Islamic Law

The Story of Khubaib (ra) – Proof Muslims are NOT allowed to Kill Women and Children

With all the horrible scenes we see today of Secular Arab Tyrants and Islamic Extremists throughout the Middle East killing innocent people in the thousands, it isn’t surprising that Non-Muslims in the west would believe that the people’s religion might have a role in these atrocities. Especially when you see how many Terrorist organizations in the region are taking advantage of ignorance people and using their faith to further their cause and to garner support for their unquenchable thirst for power.

Yet in this ever changing world, with so many cultures and religions interconnecting and mingling on a day to day bases, it isn’t acceptable that we still find people today that are so quick to form an opinion or reach a conclusion about another faith without having done the proper research. Especially in this day in age where we have quick access to so much knowledge and have a sea of credible information at our fingertips.

So with that said I would like today to cover the ever popular topic of Muslims being permitted to kill women and children. This sadly has become a very common talking point with many Right Wingers and Islamaphobes alike who – for the most part – have essentially reached their conclusions based upon the recent actions of a handful of Muslims, and not the Islamic Texts or the Historic application thereof. Now even though you might get some Senator or Pastor that could quote you a Quranic verse here and there which talkis about “Fighting the Infidels,” rarely will you ever find them presenting a historic example where the Muslims applied their particular interpretation of those verses. That is simply because – for the most part – they do not exist.

Take for instance the oft-parroted phrase that Muslims believe you “Either Gotta Covert to Islam or be Killed!” (usually said with the Southern accent.) Now to the ignorant scared Christian American these people might seem like they know what they are talking about, but for the well informed Muslim, we know very well that these people don’t have any clue what they’re talking about. And just because someone can site a Quranic verse or Hadeeth here and there that doesn’t make them an Islamic Expert, nor makes them qualified to come and make accusations against a faith of 1.7 Billion people. There are 5 year old Muslim children today mind you that can recitethe whole Quran front and back in Arabic. Are we now going to allow them to host conferences about Islam and speak to thousands of police officers and military personnel about the threat of Terrorism?

So now that I have made my point the ridiculousness of the whole Western Islamaphobia fiasco, let me get to the crux of this article. I wanted to present to you a very nice story which happened during the time of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). A story which will help shed light or help refute a very common claim made by Islamaphobes and Extremists Zionists that falsely claim that Muslims are allowed to kill women and children in Islam.

To refute this I wish to share with you the story of the Famous companion Khubaib (ra).

Our story begins in the second year after the prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) migration (which is about 624 CE). At that time a delegation had come to Medina and requested from the prophet (pbuh) to send with them a number of knowledgeable Muslims to teach them about Islam. The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) gladly obliged, and sent with the delegation 70 of the Most knowledgeable Muslims in Medina. Little did they know though, but the delegation were intending on killing every single one of the sent with them. And so when the Muslims reached an area called “The well of Rajee’,” these criminals decided to carry out their horrible plan. Everyone of the 70 Muslims were killed except for two individuals. One was known as Zaid and there other was the hero of our story Khubaib.

The two prisoners were then taken back to Meccah where they were sold to families o that wished to extract revenge against the Muslims. Khubaib was sold to the Al-Harith tribe, whose leader was killed by Khubaib during the battle of Badr. After purchasing Khubaib, he was then taken and held in one of the houses of the Al-Harith tribe to was as the men make preparations for his execution. Having realized that his death was close at hand, Khubaib asked his captors if they would lend him a razor and allow him to clean himself up before he was to die. One of the daughters of Al-Harith then brought him her razor and left him alone so Khubaib could prepare himself.

After some time had passed the women who had brought Khubaib the razor suddenly noticed her child was missing and began to frantically search him. Then, remembering that the prisoner in the other room had a razor she panicked and went racing up to see if her son was there. As she raced into the room she was stopped in her tracks as she looked in horror at her child that was now sitting happily on the lap of Khubaib while he proceeded to shave. Apparently the child had managed to crawl up the stairs all by himself and entered the room where the prisoner was being held.

