Question About Surah 66:1-2 and Maariyah

[Reader Questions]

Salamun alaikum, big Brother.

Could I get help to understand Sura 66, verse 1-2?

I found information that says the verses related to the warning of God to prophet Muhammad, when he forbids for himself his slave named Maariyah. He did it to please his wives.

Particular concern for me, this kind of story is also used by some parties to defame Islam and dishonor prophet Muhammad.

I do hope for any view and insight on this issue.

Regards, and thank you very much.

[Joseph Islam]

Dear Sister,
 
Peace to you.
 
The explanation you have intimated is based on narratives which are not from the Quran and as such have no Quranic warrant.
 
Please let me know if I can help further, God willing.
 
Regards,
Joseph.

[Reader Questions]

Peace, Brother Joseph.

Thank you very much for the feedback.

I realized that the story came from the source outside the Qur'an. But, why the story seem to somewhat 'fit' with the verse (66:1-2).  It makes me confused.

Whether the story is a hoax and part of Satan's effort to mislead people?

Did the Prophet have never married a slave named Mariyaah?

Is the figure named Mariyaah also a falsehood?

Many stories about prophet Muhammad/his family/his companions in the hadiths are hard to believe. But is it all falsehood?

The historical information about Islam make me confused, because it is difficult to find which information are true and which are false.

For example, the civil wars (between Aisha bint Abu Bakr and Ali ibn Abi Talib) after the Prophet pass away, it makes me sad. 

How could they fight each other. It's unbelievable. I wish the civil wars was all a historical lie.

I hope someday I can find the truth.

Regards,

[Joseph Islam]

Dear Sister,

Peace to you.

Stories can potentially be made to fit any scenario post an event.

It is more pertinent in my humble view to question how representative these ‘stories’ are of what really happened. To provide context, these historical reports are not contemporaneous to the events they attempt to narrate, but are often centuries removed.

Stories often suffer from ‘accretion’ in the hands of story tellers and scholarship in this area has long recognised that much spurious reports had often snowballed for a number of reasons including, political, theological and others.

This is not to say however that some reports didn’t have a central core of truth, but as one knows with any narrative of an event, two people at one incident can see the matter very differently from their perspectives.

However, it is my humble view that the Quranic advice is succinct in this area which makes mute the need for a scrutiny of such historical reports from a Quranic perspective.


034.025
"Say: You WILL NOT be asked of OUR crimes, nor shall we be asked of what YOU do."

One ponders, if this was the statement given to the contemporaries of the Prophet, how pertinent would this advice be for successive generations?

The general sentiment indicating a deterrence against assessing the actions of a people of the past is powerfully narrated in yet another Quranic verse.

002.134
"Those are a people who have passed away. Theirs is that which THEY earned, and yours is that which YOU earn. And you WILL NOT be asked of what they used to do"

I hope that helps, God willing.

Joseph.