Category: post

All the Muslim’s enemies band together in a final attempt to defeat them.

In the year 5 AH, the two banished Jewish tribes ally with the Meccans to mobilizing the masses for the ultimate battle against the Muslims, in what would later be known as the Battle of the Azhab, aka Battle of Khandaq.

The Quraysh had been humbled by their constant failure to wipe out the Muslims, and now that Muslims were blocking their trade routs the Quraysh were feeling the pain in their wallets. Abu Sufyan, receptive to the invitation by the Jewish tribes, rallies the Meccans and other Pagan tribes to raise the largest army the Arab peninsula had ever seen so far and they begin marching against Medina.

The Muslims in Mecca learn of this, and with Salman Al-Farsi’s advice, begin digging a tranch along the city’s border.

The banished Jews reach out to the one Jewish tribe still remaining in Mecca and convince them to also break their truce with the Muslims (now that a huge army is coming towards the city). The tribe openly reveals that they’ll break their covenant, and the Muslims realize they have to guard against enemies both outside and inside Medina.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAlQEbGoO8U&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Sheikh Azhar Nasser explores additional Sunni counter arguments to the Shia claim that the Verse of Purification (Quran 33:33)

The discussion covers:

– Claims that the wives were already purified

– Claims that the actions of the wives had no impact on the prophetic household

– Claims that the Quran uses “ahl” to refer to wives in other places

– Questions about how the 12 imams were included in the verse of purity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nlv_zeIk4&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Sheikh Azhar Nasser explores Sunni counter arguments to the Shia claim that the Verse of Purification (Quran 33:33)

The discussion covers:

– Claims that the context of the verse being different

– Claims that the verses include all of Bani Hashim

– Claims that the verse doesn’t prove infallibility

The Q&A also answers:

– Why the Imams sometimes gave their children the same names as prominent Sunni’s like Aisha and Uthman

Ans: The names didn’t necessarily imply endorsement back then, though Imam Ali specificlly said he named his son after a different Uthman)

– Why didn’t the Quran explicitly state who the Ahlul Bayt were?

Ans: This was one of the ways Allah preserved the Quran without affecting free will. Otherwise the enemies of those people would have fought harder to change the Quran.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4J8QU_piqg&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Continuing the identification of who is meant by the holy Ahl al-Bayt, Sheikh Azhar Nasser uses hadiths from Sunni sources that are accepted by both Shias and Sunnis to compare Shia and Sunni viewpoints.

Hadith include:

– (Jame-ut-Tirmidi) Hadith al Kisa – the hadith of the cloak

– (Sahih Muslim) Zahid ibn Akram’s explanation of why the wives are not part of the Ahlul Bayt

– (Al Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn) The prophet going to Fatima’s door every day for months after it was revealed, repeating the Verse of Purity saying “Oh Ahl al-Bayt…”

– (Sahih Muslim) Hadith of Mubahila, where the Christians of Najran rejected the Prophet’s message and were challenged to a mubahalah. Here the term “Ahl al-Bayt” was used for the holy five exclusively

– (Sahih al-Tirmidhi) Hadith Al-Thaqalayn, where the prophet said “I’m leaving for you that which if you hold onto you shall never devate., one is greater than the other: The Book of God-an extended rope between the Heavens and the Earth; and my progeny, my Ahl al-Bayt”

– The fact that the wives never used the Verse of Purification to show their superiority (despite sometimes using other claims to show their superiority)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3cSoTy0ZlU&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Who does the Quran refer to when it says Ahlul Bayt? Sheikh Azhar Nasser compares Sunni and Shia viewpoints based on hadit from Sunni sources.

The three main perspectives are:

– It includes the Prophet’s wives, Bani Hashim, and the Holy Five (Ali, Fatima, Hassan, Hussain, and Prophet Muhammad)

– It includes just Bani Hashim and the Holy Five

– It includes just the Holy Five (shia perspective)

Sheikh Azhar discusses arguments for and against the verse of Purity (Quran 33:33) applying the wives as well as the Holy Five, looking at the verse in context with the surrounding verses.

