The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 263
VI - Rukhsatānah of Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah ra and an Exposition of Her Age at the Time, the Issue of Polygamy and Two Fabricated Incidents 263 sufficient for these new injunctions to merely be propagated by the Holy Prophet sa. As a matter of fact, it was also necessary for this new Sharī‘at to be intricately instituted under the direct supervision of the Holy Prophet sa and for him to practically lead people onto these new road marks, which had been chalked out by Islām. This was a very difficult and delicate task, and although there were hurdles which confronted the Holy Prophet sa with respect to men, with regards to women especially, this was an even greater challenge. The reason being that firstly, due to their generally remaining at home and being engaged in affairs of the household, they did not have as many opportunities to benefit from the company of the Holy Prophet sa. Secondly, due to the inherent shyness of women, they were unable to openly inquire of the Holy Prophet sa as regards to those specific issues which related to women. Comparatively, owing to a lack of education prevalent amongst women and their tendency to hold fast to ignorant customs, due to which it is difficult for them to quickly bring about any sort of reform in their practice, a special system was required for the education and training of women. In this respect, the most effective means was for the Holy Prophet sa to marry suitable women, and prepare them for this task under his own training, so that these wives could then carry out the role of educating and training other Muslim women. As such, this scheme proved to be successful, and the Muslim women very wonderfully and in a very short time span, transformed their lives according to this new Sharī‘at. Such an example cannot be found in any nation of the world, where the female- class began to practice a completely new law, and adopted a new culture and civilization so quickly and so fully. One practical proof that the marriages of the Holy Prophet sa were not due to lustful intentions, rather, they were purely on religious grounds is that the Holy Prophet sa married some women, who had so advanced in age that they were no longer able to bear children. For example, Ḥaḍrat Ummi Salamah ra , who the Holy Prophet sa married in 4 A. H. had surpassed the age of bearing children at the time of her marriage. As such, she even excused herself on this very basis, but since the fundamental purpose of the Holy Prophet sa was purely religious, and for this purpose she was very suitable, the Holy Prophet sa