Of late, I’ve been reading a lot of Islamic works written by Muslim academics —bits and pieces to finalize an upcoming research paper and work on an upcoming lecture. What strikes me as off in all of these works is a confusing lack of Adab. Adab generally means good manners or a way of approaching things, particularly within the religion. The lack of Adab is confusing to me, or perhaps surprising because as a Muslim reading an Islamic work by another Muslim there is an expectation of a certain amount of Adab —a reverence towards the tradition, the prophet/s, and to God. It shook many of us when a particular (academic) Islamic scholar called prophet Ibrahim a ‘dead beat dad’. And this is not because the fact that he “deserted” his wife and child is disputed, that is clear, but because this is not how we view prophets nor their obedience to divine commands.
When a “critical thinking” becomes bad adab
Ibrahim, peace to him, left his wife and child in the desert but the reason and intention behind doing so make all the difference in how we view this story —and even in how Hajar saw her predicament, which was a test of faith and a means for her to draw near to God (among many other blessings resulting from that incident). But this unflattering characterization of a prophet does not seem to be an anomaly amongst Muslim academics. Ayesha Siddiqua Chaudhry’s book, Wife-Beating in the Pre-Modern Islamic Tradition, states that “Given that Muḥammad sent her back to al-Walīd twice, where she was assuredly to be beaten… it can be speculated that she was forced to return to her husband without meaningful protection.” (p.71) The incident she refers to is an incident of a wife complaining to the prophet that her husband beats her and the prophet, peace to him, turning to God and praying, O Allāh, you deal with al-Walīd, for he has sinned against me twice.
Having a good opinion of the Messenger of God, peace to him
Chaudhry’s commentary on this Hadith purports that the prophet, peace to him, purposefully sent a woman back to an abusive husband. The problem with this, outside of Hadiths to the contrary where the prophet separated women from abusive husbands (which Chaudhry does also discuss) is that part of being a believer is to love the prophet, peace to him. To assert that the prophet would purposefully put a woman —specifically a believing woman, in harm’s way is the antithesis of our positioning as believers. We are to love the prophet more than we love ourselves. A part of that outpouring of love is to have a good opinion of him and his intentions.
In Kecia Ali’s book, Sexual Ethics and Islam, she comments on a Hadith which says, He who sees a woman, and his heart is affected should come to his wife and have intercourse with her (p.76). In her commentary on the Hadith, Ali says, “(it) assumes the wife’s availability and her acquiescence, not to mention her interchangeability: desire sparked by one woman could easily be satisfied with another.” (p.76-77) This interpretation is not only false, based on many other narrations and aspects of the prophet’s life, but also lacking in the reverence we should have towards the beloved, peace to him. If one is to say the prophet, peace to him, thought of women as ‘interchangeable objects of male sexual desire,’ what is one then to assume about his character?
Striking a balance
Both of these books, Chaudhry’s and Ali’s, are valuable in their own right as they offer an extensive survey of Islamic thought on the subjects of their respective works. But why do they feel so comfortable defaming the character of the prophet, even slightly? Does the academic mask of ‘objectivity’ disallow Adab, good opinion, and love? Are there not enough non-Muslims to apply their “critical thinking” upon our prophet that we too must involve ourselves in this unholy task? The problem I find in the works and disposition of Muslim academics is a lack of Adab born out of a lack of humility which is a crucial aspect of traditional Islamic studies. Questions concerning what the prophet/s did or said aren’t the issue, questions should be asked. The problem is the lack of humility to pose them to a scholar with an isnad back to the beloved instead of throwing unfounded ideas out into the world. We need scholarly academic works rigorously produced for the modern Muslim ummah and in conversation with the non-Muslim world. But in doing so we should remember that we are Muslims first and our major pursuit should always be our alignment with Islamic values. Without Adab, our works may do us more harm than good, in this life and the next.
And Allahualim.
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Sexual Ethics an Islam https://books.google.com/books?id=my4XCwAAQBAJ&lpg=PR7&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
Wife-Beating in the Pre-Modern Islamic Tradition: An Inter-Disciplinary Study of Ḥadīth, Qurʼanic Exegesis and Islamic Jurisprudence, PDF: Wife-Beating in the Pre-Modern Islamic Tradition … – Ayesha Siddiqua Chaudhry (PhD, New York, 2009)
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Consider picking up a copy of my book, 40 Hadith of ‘Aisha, An English collection of 40 Hadith narrated by the beloved wife, scholar, and sage ‘Aisha bint Abu Bakr, available here. Also, consider signing up for our monthly newsletter here: bythefigandtheolive.com/newsletter. For speaking engagements visit Nuriddeenknight.com
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