Egypt The House Of Slavery - Debate On Slavery - Intro - 7

Assalamualikum

May the peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon you.

"Then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” – Deuteronomy 6:12

Egypt had a long and well known history of slavery. Both the Old Testament (Torah) and the Glorious Quran gives solid evidences on presence of Slavery in the African country.

Torah On The Presence of Slavery in Egypt 

It is a well known history that the Israelites were being kept as slaves in Egypt. It was prophet Moses who rescued them from the persecutions in Egypt. It was Moses who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt the house of slavery.

"Then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” – Deuteronomy 6:12

Here, the Israelites were being reminded of the blessings of Almighty God that He took them out of persecution i.e. out of Egypt.

Quran - On The Presence of Slavery In Egypt

The ten sons of prophet Jacob who were in Egypt, plotted to kill their own blood brother prophet Joseph who was a child. Eventually they decided to abandon him and they threw him inside a well.

Later on, there came a caravan of travellers.

"And there came a caravan of travellers and they sent their water-drawer, and he let down his bucket (into the well)." - Quran 12:19.

One of the traveller found a boy in the well.

"He said: "What good news! Here is a boy.'' - Quran 12:19.

They made him a commodity to be sold in the market.

"So they hid him as merchandise (a slave)." - Quran 12:19.

And they sold him in the slave market.

"And they sold him for a few Dirhams." - Quran 12:20.

Both the above testimonies show the presence of the centuries old practices of slavery in the Egyptian soil. Other historical sources also clearly confirm this point.

"There were four classes of property. The first was that of immovables, to which belonged land; the second, movables which were inanimate, such as tools, clothing, money, etc. ; the third, movables which were animate, such as animals and slaves." - THE LAW OF EGYPT - Page 63, Historical Jurisprudence by Guy Carleton Lee.  

In Egypt, the slaves were counted along with the domestic animals such as cow, sheep, dog etc.

The World Before Mohammad The Messenger Of God

A glimpse on the conditions of this world before the arrival of Mohammad The Messenger of God would help to understand how he put forward his message that was claimed to be the revelations from Almighty God. Learning the conditions of the world before his arrival  would help to understand how he cured The Cancer that this planet was affected with.

The Roman Empire and its alliance were fully immersed in slavery. They built amphitheatres for Gladiators The Bloody-Sport.  Now comes the Egypt. 

In his account on the eastern countries like Egypt, Briffault explains the secrets of the east.

"A somewhat unpleasant admission has to be made. That inevitable sequence of events,  that absolutism of the great empires of the morning- land's, that wholesale subjugation of human herds, that unresisted tyranny which was founded in the very heart of the slave," - SECRET OF THE EAST, Page 108, Making of Humanity by Robert Briffault.

'Wholesale subjugation of human herds' - These are the precise words used by Briffault to explain the plight of the cattle-grade population who were called slaves. The absolutism of the empires was imposed on the slave population. Those helpless slave population had to bare all such autocratic rulers with unresisted tyranny.

It went well beyond those tyrannies. They had to mentally prostrate before the 'divine power' to keep their lives alive.

"in mental prostration before divine power, that fearful, willing, loyal abjection, that kismet of the river-lands, that terrible secret of the East -" - Ibid.

- For the slave population, their masters were their 'God'.

The Foundation Of Egypt

"The glory and the majesty of ancient Greece and Rome, as of ancient Egypt, had for their foundation a system of widespread slavery." - Jawaharlal Nehru, Page 83, Glimpses of World History.

Going through the pages of history, It can be very clearly seen that the world was immersed in the practices of slavery. No country of this world was completely free from using humans as slaves. The terrible secret of Egypt was the foundation of widespread slavery.

"That terrible secret of the East - was the foundation, the indispensable foundation of civilization. Without it Greece, Europe would have been impossible. I call it an "unpleasant admission " because it would be fine to be able to say that human civilization is the child of freedom, that it is incompatible with tyranny and slavery." - Page 109, Making of Humanity by Robert Briffault.

Civilization is one of the indispensable part of human growth throughout the history. Egypt was not different from the rest of the world. It had a great civilization. But those civilization was marred by the practices of slavery. 

