Amazed by the Quran with Nouman Ali Khan: Breaking Idols

Meatless Like Muhammad? ?

Muslims strive to follow the Sunnah, by living and following many of the actions and examples of our beloved Prophet Muhammad�s ? (Peace Be Upon Him). We get closer to God by following his actions, such as smiling and donating to charity. What about following the Prophet�s eating habits? We also strive to eat like him, such as cooking with olive oil and enjoying pomegranates from our trees. We know that if he ate something it must have been beneficial.

However, one of his dietary habits is very significant for our health, but is mostly overlooked today. According to the Hadith literature (sayings and characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad), the Prophet ? ate meat very rarely, and when he did it was mostly on special occasions or as a guest. His habitual diet actually consisted of favorite foods like dates, water, vinegar, honey, yogurt, barley bread, and grapes. Meat was available only occasionally, and when it was he favored sheep�s shoulder/foreleg. The Prophet ? never ate his fill of bread and meat. As a guest he was once served gourd (pumpkin) and meat stew, and picked out the gourd to eat. The Prophet ? and companions looked forward to Fridays, because a local woman served them a meatless meal with a meat substitute. Early Muslims continued the Prophet Muhammad�s ? habit of rarely indulging in meat.

As the second Caliph (ruler), Umar ibn al Khattaab notably stated: �beware of meat, for it is addictive like alcohol.�

He once chastised his son for giving in to his craving and buying meat. Umar is a strong example for us as well, since the Prophet ? said, �If there were a prophet after me, it would be Umar.� So in fact, eating little meat is the Prophetic Sunnah and follows early Islamic tradition.

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Where's your beard, bro?

 

ANONYMOUS: SALAM. JUST WONDERING WHY YOU SHAVE YOUR BEARD IF IT'S FARD? I'M A SISTER AND I HONESTLY AM CURIOUS WHY BROTHERS SHAVE THEIR BEARDS WHEN PROPHET MUHAMMAD SAW HAD ONE HIMSELF AND COMMANDED HIS FOLLOWERS TO TRIM THE MUSTACHE AND LET THE BEARD GROW.

Wa alykum as-salaam,

First point: I have a beard. I just don�t update my icon picture.

Second point: The way you phrase your question is really off-putting and I would suggest you learn to ask questions like this in a better manner.

Third: Why do you wonder about things that do not concern you? The Prophet, in Tirmidhi, is reported to have said:

�From the excellence of a man�s Islam is to leave that which does not concern him.�

Fourth: The Hanafis, the Hanbalis, and the Malikis opine that the beard is Fardh (obligatory) for a man. The Shafi�is, however, write that the beard is Sunnah (highly recommended) not Fardh.

Therefore, the reason why men shave is because they follow the Shafi�i opinion, or, as is also possible: they are unable to grow a beard. There are many more reasons, as well.

I hope this helps, insha Allah.

From the excellent http://partytilfajr.tumblr.com/

Women attending the Masjid

 

The virtues of attending the Masjid

Abu Huraira narrates the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) as saying, �Shall I not tell you about that which will obliterate your mistakes and bring your near to Allah?� They replied, � Yes! Surely O Messenger.� He said, �it is to perform the ablution properly in difficult circumstances. A lot of foot steps to the Masjid and waiting for the next prayer after performing one that is the Ribat. That indeed is Ribat� (Muslim).

In the Muslim community the Masjid is the centre of Islamic activities. It is a place of worship and learning, a place for meditation, devotion, service and remembrance of Allah. In the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him) it even had the role of the supreme court where the Chief Justice (peace be upon him) would issue his legal injunctions. It was also the military headquarters where the Messenger (peace be upon him) would plan the Jihad against the forces of unbelief. This Hadith directs us to the Masjid in order to have our minor sins erased and spiritual station raised, the Prophet (peace be upon him) orders us to do the wudu properly too. �The wudu is the key to the prayer and the prayer is the key to the heavens� (Hadith).

