After that we proceeded to Medina and I saw that Allah's Apostle was covering her with a cloak while she was behind him. Then she would sit beside his camel and let Safiya put her feet on his knees to ride (the camel).
Please note that Safiya was 'distributed' amongst Muslims. She belonged to Dihya. However, this did not last as Muhammad changed his mind and wanted her for himself. Why is that? Is it because she was a widow? Being a 'widow' is a good excuse for Muslim apologists to show that poor Muhammad was such a 'hearty feely' kind of guy. He just wanted to help those poor widows. Let us investigate why Muhammad changed his mind and took Safiya from Dihya. Here are some hadiths that can help:
Volume 3, Book 34, Number 431:
Narrated Anas:
Amongst the captives was Safiya. First she was given to Dihya Al-Kalbi and then to the Prophet.
Volume 3, Book 34, Number 437:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet came to Khaibar and when Allah made him victorious and he conquered the town by breaking the enemy's defense, the beauty of Safiya bint Huyai bin Akhtab was mentioned to him and her husband had been killed while she was a bride. Allah's Apostle selected her for himself and he set out in her company till he reached Sadd-ar-Rawha, where her menses was over and he married her. Then Hais (a kind of meal) was prepared and served on a small leather sheet (used for serving meals). Allah's Apostle then said to me, 'Inform those who are around you (about the wedding banquet).' So that was the marriage banquet given by Allah's Apostle for (his marriage with) Safiya. After that we proceeded to Medina and I saw that Allah's Apostle was covering her with a cloak while she was behind him. Then he would sit beside his camel and let Safiya put her feet on his knees to ride (the camel).
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 143:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet said to Abu Talha, 'Choose one of your boy servants to serve me in my expedition to Khaibar.' So, Abu Talha took me letting me ride behind him while I was a boy nearing the age of puberty. I used to serve Allah's Apostle when he stopped to rest. I heard him saying repeatedly, 'O Allah! I seek refuge with You from distress and sorrow, from helplessness and laziness, from miserliness and cowardice, from being heavily in debt and from being overcome by men.' Then we reached Khaibar; and when Allah enabled him to conquer the Fort (of Khaibar), the beauty of Safiya bint Huyai bin Akhtab was described to him. Her husband had been killed while she was a bride. So Allah's Apostle selected her for himself and took her along with him till we reached a place called Sad-AsSahba, where her menses was over and he took her for his wife. Haris (a kind of dish) was served on a small leather sheet. Then Allah's Apostle told me to call those, who were around me. So, that was the marriage banquet of Allah's Apostle and Safiya. Then we left for Medina. I saw Allah's Apostle folding a cloak round the hump of the camel so as to make a wide space for Safiya (to sit on behind him) He sat beside his camel letting his knees for Safiya to put her feet on so as to mount the camel. Then, we proceeded till we approached Medina; he looked at Uhud (mountain) and said, 'This is a mountain, which loves us and is loved by us.' Then he looked at Medina and said, 'O Allah! I make the area between its (i.e. Medina's) two mountains a sanctuary as Abraham made Mecca a sanctuary. O Allah! Bless them (i.e. the people of Medina) in their Mudd and Sa (i.e. measures).'
Volume 5, Book 59, Number 512:
Narrated Anas:
The Prophet offered the Fajr Prayer near Khaibar, when it was still dark and then said, "Allahu-Akbar! Khaibar is destroyed", for whenever we approach a (hostile) nation (to fight), then evil will be the morning for those who have been warned.' Then the inhabitants of Khaibar came out running on the roads. The Prophet had their warriors killed, their offspring and woman taken as captives. Safiya was amongst the captives. She first came in the share of Dahya Alkalbi, but later on she belonged to the Prophet. The Prophet made her manumission as her 'Mahr'.
