The Answering-Ansar team writes in ‘Who really killed Uthman?’:

This quote from Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān might have been a decent proof if its translation told the same story the original text does. But, unfortunately, when it comes to Shī`ī proofs, dishonesty during argumentation is something not uncommon.

What the Author of Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān Has Stated

The verse under discussion in Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān, as quoted by the Answering-Ansar team, states that the step-daughters who are in guardianship and are born “of” [min] women with whom your marriage has been consummated are forbidden to you for marriage.

To quote the verse again:

حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ وَعَمَّاتُكُمْ وَخَالَاتُكُمْ وَبَنَاتُ الْأَخِ وَبَنَاتُ الْأُخْتِ وَأُمَّهَاتُكُمُ اللَّاتِي أَرْضَعْنَكُمْ وَأَخَوَاتُكُمْ مِنَ الرَّضَاعَةِ وَأُمَّهَاتُ نِسَائِكُمْ وَرَبَائِبُكُمُ اللَّاتِي فِي حُجُورِكُمْ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمُ اللَّاتِي دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا دَخَلْتُمْ بِهِنَّ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَحَلَائِلُ أَبْنَائِكُمُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ أَصْلَابِكُمْ وَأَنْ تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الْأُخْتَيْنِ إِلَّا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا

“Prohibited for you are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your paternal aunts, your maternal aunts, daughters of brother, daughters of sister, your mothers who suckled you, your sisters through suckling, mothers of your wives and your step-daughters under your care who are born of [min] your women whom you have entered into—though if you have not entered into them, there is no sin on you—and the wives of your sons from your loins, and that you combine two sisters (in wedlock), except what has passed. Surely, Allāh is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.” [4:23]

Now, in the Arabic language, “of” [min] is a particle that has to be connected to a verb or a noun that resembles a verb before it and the words after it in order to make a complete sentence. Together, the particle and what follows it join to be what is known as “connected” [muta`alliq], as they both connect with a verb or a noun that resembles it, that comes before the particle.

So the author of Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān, Nižām al-Dīn al-Naysābūrī (d. 728), states about the step-daughter while discussing the verse:

أما اشتراط الدخول بأمها فلقوله من نسائكم اللاتي دخلتم بهن

ammā ishtirāţ al-dukhūl bi ummihā fa li qawlih min nisā’ikum al-lātī dakhaltum bihinn

“As for the stipulation of consummation with her mother, that is due to His statement: ‘of [min] your women whom you have entered into’ [4:23].”

·         Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān wa Raghā’ib al-Furqān, of Nižām al-Dīn al-Naysābūrī (d. 728), volume 2, page 387 [Beirut]

This part translated by the Answering-Ansar team—although done poorly—did not fall under their implements of dishonesty. However, what follows it will show readers how the Answering-Ansar team has deliberately mistranslated and distorted to falsely claim that “Sunni scholars have admitted” there was only one actual daughter of the Messenger of Allāh (saws).

Having cited the part of the verse as the proof for the stipulation of consummation, al-Naysābūrī immediately states about it:

وهو متعلق بربائبكم كما تقول بنات رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من خديجة

wa huwa muta`alliq bi rabā’ibikum kamā taqūl banāt rasūl Allāh şallá Allāhu `alayhi wa sallam min khadīja

“That is ‘connected’ with ‘your step-daughters,’ [4:23] as you say: ‘The daughters of the Messenger of Allāh (saws) born of [min] Khadīja.’”

·         Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān wa Raghā’ib al-Furqān, of Nižām al-Dīn al-Naysābūrī (d. 728), volume 2, page 387 [Beirut]

What is quoted from Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān is not something hard to understand.

al-Naysābūrī first quotes the part of the verse that starts from min [of]—i.e. “of your women whom you have entered into”—as a proof and then states that the particle min and what follows it, together form to become the muta`alliq of what comes before the particle—i.e. “your step-daughters”—in the verse.