Civilization Built Using Kurbash

Kurbash is a tool for punishment. It is flexible and is about a yard in length. Egypt was known for the use of Kurbash. They used the Kurbash to discipline animals and slaves.

"As a matter of fact men never bethought themselves of building decent homes for themselves until they had seen gorgeous palaces and temples built with the tears and blood of thousands;" - Ibid, Page 109.

- Slaves were the 'manufacturing machines' for building enormous palaces.

"They never bethought themselves of living in reasonable comfort until they had witnessed the opulence and luxurious orgies of satraps and kings; they never bethought themselves of controlling the forces of nature till herds of human chattels under the kurbash of their slave-drivers had dug canals and artificial lakes, embanked rivers, and quarried mountains ;" - Ibid, Page 109.

- They built marvels under the kurbash of slave-drivers.

The 'Fruits' Of Slavery

"Commanding inexhaustible supplies of forced labour ready at hand to carry out their will, the priests of Sumer and Babylon and Egypt devised, contemplated, thought, discovered; they brought forth architectural and pictorial arts, crafts, industries, taught men to chisel stone, hammer and inlay metals, glaze pottery and tiles, blow glass, ..." - Ibid, Page 109.

Slaves became the symbol of forced labour. Never ending supply of slaves were one of the treasures of this world using which countries like Egypt built their country. Under the glory and the majesty of territorial emperors, there were the Sweat, the Blood and the Spoils
of the poor slaves.

Emperors Who Were 'god'

Egypt was known for god rulers. Emperors who dictated the country were almost treated as the god of the Egyptian people. These god rulers dictates their will and imposed it on the people, be it good or bad.

"In Egypt there was no republic, but a monarchy, and the ruler was not only supreme, but was considered almost a god."- Jawaharlal Nehru, Page 89, Glimpses of World History.

Above is only a tiny and extremely limited account on the conditions of this world, especially Egypt, before the arrival of Mohammad The Messenger of God.

Mohammad The Messenger of God

Eradication of Slavery by Integration. This is one of the precise wordings on what and how   he could achieve in the marvellous episode of treating one of the cancerous disease named Slavery.

Mohammad The Messenger of God didn't have the crown of any of the emperor. He didn't have the authority of any monastery. But he did have a profound message for the whole universe. 

Following were the three worst conditions of this world during arrival of Mohammad The Messenger of God.

• The world emperors of that time considered themselves as god.  
• The rich upper class people of that time considered themselves as masters of their slaves.
• The poor cattle-grade slave people had no option except being a cattle-grade slave of a rude master.

All such Emperors, all such Masters, all such Slaves, Mohammad The Messenger of God literally called them by one of the verses of Glorious Quran.

"There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Gracious as a slave." - Quran 19:93.

The above Quranic verse called the whole humanity to a common message, to a common platform. Never in the history, have we seen such a great message that called these three parties onto a common platform of unity.

• For an Emperor, the above Quranic verse reminded him - You are not god. There is only one God and that you are only a slave of Almighty God, The God of Universe.

• For  a Master, the above Quranic verse reminded him - You are not a master. There is only One Master and that you are only a slave of that Master, The Master of Universe.

• For a Slave, the above Quranic verse reminded him - You are not a Slave of a puny human; rather you are a slave of Almighty God, The Most Gracious to His slaves.

As a result - 

• Negus, The King of Ethiopia accepted the message.
• Slave masters in the Arabian continent started accepting the message.
• Downtrodden slave people in the Arabian continent started accepting the message.

And, the rest of the world started accepting this message of submission to The Master of The Universe.

The Message of Equilibrium

Historically speaking. This world had seen many thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle etc etc. No such great people could ever put forward such as great message of unity for this world, above what Mohammad The Messenger of God could put forward.

This message of Being the Slaves of Almighty God brought The Emperors, The Masters and The Slaves, shoulder to shoulder, in The Complete Submission to The Commands of Almighty God.

...

The Message of God's Slave & God's Messenger

Mohammad The Messenger of God said - "So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Messenger." - Imam Bukhari.

And it takes the whole 23 years of life of Mohammad The Messenger of God, the life of  his friends, his wives, his righteous companions, to understand how one can be a True Slave of Almighty God, instead of being a slave of a puny human.