This state of physical purification is a prerequisite for a state of spiritual purification. After offering his devotion and humble prayer he sits in the Masjid waiting for the next prayer, this is spiritual vigilance, in Allah�s house absorbed in His thought. He is far from the temptations of the devil, the whispers of the uncouthed self and the lures of the glittering world. �This is Ribat, indeed the Ribat�, says the Prophet (peace be upon him). Ribat is the fort from where the soldiers use to keep a watch. The blessed Messenger (peace be upon him) equates this Ribat to the sitting in the Masjid waiting for the next prayer.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is recommending a perfect method for self-purification and defining the limits of Islamic asceticism, i.e. solitude and austerity. Not to abandon life, home, family and friends but to live amongst them, yet find time for solitude and communion with Allah. The one who attends the Masjid regularly has been praised by the Mustafa (peace be upon him) in these words:

�Whoever you see coming and going to and from the Masjid, you must give testimony of his faith being complete�. He then recited, �surely the one who builds the masjid is the one who has faith in Allah, the hereafter and fears no one except Him. They are the one who are rightly guided� (Tirmidhi).

In another tradition narrated by Abu Haraira he (peace be upon him) says: �Whoever attends the Masjid, Allah prepares a special hospitality for him� (Muslim).

Praying with the Congregation

Abu Darda says he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying, �When there are three people in a village or in the desert and they do not pray as a group the devil takes control of them. You must be with the group. Surely the wolf attacks the sheep that is alone and separate from the flock� (Abu Dawud).

We have already read that the prayer is one of the most important qualities of the believer. It is the flavour of faith, the food of the soul and gives peace of mind. It is a personal devotion but should be offered in a congregation. This Hadith is emphasising this group aspect of the prayer.

How valuable it is to offer the prayer in congregation is explained by the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he said, �the group prayer is twenty seven times superior than the individual prayer� (Muslim).

The Hadith under discussion instructs that even when there are only three people they should pray together as a group rather than pray separately. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then gives the similitude of the lone sheep cut off from the flock. The devil who is depicted here as the wolf attacks the lone wanderers, those who are not with the Muslim community or those who live only at its peripheries not taking active part in its affairs.

The congregational prayer has many benefits such as; fostering love and compassion for fellow Muslims, thus strengthening the bonds of brotherhood, equality, since everyone stands humbly together whether he is a pauper or wealthy, big or small. Prayer gives training in being punctual and regular in ones daily affairs. Congregational prayer is one of outstanding features of Islam, the row upon row of believers standing humbly, bowing in unison and then prostrating together, it is a moving experience for any onlooker. The congregational prayer also teaches obedience to a leader (Imam) and gives the sense of belonging to the community.

From Bukhari and Ibn Hajar

Chapter 162- Women going to the Masjids at night and darkness

Abdullah ibn Umar narrates the messenger (peace be upon him) said �When your women seek your permission to attend the Masjid at night then give them permission� (Hadith no. 865).

Ibn Hajar Asqalani (d.761 AH) is perhaps one of the greatest commentators of Bukhari. Here is a summary of his commentary on this topic:

1. The permission to attend the Masjid hints to the fact that it is not compulsory, since if it was there would be no need to seek husbands permission.

2. He quotes another Hadith from Muslim. Abdullah ibn Umar narrates the Messenger (peace be upon him) said �don�t stop women from getting their share of the Masjid when they seek your permission�. Bilal (his son) said �By God we certainly will stop them�. According to Tabarani Bilal said �I will not let my wife and whoever wishes can let his wife do as she likes�.

3. According to the narration in Muslim, when Bilal said this to his father Abdullah ibn Umar, he was furious at him, he turned to him and cursed him three times and thereafter never spoke to his son until he died.

4. Ibn Hajar comments on this �father and son fight� by saying that �Bilal saw mischief in some women of his time and that made him react in that way to protect his sense of honour and self respect and Abdullah disapproved because he was clearly opposing the Prophetic tradition�.

Chapter 164- Women�s prayer standing behind men

Umm Salma said �when the Prophet (peace be upon him) finished his prayer by saying salaam the women would get up and leave. He would stay for a while in his place. This was done so that women could leave before the men could see them�.

Anas said, �The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed in Umm Sulaim�s house, I and an orphan stood behind him and Umm Sulaim behind us� (Hadith no.874).

Chapter 165- The quick departure of women after Morning Prayer and their short stay in the Masjid

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said �the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to pray morning prayer in darkness, Muslim women used to come and go without being recognised in the dark� (Hadith no. 872).

