After reading the book I should give some kind of final recommendation from my side. It is marvelous reading, skillfully written bringing Islamic history close to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I appreciate the amount of time and research the author has invested in it. Only if there were not the one thing I have been writing in my previous posts and am quite unhappy with.
After having some serious concern about Lady Aisha’s age at her marriage since it is not known, all speculation is based on Hadiths only, I think that the positive aspect of information and positive image it gives about Islam weighs more and therefore I recommend it for interested readers.
But readers should always keep in mind that it is a fiction novel after all and not everything what the vivid imagination of Mr. Pasha (which I envy – to be honest) brought to life here is necessary word by word true.
I could not find any historical errors since for most of the events exist surviving documents around which the author has woven this historical novel.
I am reading this book very carefully and taking notes. It is a wonderfully written colorful peace of research and until page 110 I have not found any historical mistakes expect the one I’ll discuss today. History coming alive!
I trust it would be a great basis for a new movie about the birth of Islam like the well known masterpiece“The Message” by Mustafa Akkad . Since the author is an accomplished screen writer I am especially worried about this. Once a MOVIE is made about (any) events it becomes the truth to most of the people.
In the shoes of Mr. Kamran Pasha I would be really careful what to allow to be done in his name. In Islam we are accountable for our deeds and intentions, and one of the worst sins in Islam are inventions into the faith.
If there were not the ONE thing I oppose strongly since there is NO REAL evidence of the date of birth of Lady Aisha. Only one or two Hadiths, which were collected as late as 250-300 years after the death of the Prophet (pbuH). Until then they were mere traditions remembered orally. The Prophet himself discouraged writing down his every word because he feared they would be confused with the Quran.
Needles to tell my Muslim readers how Islam is portrayed on internet forums whenever the topic Islam comes up. The Prophet (pbuH) is routinely called “a pedophile caravan bundit”!
I have the strong suspicion that the author had to make a few changes, probably only one (since to book is powerful reading!) to his manuscript so that it would be accepted for publication. The one about Lady Aishas age. It would explain hastily made changes in the text about it and the from it resulting unmatching dateline. Muslim readers know what I am talking about, the opponents do not hesitate to use all means to tarnish the image of Islam. They are mostly powerful media owners and editors in chief in major publications.
Why do I believe so?
On page 9: Aisha is claimed to be born in 613 A.D.
On page 92: is claimed that Aisha “counted over 40 most powerful men not only of Mecca but the Bedouin tribes…” at the age of tender age of 3 years?!
On page 96: in 619 A.D Aisha is claimed to be 6 years old almost 10 yrs after the 1. Revelation” in 610 A.D. when driven out of Mecca into exile
Page 105: Her sister Asma is 16 yrs old in 621 A.D when boycott ends meaning that Aisha would be STILL 6 yrs old (after spending 3 years in exile, and not 9!). Asma was 10 yrs her elder. According to Adel Salahi the boycott lasted for 3 years “Muhammad, Man and Prophet” by M.A. Salahi, page 160 (not 2 yrs as in this book) .
For other events in this novel there are surviving documents and scriptures to rely on and they are largely accepted as accurate, historically correct. The early Muslim community had many literate people who recorded events and in one of them is said that Aisha was a young girl when converting with her elder sister to Islam (among the first 80 Muslims to do so), in 610 A.D. That would make her at least 11 years old when returning home from exile from the desert outside of Mecca even if she was a newborn baby back then. And if we believe this to be correct, since it was recorded in the lifetime of the Prophet (and not 250-300 years later!) then she was at least in her late teens when marrying the Prophet!
About two months ago I was asked to review a book of which I was quite curious about. RenownedHollywood screenwriter Kamran Pasha has written a novel about the birth of Islam titled Mother of the Believers.
Now that I had the chance actually to start reading it I finally realized what had bothered me all the time.
It is the Title of the Book!
I just finished the fist chapter but as a reader I take the opportunity to make this my opinion clear before actually reading it. Two things bother me after the author’s note. First is the title and secondly that he chooses to use the most controversial age of Lady Aisha at her marriage - six years old when engaged, married at nine.
I am afraid he is ignorant of the newer historical research. From different other accounts we can reconstruct Aisha’s age to late teens or perhaps early twenties compared to the ages of Prophet’s older daughters and other Hadith’s and surviving documents.
I cannot help but thinking that Mr. Pasha is not doing a favor for Islam especially while he knows the controversy around this subject and that it is used widely against Islam as anyone surfing the internet about critical articles about Islam must have noticed. Perhaps through controversy about this he hopes to gain exposure.. bad critic is better than no critic?
On the first pages is looks to become a promising tale, worthy of a successful Hollywood writer familiar with flowery language. And please, pardon my broken English, I myself struggle living in four languages in every single day!
The Title:
The title Mother of Believers Prophet Mohammed gave to his first wife of 25 years Khadija as she was the first person to convert to Islam and was the only supporter of the Prophet at his crisis after receiving his first revelation.
Quran 33;6 “THE PROPHET IS CLOSER TO THE BELIEVERS THAN THEIR OWN SELVES, AND HIS WIVES ARE THEIR MOTHERS.”