As she stood there frozen in terror, Khubaib looked and noticed the woman standing some a distance away. It didn’t take him long to see that the woman was completely distraught and in a panic. And so after realizing what she was thinking, Khubaib quickly reassured her saying:

“Are you afraid that I would actually kill him? By God I would never do such a thing.”

He then let the child return back to his now relieved and grateful mother. Khubaib was to be crucified a short time later, but even after his death that women always spoke highly of him to others saying how he was the most upright prisoner she had every met.

This my friends is the founders of Islam. These were the type of righteous men who stood side by side with the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and through the sheer magnificence of their character lead thousands of people to Islam. They were not petty thieves or people who murdered innocent people out of revenge. They were servants of God and men at service to the people. They fought wars only when it was necessary, and always extended an arm of mercy and peace to those who were willing reciprocate.

Now take that example and compare it to the character of Terrorists we know of today. Imagine if one of those characters you saw on News were in the same situation of Khubaib and ask yourselves, “would they do the same thing?” If not, then you know that those men and the Muslims who lived during the time of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) are not one and the same. They are following something completely different than what was being taught to those Muslims at the time of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

It’s time we stop blaming Islam and Muslims for the crimes of a handful of individuals who just so happen to be of the same faith. Every religion, race and people have their criminals and nutcases. Muslims are no different. But know, our History and the forefathers of our religion are the people Muslims exemplify, not these criminals today that have hijacked our faith and stained our reputation.

The source of the story can be found on Page 1128: Volume 2 of “The Noble life of the Prophet” (peace be upon him) by Dr. ‘Ali Muhammad As-Sallaabee.
You can download the book free from here: The Noble Life of the Prophet
Or you can purchase the 3 volume set here: Amazon Link

Statistical Tables of all the Battles during the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) lifetime

Over the past 3 weeks I’ve spent a significant amount of time researching through the Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and putting together a number of tables which record the statistics of each battle that took place during his lifetime. This was due to a number of articles written by Islamaphobes which depicted the Battles of the Muslims at that time as if they were monstrous massacres numbering in the hundreds of thousands. This insinuation for anyone that knows Islamic History and the population statistics of that time would find these grossly exaggerated claims quite amusing.

It should be known that the tribes in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century were not very large, and usually consisted of only a few hundred people. At the time the Quraish, which were considered one of the largest tribes in Arabia, could only muster around 3000 from their own tribe to fight during the Battle of Uhud. So if you were to take that number of 3000 and factor in the Women, Children and Elderly (which collectively is about 3x the number of Males) then one could estimate that the whole population of Meccah didn’t exceed 10,000 people.

So with that in mind let me present to you the results of my findings. First off I suggest you quickly glance over this key I made that will help you understand the tables I made better.

You will more in likely need to glance back and forth to this key to get an idea of the estimated results. I hope that these charts will help shed light in just how low the casualty numbers really were during the Battles of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). So without further or do let us take a glance of the Tables I’ve put together. Keep in mind that these tables start from Year 1 After Hijrah and span all the way until the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) passes away in year 11.

(Note: To enlarge photos just click on the Table you wish to see better, you can then click go back to return to the article.)

Year 1 AH

Year 2 AH

Year 3 AH

Year 4 AH

Year 5 AH

Year 6 AH

Year 7 AH

Year 8 AH

Year 9 AH

Year 10 AH

Year 11 AH

To conclude as you see the numbers are nowhere as high as many Islamaphobes make them out to be. Even though the Battles during the prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) lifetime were very significant and important, they were for the most part had very small casualty figures. This is due to the fact that war in the 7th century mainly consisted of weapons that when used injured but not kill. Usually when men got struck in the arm or side with a spear they would stop fighting and retreat so that they could fight another day.

Also, even in very large scale battles, usually the numbers of dead from any army wouldn’t exceed 10% before the men would give up and retreat. Rarely in the Arabian Peninsula wars, and never during the prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) time, was there an all out massacre in Battle.