Regards
Nisam

<< Gladiators - The Bloody Sport of The Roman Empire

Greece Of Aristotle >>

MAIL - 19 - Part - 25

I Wrote - 

Dear Friend 

"I am a woman whose best time hath gone, she said, and I am the mother of orphans. What is more, I have a nature of exceeding jealousy" - Muhammad, Life Based on Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.

This was the reply of the widow named Umm Salama when she was offered the hand of prophet Mohammad, in marriage.

He (prophet) answered: "As to age, I am older than thou; as to thy jealousy, I will pray God to take it from thee; as to thine orphan children, God and His Messenger will care for them." - Ibid.

Prophet Mohammad Offered His Hand In Marriage

There was an ideologically bound reason on why prophet Mohammad offered his hand in marriage to the lady named Umm Salama. 

"Abu Salamah's Islam became known; and this dismay was doubled when Hind or Umm Salamah, as she is always called - instead of leaving her husband became like him one of the most devoted followers of the Prophet."  - Muhammad, Life Based on Earliest Sources by Martin Lings. 

Here we see a couple who were among the staunch followers of prophet Mohammad. Their new faith was succeeded by persecutions from their own family, as it was, always.

"But Abu Salamah and Umm Salamah could hope for nothing but persecution from their own clan." - Ibid.

The fate of any such new believer was always on the edge of sword; at any time they will be attempted for their life, just because they proclaimed The True Oneness of Almighty God. And this highly imminent fate led her first husband to make a wow with her that - "He told her that if he died first she should marry again" - Ibid.

He didn't stop there, he supplicated to Almighty God that - "He prayed: 'God grant Umm Salamah after me a man who is better than me, one who will cause her no sadness and no hurt.'"- Ibid.

As he expected, the fate came - "The next month his cousin Abu Salamah died of a wound from (the battle of) Uhud which had closed too soon and broken out afresh." - Ibid.

As the leader of The Faithful,  prophet Mohammad was with them.

"The Prophet was with him at the end and prayed for him as he was breathing his last; and it was the Prophet who closed his eyes when he was dead."- Ibid.

- Her husband died for he stood firmly in proclaiming The Oneness of Almighty God. 

"Once again Umm Salama was alone, only now she had not one child, but several. There was no one to look after her and them." - Ibn Kathir.

- The lady became alone for she stood firmly in proclaiming The Oneness of Almighty God. 

"Abu Bakr proposed marriage to her, but she refused. Then Umar asked her to marry him, but again she refused." - Ibn Kathir.

- Prominent personalities of the city of Madina offered her their hand in marriage but she refused.

This was the historical context that lead prophet Mohammad to offer his hand in marriage.

The Sixth Marriage

"Four months after his death the Prophet came and asked for her hand in marriage." - Ibid.

And she replied -

Umm Salama said, "O Messenger of Allah! It is not because I do not want you, but I am very jealous and I fear that you might experience some wrong mannerism from me for which Almighty God would punish me. I am old and have children.'' - Ibn Kathir

Here comes the importance of the reply from prophet Mohammad. He said -

"• As for the jealousy that you mentioned, Allah the Exalted will remove it from you. 

 

 • As for your being old as you mentioned, I have suffered what you have suffered. 

 • And for your having children, they are my children too." - Ibn Kathir

Even though the lady had some worldly 'negative' points, the prophet took this lady as his wife and her children as his children.

The Widowed Lady on The Fate of The Marriage

"Almighty God gave me better in exchange than him. i.e. (I was taken as the wife of) the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)." - Imam Muslim.

- She was relieved by herself by having a messenger of  God as her husband, to look-after her and her children.

Her Role as a Wife

"She was also from a very noble family and known for her keen intelligence. On more than one occasion, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked her advice in tricky situations."- Ibn Kathir.

 

- Due to her intelligence, prophet had her advice in troublesome situations.

Her Contributions

"Like A'isha and Hafsa, Umm Salama learned the whole of the Qur'an by heart" - Ibn Kathir.

- She completely by hearted the entire Quran.

Her contribution for the next generation was vital that she reported the rules and regulations on the following titles from the life of prophet Mohammad.

