Does the Holy Quran Contain an Indication of the Crime of Aisha within the Battle of the Camel? (1 of 2)

Published in May 2, 2018

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

Introduction:

1- The Holy Quran is the Absolute Truth; real monotheistic believers never cast doubt on it: "This is the Book in which there is no doubt..." (2:2). The ponderings and inferred ideas of anyone regarding any of the Quranic verses are individual intellectual endeavors and ijtihad (i.e., reaching innovative ideas) which might lead to right or wrong conclusions; no human being is infallible. Even the right or true ideas are relatively so. Another fact that all of us should bear in mind is that history is never part of the Divine Religion of God. Myths and (true or untrue) historical narratives/events are part of the earthly religions whose followers deify and sanctify mortals and revere any myths or historical narratives about them as 'holy'. Even if historical events or narratives are true, they are relative facts and they are never absolute truths; this is because history is a human product which is written by historians who are mortal human beings who had their own whims, biases, and prejudices and they are never infallible or omniscient. There are major historical events and characters (such as the Arab conquests, the Arab major civil war, and the caliphs Abou Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali) that one cannot easily (in terms of history as a branch of knowledge/science) deny their existence or occurrence; yet, as far as Islam is concerned, it is OK to deny their existence or occurrence, because God will not judge us based on history events written by mortal human beings.       

2- The Quranic text mentions some stories of the history of ancient nations and previous prophets/messengers of the Lord God as well as historical facts about Muhammad and his contemporaries. After the revelation/descent of the whole Quranic text, Muhammad died and many of the so-called companions of Muhammad continue living for a longer while; they have emerged suddenly within world history because they shook the ancient world with their Arab conquests; within their local history, they fought one another within the events of the major Arab civil war, and chief among these events is the battle of the Camel, led by a woman named Aisha, and history tells us that she was the daughter of Abou Bakr and the wife of Muhammad. 

3- The Quranic text mentions Muhammad's spouses within certain sharia laws and commands specifically intended only to them and within the Quranic story of Muhammad that contains certain historical indications. Likewise, the Quranic text mentions the categories/types of the so-called companions or contemporaries of Muhammad; among them were the forerunners, the hypocrites, those with sickness inside their heart, and those who mixed good deeds with bad ones. Of course, the Quranic text never mentions the names of wives and contemporaries of Muhammad; the only exception is the man named Zeid in the verse 33:37 (who was the adoptive son of Muhammad) and history tells us that his full name is Zeid Ibn Haretha. The (true or untrue) history written by men mentions names of Muhammad's spouses and the names of many of the so-called companions. We must believe in what God has mentioned in the Quran as part of the Absolute Truth; in contrast, anything mentioned by historians (i.e., true or untrue narratives) are never part of Islam as a religion; Islam is only the Quran, and there is nothing else besides the Quran that might be deemed as part of the religion of Islam.

4- History tells us that Aisha, the daughter of Abou Bakr and the wife of Muhammad, is the most prominent one among the wives of Muhammad. Aisha in particular committed a grave sin; namely, she caused the outbreak of the very first civil war in the history of Muslims (or whom we call the Muhammadans) and she led herself the troops of one party who fought another party within the battle of the Camel which took place in 32 A.H./ 656 A.D. in Basra, Iraq. This has made Aisha a controversial figure in history; she is deified by the followers of the Sunnite religion and cursed by the followers of the Shiite religion.  

5- The posed question is as follows: Does the Quranic text predict this heinous crime of Aisha? God in the Quran mentions some historical facts about the previous prophets/messengers and about Muhammad and his era. Of course, the Quran contains predictions of events that took place after the death of Muhammad, such as the civil war among those disbelievers among the people of Muhammad who rejected and disbelieved in the Quran; this prediction is found here: "Say, "He is Able to send upon you an affliction, from above you, or from under your feet. Or He can divide you into factions, and make you taste the violence of one another. Note how We explain the revelations, so that they may understand." But your people rejected it, though it is the Truth. Say, "I am not responsible for you." For every happening is a finality, and you will surely know." (6:65-67); of course, the phrase (and you will surely know) in the verse 6:67 indicates that many of the addressees (Muhammad's contemporaries to whom the verses 6:65-67 are addressed) will live and witness the fulfillment of this prediction. More details about this topic are found in our book (in English) titled "The Unspoken-of History of the Pre-Umayyad 'Righteous' Caliphs" found on this link (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/arabic/book_main.php?main_id=83). In our view, we assert that the Quran contains an implied indication of the role played by Aisha within the crime of the major Arab civil war, and we prove this in this article.  

