| Pain, Pleasure and Prejudice The Complete Layman’s Guide to the Koran Orphans 4:9 And let those who worry about the weak offspring they may leave behind them (after their death) be mindful [of the orphans]. Let them fear Allah and speak justly. 4:10 Those who devour the property of orphans unjustly, devour fire in their bellies, and they will burn in a blazing fire. As you consider the following noble sentiments concerning orphans, keep in mind that the male guardian of a female orphan could, at his discretion, marry her when she reached the age of nine (age at which females can be married off under the Islamic law i.e. the Sharia) thereby nullifying much of what Allah revealed you should do with the property of a female orphan. 4:2 Render unto the orphans their property and do not exchange worthless things for good ones, and do not devour their property together with your property. That indeed is a great sin! 4:3 If you fear that you cannot deal justly with the orphans, then marry such of the women as appeal to you, two, three or four; but if you fear that you cannot be equitable, then only one, or what your right hands own (captives of war or slave-girls). That is more likely to enable you to avoid unfairness. 4:4 And give women their dowries as a free gift, but if they chose to give you anything of it, then consume it with enjoyment and pleasure. 4:5 But do not give the feeble-minded the property that Allah assigned to you as a means of livelihood. Provide for them therefrom, clothe them and speak kindly to them. 4:6 Test the orphans until they reach the age of marriage; then, if you discern in them sound judgement, deliver to them their property; and do not consume it extravagantly and hastily before they come of age. He who is rich should be abstinent, and he, who is poor, should consume fairly. And when you deliver to them their property, call in witnesses thereon. God suffices as a Reckoner! ---- 4:127 They consult you concerning women. Say: “Allah has instructed you concerning them, and concerning what is recited to you in the Book regarding orphan women for whom you do not give what is prescribed for them, although you wish to marry them, and concerning the weak children, and your duty to deal justly with the orphans (when considering the dowry and inheritance). For whatever good you do, Allah knows it very well.” “What is recited in the Book regarding orphan women” is verse 4:3 about their guardian or interested men taking them as wives. Not surprisingly, the following would indicate that when Allah uses the word “property” He is referring to what a male orphan might own. 17:34 Do not go near the orphan’s property except in the fairest way until he comes of age; and honour your pledge, because the pledge involves responsibility. When a Son Is Not a Son Until the Prophet Muhammad received revelations saying otherwise, Arab fathers made no distinctions between adopted and natural born sons. Orphaned boys were almost unknown in the Arab world until the Prophet, or should I say Allah, demoted them so that His Messenger could marry his adopted son's wife. It all began when the Prophet walked in on his daughter-in-law Zaynab when she was almost naked and “was troubled by her beauty” and he just had to have her. Zaynab was the daughter of his paternal aunt Omayma. It was the Prophet himself who insisted she be given in marriage to Zayd. Zaynab was a reluctant bride. She had no choice in the matter. 33:36 It is not up to any believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have passed a judgement, to have any choice in their affairs. Whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger have gone astray in a manifest manner. Marrying you son’s wife was forbidden! It did not matter if he was adopted, the same legal, ethical and moral restrictions applied as to a natural born son. To get around this long established taboo was not going to be easy and required more than one revelation to justify Zaynab joining her erstwhile father-in-law on the matrimonial mat. First, the Prophet received a revelation where Allah makes it clear that a son you father is not the same as an adopted son i.e. is less than a son, and that fathers who claim otherwise are in error. 33:4 Allah did not create two hearts within the breast of any man; and He did not make your wives, whom you compare to your mothers’ backs; and He did not make your [adopted] sons your sons in fact. That is your own claim, by your words of mouth. Allah speaks the truth and He guides to the Right Path. If adopted sons are not like your sons, what are they like? They are like your brother, Allah said, but not a real brother but a brother-in-religion. But brothers, real or fabricated, can marry each others' divorced or widowed wives. Problem solved. 33:5 Assign them to their own fathers. That is more equitable in the sight of Allah; but if you do not know their real fathers, then they are your brothers in religion, your adopted fellow Muslims. You are not at fault if you err therein; but only in what your hearts intend. Allah is ever All-Forgiving, All-Merciful. This somewhat specious logic may not have been enough to convince some of the Prophet's associates and Allah was required to send another revelation on the subject. 33:37 And [remember] when you said to him whom Allah favoured and you favoured: (this is addressed to Zayd regarding his wife Zaynab) “Hold on to your wife and fear Allah”, while you concealed within yourself what Allah would reveal and feared other men, whereas Allah had a better right to be feared by you. Then, when Zayd had satisfied his desire for her, We gave her to you in marriage; so that the believers should not be at fault, regarding the wives of their adopted sons, once they have satisfied their desire for them. For Allah’s Command must be accomplished. And another, which would indicate that His Messenger had already done the deed when these revelations were received for Allah to make them retroactive, as he does in the following with the words "pre-ordained decree": 33:38 The Prophet was not at fault regarding what Allah prescribed for him as was His Way with those who were gone before. And Allah’s Command is a pre-ordained decree. The verses changing the relationship between adopted sons and their surrogate parent so that God’s Messenger could add his daughter-in-law to his collection of wives, concubines and slave-girls has made orphaned boys less appealing to prospective adopted parents, resulting in an untold number of orphans, in the post-Prophet Islamic world, who have no one to call father.
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