• Characteristics of Prayer 

• Etiquette of Dressing

• Good Manners

• Divorce

• Fasting

• Marriage Rules

• Rules on Suckling

• Rules of recitation of Glorious Quran

The Impact of This Marriage

"Many of the Companions followed the Prophet's example, marrying widows and thereby bringing them and their children into the circle of their families, instead of leaving them to struggle on their own." - Ibn Kathir.

This marriage cemented A Great Norm for The Protection of the widows who perfectly submitted their life in the way of Almighty God.

will be continued ...

The Gladiators - Debate On Slavery - Intro - 6

Assalamualikum

May the peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon you.

"The rich people tried to lull the poor by games and contests in circuses, where gladiators were forced to fight and kill each other just to amuse the spectators." - Nehru, Glimpses of World History, Page 86

This is not the 20th century epic historical drama script directed by Ridley Scott. 

This is not the story of the Roman General, Maximus Decimus Meridius who became a Slave, then became a Gladiator who rose through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murder of his family and his Emperor.

This is the story of unnumbered hundreds of thousands of people who were physically crumbled into ashes by the so called sport mentioned by the noted historian and the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.

The World Before Mohammad The Messenger of God

Rome was one of the super power of this world when Mohammad The Messenger of God came.

Nehru explains the conditions of Rome.

"But disorders increased in the Roman State. There were insurrections and massacres, and bribery and corruption during the elections. Even the poor, down-trodden slaves rose in revolt under a gladiator named Spartacus." - Glimpses of World History, Page 86

- Slaves had to revolt against their masters, for their life.

"But they were crushed ruthlessly, and it is said that 6000 of them were crucified on the Appian Way in Rome" - Ibid.

Those revolts did not help them but were crushed and they were crucified ruthlessly.

"There was pomp and show and a succession of gorgeous processions and games in the circus and gladiators done to death." - Glimpses of World History, Page 104

At one side, the poor slave people were sidelined and killed and on the other side, the luxury and enjoyment flourished.

"But behind this pomp was the misery of the masses. There was heavy taxation which fell on the common people chiefly and burden of work fell on the innumerable slaves." - Ibid

The poor slave people became just a trained cow to till the toil. Most often they were treated even worse than that cow.

A. Down-Trodden Government

"Emperor followed emperor, and some were bad and some were very bad. And gradually the army became all-powerful and could make and unmake emperors." - Ibid

- Emperor by emperor, the conditions of the slaves went from worse to worst.

"So it came about that there was bidding to gain the favour of the army and money was squeezed from the masses or from the conquered territories to bribe the army" - Ibid

- The Roman Army became the final word and the money & luxury went after them in the form of bribe.

B. Humans Were Hunted Like Wild Beasts

The 'triumph' of the Rome and its all-powerful army, continued. 

"One of the great sources of revenue was the slave-trade, and there were regular organized slave-hunts by Roman armies in the East" - Ibid

- The economy of Rome was mostly driven by Slave-trade and Slave-hunt.

"Slave merchants accompanied the armies to buy up the slaves on the spot."  - Ibid 

- Slave business flourished under the Roman Empire.

C. Slave Markets

"The island of Delos, sacred to the old Greeks, became a great slave-market, where sometimes as many as 10,000 slaves were sold in a day!" - Ibid

- An entire island became a great slave-market.

"In the great Colosseum of Rome, a popular emperor used to display as many as 1200 gladiators at a time--- slave who were to die to provide sport for the emperor and his people." - Ibid

- Innumerable humans turned slaves turned gladiators had to die to serve the sport of the emperors.

"Roman citizenship was extended to the whole Roman world - but remember that the poor slaves had nothing to do with it" - Ibid

- Slaves were out of the definition of citizenship.

This is a very brief depiction of the historical context of Rome when Mohammad The Messenger of God was deputed as the messenger for all mankind to come.

It is quite evident that slave were among the earliest followers of the messenger of God.

Why Did The Slaves Go To Mohammad The Messenger of God ?

"Islam also gave them a message of brotherhood - of the equality of all those who were Muslims. A measure of democracy was thus placed before the people." - Jawaharlal Nehru, Glimpses of World History, Page 167

A message of brotherhood, a message of equality, a measure of democracy were a few among the great reasons on why these Slaves and Gladiators went to Mohammad The Messenger of God.