Abdullah Ibn Umar said �There was a woman who used to attend the Morning and night prayer with the congregation in the Masjid. It was said to her why do you come yet you know that Umar does not like that. She said he has not stopped me! She said the Prophet (peace be upon him) said �Don�t stop God�s maids from attending the Masjids� (Hadith no. 900).

Commenting on these two Ahadith Ibn Hajar says �if women are permitted to attend Masjids at night despite that night is time of suspicion, the permission during daytime is even foremost�.

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Getting To Know The Companions - Hazrat Ali Radi'a tAllah anhu

The Daughters of the PROPHET MOHAMMAD (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)

 

1 -  Hadhrat Zainab (Radhiyallaho anha):
She was the eldest daughter of the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   and was born in the fifth year of his first marriage, when he was thirty. She embraced Islam and was cousin married to her cousin Abul Aas bin Rabi. The story of her emigration to Madinah and her getting wounded by the Qureysh has already been given in the early part of this chapter. She suffered long from that wound, and at last died of in the beginning of 8 A. H, Her husband also embraced Islam later and joined her in Madinah. She had a son Ali (Radhiyallaho anho), and a daughter Amamah. Ali died during the lifetime of the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) . This same Ali (Radhiyallaho anho) was the person who sat with the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   on the camels back at the time of his triumphal entry into Mecca. We read frequently in Hadith about a little girl riding on the back of the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   as he prostrated in Salaat; this was Amamah, Zainab�s (Radhiyallaho anha) daughter. Amamah lived long after the death of the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) . Ali (Radhiyallaho anho) married her on the death of Fatima (Radhiyallaho anha) -his first wife. It is said that Fatima (Radhiyallaho anha) at the time of her death had expressed a desire for this union. She had no issue from Ali (Radhiyallaho anho). After Hadhrat Ali 's (Radhiyallaho anho) death she was again married to Hadhrat Mughirah bin Naful (Radhiyallaho anho), from whom she probably got one son named Yahya. She died in 50 A. H.

2 - Hadhrat Ruqayyah (Radhiyallaho anha):
She was born three years after the birth of Hadhrat Zainab (Radhiyallaho anha) when the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   was 33. She was married to Utbah, son of Abu Lahab, the Prophet Mohammad's (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   uncle, but had not yet started living with him when Soorah Al-Lahab was revealed. Abu Lahab called his sons Utbah and Utaibah (to whom Umme Kulsum, another daughter of the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   was married, and said to them:   �Unless you both divorce the daughters of Muhammed, I am not going to see your faces.�

They divorced their wives. Later, upon the fall of Mecca, Utbah embraced Islam. Hadhrat Ruqayyah (Radhiyallaho anha) after this divorce was married to Hadhrat Usman (Radhiyallaho anho). The couple emigrated to Abyssinia twice.

Since the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   had anounced to the Sahabah that he was expecting to recieve Allah's command for emigration to Madinah any time, they started shifting to Madinah even before the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) Hijrat. Hadhrat Usman (Radhiyallaho anho) and Hadhrat Ruqayyah (Radhiyallaho anha) had also emigrated to Madinah before the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   arrived in the town. At the time of Badr, Hadhrat Ruqayyah (Radhiyallaho anha) was ill (she died subsequently of this illness). Usman (Radhiyallaho anho) was, therefore, asked by the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   to stay in Madinah and look after her. The news about the victory in Badr was received in Madinah when people were returning from Ruqayyah�s (Radhiyallaho anha) funeral. The Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   was, therefore, not present at her burial. A son was born to Hadhrat Ruqayyah (Radhiyallaho anha) in Abyssinia. He was named Abdullah and survived his mother, but died in 4 A. H. when he was six years old.

3 - Hadhrat Umme Kulsum (Radhiyallaho anha):
She is the third daughter of the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) . She was married to Utaibah son of Abu Lahab, but had not yet started living with him when Utaibah divorced her after the revelation of Soorah Al-Lahab, as has already been mentioned. After divorcing her, Utaibah came to the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   and used most insolent words to him. The Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   cursed him by praying: �O, Allah! depute one of Thy dogs to punish him."

