The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 210
Seal of the Prophets - Volume III 210 same mule was used by the Holy Prophet sa. 1 The question as to whether Ḥaḍrat Māriyyah was kept by the Holy Prophet sa as a wife or a slave-girl is a matter of disagreement, the details of which we need not delve into here. In any case, there are two points which are definite. Firstly, that the Holy Prophet sa instructed Ḥaḍrat Māriyyah to observe Pardah from the very beginning, 2 and with regards to this injunction it is established that this was only observed by free women and wives. As such, there is a narration that after the Ghazwah of Khaibar, when the Holy Prophet sa married Ṣafiyyah, the daughter of a Jewish Chieftain, the Companions fell into a disagreement as to whether she was a wife of the Holy Prophet sa or merely a slave-girl. However, when the Holy Prophet sa advised her to observe Pardah , the Companions understood that she was a wife, not a slave-girl. 3 The second point to note is that history proves that the Holy Prophet sa never kept a slave for himself, rather, he would release any slave that came into his possession, whether female or male. 4 In this respect as well, it is unimaginable and unacceptable that the Holy Prophet sa would have kept Ḥaḍrat Māriyyah, the Copt as a slave-girl. Allāh knows best. If anyone desires to study a summary of the Islāmic teachings relevant to slave-girls he may do so by referring to Volume 2 of this book. Another point to note in particular with regards to the letter of Maqauqis as well is that it remained hidden for many hundreds of years. The original document was discovered approximately 100 years ago, and we are receiving the honour of presenting a copy of this blessed letter here, i. e. , a photo image. Although the writing style has changed significantly, most of the words on this image can be discerned if studied closely, and they are exactly the same words we have recorded above with reference to Islāmic books. In 1858 this letter was discovered by a few French travelers in a monastery in Egypt. The original letter is now present in Constantinople and its photographic image has been published as well. 5 The individual who 1 Tārīkhul-Khamīs Fī Aḥwāli Anfasi Nafīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan, Volume 2, p. 186, Bighāluhū ‘Alaihis-Salām, Mu’assasatu Sha‘bān, Beirut 2 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 4, pp. 460-461, Dhikru Sarārihi sa , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 3 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 3, pp. 470-471, Ghazwatu Khaibar, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 4 Please refer to Sīrat Khātamun-Nabiyyīn sa , Volume 2 5 The Review of Religions (Qadian), July 1906 Edition, Volume V, No. 7, Page: Third Title