Volume 5, Book 59, Number 522:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
We arrived at Khaibar, and when Allah helped His Apostle to open the fort, the beauty of Safiya bint Huyai bin Akhtaq, whose husband had been killed while she was a bride, was mentioned to Allah's Apostle. The Prophet selected her for himself, and set out with her, and when we reached a place called Sidd-as-Sahba, Safiya became clean from her menses; then Allah's Apostle married her. Hais (i.e. an Arabian dish) was prepared on a small leather mat. Then the Prophet said to me, 'I invite the people around you.' So that was the marriage banquet of the Prophet and Safiya. Then we proceeded towards Medina, and I saw the Prophet, making for her a kind of cushion with his cloak behind him (on his camel). He then sat beside his camel and put his knee for Safiya to put her foot on, in order to ride (on the camel).
Volume 5, Book 59, Number 523:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet stayed with Safiya bint Huyai for three days on the way of Khaibar, where he consummated his marriage with her. Safiya was amongst those, who were ordered to use a veil.
Above Hadiths show that Safiya was a young (aged 17) and beautiful girl, when Muhammad 'married' her. She was taken to bed by Muhammad as soon as she became clean of her menses; given her situation as captive girl, she had no choice but to submit to Muhammad's lust, despite the fact that her husband and adult male relatives and tribesmen had just been killed.
Muslim apologists see Muhammad's marriage to Safia as a valid marriage, and gesture of kindness: giving status of wife to helpless widow. But I call it rape. No woman would ever sleep with you willing, after you have killed her husband and many adult men in her immediate and extended family, let alone marry you.
It's all about the Booty
In early Islam, Muslims attacked other groups of people mostly because of their greed. It is all about the booty:
Volume 5, Book 59, Number 540:
Narrated Abu Musa:
We came upon the Prophet after he had conquered Khaibar. He then gave us a share (from the booty), but apart from us, he did not give to anybody else, who did not attend the Conquest.
Rape was a non-issue for Muhammad and early Muslims
Volume 3, Book 34, Number 432:
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
…that while he was sitting with Allah's Apostle he said, 'O Allah's Apostle! We get female captives as our share of booty, and we are interested in their prices, what is your opinion about coitus interrupt us?' The Prophet said, 'Do you really do that? It is better for you not to do it. No soul that which Allah has destined to exist, but will surely come into existence.'
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written by duh_swami , August 25, 2010
written by proudest kafir , August 26, 2010
Yep only the brain dead, scum bag moslems willl believe that and can practice too
written by M Rob , August 26, 2010
written by Archpagan , August 26, 2010
Muslims actually form a crime syndicate.
written by Bonnie , August 26, 2010
Old mo. was killed by a jewish slave woman called Sarah. She was his cook and allegedly, poisoned his food
Is that the same Sarah?
Nowk, the koran, said that she was an old woman. But we all know, in general, that to an arab any woman older than 12 years old is an old woman.
Thids Sarah "alleged" poisoner, must have had a reall hatred for mo, especially, since she must have known the risks. She got him good! Heheheh.
So can any one answer that/ Is there any way we can connect the two Sarahs?
Anyone?
I'll be checking back, to see if anyone answers.
written by Mirza Ghalib , August 26, 2010
The above mentioned behavior of Muhammad is very natural because the way he brought up. He had a special preferential partiality on women.
Firstly, it may be because, his mother through him in to the hands of Halima , a nomad woman for suckling in spite of knowing that he is not an ordinary child!!!!!(According to hadith). Even after two years she send him back along with Halima.
Secondly, he became orphan and probably, lead his entire childhood under the courtesy of his various relatives.
Thirdly, during his long visits with the traders to Syria and Jordon, probably he might have sodomite by his elders (according to their tradition).
Finally, his first “well planned” marriage with 15years elder widow Khadhija (to loot her wealth), would have made him frustrated and induced barbaric lust in him. With that he raped and ravished too many beautiful young girls.
BUT THE POOR IGNORANT MUSLIMS THINKS, THAT HE GAVE A NEW LIFE TO THE POOR WIDOWS.
written by Mulhid , August 26, 2010
written by aziz tayyab , August 26, 2010
The very concept of quran being a message brought(from God) by an angel is not in the bible;
nowhere moses or jesus said that what they are saying today is brought to them by an angel and
what they said(e.g.)yesterday,they made that up all by themselves.