- This message of brotherhood was not limited to people of any class.

- This message of brotherhood was not limited to people of any country.

"This message of brotherhood must have had a great appeal, not only for the Arabs, but also for the inhabitants of many countries where they went." - Ibid

People who followed Mohammad The Messenger of God, carried this message of brotherhood wherever they went. They presented it before whomever they met. They delivered this message across continents, round the world.

From The Down-Trodden treatment of this world, from The Bloody Killing Sport of The Roman Empire and from the trenches of this world, those Slaves and Gladiators were elevated to The Highest Echelons of life by The Ever-Powerful, The Ever-Challenging Ideology of Almighty God that was revealed through the words and actions of Mohammad The Messenger of God.

Regards

Nisam

"The Roman Empire sow the seeds of exploitation and disintegration, Mohammed The Messenger of God sow the seeds of Brotherhood and equality, among the slaves and the gladiators."

<<The Roman Empire

Egypt The House Of Slavery >>

MAIL - 19 - Part - 24

I Wrote - 

Dear Friend

"The Mother Of The Poor". That was the title of the twice/thrice widowed lady named Zaynab Daughter of Khuzayma.

"During the The Period of Ignorance itself She was known as The Mother of The Poor, due to her feeding of the poor people." - Ibn Hisham.

Even before recognizing the Mohammad as a prophet of God, the lady Zaynab was known for her charity.

"She was with Tufail son of Haris then he divorced her and his brother Ubaidah son of Haris married her and he was martyred during the battle of Badr." - Ibn Hisham.

She became a widow for the second time when her second husband was died in a battle.

"The scholar Zuhri said that she was with Ibn Jahsh and he was killed in the battle of Uhd." - Ibn Hisham.

She became a widow for the third time when her third husband was died in a battle.

The Fifth Marriage

"A year after being widowed she was still unmarried, and when the Prophet asked her to marry him she gladly accepted." - Muhammad, Life Based on Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.

Here also, you can see prophet Mohammad taking care of a lady who stood for his principles such as The Charity Principles.

"The Prophet married her with a dowry of four hundred Dirhams, and a apartment was constructed for her near those of Hafsa and Aisha" - Great Women of Islam by Ghadanfar.

He married her, in due accordance his Marriage Principles.

The Result of This Marriage

"And it was doubtless in connection with this new alliance that the Prophet now received a visit from Abu Bara, the ageing chief of Zaynab's tribe." - Muhammad, Life Based on Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.

As a result of this marriage, prophet Mohammad received a visit from the chief of the tribe of Zaynab, in an effort to mend the fences that existed between various tribes.

"When Islam was put before him, the old man made it clear that he was not averse to it. He did not however embrace it then, but asked that some Muslims should be sent to instruct his whole tribe." - Ibid.

As a result, they asked for scholars to be sent for them so as to learn The Oneness of God and The Hundreds of Principles put forward by prophet Mohammad.

The Response of The Household

"The two ladies who were already part of the household - Aisha and Hafsah welcomed this new friend and tried their best to give her their sincere sympathetic companionship. They knew that the prophet married Zaynab because she was deeply affected by the death of her first husband." - Great Women of Islam by Ghadanfar.

Thus the lady Zaynab became The Mother of The Believers and she found peace in her life.

"Because of the kind behaviour of these two noble ladies, her grief was lightened and she felt more at peace." - Ibid.

This marriage, again, exemplified a novel elevation of women who lost their husbands just because they proclaimed The Oneness of God, belief in all of His messengers, defended it and martyred for it.

will be continued ...

The Roman Empire - Debate On Slavery - Intro - 5

Assalamualikum
May the peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon you.

""Mistress of The World" Rome has been called" - Nehru, Glimpses of World History, page 81

"From the Far East we shall now go to the West, and trace the growth of Rome. It is said that Rome was founded in the eight century before Christ." - Page 82, Ibid.

The World before Mohammad The Messenger of God

Rome had been the super power of this world right from  the 8th century BC. They continued their triumph even during the time of Jesus. Romans took the lead in its practices of Slavery. They took all that they could take with Slavery.

