Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 45
Rushdie: Haunted By His Unholy Ghosts 45 Vaglieri, at one time Professor of Arabic and Islamic Culture in the University of Naples, has observed : ‘Enemies of Islam have insisted in depicting Muhammad as a sensual individual and a dissolute man, trying to find in his mar- riages evidence of a weak character not consistent with his mission. They refuse to take into consideration the fact that during those years of his life when by nature the sexual urge is strongest, although he lived in a society like that of the Arabs,. . where polygamy was the rule, and where divorce was very easy indeed, he was married to one woman alone, Khadija, who was much older than himself, and that for twenty-five years he was her faithful, loving husband. Only when she died and when he was already more than fifty years old did he marry again and more than once. Each of these marriages had a social or political reason,. . . With the sole exception of Aisha, he married women who were neither virgins, nor young nor beautiful. Was this sensuality?’ (An Interpretation of Islam , pp. 67-68). One of the main reasons the Holy Prophet(sa) married Aisha was to enable her to guide people on Islam, especially women, throughout her lifetime. She performed this task exceptionally well and proved to be a tremendous source of guidance for a long time , not only during the life of the Holy Prophet(sa) but also afterwards. Such was Muhammad’s wisdom. Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, an eminent Ahmadi scholar in world religions, delves deeper in his analogous rational argument in favour of the nobility of the character of the Holy Prophet(sa), thus dispelling any doubts as to the calumnies levelled at the no- blest of God’s creatures. In an excellent appraisal of the life of Muhammad(sa) in his renowned book Muhammad-Seal of the Prophets, he argues thus : ‘Except for his marriage to Sudah, a pious, aged, indigent wid- ow, all the Holy Prophet’s subsequent marriages took place after his migration to Medina. How was he occupied in Medina and what was the type of life that he led there? Even the most casual reader. . . . would be deeply impressed with his heavy responsibilities,