Some Orientalists, when they read this hadith and that he visited nine women, say that your Prophet is a lustful man.
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The questioner : Some Orientalists, when they read this hadith, the one that revolves around his wives, say that your Prophet is a lustful man who loves lust. How do we respond to them?
The Shaykh : We say that lust is part of manhood, without a doubt. Therefore, a man who has no lust is a dull, lazy person. This is from one perspective. From another perspective, if it were as they claim, may Allah fight them, he would have taken virgins. How would he take old women? Some of them had reached an advanced age. How old was Khadijah when he married her? She was forty years old. A woman at forty is worn down unless Allah strengthens her, and she had given birth to children. And would it have been difficult for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to take virgins if he had wanted to? No, it would not have been difficult for him. Yes, if they had been offered to him, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted what he guided us to first: to take knowledge and the Sunnah from him. Then, he wanted to have a connection with every tribe of the Arabs. He did not take a virgin except for one, and she is the Mother of the Believers, A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), because of the strength of his connection with her father. For the most beloved of people to him among the men was Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), so he wanted the connection through marriage as well, because the blood relation from Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was distant, but the marriage brought them closer to each other. Do not be surprised by the Christians and the Jews if they disparage the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or disparage the Qur'an and say that the Qur'an contains contradictions, or if they disparage the Islamic Shari'ah as well. Perhaps they disparage prayer, for example, saying, "What is the benefit? He stands and supplicates, bows, and prostrates. What is the benefit?" But some of them say this while knowing the truth, and they are more knowledgeable than our scholars. For Allah says:[Al-Baqarah 2:146] Is there anyone you know better than your son? Without a doubt. That is why He said "their sons" and not "their children," because a daughter might not be attended to by a person or he might not care about her, but a son he cares about.
The questioner : It is strange, O Shaykh, that the book of the Orientalists' doubts is now being sold in some bookstores.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : The doubt raised by the Orientalists regarding the Sunnah is collected in a book that is now being sold in some bookstores.
The Shaykh : But is there an answer to it?
The questioner : Regarding polygamy, it is in it.
The Shaykh : No, I remember it was by Muhammad Qutb, I think, doubts regarding Islam.
The questioner : In a book I saw yesterday at al-Dhahabi's, it has the Orientalists' doubts, but I do not know if the answers are included in the book or not.
The Shaykh : In any case, the doubts from the Orientalists and non-Orientalists from all the people of falsehood, if there is a convincing solution to them, that is good. However, I do not prefer such books to fall into the hands of the common people, because if a common person falls into the mud, he cannot get out. But for students of knowledge, there is no harm. There is no harm in a person knowing the doubts and knowing how to answer them. Then, the answer to them may be a convincing answer, or it may not be, and it may only increase the matter in obscurity and confusion.
The Shaykh : We say that lust is part of manhood, without a doubt. Therefore, a man who has no lust is a dull, lazy person. This is from one perspective. From another perspective, if it were as they claim, may Allah fight them, he would have taken virgins. How would he take old women? Some of them had reached an advanced age. How old was Khadijah when he married her? She was forty years old. A woman at forty is worn down unless Allah strengthens her, and she had given birth to children. And would it have been difficult for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to take virgins if he had wanted to? No, it would not have been difficult for him. Yes, if they had been offered to him, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted what he guided us to first: to take knowledge and the Sunnah from him. Then, he wanted to have a connection with every tribe of the Arabs. He did not take a virgin except for one, and she is the Mother of the Believers, A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), because of the strength of his connection with her father. For the most beloved of people to him among the men was Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), so he wanted the connection through marriage as well, because the blood relation from Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was distant, but the marriage brought them closer to each other. Do not be surprised by the Christians and the Jews if they disparage the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) or disparage the Qur'an and say that the Qur'an contains contradictions, or if they disparage the Islamic Shari'ah as well. Perhaps they disparage prayer, for example, saying, "What is the benefit? He stands and supplicates, bows, and prostrates. What is the benefit?" But some of them say this while knowing the truth, and they are more knowledgeable than our scholars. For Allah says:
Those to whom We gave the Scripture know him as they know their own sons
الذين آتيناهم الكتاب يعرفونه كما يعرفون أبناءهمThe questioner : It is strange, O Shaykh, that the book of the Orientalists' doubts is now being sold in some bookstores.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : The doubt raised by the Orientalists regarding the Sunnah is collected in a book that is now being sold in some bookstores.
The Shaykh : But is there an answer to it?
The questioner : Regarding polygamy, it is in it.
The Shaykh : No, I remember it was by Muhammad Qutb, I think, doubts regarding Islam.
The questioner : In a book I saw yesterday at al-Dhahabi's, it has the Orientalists' doubts, but I do not know if the answers are included in the book or not.
The Shaykh : In any case, the doubts from the Orientalists and non-Orientalists from all the people of falsehood, if there is a convincing solution to them, that is good. However, I do not prefer such books to fall into the hands of the common people, because if a common person falls into the mud, he cannot get out. But for students of knowledge, there is no harm. There is no harm in a person knowing the doubts and knowing how to answer them. Then, the answer to them may be a convincing answer, or it may not be, and it may only increase the matter in obscurity and confusion.