Jewish Taboos about Menstruation were attacked by Muhammad (pbuh)
Today his Hadith on Menstruation are Under Attack from abusive web
sites
(examples # 2 and 3)
by Kaukab Siddique, Ph.D
(New readers: In a booklet titled CRIMINALS OF ISLAM (posted on the web
by
pakistanforum, IslamicDawn, aboutquran and others sectarians), one Dr.
Shabbir Ahmed, living in Florida, piles abuse above abuse on the
blessed
Sahih of Bukhari and by inference on all books of Hadith. In my example
#1, I
took one item from CRIMINALS of ISLAM and illustrated the fraudulent
mthodology used in CRIMINALS OF ISLAM to discredit Sahih of Bukhari.)
Audience: CRIMINALS OF ISLAM is obviously aimed at Pakistani
elites
who have never read any actual book of Hadith and who may never have
read the
Qur'an either. These people find ulema's ("mullas") preaching
distatasteful,
sometimes with good reason. Hence they are the "right" audience for a
misleading book which abuses the second source of Islam: Hadith.
Through this
audience the enemy is trying to enter the lands of Islam. My response
is for
the same audience and might be very obvious for scholars of Islam. To
scholars: my apologies for stating the obvious.
ISSUE OF MENSTRUATION: For most of recorded history, men have
looked at
women's menstruation as degrading, something which makes women
disgusting and
to be avoided. Such anti-women menstruation-related ideas are openly
stated
in Jewish writings and can be seen even today in the laws of the
illegitimate
state of Israel.
While the Jews went to extreme separation from menstruating women,
the
Christians often behaved as if they could ignore the draining,
sometimes
debilitating, experience women go through during menstruation, to the
extent
that they would have intercourse with menstruating women.
ISLAM taught the middle path: Menstruation is hurtful and blood
can
carry pollution. So sexual intercourse should be avoided. At the same
time,
the Jewish attitude is dead wrong. The woman must not be made to feel
that
she has become a defiled, low and subservient, unlovable being because
of
menstruation.
The Qur'an laid down the law on menstruation:
"They ask thee concerning menstruation. Say: It is a source of hurt
and
pollution. So keep away from women in their courses, and do not
approach them
until they are clean. But when they have cleansed themselves, ye may
approach
them as ordained by Allah, for Allah loves those who turn to Him
constantly
and He loves those who espouse cleanliness." (2:222)
The Jewish taboos against menstruating women were so strong that
there
was a danger that the Qur'an's words: "...so keep away from women in
their
courses" could be interpreted to mean that men should stay away from
women
altogether during menses. The Qur'an has been interpreted in detail by
the
Prophet (pbuh) so that it would not be left to the whims of charlatans
and
dictators. In the case of menstruation too, the Prophet through his own
behavior showed that men must show love, intimacy and respect for women
even
when the blood is flowing from them. THE GREATEST REVOLUTIONARY OF ALL
TIMES
showed us and taught us that biological differences do not make women
inferior. He specifically wanted to negate the JEWISH view of women and
menses, as can be read in a narration from by one of his companions:
"Anas (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that when a woman from
among
the Jews menstruated, they would not eat with her, nor drink with her,
nor
allow her to remain with them. The messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of
Allah be on him) was asked about this. Then Allah Almighty revealed the
verse
beginning'They ask thee concerning menstruation ...' The blessed
messenger of
Allah then commanded: Have your meals and drink with the menstruating
women,
and stay with them in your homes, and be normal with them in sexuality,
except for actual intercourse. The Jews said angrily: 'This person will
oppose us in everything we do ...' (Sunan of Tirmidhi, abwabu tafseer
al-Qur'an.)
An important aspect of menstruation is that the woman starts
feeling
that she has become unattractive to the husband. The usually
loving/lusting
husband suddenly becomes distant and starts behaving as if she has a
disease.
This 'distancing' has caused distress to women throughout the ages for
6 to
10 days EVERY MONTH of their menstruating life.
In earlier times, the situation for women was even more serious
because
it was very difficult to stop the blood flow from becoming very
evident. It
could not be entirely hidden or absorbed.