So he simply mentions this to let his readers know that the complete structure means “your step-daughters born of your women whom you have entered into,” even though that is not exactly how it appears in the Holy Qur’ān. And to support this type of usage of min [of] in the Arabic language with an example:

“As you say: ‘The daughters of the Messenger of Allāh (saws) born of [min] Khadīja’”

In short, the author of Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān has simply mentioned a small linguistic explanation about min [of] and its connection with other words in the verse, and given an example with it. There is absolutely no mention of the alleged step-daughters of the Prophet (saws) and nothing is “admitted” by the author.

Answering-Ansar’s Dishonesty

The Answering-Ansar team, however, translated al-Naysābūrī’s words as:

The mistranslation by the Answering-Ansar team should be quite clear to all unbiased readers. Instead of “your step daughters,” they have translated it as simply “step daughters,” and instead of “such as when you say,” they have translated it as simply “such as” to deceive their readers.

The devotees of Answering-Ansar—who believe that any ill-mannered ignorant is eligible for discussion on Islamic issues—may say that this is a minor mistake and not a case of deliberate mistranslation because their “irrefutable” Answering-Ansar team lacks even the basic knowledge of the Arabic language.

As they say in some cultures:

A one-eyed man is a king among the blind

However, this is a poor excuse because the Answering-Ansar team represents itself as competent debaters who engage into linguistic arguments and supposedly take scholars to task, not a deficient group of abecedarians struggling to learn the basics of the Arabic language.

Apart from that, it should be noted that the “to your step-daughters” [bi rabā’ibikum] phrase in Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān contains the personal pronoun “kum” [your], which is in the plural and masculine case. Interestingly, the Answering-Ansar team has translated all the personal pronouns found in al-Naysābūrī’s words, except this one.

al-Naysābūrī said:

ابنتها

ibnatuhā

The Answering-Ansar team translates this as:

“her daughter”

al-Naysābūrī said:

تربيته

tarbiyyatih

The Answering-Ansar team translates this as:

“his guardianship”

al-Naysābūrī said:

بأمها

bi ummihā

The Answering-Ansar team translates this as:

“her mother”

al-Naysābūrī mentioned the women in the part of the verse as:

من نسائكم

min nisā’ikum

And they translate it as:

“of your women”

So why is that when al-Naysābūrī mentioned bi rabā’ibikum, the Answering-Ansar team translated it as simply “to step daughters” and not “to your step daughters”? Perhaps because translating the personal noun here changes the meaning completely and would have ruined the entire argument?

Furthermore, al-Naysābūrī clearly states:

كما تقول بنات رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من خديجة

kamā taqūl banāt rasūl Allāh şallá Allāhu `alayhi wa sallam min khadīja

Which should be correctly translated as:

“As you say: ‘The daughters of the Messenger of Allāh (saws) born of Khadīja’”

Can the Answering-Ansar team inform readers of why they also failed to mention “you say” in their translation found in the 2^nd revised edition of the article?

The wise individuals, of course, already know the answers.

Conclusion – The Actual View of Sunnī Scholars

In conclusion, what the author of Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān has stated is:

أما اشتراط الدخول بأمها فلقوله من نسائكم اللاتي دخلتم بهن وهو متعلق بربائبكم كما تقول بنات رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من خديجة

“As for the stipulation of consummation with her mother, that is due to His statement: ‘of [min] your women whom you have entered into’ [4:23], and that is ‘connected’ with ‘your step-daughters’ [4:23], as you say: ‘The daughters of the Messenger of Allāh (saws) born of [min] Khadīja.’”

·         Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān wa Raghā’ib al-Furqān, of Nižām al-Dīn al-Naysābūrī (d. 728), volume 2, page 387 [Beirut]

These are the actual words of the author, al-Naysābūrī, who has simply quoted a part of the verse that starts with min [of] as a proof for stipulation and then mentioned its linguistic connection with the part of the verse that comes before it, while citing a phrase that is common among the Muslims as an example. As it is obvious, he did not say that the Prophet’s (saws) daughters are not his real daughters or anything of such nature.