Firstly: within the Quranic Chapter 33:

1- The Quranic Chapter 33, titled "The Confederates", was revealed after the battle of the confederates took place, and this Quranic Chapter 33 contains (a) historical indications of this battle, (b) special legislations imposed on Muhammad, his spouses, and on their contemporaries about not to violate the privacy of Muhammad's  homes/chambers, and (c) commands addressed to Muhammad's wives and to the believers in general.

2- We infer from the Quranic Chapter 33 that there are implied accusations leveled against some of the wives of Muhammad and some believing companions (who were not among the hypocrites) who used to impose their presence, and never restrain their looks, inside the homes/chambers of Muhammad's wives which were adjacent to the Yathreb mosque. This intrusion or trespassing on one's privacy hurt Muhammad, and he was too shy to ask these intruders to leave; God has interfered in this matter and He has addressed these believers directly here: "O you who believe! Do not enter the homes of the prophet, unless you are given permission to come for a meal; and do not wait for its preparation. And when you are invited, go in. And when you have eaten, disperse, without lingering for conversation. This irritates the prophet, and he shies away from you, but God does not shy away from the truth..." (33:53).

3- We focus on the command not to break into or enter suddenly and uninvited into the rooms/chambers of Muhammad's wives: "...And when you ask his wives for something, ask them from behind a screen..." (33:53); the justification here implies an accusation for both parties: "...that is purer for your hearts and their hearts..." (33:53). God has prohibited the contemporaries of Muhammad from marrying (or even thinking about marrying) his wives after his death: "...You must never offend the messenger of God, nor must you ever marry his wives after him, for that would be an enormity with God." (33:53). This warning comes in advance against any bad ideas that might have crossed the minds of both the believers and the wives: "Whether you declare a thing, or hide it, God is Aware of all things." (33:54). God defines and confines the categories of those allowed to enter into the rooms/chambers of Muhammad's wives: "There is no blame on them concerning their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or their female servants..." (33:55). And then comes the direct warning addressed by God to the wives of Muhammad: "...You should remain conscious of God within piety. God is Witness over all things." (33:55). This Quranic context ends in warning against being cursed by God in this world and the next one as a punishment for insulting God and Muhammad: "Those who insult God and His messenger, God has cursed them in this life and in the Hereafter, and has prepared for them a demeaning torment." (33:57).    

4- The vital importance of these legislations regarding the wives of Muhammad, referred to as (the people of the household), is shown in this Quranic context: "O prophet! Say to your wives, "If you desire the life of this world and its finery, then let me compensate you, and release you kindly. But if you desire God, His messenger, and the Home of the Hereafter, then God has prepared for the pious among you a magnificent compensation."" (33:28-29). We see here that Muhammad's wives are offered the choice to get a divorce or to remain as his wives while adhering to certain Quranic rules. That there are Quranic verses about this topic indicates that serious problems had occurred between Muhammad and his wives, and this entailed the revelation of this Quranic context, which is recited now, along with the rest of the Quranic text, until the end of days. This is serious enough because the choice here is not only between divorce or marriage, but also between (a) the belief in God, His Messenger (i.e., the Quran), and the Hereafter and (b) disbelief and finery of this transient world.

5- Within the same context, the Almighty Lord God addresses Muhammad's wives directly here: "O wives of the prophet! Whoever of you commits a proven adultery, the torment for her will be doubled. And that would be easy for God.  But whoever of you remains obedient to God and His Messenger, and acts righteously, We will give her a double reward; and We have prepared for her a generous provision." (33:30-31). We see here that the special status/stature of Muhammad's wives entails double punishment and reward in this world and the next one; God warns them against committing the sin of adultery; they are not like any other women: "O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women, if you observe piety..." (33:32). Hence, they should never speak softly with men so as not to encourage those fornicators or womanizers to try to seduce them, as we infer from the rest of the verse: "...So do not speak too softly, lest the sick at heart lusts after you, but speak in an appropriate manner." (33:32). This meaning is clear and plain enough, of course.  

Secondly: about the phrase "And settle in your homes..." (33:33):

1- The is a focal point of our article; the phrase "And settle in your homes..." comes within the context of special legislations confined to Muhammad's wives in these verses directly addressed to them: "And settle in your homes; and do not display yourselves, as in the former days of ignorance. And perform the prayer, and give regular charity, and obey God and His Messenger. God desires to remove all impurity from you, O people of the household, and to purify you thoroughly. And remember what is recited in your homes of God's Verses and Wisdom. God is Kind and Informed." (33:33-34).  

2- Hence, we see that Muhammad's wives are addressed as (people of the household) after they are commanded never to leave their homes; they are commanded to remain in their chambers/homes for the rest of their lives (even when they are widowed) without showing themselves and while performing all acts of worship within piety and within obedience to the Lord God and His Messenger (i.e., the Quran itself), and this includes reading the Quran (by the way, one of its names is Wisdom), as this will purify them and remove any impurity from their souls.     