Hence the Prophet (pbuh) took serious steps to show in his
personal
life that intimacy and sexual contact with one's wife (without actual
intercourse) must continue during menstruation. Ayesha (the sublime
beloved
of the beloved of Allah) being young was the one most affected by
monthly
menstruation. Through expression of his love for her and other of his
wives,
the Prophet (pbuh) sent this message for all times to come that the
Qur'an's
words "keep away from women" DO NOT MEAN NO INTIMACY OR SEXUAL CONTACT
DURING
MENSTRUATION. Ayesha (radi Allah 'unha) tells us in an authenticated
Hadith:
"Whenever Allah's messenger (pbuh) wanted to be intimate with
(fondle
lovingly) anyone of us (his wives) during her menses, he told us to put
on a
lower covering (over the menstrual area) and then became intimate
(fondled
them lovingly) (yubashirha). Ayesha added: None of you can control his
sexual
desires as the Prophet, pbuh, could." Bukhari's Sahih, 1:299
The Prophet (pbuh) also took steps to show 'Ayesha (and through
her,
the whole world of Islam for all time to come) that there is no reason
to
think that a woman's menstruation violates any sanctities of religion,
or
that, as in the case of the Hindus, she is somehow spiritually "dirty"
when
she menstruates. Hence this authentic Hadith:
'Ayesha narrates: The Prophet, pbuh, used to lie in my lap and
recite
the Qur'an while I was menstruating. (Bukhari's Sahih 1: 296)
There is a vast amount of evidence that the Prophet negated all
the
taboos about menstruation. Be intimate with your wife during her menses
but
do not have actual intercourse: That's the jist of the vast Hadith
literature
on the subject. No Muslim scholar has ever brought out a meaning from
these
hadith other than the one I have stated. Hence for those who have
studied
Islamic texts, this article is not astonishing.
Most Muslims are not aware that the Jews have successfully
motivated
some half-baked writers to attack these liberating and beautiful Hadith
in
the most crass and ugly way. Look at what CRIMINALS of ISLAM (as posted
on
pakistanforum and the pervezi sites) does to the teachings of the
Prophet
(pbuh).
In CRIMINALS OF ISLAM, the readers are not told that Imam Bukhari
began
his BOOK of MENSES with the text of of Qur'an 2:222 which I have quoted
above.
Thus secular readers would think that "mulla" Bukhari was perhaps
unaware of
the Qur'an.
Then CRIMINALS OF ISLAM (as posted) does something very simple but
very
dishonest to change the meaning of the first Hadith I have quoted from
Bukhari. The criminal Dr. Shabbir (as posted) simply changed the word
for
intimacy or fondling to INTERCOURSE. Here are the words of Dr. Shabbir
(as
posted) attributing this "hadith" to Bukhari:
"If the prophet wanted to have intercourse with a menstruating wife, he
ordered her to tie a loincloth even though the menstruation would be at
its
peak. Then he had intercourse."
Here Dr. Shabbir interjects to say: "Whoever concocted this hadith adds
a
contrary statement: 'Aisha said: 'No one of you has as much control
over his
desire as the Prophet had!' (The Book of Menstruation 1:98, chapter
207)
Look at the process of dishonesty here:
1. Dr. Shabbir leaves out the Qur'anic verse with which Imam Bukhari
begins
his BOOK OF MENSTRUATION. The secular reader would think that Bukhari
(the
"mulla") did not know what the Qur'an said.
2. Then he claims that the Hadith is saying that the Prophet (pbuh)
violated
the Qur'an by having intercourse during menses. (May Allah forgive us.
Quoting kufr to refute it is not kufr.)
3. Then totally with out any evidence, discussion, analysis he claims
in a
little parenthesis that the hadith has been CONCOCTED by someone.
4. Somehow he also thinks hazrat 'Ayesha's caution that men should not
become
too intimate during menses, because they are not so strong in
self-control as
the Prophet (pbuh), is contradicting the first part of the Hadith.
5. Thus Dr. Shabbir makes a virtue of his ignorance.
6. About the recitation of the Qur'an in a menstruating woman's lap,
Dr.
Shabbir has this "I am shocked" type of comment: "Can even an ordinary
Muslim
do this?!" The exclamation mark is his.
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Try to imagine the ignorance of people who run pakistanforum that they
have
been touting this worthless book CRIMINALS OF ISLAM for a whole year as
if it
is some kind of final verdict on Imam Bukhari's Sahih.
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I wrote to the pervezi sect that they should remove Dr. Shabbir's
garbage
from their web site. They did not do so: in fact became more shameless
in
flaunting CRIMINALS 0f ISLAM. I'll give them some more rope to hang
themselves, and then inshallah, on to example 4.
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For articles my on Hadith see: www. NewTrendMag.org click on java
frames,
click on NEWS and go to Hadith.
That site also has an article on Imam Bukhari. Why do Muslims respect
him so
much?
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Also see www.newtrend.org
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2001-07-04 Wed 21:18ct