So I hope this shed light on the reality of this issue and will help refute the Islamaphobes false claims that Muslims massacred Tens of thousands of people. This just simply wasn’t the case.

Islam Doesn’t allow Rape: Proof is found in the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) letter to Christians

prophetmuhammad In 628 CE it is said that as the Muslim Empire began to expand northwards towards the edge of the Roman Empire, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had written a Charter to reassure the Monks at St. Catherine Monastery that they had nothing to fear from the Muslims. In the Charter the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) guaranteed for the Christians their security and rights to worship and live freely.

This letter remained in the possession of the Christians at St. Catherine Monastery for almost a 1000 years until it was later taken by the Turkish Sultan Selim I in 1517. It would remain in Turkey until this day, where it can be seen displayed in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.

Whether you believe this letter to be authentic or not, there’s no doubt that the Muslims in 1517 held this document in high regards, and didn’t show any reservations towards the rights laid out therein. And even up until today, we haven’t heard from a single credible Islamic Scholar who says that this letter holds anything that would be considered against the teachings of Islam.

Now with the recent rise of such Terrorist Organizations like ISIS and Boko Haram who are said to have kidnapped innocent women and took them as “Sex Slaves,” it is imperative for us Muslims to defend our faith and prove that their vile actions are not sanctioned by Islam.

Now even though Islam has permitted non-permanent slavery as a substitute to prison sentences, nowhere in the Islamic Texts does it say that men are able to rape women. Be it they their wives, their prisoners of war or anything else. I could present many examples to prove my argument, but to keep things short and concise, I believe this letter in and of itself will be more than enough to prove my point. If you wish for a more detailed explanation of why Rape is not permitted in Islam please visit the website found HERE.

So now without further or do let us look at the Translation of this letter, which is said to have been sent by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to the Christians at St. Catherine Monastery, and see exactly what it says:

“This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.
No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet.
Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them.
If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval.
She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.
Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”

[English translation from ‘Muslim History: 570 – 1950 C.E.’ by Dr. A. Zahoor and Dr. Z. Haq, ZMD Corporation. P.O. Box 8231 – Gaithersburg, MD 20898-8231 – Copyright Akram Zahoor 2000. P. 167]

Now if you look at the place which I highlighted in bold which says “If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval,” at first glance you may not realize that this is prohibiting rape but actually it is. Let me explain.

What that portion of the Charter means is that if a women is engaged to get married, or even have already been married, then the marriage itself cannot be consummated without her consent (i.e. sexual intercourse). So if a Muslim is not permitted to hasten or force his own wife to consummate their marriage (which both are consenting parties), then how could one argue that Muslims would be permitted to force themselves upon their captives?

Let us not forget that Islamic Laws and Rulings are derived in almost the same way Secular Laws and Rulings are today. So just like how Western Law is practiced, when there is a precedent set which specifies the illegality of something then it is generally assumed that anything greater or worse than that is also considered illegal.

Take for instance the the No Smoking Signs you read at the doors of Malls and Stores you visit. To place that sign up there had to be a law passed which prohibited people from smoking indoors. Now even though the sign itself shows a cigarette, it is assumed that anything similar or worse to a cigarette is also illegal. So you cannot go into a mall carrying around a Hooka Pipe claiming that the sign only says cigarettes.

This logic also applies with Islamic Law. The general ruling is that you are not allowed to harm or treat bad anyone under your care. And there are specific Hadeeth which prove this point. For instance, the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

“Whoever of you ever slaps or hits his slave, then the only recompense (for forgiveness) is to set that slave free.” (Narrated by Muslim on the authority of Ibn Umar).

And there are a number of Hadeeth where when Muslims lost their temper and hit their slave they immediately set them free or were told by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to set them free.

So if this was the case for simply striking and hitting a slave, then how on earth could someone come and try to argue that Islam permits “Sex Slaves” and the raping of women?

