Sunday, July 29, 2012

MAIL - 19 - Part - 23

I Wrote - 

Dear Friend

"'Umar took his wife Zaynab, their daughter Hafsah and their young son Abdullah. Hafsah's husband, Khunays of Sahm, was also with them." - Muhammad, Life Based on Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.

- The companions of prophet Mohammad migrated from their homeland to save themselves from the persecution.
- Among them were a lady named Hafsah and her husband.

"In the year which followed the return from Badr (The Battle of Badr) the family of Umar suffered two losses. The first of these was the death of his son-in-law Khunays, the husband of his daughter Hafsah. He had been one of the emigrants to Abyssinia, and it was on his return that the marriage had taken place. Hafsah was only eighteen years old when she became a widow." - ibid.

- The lady Hafsah became a widow after her husband died in a battle.

The Fourth Marriage

"For her father it was very painful to see his daughter in this state. Her silent courage under these circumstance, her patient prayers and her study of the Quran irradiated her countenance with spiritual beauty and innocence, but there was also a sadness because of the harsh loneliness that had become part of their life." - Great Women of Islam by Ghadanfar

- Sadness and sorrow affected this widowed woman's family, especially to her father.

The father of this widowed women approached one of the prominent person named Uthman, to receive his widowed daughter, in marriage.

"Uthman answered that he was not presently planning on marriage" - ibid.

He again, approached another prominent person named Abu Bakr, to receive his widowed daughter, in marriage.

"He too lowered his gaze and did not answer him." - ibid.

With the decline of the offer to marry his daughter, by the two prominent persons, the father of this widowed woman was upset.

"He was very upset and worried at the turn of events; in a sense it was an affront to him and his position as a sincere defender of the faith. People, he thought, would consider it an honor to have an alliance by marriage with him."ibid.

As the leader of the faithful, he approached prophet Mohammad.

"With this grievance he went to prophet and explained to him the position he found himself in. The Prophet smilingly answered that he should neither grieve nor worry and Allah willing he would find a man better than Uthman for Hafsah"ibid.

This was the point at which prophet Mohammad implied his willingness to marry the widowed women.

The Response of The Father

"Umar Farooq could not believe his ears; his daughter would have the honor of joining the selected band of women who were known as The Mothers of The Believers!"ibid.

- The wives of prophet Mohammad are mothers of believers.

Who Was This Woman?

"She was from the women who fasted and prayed in the night. And from those women who feared Allah." - Imam Ad-Dahabi

Here again, we see prophet Mohammad marrying a widowed women, who was leading a life on the principles such as the  Marriage Principle - 1 i.e. 

"A woman is married for four things, i.e., her wealth, her family status, her beauty and her religion. So you should marry the religious woman (otherwise) you will be a losers." - Prophet Mohammad.

What a Life It Was

Prophet Mohammad married Hafsah. One day the father of this woman came to visit prophet Mohammad.

Umar said: "I visited Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and he was lying on a mat. I sat down and he drew up his lower garment over him and he had nothing (else) over him, and that the mat had left its marks on his sides.- Imam Bukhari.

Umar said: "I looked with my eyes in the store room of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I found only a handful of barley ..."  - Imam Bukhari.

Umar said: "I was moved to tears (on seeing this extremely austere living of the Holy Prophet)"  - Imam Bukhari.

Prophet Asked: "Son of Khattab, what makes you weep?- Imam Bukhari. 

Umar said: "Apostle of Allah, why should I not shed tears? This mat has left its marks on your sides and I do not see in your storeroom (except these few things) that I have seen; Caesar (The King of Rome) and Closroes (The King of Persia) are leading their lives in plenty whereas you are Allah's Messenger. His chosen one, and that is your store!- Imam Bukhari. 

Prophet said: "Ibn Khattab, aren't you satisfied that for us (there should be the prosperity) of the Hereafter (life after death), and for them (there should be the prosperity of) this world?
- Imam Bukhari.

Her Contribution as A Wife of Prophet Mohammad

1. A Scholar of Her Time

"She memorized 60 Hadith from prophet peace be upon him. She was considered as one of the great scholars among the companions of prophet Mohammad. She was from the people who memorized entire Quran.- Imam Ad-Dahabi

2. The Guardian of Glorious Quran 

"She was The Guardian of Quran" - Imam AdDahabi.

- She was The Only Woman who was given The One & Only Written Copy of Quran, at that time, to guard it.

"Then the complete manuscripts (copy) of the Qur'an remained with Abu Bakr till he died, then with 'Umar till the end of his life, and then with Hafsah, the daughter of Umar- Imam Bukhari.

- She was among the few ladies who knew how to read and write and in whose hands the one and only manuscripts of Quran remained.

Among other things, as a wife of prophet Mohammad, she contributed on the following titles.


* Etiquette on Fasting
* Etiquette on Recommended Prayers
* Rules on Friday Prayer
* Rules on The Recitation of Quran
* Rules on the recommended Pilgrimage
* News on The Anti Christ

Her position as the wife of prophet Mohammad was illuminated by her title - The Guardian of Glorious Quran. This title paved the way for the billions of copies of Quran throughout the centuries, till this day.

will be continued ...