There was no angel; allah the satan made a fool of mohammad for being an illiterate,ignorant,barbarian arab and other illiterate,ignorant,barbarian arabs who followed him.
A muslim is a muslim because he/she is ignorant of the fact that islam is a product of ignorance
and is ignorance.
written by scimhaf , August 26, 2010
written by Abu Taleb , August 26, 2010
Did Muhammad rape Safiyah? Most likely because rarely a woman will submit to the murderer of her family.
written by duh_swami , August 26, 2010
I suppose you never heard of Hadith...If you never heard of hadith you are uninformed...If you do know about hadith, you are a liar...
written by scimhaf , August 26, 2010
written by duh_swami , August 26, 2010
Mohammad believed in them, do you?
Bukhari...Volume 4, Book 56, Number 677:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Once Allah's Apostle; offered the morning prayer and then faced the people and said, "While a man was driving a cow, he suddenly rode over it and beat it. The cow said, "We have not been created for this, but we have been created for sloughing." On that the people said astonishingly, "Glorified be Allah! A cow speaks!" The Prophet said, "I believe this, and Abu Bakr and 'Umar too, believe it, although neither of them was present there. While a person was amongst his sheep, a wolf attacked and took one of the sheep. The man chased the wolf till he saved it from the wolf, where upon the wolf said, 'You have saved it from me; but who will guard it on the day of the wild beasts when there will be no shepherd to guard them except me (because of riots and afflictions)? ' " The people said surprisingly, "Glorified be Allah! A wolf speaks!" The Prophet said, "But I believe this, and Abu Bakr and 'Umar too, believe this, although neither of them was present there."
written by Allah Is Satan , August 26, 2010
written by Mirza Ghalib , August 26, 2010
Dear fanatic muslims! You are knowingly deny our authentic quoting of hadiths.
If you don’t believe in Sahih Al-Bukari you are not a muslim, You know that?
If you don’t believe the authentic Sahih Al-Bukhari volumes, then you hypocrites stop praying 5 times a day, because it is not mentioned anywhere in your quran except in these hadiths.
written by duh_swami , August 27, 2010
Somehow I doubt that...but I agree with the rest of your post...
written by Machmoed , August 27, 2010
Like Duh i don't think this is the case. Since animals never spoke a language humans could understand, satan is a non-issue. Besides, if Satan has the power then someone gave him the power. It's even worse. Who gave permission to the greatest angel/Jinn to become satan? The answer is splain and simple, it is the one who created everything so this must be God. That's why this kind of believe leads you nowhere. God, Satan etc as believers of religions believe can not be the truth/reality. I strongly believe in a different kind of creator. I believe in a creator who does not interfere with our daily lives. If he is, he should be ashamed of hisself to let innocent people (children etc) starve to death or be killed. Even today many innocent people die by hunger, environmental catastrophy's, earthquakes etc. I like to put forward a question about this: Does God/Allah do this with a purpose like many believers think? What is the purpose?
written by Mulhid , August 27, 2010
written by scimhaf , August 26, 2010
u people r just commenting about a person n prophet without any proof n any concrerte knowledge what u r saying is ,absolutey absurd n just rubbish.u shouldn't say something which can't proof.ur knoledge abt Mohammad(SAW) is just misconceptions,distortions n false stories truth is completely against it"
Knowledge about the bogus prophet Mudhammam ibn Abd'allah can be found in the Sirat Rasul Allah by Muhammad ibn Ishaq and the sahih ahadith of Bukhari and Muslim. Scimhaf is either ignorant concerning the content of the above works or he is a misleader and obfuscator (taqqiya practitioner). The proof and the concrete knowledge can be be found in the Sira and the sahih hadiths.
written by duh_swami , August 27, 2010
Where have you been hiding?