Abu Talib, who had also not embraced Islam, was alarmed at the curse and said to Utaibah: �You have no way out now." Once Utaibah was accompanying Abu Lahab in a caravan going to Syria. Abu Lahab, in spite of his disbelief, said to the people: �I am afraid of Muhammad's curse. Everybody should be very careful of my son."

They happened to camp at a place which was inhabited by lions. The people piled up all their luggage and Utaibah was made to sleep on top of the pile, while the rest of the people slept around the pile. A lion came at night; it smelt all the people sleeping round the pile. Then it jumped over the people and reached Utaibah. He gave out a shriek, but meanwhile the lion had severed his head from his body. It is very necessary that we avoid offending the people dear to Allah. The Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   has reported Allah as saying: �I give challenge of war to one who offends My friends.�

After the death of Hadhrat Ruqayyah (Radhiyallaho anha), Hadhrat Umme Kulsum (Radhiyallaho anha) was also married to Hadhrat 'Usman (Radhiyallaho anho) in Rabi-ul-Awwal, 3 A.H. The Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) said: �I have given Umme Kulsum in marriage to Usman by command."

She died issueless in Shaaban, 9 A. H. After her death, the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)  is reported to have remarked: �Even if I had one hundred daughters, I would have given all of them in marriage to 'Usman (one after the other), if each one had died."

4 - Hadhrat Fatimah (Radhiyallaho anha):
Hadhrat Fatimah (Radhiyallaho anha) the fourth and the youngest daughter of the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) , and the "head of the ladies in Paradise" was born in the 1st year of Nubuwwat, when he was 41. It is said that the name Fatimah (lit: safe from fire) was revealed by Allah. She was married to Ali (Radhiyallaho anho) in 2 A.H. and she began to live with him seven and a half months later. She was about fifteen and Ali was 21 at the time of their union. Of all the daughters, she was the most loved by the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) ; whenever he went out on a journey, she was the last one to part and when he returned home she was the first one to meet him. When Ali (Radhiyallaho anho) intended to marry Abu Jahal's daughter, she was very much grieved and expressed her grief to the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) . The Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   said to Hadhrat Ali (Radhiyallaho anho): "Fatimah is a part of my body. Whoever grieves her, grieves me."

Ali (Radhiyallaho anho) gave up the idea of the second marriage during her life time. After her death, he married her niece Amamah (Radhiyallaho anha). It was about six months after the death of the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   that Hadhrat Fatimah (Radhiyallaho anha) fell ill. One day she said to her maid:  "I want to take a bath. Arrange some water for me."

She took a bath and changed her clothes. She then desired her bed to be placed in the middle of the room. She laid herself down on the bedding, with her face towards Qiblah and her right hand under her right cheek, and said:

"I am now going to die."

The next moment she was no more. The Prophet Mohammad's (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)   progeny continued and shall continue (inshallah) through her children. She had three sons and three daughters. Hadhrat Hasan (Radhiyallaho anho) and Hadhrat Hussain (Radhiyallaho anho) were born in the second and the third year after the marriage, respectively. Hadhrat Muhassan (Radhiyallaho anho), the third son, was born in 4 A.H., but died in childhood.

Ruqayyah, her first daughter, died in infancy and has therefore, not been mentioned much in history. Her second daughter Umme Kulsum was first married to Hadhrat Umar (Radhiyallaho anho), begetting one son Zaid and one daughter Hadhrat Ruqayyah (Radhiyallaho anha). On Hadhrat Umar�s (Radhiyallaho anho) death, Hadhrat Umme Kulsum (Radhiyallaho anha) was married to Aun bin Ja�far (Radhiyallaho anho), but had no issue from him. After his death, his brother Muhammad bin Ja�far (Radhiyallaho anho) married her. A daughter was born to them, who died in childhood. Even Muhammad (Radhiyallaho anho) died in her lifetime and she was again married to the third brother, Abdullah bin Ja�far (Radhiyallaho anho), from whom she had no issue. She died as Abdullah�s (Radhiyallaho anho) wife. Her son Zaid also died the same day, and both were carried for burial at the same time. Abdullah, �Aun and Muhammad (Radhiyallaho anho)  have already been mentioned as sons of Ja�far (Radhiyallaho anho) and nephews of Ali (Radhiyallaho anho).