Before we look into how Mohammad The Messenger of God began tackling the issue of slavery, one should come to know the centuries old prevailing practices of slavery. 

Prisoners of War Turned Slaves

It was the norm of this world that the prisoners of war were taken as slaves. 

"In Rome, the result of victory and conquest was wealth and luxury and gold and slaves poured in from the conquered lands. But where did they go to ?" - Page 86, Ibid.

- Victory in war gave them slaves.

Nehru asks a vital and important question on the fate of the prisoners of war who became slaves.

"But where did they go to ?"

The government of Rome who were supposed to rehabilitate these slaves, were playing with their luxuries, they were playing with the lives of these slaves.

"The Senate, as I have told you, was the governing body in Rome, and it consisted of people from rich aristocratic families. This group of rich people controlled the Roman Republic and its life, and as the power and extend of Rome grew, the wealth of these people grew with it." -  Page 86, Ibid.

People who controlled Rome became richer and richer.

"So the rich became richer, while the poor remained poor or actually became poorer." - Page 86, Ibid.

Once a person becomes a slave, he/she would have lost their life in this world, till their death.

"The slave populations grew, and luxury and misery advanced side by side."-  Page 86, Ibid.

War by war, the slave population grew. The underrated treatment of slaves became stronger and stronger and that treatment caused trouble.

"When this happens there is usually trouble." - Page 86, Ibid.

Those slaves made troubles for change. But the change came not in the way they expected. The change came in the way the riches of the ruling elite expected. Those troubles only helped them to deteriorate their situation from worse to worst. They had one and only choice before them - 'Grin and bear it'.

Nehru astonishes on the fate of the slaves.

"It is an amazing thing how much human beings will put up with, but there is a limit to human endurance, and when this is reached there are burst-ups." -  Page 86, Ibid.

The Struggle of the Slaves Continues

"The rich people tried to lull the poor by games and contests in circuses, where gladiators were forced to fight and kill each other just to amuse the spectators."- Page 86, Ibid. 

- Their favourite game was to make slaves fight & kill each other!
- They took slaves for contesting in circuses! 

"Large number of slaves and prisoners of war were killed for what was called, I suppose, sport."- Page 86, Ibid.

- Killing slaves and prisoners of war, were a major sport of 'The Great' Roman Empire.

"But where did they go to ?"

This question of Nehru on the plight of the slaves , was not answered until 6th Century AD. The question remained there for centuries until the coming of Mohammad The Messenger of God. 

These slaves went to Mohammad The Messenger of God and became his earliest followers.

"The followers of the Prophet were continually increasing, but whenever a new convert came to him and pledged his or her allegiance, it was more often than not a slave, or a freed slave." - Muhammad, Life Based on Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.

These slaves might have found something good so as to embrace Mohammad as The Messenger of God. They must have found something good they couldn't find in the ideologies followed by their masters. Definitely they must have found something good that none of the so called centuries old civilizations offered them. 


The question is - "where did they go to ?" and the answer is - they went to Mohammad The Messenger of God.


Regards
Nisam

"History is not a magic show, but there is plenty of magic in it for those who have eyes to see." - Jawaharlal Nehru.

<< FWD By Sonia Gandhi, Glimpses of World History

Gladiators - The Bloody Sport Of The Roman Empire >>

MAIL - 19 - Part - 23

I Wrote - 

Dear Friend

"'Umar took his wife Zaynab, their daughter Hafsah and their young son Abdullah. Hafsah's husband, Khunays of Sahm, was also with them." - Muhammad, Life Based on Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.

- The companions of prophet Mohammad migrated from their homeland to save themselves from the persecution.

- Among them were a lady named Hafsah and her husband.

"In the year which followed the return from Badr (The Battle of Badr) the family of Umar suffered two losses. The first of these was the death of his son-in-law Khunays, the husband of his daughter Hafsah. He had been one of the emigrants to Abyssinia, and it was on his return that the marriage had taken place. Hafsah was only eighteen years old when she became a widow." - ibid.

- The lady Hafsah became a widow after her husband died in a battle.

The Fourth Marriage

"For her father it was very painful to see his daughter in this state. Her silent courage under these circumstance, her patient prayers and her study of the Quran irradiated her countenance with spiritual beauty and innocence, but there was also a sadness because of the harsh loneliness that had become part of their life." - Great Women of Islam by Ghadanfar

- Sadness and sorrow affected this widowed woman's family, especially to her father.