The idea that God has nothing better to do than hang around Earth and involve himself with human affairs is a little shaky...If Allah cares about Muslims, why are there millions of flooded out suffering and dying Pakistani Muslims?...Why does he allow some Muslims to kill other Muslims? If Allah wills everything, then there is something wrong with his 'willing'...It appears to be broken...When the will of Allah cannot be trusted, there in no further reason to worship him...
written by fineliving56 , August 27, 2010
1….the humen mind do not and can not comprehend the level of Allah comprehension [which is non sense any arabic high school student could understand most of Quran and with the help of Arabic dictionary with enough effort it could be understood perfectly ]
2….We do not supposed to look beyond the words of Quran concerning Allah…it is haram [on the other hand Quran tells us to strive for knowledge Q.96-5-4 …...Quran knowledge any way ]
3…some people even muslims need to be punished cause Allah could be angry with them for their bad deeds [non sense again …I cannot count the many Ayat in Quran that tells you as long as you are a muslim and practice the 5 main pillars you are saved ].
ploged brains …..any body got draino
written by waterwillows , August 27, 2010
Think in terms of Supreme Power, Power beyond comprehension. He has only to say "Be" and it is.
So much Power, that His 'distain' for evil, would be sufficent enough to create it. Yet, evil too is under the rule of the Lord, as everything is.
Why do people starve? One thing we do know is that there is enough food in the world to feed people. Maybe there isn't enough sharing. Many disasters are needless and brought on by ignorance of the laws of nature.
Whenever something is out of balance, nature steps in to correct.
written by duh_swami , August 27, 2010
Huh?
written by Machmoed , August 28, 2010
It seemes God is not in control anymore of the evil he created. The reason for this is his vengence and rath in those scriptures. I thought only satan got jealous but at least he got jealous once (vs adam), but it appears that God is jealous of not worshipping him for ever till judgement day. He also made a far inferior human species than he thought due to his amount of prophets he sent through history to remind people, correct and/or develop the message. If evil come forth out of good, it wasn't good after all. In Tibet they have what they call an endless knot. The meaning is that we can't see or distinct good and evil from eachother. Sometimes good=evil and evil=good (in the widest meaning of the word/sentence).
written by fineliving56 , August 28, 2010
1….Al Junn is the name that Satans named under ...kinda the…. umbrella company
2….the grand father of al junns and in turn Satans is Ablees so Ablees is the big hancho
3….the meaning of Ablees comes from Aflees ….means bankrupted …..he was a king of all satans who he owned zillions of good deeds and submissions suddenly he lost or his good deed bank accounts [may be do to a recession like we are in right now ] ….when he kept loosing ,Allah had enough of him so Allah put him in the level of satanhood …Q…Al kahef -50
4….the family Satans they specialize on corrupting people cause they want to inherit the earth and what is on it …more like ….uncle SAM …lol
5….Allah gave satans the ability to corrupt people to test them in their faith in Allah and Allah only want the test passers and the failures ....oh well they could rot in hell
Q.Al Esra-62
: All these valuable info is from a book written by Muhammed Abed Allah a graduate from Al Azhar the most famous islamic university in the world and it is located in Egypt .
written by waterwillows , August 28, 2010
What you are witnessing in the world today, is not that God is not in control; but that the evil in men is in control.
They have not remembered the fear of the Lord. Soon to be recitified.
It is the foolishness of men that have polluted the earth with evil; not the Most High.
Mankind is free to choose what they will serve. And serve they will; one or the other. Would you rather not have any choice? Of course not.
Our worship of the Most High, does nothing at all for Him. The Throne does not need or nor has it ever need it.
Worship is in place, not for the needs of the Lord, but for the good needs of the people. It is the people who receive the good benefit from it.
The Lord would still be Lord, were we never created. He is a Most Excellent Father filled with Wisdom; and needs nothing from us.
Your quick glance at Sacred Scripture is devoid of understanding. First learn, then speak.
written by waterwillows , August 28, 2010
This universe is but a small speck, situated at the uttermost fringe of reality and true existance.
It is actually quite small in comparision. Life is larger and fuller than we are able to imagine.
written by fineliving56 , August 28, 2010
written by waterwillows , August 28, 2010
That's wonderful. It is a good thing to explore this beautiful universe and behold the many wonders. But for science that's it for them.
They wiil never know we live at the outermost fringe of reality. Science is a good tool. But why put one's faith into only a tool? There is a place and purpose for everything. But why be limited if there are other options?