Sunday, July 1, 2012

FWD by Sonia Gandhi - Glimpses of World History - Debate on Slavery - Intro - 4

Assalamualikum
May the peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon you.

"Generations of readers have been moved and, indeed, enthralled by the three classics, which reflect the power and lucidity of Jawaharlal Nehru's mind, the eloquence of this language, and the radiance of his spirit. I hope they will continue to educate, inspire and guide us for generations to come." -  Sonia Gandhi, New Delhi, 27-May-2004. From the FOREWORD TO THE 2004 EDITION of Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru, The first Prime Minister of India.





"One New Year's Day, 1931, Jawaharlal Nehru began a remarkable series of letters on the history of the world to his daughter Indira, then thirteen years old. Over the next thirty months, Nehru wrote nearly two hundred letters in this series, which were later published as Glimpses of World History.- From the back cover of Glimpses of World History by Jawaharlal Nehru.

Nehru On World Slavery

Throughout the book, Nehru gives a solid and concise references to the existence and the practices of Slavery, worldwide. Nehru's account on slavery begins from the 200 BC Rome and it ends at the 18th century Unites States of America.

In other terms, Nehru's accounts on Slavery began from one super power and it ended at another superpower i.e. from Rome to USA.

The Necessity of Slavery

Slavery was necessitated by the greed of humans, as it was and as it is as ever.

"In the ancient world in the West slaves were always in great demand, and in order to fulfil this demand huge slave-markets arose, and expeditions went out to capture men and women, and even children,in distant land and sell them into slavery." - Glimpses of World History, Page 83.

- Slave-markets were there just as other commodity markets of 21st century.
- Expeditions went out to capture & enslave free people!

It Begins from Rome

The people of Rome were mainly divided in to two classes. They were the rich Aristocrats and the common Plebeians. But there was another disdained third group.

"But besides these two groups there was in the Roman State an enormous number of slaves who had no rights of any kind.

- They were not citizens;
- They had no vote;
- They were the private and the personal property of their master, like digs or cows.
- They could be sold or punished at the sweet will of the master." - Ibid, Page 83.

Once a person becomes a slave, his freedom is lost forever, unless and until a great miracle happens.

"They could be freed also under certain conditions, and when they became free they formed a special class called freed-men." - Ibid, Page 83.

India and China

Slavery was not a strange system for the Asian continent.

"Was this system of slavery equally prevalent then in India? Very probably it was not. Nor did China have it. This does not mean that there was no slavery in ancient India or China. But such slavery existed was more or less of the domestic kind."- Ibid, Page 83.

Africa

"The Carthaginians were the descendants of the Phoenicians and had the tradition of seamanship and of trade. Theirs was also a republic, but it was, even more than that of Rome, a republic of rich men. It was a city with huge slave population."- Ibid, Page 84.

- The city of Carthage was a North African country i.e the present day Tunisia.

Egypt

Egypt was yet another country who had slaves as part of their population. Rome was the superpower of that time and Egypt was one of their backyards. Rome utilized Egypt for resources and other supplies. Precisely, Rome was kept in good humour at the expense of countries like Egypt.

"Thus they were kept in good humour, but this free distribution could only take place in a few places, and even this was done at the cost of misery and suffering to the slave populations in other countries like Egypt, who provided the free flour.- Ibid, Page 105.

Europe

With the 6th century Arabia being an exception, the slavery and the miseries of slaves continued throughout the world till the 18th century.

"Right through the eighteenth century the nations of Europe carried on a cruel and heartless slave trade." - Ibid, Page 399.

- Europe took the share.

America

"With the discovery of America, however, the old slave trade was revived in its most cruel form. The Spanish and Portuguese began it by capturing Negroes on the African coast and taking them to America to work on the land.- Ibid, Page 399.

- America took the share.

England

"The English took their full share in this abominable trade- Ibid, Page 399.

- England took the share.

The world took the full share of this lucrative business.

The Greatest Suffering of Mankind

"It is difficult for you or for any of us to have any idea of the terrible sufferings of the Africans as they were hundred and caught like wild beasts and then chained together, and so transported to America. Vast numbers died before they could even reach their journey's end. - Ibid, Page 399.

- These practices of slavery were the greatest suffering of mankind.

'Slaves' of 21st Century

"The millions of Negroes in the United States of America today are the descendants of these slaves. - Ibid, Page 399.


History goes on and on ... 



Understanding the slavery and its practices is a great deal. What you see is only some excerpts from the limited historical records.



The Only Exception

There came a man from the desert land of the 6th century Arabia. He was the only exception who transformed his people from being the slaves of puny humans to The True Slaves of Almighty God.  

"He lived a quiet life, liked and trusted by his fellow-citizens. Indeed, he was known as "Al-Amin" - The Trusty. -  Nehru, Glimpses of World History, Page 165.

...

Regards