Zainab, hadhrat Fatima�s (Radhiyallaho anha) third daughter, was married to Abdullah bin Ja�far and had two sons Abdullah and Aun from him. It was after her death that he married her sister Hadhrat Umme Kulsum (Radhiyallaho anha). Hadhrat Ali (Radhiyallaho anho) had many other childrem from his wives after Fatimah (Radhiyallaho anha). It is stated that he had as many as thirty-two issues. Hasan (Radhiyallaho anho) had fifteen sons and eight daughters, while Husain (Radhiyallaho anho) was the father of six sons and three daughters. 

Source.

Women Behind Walls at the Mosque (Bint Naeem)

Don't empower women, don't give them their rights

Rejecting the Myth of Sanctioned Child Marriage in Islam

Excellent article :)

Name one thing Muslims and Christians share? Their level effort pointing fingers elsewhere whenever pedophilia comes up. Catholic priests are an obvious and easy target, but when my 16-year-old daughter raised $26,000 in her high school to combat North America's growing child-sex-slavery trade, her grandmother complained that she wasn't doing enough about misogyny and abuse in Somalia, Saudi Arabia and the Sudan. Although she wasn't very clear how Marley would get there. My pen on the other hand? We'll see.

Another similarity? Neither Muslims nor Christians blame Christianity for the problem, but the same can't be said for Islam. You've got to give pedophiles their props though. Most sane people consider them something beyond abhorrent, and yet on this issue they have convinced even Christian leaders to climb into bed with them, and with some Sunni and Shiite scholars to boot. And it's time to pull the sheets back and see what's really going on for the sake of women and children everywhere.

There are really only three reasons to insist -- as so many do -- that Aisha was only 9 years old when Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) married her: Either you are such a crazy Islamophile that you are willing to go to your grave insisting Muhammad could do whatever he wanted, or you are such a crazy Islamophobe that you want to insist he did, or you are such a weirdly religious sex-crazed pervert that you hope accusing him makes it OK for you to do it too.

There is absolutely no other reason to either make or repeat that disgusting claim. Aisha was married in 622 C.E., and although her exact birthday is unknown, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari recorded that it happened before Islam was revealed in 610. The earliest surviving biography of Muhammad, Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Malik bin Hisham's recension of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah -- The Life of the Messenger of Godrecords that Aisha accepted Islam shortly after it was revealed -- 12 years before her marriage -- and there is no way she could have done so as an infant or toddler.

Furthermore, it is a matter of incontrovertible historical record that Aisha was involved in the Battles of Badr in 624 and Uhud in 625, in neither of which was anyone under the age of 15 allowed.

Finally, Imam Wali-ud-Din Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Khatib, dead for more than 700 years, recorded in the biographical section of Miskat al-Masabih that Asma, her elder sister of 10 years, died at the age of 100, 72 years after Aisha's wedding. This makes Aisha's age at the time of her marriage at least 14, and at the time of her marriage's consummation almost 20.

Although those dates make it obvious that Aisha's child-marriage couldn't have taken place, according to Arab tribal traditions of the time it could have, and apparently it can still happen in Arabia today. A case that recently raged through the international press and Saudi courts -- of an 8-year-old girl who had been married by her father to a 47 year-old "friend" to settle Dad's debts -- shows how little things there have changed. However, that's despite Islam, not because of it.

Prior to Muhammad in Arabia, it is common knowledge that females were considered property, and that female infants were often discarded like refuse when born. However, one of Islam's primary revelations was that men and women had equal status before God, with different though equal rights and obligations. Another was God's condemnation of Arab female sacrifice, proclaiming that girl-children were just as valuable as boy-children to God and to humankind.

Obviously, those ignorant tribal prejudices and practices persist. However the most important reason Aisha's child-marriage couldn't have happened is this: Muhammad couldn't do anything any more than any other Muslim can. Muhammad was the finest example of true Islamic living there could ever be, and having marital relations with a woman of less than the "age of majority" -- an age that varies from culture to culture but presupposes the ability to become pregnant, have children and make decisions for those children as an adult -- was, is and always will be completely contrary to the example set by our Prophet, and the message of Islam's Holy Quran.