Science is where you go to get continual and constant questions. It can be a lot of fun because you never know what kind of questions will pop up.
Because everything they discover, leads to more unanswered questions.
Many people want answers and went looking for them. There is a great deal of discovery in focusing on the answers, instead of the questions. For many this is far more to their satisfaction. People do not seek answers because it is futile. The search for answers is all over the world and continues because of the end result. The answer people are not deluded. They too, have made very important discoveries.
The Scriptures are written as a guide for mankind to find these answers. It is done in layers, like an onion. The scoffer never, but never sees anything or knows anything. It is the genuine seeker who finds out.
Science has it's great place, but the facts are; it can never find out.
written by fineliving56 , August 29, 2010
……..I look at it as climbing a set of stares you can not reach the top when you do not start with first step …right
religion has been around since the first human and all It accomplished is to humen to hate each other ….tell me if religion ever helped a person who need a face transplant…... medical scenic did ……..or separated attached babies the same ones who got that way cause A God messed up and children have to live in pure misery …. oops ….no one seeked a priest or imam or Buddest ..etr……because it does not work
Waterwillows how did you get your computer... the one you are posting your preachings to us from ?
The last time you got sick did you seek out your church to pray to heal you self …No you went to your doctor and if you did go only to your priest then …you are in trouble .
In my experience prayer never works and I know prayer only for the naive and the dreamer
Religions are limiting ….it is time for people to let go of them
written by Machmoed , August 30, 2010
Quick glance Waterwillow? Why judge the other of because of what he believes. I’m telling you it is foolish to believe religion is capable of turning humans into gods. This never happened. If you look at history and evil doings, well, religion has many killings on their name, wether in spite or due to. To the victims there is no difference wether they are killed because of not understanding or understanding the ideology. The main point is that religion created separation between mankind and only Satan wants us to be separated. I really don’t buy anything about religion because of the simple fact: God does not speak, nor does he sent any prophets or saints. For our universe Waterwillow it has been proved that a diety is not nessecary for us to be. We can’t discuss God because we don’t know squad about Him. It’s like Duh-Swami said: it’s all speculations. I’m not saying that God doesn’t excist, only that he does not interfere with us.
Your point about whorshipping God: It’s not that difficult to see you’re wrong. Your mistake is that worshipping God benefits the worshipper…maybe. But why does God get angry if we do not worship him. You see, it’s deffinately for Him. He needs worship, he gets yealous of other Gods etc…otherwise what for is hell made by Him……Indeed…for those who reject the word of God (not believing the bible) etc. You can believe whatever you want Waterwillow, but please don’t be blind to see fairytales as facts or science to be the absolute truth. Absolute truth doesn’t exist and even if it does, we would not capable of understanding it. Science has shown us more than any religion will in eternity when it comes to reality/history. The bible is full of symbolism. To understand the bible you have to know more than the bible. You have to know where it came from and why. You have to know tho whole story. I’m afraid the story you know about abrahamic religions is just a tiny part of the whole. So I will return your comment.
Your quick glance of science, history and religions is devoid of understanding. First learn, evaluate and then speak.
written by Sergei Bourachaga , August 31, 2010
http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/08/koran-and-psychopathology-of-
prophet.html
The aroma of a delicious meal being prepared wafts out from the kitchen tingling your nose. All is well and good in your world.
Then suddenly! A large group of thugs breaks into your home. You see them thrust a sword through your parents. Blood is everywhere. The children are screaming. Your husband stands up to face these intruders but he is grabbed from behind and a knife is thrust through his heart.
Your home is destroyed and all precious items are taken. You are dragged by the hair out into the night, covered in the blood of your family.
Guess what? Today is your wedding day. Don't we all wish for such a day as that to be our wedding day. Such kindness? Such consideration?
Only a nincompoop of the most stupid intellect, could ever tell that story as an example of the goodness of those thugs to that woman.
Having hell on earth visit your home with murder is not in any way a good thing. If you still think it is a 'kindness' maybe it should be your fate to receive this gift?