I believe this means that the Prophet’s wives were like mothers to the believers and after his passing away they could not be married by anyone else later.
The Age of Aisha:
Mr. Pasha, the Marriage to Lady Aisha lasted 10 years. 6 + 10 = 16 years. Aisha was the youngest of Prohpet’s wives (the daughter of his best friend and companion) while others were in their late fifties and early sixties, mostly war widows. His first wife Khadija as we know was 15 years his senior and the marriage lasted for 25 years with 6 children. From all his other wives he married later he received only one boy who died very early.
For me personally it hard to believe that the early Muslim community would have accepted her as THE Mother Figure ( “I am the Mother of the Believers and this is my tale.” Aisha at the end of the first chapter) and as far as I know Aisha’s role after the death of the Prophet was somewhat controversial because she tried to take a role others opposed.
Pardon my Planet, I had to bring this to my readers attention. From Amazon I can see that the book is selling well and receiving good feedback.
News from the small Scandinavian country Finland (yet well known for NOKIA and Mika Hakkinen). It used to be a hidden tolerant island and cultural conflicts sounded like echoes from overseas.
The Lebanese born Imam Chehab Khadr of the local Helsinki Muslim community
defended in an Aamulehti newspaper interview the notion that girls as young as nine years old could be wed into marriage with parental consent and that what is against the law some countries is permissible in others. It followed on outcry in the country with unbelievable amount of feedback, blogger comments and phone calls what made him change his position the next day.
Nobody could be fooled; words are cheap and even cheaper by the dozen. The damage is done and once again the image of Islam was badly tarnished in a place which is known to be very welcoming and tolerant. They have for centuries a small Muslim community originating from the east with no problems whatsoever with human rights or marrying little girls. Today Muslim immigrant youth is causing trouble and controversy, mostly through the growing rape rate in bigger cities (mostly by Somalis) and small time criminality like snatching ladies handbags in broad daylight. People do not walk in the streets at night time anymore!
My first reaction was that this man is mega stupid! But he is a regular guest at state banquets, and TV talk shows. This middle aged man probably close to his fifties has been living large part of his life in a Western country with an excellent human and especially women rights record. Finland was the 1stcountry in Europe to grant women voting rights and women make up almost half of the parliamentarians and they have a woman president in her second term already. I would have wished at least a little more openness of mind and some critical thinking.
From a man in his position one would expect more common sense. How can he advocate Stone Age practices marrying little girls when there are lots and lots of unmarried young women waiting to get married? A grownup man wishing to marry a six or even a nine year old girl is a man with sick fantasy, a pervert and a pedophile, there is no way around it.
This Imam went so far as saying that in Western societies youngsters at that age are involved in sexual acts but in Islam he is accepting it in a marriage. Not to mention that elsewhere hardly any 6 yr. or 9 yr. old girl is sexually active, so he was simply lying.
There is a HUGE difference here: the first one is not acceptable although it happens occasionally (mostly rape by someone close) - the latter one is sanctioned by higher authorities, and what is worse: sanctioned by God itself?!I went to find facts from Wikipedia. What I found very shocking that Lebanon which is trying to appear the most modern and advanced Middle Eastern Muslim country has the worst record of women rights! Nine year old girls are children and sexual acts with them is pedophilia, married or not. It makes me sick, this is not Islam.
From the list of some countries with marriageable ages for male/female I pick up Lebanon, the former home country of this Imam:Lebanon: 18 for males and 17 for females; scope for judicial discretion on basis of physical maturity and wali’s permission from 17 for males and 9 for females; real puberty or 15/9 with judicial permission for Shi’a; 18/17 or 16/15 with judicial permission for Druze. Nine years minimum age for little-girl-wives and this country is bragging to be a model to the Muslim Middle Easterners. HOW can a 10-year old be a mother to an infant, or perhaps this possibility is not taken into consideration in those male chauvinistic minds?
In a few days I will write, Inshallah, about the Prophept’s young wife Aisha. The Hadith’s suggest, that she was married to him at the age 6 yrs. By Hadith’s of which I am very critical about. They were collected as late 250-300 years after the death of the Prophet (p.b.u.H.). From 600 000 stories f.e. Bukhari selected 7,397 based on their truthfulness. Truthfulness? How can a lengthy recitation transmitted by word of mouth over half a dozen generations be truthful in every single word? Human mind is not a computer, it can err with the best of intentions.
Prophet Mohammad discouraged in his lifetime writing down these stories in fear they would be confused with the Quran itself. Well, yes, it looks like it happened after all.There are several surviving written document from the lifetime of the Prophet from which we can reconstruct the events and we find that Aisha was in her late teens, probably early twenties when marrying as it happened in Medina after he Hijjra (emigration). Especially the shia-Muslims (most Iranians, half of the Iraqis, Persian Golf Emirates, part of Saudi Arabia, and Southern Lebanon) still hold on to this practice and what disturbs me most is that the media and especially the internet is full of hate speech regarding this matter and Islam is regularly called a “Pedophile Religion”. Opponents are using a very powerful image, and it is working.
I am trying my very best to shake up and wake up the Muslims themselves into critical thinking ( it is our duty trying to change things we think are wrong) and at the same time trying to build bridges.