But the Answering-Ansar team—despite of citing the original Arabic text!—dishonestly mistranslated and distorted the author’s words and came forth with:

This has clearly been shown to be a deceptive mistranslation above. Not to mention that even if this translation is accepted, it would not make much sense because in the Arabic language, when a man’s children are said to be “of” [min] a woman, it means nothing but his children born of her. Thus, it is illogical to say that the author said Zaynab, Ruqayya and Umm Kulthūm (ra) were step-daughters of the Messenger of Allāh (saws) and yet his daughters born of Khadīja bint Khuwaylid (ra).

In any case, it was seen how a Sunnī scholar’s words are mistranslated and distorted by Answering-Ansar and a whole subchapter is confidently built upon it with a heading promoting the blanket idea that Sunnī scholars have “admitted” the views they propagate. In actual fact, however, Sunnī scholars unanimously believe that the Messenger of Allāh (saws) had four daughters and they were all born of Khadīja (ra).

The well-known Sunnī scholar Ibn `Abd al-Barr (d. 463) states in al-Istī`āb while mentioning the female children of the Prophet (saws) born of Khadīja (ra):

وولده من خديجة أربع بنات لا خلاف في ذلك

“His children born of Khadīja are four daughters; there is no difference of opinion about that.”

·         al-Istī`āb fī Ma`rifat al-Aşĥāb, of Ibn `Abd al-Barr (d. 463), volume 1, page 50 [Beirut]

This is the view of Sunnī scholars.

And as far as the step-daughter facade is concerned, then let us finish with the words of someone who is already aboard the ark of Ahl al-Bayt.

Grand Āyat Allāh al-Sayyid Muĥammad Ĥusayn Fađl Allāh states:

إن من المعلوم تاريخيا أنه قد ولد لرسول الله ص عدة ذكور لكنهم ماتوا صغارا وأما البنات فمن المعلوم تاريخيا أيضا بل المشهور والمتسالم عليه بين محققي الفريقين ومؤرخيهم انه كان للنبي ص من البنات زينب وأم كلثوم ورقية وأنهن عشن وتزوجن وإن ذهب شاذ من المعاصرين تبعا لشاذ من المتقدمين إلى نفي كون هؤلاء من بنات النبي ص مدعيا أنهن ربائب له وهذا من أغرب الآراء وأعجبها كونه مخالفا لصريح القرآن الكريم في قوله تعالى يا أيها النبي قل لأزواجك وبناتك ونساء المؤمنين الأحزاب ٥٩

“Verily, it is historically known that several sons of the Messenger of Allāh (saws) were born, but they passed away at a young age. As for daughters, then it is also historically known; in fact, it is famous and accepted among the research scholars and historians of both sects that Zaynab, Umm Kulthūm and Ruqayya were the daughters of the Prophet (saws), and that they lived and also married.

Indeed, the anomalous individuals from the contemporaries—in their following of the anomalous individuals from those who preceded them—have opined against them being the daughters of the Prophet (saws), claiming that they are his step-daughters. However, this is from the most odd and strange of the opinions, being against the explicit statement of His, the Exalted, in the Noble Qur’ān: ‘O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers…’ (al-Aĥzāb:59).”

·         al-Zahrā’ al-Qudwa, of al-Sayyid Muĥammad Ĥusayn Fađl Allāh, page 60-61 [Beirut]

It is only Allah (swt) who gives success, and blessings and peace be on the Seal of the Prophets, his Pure Progeny and his Noble Companions

♦        ♦          ♦

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Works Cited

Shī`ī texts:

1.       al-Zahrā’ al-Qudwa

al-Sayyid Muĥammad Ĥusayn Fađl Allāh

Dar al-Malak

Beirut, Lebanon

Sunnī texts:

2.       al-Istī`āb fī Ma`rifat al-Aşĥāb

Ibn `Abd al-Barr (d. 463)

Dar al-Jil

Beirut, Lebanon

3.       Gharā’ib al-Qur’ān wa Raghā’ib al-Furqān

Nižām al-Dīn al-Naysābūrī (d. 728)

Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyya

Beirut, Lebanon