Dr.Mazhar Naqvi
The misuse of social-media by fanatics to level baseless
accusations against the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad needs to be curbed
immediately. In the absence of any legal mechanism to stop- or punish such
hate-mongers, barrage of insults and false allegations are leveled every day to
hurt the sentiments of Muslims. Under the tag of freedom of speech, Fanatics use
even vulgar language against the Prophet to promote their own personal and
political interests. The most frequent
and common accusation leveled against the Prophet is the claim that he was a pedophile(MA), for he
consummated his marriage to Hazrat Aisha when she was 9-years old. As the
allegation is unsubstantiated and fanatics have been deliberately ignoring the refutations
based on Quranic verses and authentic
traditions, the blogger has decided to frustrate attempts being made to defame a
man who was apostle of peace and have been described as the best in morals and
character even by his greatest enemies.
The blogger admits his mistake of having posted a refutation
earlier. It should have been avoided, for any attempt to refute with relevant evidences
give such fabricated accusations a sort of legitimacy. Rather, they should be
ignored and efforts should be made to expose the hypocritical actions of
individuals who have conveniently appeared in the last century to tarnish the
image of the holy Prophet and whose present admirers are following the suit,
especially in India.
It should be clarified to such fanatics that Islam does not
support pedophilia or child abuse in any shape or form. The Quran clearly states
that marriage can only take place between individuals who have matured in their
biological and psychological development (puberty). It also needs to be
clarified that there is just one tradition that is used to prove that the
Prophet married Hazrat Aisha when she was 6 years old and their marriage consummated
when she reached puberty at the age of 9.But the material that suggest she was older are ignored even though
they are derived from very tenuous
assumptions based on events that occurred during her life. Many scholars’ have
successfully refuted the allegation of pedophilia against the Prophet. However,
their efforts have led to a volley of further onslaught of similar claims
against him without any substantiation. It indicates that they are going ahead
with an agenda to defame the Prophet despite knowing very well that their
claims are false.
It is worth mentioning here that accusations against the Prophet
were leveled during the last century. No false allegations were leveled against
the Prophet before 1905. David Margoliouth, a British historian associated with
the Zionist movement leveled baseless allegations against the prophet for the
first time in the history. He did so because 100 years ago in many countries
around the world, including India and USA, the general age of consent for
marriage was 10 years and in one state it was even 7 years. It is evident from
this fact that the very nations and individuals who accuse the Prophet of
despicable crimes (MA) 1400 years ago, allowed the same practices within their dominions
till the turn of the century. In India, child marriages still take place and
even ministers participate in them. Further, anti-Islam forces look at the actions
of the Prophet against the norms and customs of the present era. They ignore the
practices that occurred 1400 years ago. Anthropologists assert that a society
and people must be judged by the rules and cultural norms that existed in their
era. If marriage to a 9 year old was a normative practice throughout various civilizations
over 14 centuries ago, the practice should be viewed against the current
legislation in the UK, stating that people cannot be married until they reach
the age of 16.Likewise, the current minimum legal age for marriage in a state
of USA is 13.Similarly,the Western kept mum when non-Muslims married girls
between the ages of 7 and 10.The hypocrisy of individuals who accuse the
Prophet of pedophilia is also established from the fact that they conveniently
choose to ignore cases where central figures of other religions married children
under the age of 12.it is rarely mentioned that Guru Gobind Singh married a
12-year-old girl but nobody questioned whether she had reached puberty before
she consummated her marriage with the Holy Guru. Similarly, this fact is also
not highlighted that Mary married Joseph when she was around 12 or 14 years and
Joseph was 90.
Moreover, Judaic traditions reveal that 3-year-old prepubescent
girls were forced to have sex with men under the guise of Mosaic Law. Furthermore,
Jewish law states that the age of consent for girls to marry is 12,irrespective
of whether they have reached puberty or not. Such facts clearly expose the
double standard being adopted by those involved in the slander of the Holy
Prophet. These individuals do so as they dislike Islam and its Prophet and also
to achieve their political objectives. (References available on request)
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