The Quran is clear that a divorced woman cannot marry another man until she completes a period of waiting to confirm she isn't already pregnant, and such an impediment would be unnecessary were pregnancy not possible. However, the roots of Islamic pedophilia lie in exactly what the verse (At-Talaq -- "The Divorce" 65:4) about that waiting period says. Yousuf Ali's English translation is a pretty good approximation:

Waalla-ee ya-isna mina almaheedi min nisa-ikum ini irtabtum fa'iddatuhunna thalathatu ashhurin waalla-ee lam yahidna waolatu al-ahmali ajaluhunna an yada'ana hamlahunna waman yattaqi Allaha yaj'al lahu min amrihi yusran.

Such of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses, for them the prescribed period, if ye have any doubts, is three months, and for those who have no courses (it is the same): for those who carry (life within their wombs), their period is until they deliver their burdens: and for those who fear Allah, He will make their path easy.

Now, I've discussed the verse with progressive Islamic scholars and learned that "Lam Yahidna" negates menstruation in the past tense and the jussive mode and means "did not menstruate," with the expectation that the woman should be menstruating, since that natural cycle is part of her normal state.

Then again, I know that there are Islamic scholars from Arabia and Pakistan -- another place with long traditions of both child-marriage and misogyny -- and Islamophobes from around the world who interpret it as if it says "has not menstruated yet," with the jussive mode implying the girl is impatient to begin, ensuring that it seems to perpetuate the pre-Islamic practice of having sex with pre-pubescent girls.

Between those two incredibly divergent positions, how does one choose?

When Muslims face difficult questions, we have the Sunnah, an Arabic word meaning "the acts of Muhammad," to guide us, and that's why Aisha's age is such an issue. But the thing is, whether Aisha was still a child when her marriage was consummated has never been a question: all scholars agree that occurred after Aisha's menarche. Islamophobes inevitably claim otherwise, but they do so based on a completely fictitious interpretation of events.

And that means the problem that we should be addressing is the root one, that of men devaluing and disenfranchising girls and women: Husbands and fathers treating girls as property and forcing them to marry against their will.

And in that, the condemnation of the Quran and Sunnah are very clear: The Quran states a woman's consent is essential, and the Sunnah confirms that both Aisha's betrothal and consummation occurred with Aisha's enthusiastic agreement. In fact, some even imply she went against the initial wishes of her Dad!

Those guides unequivocally confirm that men and woman have equal status before God, equal though different rights when wed, and that a woman cannot be given in marriage without her express approval. Absent that, the Sunnah also records that Muhammad dissolved marriages on the woman's testimony alone. That is what Muslims should be proclaiming, rather than the purported right of Muslim men to marry underage brides.

The cause of the confusion is simple. Imam Bukhari, compiler of the famous Hadithcollection (Hadith in this context meaning stories about Muhammad) Sahih Bukhari included one recalling that Aisha said she was 6 when betrothed and 9 when she was wed. However, Bukhari included another recording that Aisha was a young girl and remembered when Surah Al-Qamar was revealed -- 9 years before her wedding -- as well. Obviously, both Hadiths can't be true, and that's the problem with relying too much on Hadiths, and too little on the Quran and common sense.

Even if you believe -- as I do -- that the Quran is a divinely protected book, the same cannot be said about all Hadiths. In fact, there is even an Ayah in the Quran that warns about the dangers of thinking otherwise. Luqman 31:6 cautions:

Wamina alnnasi man yashtaree lahwa alhadithi liyudilla aaan sabeeli Allahi bighayri aailmin wayattakhithaha huzuwan ola-ika lahum aaathabun muheenun.

But there are, among men, those who purchase idle Hadiths, without knowledge (or meaning), to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah and throw ridicule (on the Path): for such there will be a Humiliating Penalty.

While there are Muslim scholars who claim that Luqman 6 is actually a warning about musical performers like Madonna, there are others who respond that unless those performers are Muslim nothing they do throws ridicule on any path but their own. And personally, I think the Ayah is instead a frank and literal warning about the dangers of trafficking in false and idle Hadiths, just like it says.

I also can't think of a better set of examples of what it's talking about than the damage that's been done by confusion over Aisha's age of consummation.