The discussion covers:

– Why are wives referenced before and after this verse?

– Are wives actually being praised?

– Changes in pronouns

– Meaning of “warding off filth”

– Context changing from “Your houses” to “The house”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUEGYtgQxOs&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Continuing the comparison of Shia and Sunni views on Aisha bint Abu Bakr, Sheikh Azhar compares Shia and Sunni perspectives on hadiths that cause each sect to have their varying opinions on Aisha.

Hadiths covered include:

– (Bukhari/Sahih Muslim) Prophet Muhammad apparently pointing to Aisha’s house and saying “fitna is from here”

– (Bukhari) Prophet Muhammad saying Aisha is like “the female companion of Yusuf”, i.e. Zulayqha

– (Bukhari/Muslim) Various hadith given by Aisha that include implications of the prophet listening to women singing and being bewitched and halucinating, thus damaging the prophet’s dignity with their alleged stories. (Shias reject the validity of these hadith)

Key message: The above and the discussions from the last lecture give Shia scholars enough reservations about Aisha’s narrations that they prefer to get their teachings from more reliable sources like Imam Ali and Lady Fatima

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQLj16n0-p4&list=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Comparing the Shia and Sunni views on Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr and third wife of Prophet Muhammad. Sheikh Azhar also explains why the two sects may have such divergent views of her.

The lecture dives into:

– Why Shia’s believe Aisha was in her late teens when she married Prophet Muhammad (vs the Sunni narrative of being 9 years old)

– How Aisha gained an prominence above other wives of Propeht Muhammad

– Quranic verses establishing that the wives of Prophet Muhammad could choose to do either good or evil (Quran 33:30-31)

– Comparing views on whether the Verse of Purification applies to all wives of the prophet or only Imam Ali, Lady Fatima, and their children

– Quranic verses (Surah 66, verses 3-5) that accuse two wives of their deviation and threatens retribution. Sunnis and Shias both agree they refer to Aisha and Hafsa (another wife)

– Comparing Sunni/Shia views on whether there’s enough evidence of Aisha’s repentance after the above Quranic condemnation to depend on her as a reliable narrator of hadith

– Why Shias don’t believe the Quranic title “The Mothers of the Believers” was intended to honor Prophet Muhammad’s wives

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

At the end of the battle of Badr, Abu Sufyan had challenged the Muslims to a rematch a year later. This rematch was known as the Second Battle of Badr, and after seeing how much stronger the Muslims had gotten the Meccans were demoralized and decided to march back to Mecca. And so no battle never actually took place.

Around this time period many of the Prophet’s multiple marriages took place. Reasons for those marriages included:

– Protecting vulnerable Muslim women

– Establishing peaceful ties with hostile tribes

– Teaching men to free their slave girls and marry them

– Promote the spirit of interfaith

– Demonstrating how to deal with marital conflict

– Testing the believers to see if they would believe the prophet or his wives

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK6rRnJFLQQ&amplist=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

This lecture covers:

– The gradual prohibition of Alcohol

– Passing of Fatima bint Asad (Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib’s mother)

– Birth of Imam Husayn

– Prophet Muhammad’s Marriage to Umm Salamah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPm9rojYaHQ&amplist=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com

Prophet Muhammad approached the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadhir to help the Muslims make peace between themselves and another Jewish tribe, only to discover at the last minute that Banu Nadhir was planning to assassinate him.

Why? The Banu Nadir couldn’t accept a gentile as the final messenger of God. They considered it degrading to be subservient to a non-Jew.

Faced with this treachery, Prophet Muhammad commanded them to take their belongings and leave Medina in ten days.

The Banu Nadhir initially refuse, preparing for war, but surrender once the Muslims besieged their fortress. Despite their willingness to fight the Prophet still allowed the tribe to depart, but orders them to leave their weapons behind this time. Banu Nadhir reloate to the Fortress of Khaybar

Surah Al Hashr (#59) verses 1-16 describe this encounter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NrT1ojUbJE&amplist=PLpkB0iwLgfTat-Pgh4W3WFmupPamiC9UT

Podcast version: podcast.lifeofprophetmuhammad.com