The father of this widowed women approached one of the prominent person named Uthman, to receive his widowed daughter, in marriage.

"Uthman answered that he was not presently planning on marriage" - ibid.

He again, approached another prominent person named Abu Bakr, to receive his widowed daughter, in marriage.

"He too lowered his gaze and did not answer him." - ibid.

With the decline of the offer to marry his daughter, by the two prominent persons, the father of this widowed woman was upset.

"He was very upset and worried at the turn of events; in a sense it was an affront to him and his position as a sincere defender of the faith. People, he thought, would consider it an honor to have an alliance by marriage with him."- ibid.

As the leader of the faithful, he approached prophet Mohammad.

"With this grievance he went to prophet and explained to him the position he found himself in. The Prophet smilingly answered that he should neither grieve nor worry and Allah willing he would find a man better than Uthman for Hafsah"- ibid.

This was the point at which prophet Mohammad implied his willingness to marry the widowed women.

The Response of The Father

"Umar Farooq could not believe his ears; his daughter would have the honor of joining the selected band of women who were known as The Mothers of The Believers!"- ibid.

- The wives of prophet Mohammad are mothers of believers.

Who Was This Woman?

"She was from the women who fasted and prayed in the night. And from those women who feared Allah." - Imam Ad-Dahabi

Here again, we see prophet Mohammad marrying a widowed women, who was leading a life on the principles such as the  Marriage Principle - 1 i.e. 

"A woman is married for four things, i.e., her wealth, her family status, her beauty and her religion. So you should marry the religious woman (otherwise) you will be a losers." - Prophet Mohammad.

What a Life It Was

Prophet Mohammad married Hafsah. One day the father of this woman came to visit prophet Mohammad.

Umar said: "I visited Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and he was lying on a mat. I sat down and he drew up his lower garment over him and he had nothing (else) over him, and that the mat had left its marks on his sides." - Imam Bukhari.

Umar said: "I looked with my eyes in the store room of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). I found only a handful of barley ..."  - Imam Bukhari.

Umar said: "I was moved to tears (on seeing this extremely austere living of the Holy Prophet)"  - Imam Bukhari.

Prophet Asked: "Son of Khattab, what makes you weep?" - Imam Bukhari. 

Umar said: "Apostle of Allah, why should I not shed tears? This mat has left its marks on your sides and I do not see in your storeroom (except these few things) that I have seen; Caesar (The King of Rome) and Closroes (The King of Persia) are leading their lives in plenty whereas you are Allah's Messenger. His chosen one, and that is your store!" - Imam Bukhari. 

Prophet said: "Ibn Khattab, aren't you satisfied that for us (there should be the prosperity) of the Hereafter (life after death), and for them (there should be the prosperity of) this world?" 

- Imam Bukhari.

Her Contribution as A Wife of Prophet Mohammad

1. A Scholar of Her Time

"She memorized 60 Hadith from prophet peace be upon him. She was considered as one of the great scholars among the companions of prophet Mohammad. She was from the people who memorized entire Quran." - Imam Ad-Dahabi

2. The Guardian of Glorious Quran 

"She was The Guardian of Quran" - Imam AdDahabi.

- She was The Only Woman who was given The One & Only Written Copy of Quran, at that time, to guard it.

"Then the complete manuscripts (copy) of the Qur'an remained with Abu Bakr till he died, then with 'Umar till the end of his life, and then with Hafsah, the daughter of Umar" - Imam Bukhari.

- She was among the few ladies who knew how to read and write and in whose hands the one and only manuscripts of Quran remained.

Among other things, as a wife of prophet Mohammad, she contributed on the following titles.

* Etiquette on Fasting

* Etiquette on Recommended Prayers

* Rules on Friday Prayer

* Rules on The Recitation of Quran

* Rules on the recommended Pilgrimage

* News on The Anti Christ

Her position as the wife of prophet Mohammad was illuminated by her title - The Guardian of Glorious Quran. This title paved the way for the billions of copies of Quran throughout the centuries, till this day.

will be continued ...