3- As per the above points, the Quranic command "And settle in your homes..." is of vital importance here; they are commanded never to leave their homes/rooms until they die (even after becoming widows when Muhammad died). Hence, during Muhammad's lifetime, his wives never got out of their homes/chambers to advocate virtue and forbid evil alongside with the Yathreb believers, whereas hypocrites did the exact opposite: they advocated evil and prohibit virtue; see 9:67-72. We conclude also that Muhammad's wives, during his lifetime, did not even get out of their chambers/rooms in Yathreb to perform pilgrimage in Mecca; they had to adhere to the Quranic laws concerning their special case as per the verses we have quoted above.  

4- Hence, if Aisha ever got out of her room/chamber to perform pilgrimage in Mecca, to advocate virtue and forbid evil, or to perform any good deeds, she had disobeyed the divine command of the Lord God expressed here: "And settle in your homes..." (33:33). This sinful disobedience applies also to her getting out of her room/chamber to commit the crime of igniting the first major civil war, about 20 years after the death of Muhammad, which caused the massacre of more than 10 thousand people who fought one another around the howdah of the camel she rode as she led the battle; strangely, both sides of fighters shouted (God is the Greatest!) or Allahu Akbar!    

5- Aisha did not find someone who would remind her of God's command: "And settle in your homes..." (33:33). History tells us that Aisha got out of her room/chamber on several occasions after the death of her husband; the political climate changed radically when compared with the one of the Yathreb city-state led by Muhammad. The disbelieving Qorayish tribesmen and leaders controlled most Arabs and convinced them to participate in the crime of Arab conquests; ill-gotten money and treasures of spoils were so immense and countless; they were enjoyed by the companions who committed the crime of Arab conquests; those men sexually enjoyed enslaved women and female children coming by force into Yathreb from the other conquered regions of Arabia, the Levant, Iraq, Persia, and Egypt. The real monotheistic believers among the forerunners never participated in such corruption and grave injustices; their names are never mentioned in history; we infer that they escaped, with their good deeds and monotheistic Quranic faith, from such deluge of corruption and grave sins that led to the fact that most Arabs at the time had abandoned the Quran as early as once Muhammad died and Abou Bakr was instituted by force as caliph while being backed by Qorayish. Such grave sins, injustices, and corruption have resulted into the emergence of an earthly religion with practices and behaviors that have nothing to do with Islam; this earthly religion has been crystalized later on and named as the Sunnite religion, which urges conquests, invasion, occupation, authoritarianism, injustices, corruption, and tyranny. Another result is the opposite earthly religion: the Shiite religion which is based on deep-seated hatred of caliphs and companions of the crime of Arab conquests. Within such corrupt climate that dominated within the era of the four pre-Umayyad caliphs, both types of hypocrites; i.e., the explicit, ordinary ones who hardly concealed their stances during Muhammad's lifetime in Yathreb and the ones who were adamant in hypocrisy and concealed their stances very well when the Quran was being revealed gradually, were free to do and say whatever they liked. Those adamant in hypocrisy got bored and tired of concealing their real stance and they become outspoken and prominent once Muhammad died; they were agents of the Meccans who controlled everything alongside with Qorayish and began the spread and application/practices of the earthly religion of aggression, injustices, and tyranny led by Abou Bakr, Omar, and Othman. Such Satanist earthly religion of grave injustices caused untold misery for millions of the oppressed nations of conquered countries and regions; besides, some of the unjust Arab soldiers of the troops of the Arab conquests suffered injustices inflicted on them by the Qorayish leaders. This is why those wronged and hurt Arab soldiers became rebels and they assassinated the caliph Othman. Aisha hated Othman very much, and yet, she revolted and led a group of rebels who demanded revenge for his assassination when she heard that Ali succeeded him as caliph; she claimed falsely that she had the 'right' to demand revenge for Othman's murder. Within such corrupt political climate and within the general rejection of the Quran, we can hardly expect anyone to emerge in order to rebuke Aisha by reminding her of God's command: "And settle in your homes..." (33:33). On the contrary, thousands of men allowed her to lead them from Yathreb to Basra, in Iraq, to fight under her leadership until most of them were killed during the battle of the Camel; besides, among those who joined her were known companions/leaders like Al-Zubayr Ibn Al-Awwam and Talha Ibn Obaydillah.

6- Who among these men at the time would remember these verses which we have quoted from the Quranic Chapter 33?!

7- The above points are our conclusions drawn from the Quranic Chapter 33; yet, what about our conclusions drawn from the Quranic Chapter 66, titled "The Prohibition"? We continue in the very next article.