A woman of strong character Debate (By: Adil Salahi, Jeddah-Saudi Arabia)

Assalaam Alaikum,

 
There are things/incidents in the life of prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Alaihi wasallam) which were (obviously willed by Allah) only to give examples to the ummah!
Things that a human mind may not comprehend simply because they are beyond its capacity of understanding.
 
In my (humble) opinion the case of Hazrat Hafsa (R.A.) also was an example for people to learn from.
You can derive two main lessons from it.
 
1- Prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Alaihi wasallam) was a messenger of Allah and did not have infinite knowledge, his knowledge was of only what Allah informed him.
He was sent to us as a prophet who led by example, there were instances in his life where he made amends to his own actions, perhaps only to teach us that our pride should not hinder our conscience in accepting our mistakes.
 
2- Another lesson for us was that there are times when a man may divorce his wife out of anger, contempt or distrust and when he realises/learns that he reacted wrongly and in haste, then there is nothing wrong in making up.
 
Let us not forget that it was prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Alaihi wasallam) himself who taught us that divorce is the most disliked of all permissible acts by Allah.
 
If divorce were forbidden, then animosity and adultery may have become rampant.
To save individuals and society from the greater evils, divorce has been permitted.
However, it is not a step to be taken lightly or hastily.
Sincere attempts at reconciliation are to be made first and – as in the case of marriage – the rights and wellfare of women are to be upheld.
 
The problem with us humans today is that we tend to look at everything subjectively and always find some wrongs..... but if we try to examine things, looking at the "bigger picture" we understand that some things are only to warn or serve us as examples.
 
It has become a normal practice today for everyone to raise objections to everything including hadiths and rulings of eminent scholars.
I have repeatedly requested everyone not jump to conclusions by issuing verdicts based on their own limited understanding.
Can you imagine where we would be heading if each one of us (with our limited knowledge) starts rejecting hadiths and practicing what "we" thinks is right, would it not be heading towards a diaster?
There would be hundreds of thousands of verdicts on each subject... which one would you take as the right one?
 
I beg you all to avoid such actions in future, please try to seek help from reliable sources or scholars, in matters that you do not understand or know of.
 
May Allah forgive us all (myself included) for our mistakes and may He guide us all on the right path, Aameen!!
 
Allah Hafiz,
 
Nadeem H. Meer.
 
 

Salamun alaikum,

 

This is a strange story--to say the least.  It tells us that Hafsa (ra) was divorced by the Prophet--obviously for something serious she did to the Prophet (phuh)----and yet the same story tells us that she was a woman of strong character and devotion to Allah.  How can we reconcile these opposing pieces of information?  Was the Prophet's judgment wrong about his own wife?  Was he happy to divorce his wife when he knew it's going to hurt Umar (ra) whom he loved her father so dearly?  And if he did divorce Hafsa (ra), was Allah, the all-knowledgeable unaware of the fact that the Prophet is going to divorce Hafsa?  Why did He not send Jibraeel (as) to him to stop him from divorcing and causing such pain to Umar (ra) anyway? Why did Allah, the Most High, wait until after the devastating divorce occurred?

 

I think this story is all fabricated.  It is of highly dubious character.  Please do not disseminate it.

 

Wassalam,  

 

Hafsah (RA) was the only one among the Prophet's wives who was divorced by the Prophet (peace be upon him). There are several reports suggesting the reason for the divorce, but none of them carries much weight so as to be more probable. It is perhaps better to say that the main reason was Hafsah's own character, while one or the other of these suggested reasons triggered the Prophet's action. She was a woman of strong character, bold and self-assured. When the Prophet divorced her, she was extremely sad. However, it was her father who felt the divorce to be his own personal catastrophe. He threw dust over his own head and lamented: "Why will Allah care for Umar and his daughter now that she is divorced?" However, the divorce did not last long. The angel Gabriel came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) with this order: "God commands you to take Hafsah back, as a kindness to Umar ®." Another report suggests that Gabriel said: "Allah commands you to take Hafsah back, for she is a highly devoted servant of Allah and she is your wife in heaven." Needless to say, the Prophet (peace be upon him) immediately carried out Allah's order and Hafsah (RA) was back as one of the Prophet's wives, the mothers of all believers. We should reflect a little on these two reports. The first tells us that Allah Almighty sent His angel with the command that the Prophet (peace be upon him) should take back his divorced wife in kindness to her father. Allah knew that Umar would spend the rest of his life in sorrow, should the divorce be made permanent. He felt that the great love he felt toward the Prophet (peace be upon him) was cemented by this marriage. Now that the marital bond was severed, he felt lost, uncared for by Allah or His messenger. Hence, his lamentation. The other report mentions the virtues of Hafsah (RA) and her dedication to the cause of Islam and continuous devotion. She was a woman worthy of being a wife of Allah's messenger and a mother of all believers. Hence Gabriel tells the Prophet (peace be upon him) that she will be among his wives in heaven. The two reports are not mutually exclusive. In fact both could be true. The angel might have said both statements when he brought to the Prophet (peace be upon him), Allah's command to reinstate his marriage to Hafsah (RA). When the Prophet (peace be upon him) had several wives, mutual jealousy was inevitable. We need to remember that none of them thought that it was wrong for a man to marry more than one wife. Polygamy was the normal practice in Arabia and many other parts of the world. Islam simply restricted it, allowing a man no more than four wives at the same time. The Prophet (peace be upon him), however, had an exemption because of his special status and the needs of his message. May Allah be pleased with all the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

Alahumma infa`ni bima `allamtani wa `allamni ma yanfa`uni!