Forgiveness vs. Retaliation in Islam

Islam is a religion that takes into account the nature of humankind; after all, the One who created us knows us best. We were not created perfect, we make mistakes, we forget, we sin, we fall prey to our emotions and hormones, and our sense of justice may not be as finely tuned as we might desire or think. Thus the doctrines of Islam, the two main sources of jurisprudence, the Quran and the Sunnah (sometimes called the authentic traditions of Prophet Muhammad), set out for us the guidelines under which the law is applied. Unlike modern secular societies there is no separation between religion and state. For the Islamic society to function, the laws of God must be applied.

Islam repeats the Torah or Old Testament’s eye for an eye principle and uses both capital and corporal punishment for many crimes. However what is often overlooked is that the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad call for forgiveness instead of retaliation. Islam and its legal principles support forgiveness and peaceful arrangements between all parties. The second of three categories of crime in Islamic law is Qisas. Islamically qisas means the law of retaliation, however it is derived from the root qess meaning to track down the effect or trace of something, it may also be defined as tracking the footsteps of an enemy.

“…punish with an equivalent of that with which you were harmed. But if you are patient – it is better for those who are patient.” (Quran 16:126)

“And We ordained for them therein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution. But if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity, it shall be for him an expiation. And whosoever does not judge by that which God has revealed, such are the wrongdoers.” (Quran 5:45)

Qisas is specifically for murder or serious assault. Whenever a person causes physical harm or death to another, the injured or a representative of the deceased has the right to retaliation. In crimes covered under the laws of Qisas the victim or his representative have three options, to insist upon the punishment, accept monetary recompense, or forgive the offender. Forgiveness is even able to avert the death penalty.[1] Quran urges forgiveness and mercy even in the direst of circumstances.

“And there is (a saving of) life for you in Al-Qisas, O men of understanding, that you may become pious.” (Quran 2:179)

As mentioned above the law of retaliation or qisas refers to a particular set of crimes that may be lawfully punished in the same way and to the same degree. In the case of serious assault for example, the victim has the right to choose an eye for an eye, an ear for an ear or a leg for a leg. Qisas also allows for the victim or his representative to choose a different outcome. He may accept compensation also known as blood money or in Arabic, diya. Payment of the diya is calculated on a scale proportionate to the degree of incapacity or injury caused. On the other hand the victim or his representative may also choose to forgive, and despite the legality of all three choices, Quran makes it clear that the better option is to choose to forgive. In Islam reconciliation is always preferable to retaliation.

“…but whosoever forgives and makes amends, his reward is upon God.” (Quran 42: 40)

A renowned psychologist once said that without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation. No matter which of the three outcomes the victim chooses the aim is to put an end to the cycle of retribution and retaliation, and not let the repercussions of the crime persist and damage the Islamic community. In other words, qisas limits the consequences. The victim’s need for justice is satisfied while preventing unnecessary harm to the perpetrator.

The combination of diya and forgiveness produces a powerful material and spiritual inducement to forgo retribution. When the victim has the right to choose, in many cases he chooses to forgive because God’s reward is more desirable then any earthly benefit, or the fleeting pleasure of seeing earthly punishment inflicted.

Prophet Muhammad consistently chose forgiveness over retaliation. His behaviour is the best example of forgiveness and compassion. The crimes against him were often vile and demeaning yet he took God’s words literally and chose kindness over anger. He had the power and means to retaliate yet the harsher the crime against him the more lenient he became.

“Keep to forgiveness (O Muhammad), and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant.” (Quran 7:199)

In this article we have examined the law of qisas and discovered that forgiveness is the best course of action. Nevertheless God knows the human need for justice in this world and thus He has provided us with a method of retaliation that is fair and just. However, throughout the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad we are told that forgiveness is better and in the next article we will discover why. Do you not wish to be forgiven by God?

“Let them forgive and overlook: do you not wish that God should forgive you? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran 24:22)

“But if someone is steadfast and forgives, that is the most resolute course to follow.” (Quran 42:43)

[Taken from: IslamReligion.com]