I have read a great deal of speculation about why Hadiths that make Aisha seem immature might be wrong. Most of them came out of what is now Iraq, through one specific source named Hisham ibn Urwah. And it's worth noting that his student Muslim -- who collated the Hadiths of Sahih Muslim -- specifically chose not to include any from his respected teacher after Hisham went to Iraq. Some say it's because Hisham's memory became spotty, others say it was because Iraq was a political hotbed of "anti-Aisha" feeling and some evil men fabricated Hadiths in Hisham's name.

But none of the speculation matters. The only thing you need to realize is that both the tales Bukhari included can't both be true. That fact, put together with the Quran's warning, means that Hadiths can't be as authoritative to Muslims as the Holy Quran and the Sunnah are.

I've been told otherwise by many good Muslims, and I know there are even places in the world where you can spark a riot by saying otherwise, but I think that's part of what Luqman warns us about. I love Hadiths for the illuminating light they can shine on the interpretation of a difficult passage, or on my own attempts navigating a difficult juncture in my life, but I've also participated in Islamic dinner events that have fallen apart discussing the Hadith condemning Muslims who smell their food before they eat it.

Now, the role, authority and validity of individual Hadiths is not an issue that is going to be put to rest by someone like me; there is an entire scholarly science devoted to it. And personally, I think that debate and discussion, both between scholars and "grass-roots" Muslims, is useful and instructive whether the Hadiths being discussed are actually "true" or not, as long as that discussion is respectful of both our religion of Islam and our fellow participants.

But while we're on the subject of how Muslims settle Islamic controversies, there's an important question that begs asking. I actually understand the Islamophobic focus on false and embarrassing Islamic interpretations: they're just trying to score points the best way they know how, with tools we Muslims have given them. But all these facts I've shared are just common knowledge that's easily verifiable and my conclusions little more than simple common sense.

If Muslim scholars are so concerned that Muslim practices follow Islam's revelation and Muhammad's memory, and if they truly want to defend Islam and our Prophet, then what have they been doing for the last thousand years?

No question men (and women) can be pigs when it comes to sex and gender issues -- when I'm asked to explain why we can't eat pork I generally explain the problem might be cannibalism -- but religion is supposed to help us combat those dark urges not pander to them.

And while we're on the subject of marriage, the Quran doesn't condone wife-beating either. In pre-Islamic Arabia, men did not need permission to beat their wives. And although the Arabic root Dzaraba does mean "beat" it also means "heal." Dzaraba denotes action for a higher purpose, such as "striking (or minting) a coin," or "striking out on a new path." Coupled with the Quran's warning to husbands that God is watching everything we do, and a reminder that we must serve our marriage rather than ourselves, particularly after proclaiming married men to be tasked as providers and protectors rather than rulers all in the same passage, in Muhammad's day Islam actually took that permission away, despite misogynist Muslim and Islamophobic claims to the contrary.

With all the suffering in Somalia, so much of it caused by misapplied and misinterpreted misreadings of Islam, why are Somalia's scholars focusing on sexualizing hand-holding?

How is it that Saudi Arabia still allows child marriage when they've known Aisha's real age all along (the biographies I reference are written in Arabic, for Heaven's sake!), or that Pakistan's rape laws cleave to British colonial precedent?

In Pakistan, a woman can be punished for being raped if the rapist denies her claims. But when Muhammad was faced with a woman who told him she'd been raped, he had the man in question executed on the testimony of the woman, whom he pronounced blameless, alone.

The simple truth is that all our Muslim scholars since Islam began have been human, limited by the human ability to pander, avoid conflict by bowing to popular opinion, or make mistakes. And when scholars fail their sacred trust, to transmit Islam with fidelity, they lose their right to any authority, Islamic or otherwise, and frankly, it's up to the rest of us to do a better job of keeping them honest.

Because if any of us care about things like "truth" and "fidelity" as much as so many of us claim, "Too busy to check the facts out for myself" just doesn't seem like much of an excuse.

What's my bottom line? The age Aisha attained before she married the Prophet is one issue we have to put to rest -- for the sake of children everywhere. There is absolutely no question that Aisha was an adult when she consummated her marriage with Muhammad of her own free will, and she lived out her life in the earliest days of Islam the un-harassed and proudly participatory equal of everyone, just like every other man, woman or child under God.

That is our Muslim legacy that we should be striving to live up to, and anyone who claims otherwise is simply crazy, one way or another.

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