'An
Old Woman' & God's Character
A
Response to a Criticism
on the Qur'an
In his
list of contradictions in the Qur'an, Mr. Katz has included an
article based on a comparison of Al-Shu`araa 26: 170 - 171 and Al-Aa`raaf
7: 83.
Al-Shu`araa
26: 170 - 171 reads as:
Then
We saved all his [i.e. Lot (pbuh)'s] followers, except for an old woman, who was
left behind
Al-Aa`raaf
7: 83 reads as:
Then
We saved him [i.e. Lot (pbuh)] and his followers, except his woman, she was among
those left behind.
One verse
says that “an old woman” was left behind, while the other declares
that the wife of Lot (pbuh) was left behind. If only Lot's wife had been a
teenager, the two verses would clearly have been contradictory. Nevertheless,
the fact that Lot's wife was actually an old woman, removes the 'contradiction'.
Recognizing that, Mr. Katz writes:
… according to the
Muslim commentators, his wife is the same as the old woman. This
“solves” the identity problem but it is not conveying much respect for
the wife of this prophet. “An old woman” which is not even worth to be
properly “identified.” Is this contempt for women in general or for
old women?
The problem pointed out by Mr. Katz can,
in no way, be termed as a contradiction. It is only that Mr. Katz would like God
to show some respect for Lot's wife, being the wife of one of His prophets. Even
though it seems to be an interesting point, yet it is not coherent with the
introduction of God, as given in the Qur'an. The Qur'an has introduced God to be
Just, Who respects His creation not on the basis of their family connections,
but on the basis of their faith and good deeds. The Qur'an has clarified this
point in Al-Tehreem 66: 10 - 11 in the following words:
God gives the example of
Noah's wife and Lot's wife for those who have rejected. They were both married
to our pious servants, but they deceived their husbands. Thus, both their
husbands could not save them from God and they were told: “Enter the
Hellfire with those who deserve to enter it”. And God gives the example of
Pharaoh's wife for those who have believed, when she prayed and said: “God
build me a house near Yourself in Paradise and deliver me from Pharaoh and
misdeeds and deliver me from these unjust people”.
In the above verses, the Qur'an has
clearly declared that it is not one's relationship or connection to a pious
person that determines one's standing in God's rankings, but actually one's
faith in God and one's good deeds. A prophet's wife, if she is not obedient to
God and if she refuses to submit to His will, deserves neither respect nor
mercy. While the wife of God's enemy - like the Pharaoh - deserves respect as
well as mercy if she submits to the directives of God. This fact is further
clarified in the incident of the death of Noah's son, as reported in the Qur'an.
At that time, according to the Qur'an, Noah (pbuh) prayed God to save his son,
being a member of his family. The Qur'an says that in response to Noah's
request, God said (Hu'd 11: 46):
O Noah, he
is not a part of your family. His deeds are unbecoming.
Clarifying the same point to the Prophet
(pbuh), the Qur'an had declared (Al-Qasas 28: 56):
[O
Prophet,] You cannot guide those whom you love, but God guides whom He pleases
and He is fully aware of who deserves to be guided.
All these
verses point to the same principle of absolute and unbending justice. In, my
opinion, it is exactly the same point that John the Baptist (pbuh) is reported to have
stressed in the following words:
Produce fruit in keeping
with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as
our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for
Abraham. (Matthew 3: 8 - 9)
Thus,
even though Mr. Katz would like to give respect to a person on the basis of
his/her connection and relationship to another, yet this not the criterion of
God. His criterion of giving respect and showing mercy is based on the deeds of
the person in question. What is more just? It is for the readers to decide.
Mr. Katz
asks:
Isn't the most important
person in a man's life his wife?
Yes.
Normally, that is the case. Nevertheless, should God bend His rules of 'Justice'
because of the fact that the most important person in a man's life is his wife?
Then he
asks:
How much respect does the
wife of a prophet deserve?
In the
light of the above explanation, it should be clear that the answer to the above
question is 'it depends purely on the behavior of the prophet's wife, as
informed by God'.
Then he
further asks:
Why did Allah not hear
Lot's prayer for his family which seemed to include his wife?
Because,
according to God's laws, a person can only deserve God's mercy and forgiveness
on the basis of his own actions and faith, not merely on the basis of the
prayers of another person, even if that 'other' person is a prophet of God.
Mr. Katz
writes:
Now, obviously, God can
command whatever he wants to. But here it becomes clear that it is not stubborn
disobedience of Lot's wife to look back despite God's command, but it is Allah
himself who has no interest to save Lot's wife and Lot is told by the angels to
not even bother about his wife since God will destroy her anyway. If that is not
cruel as a response to a prayer to God to save him and his family, …
Even though God can command anything that
He wants to, yet according to the Qur'an, God's commandments are never based on
injustice, lack of knowledge, lack of wisdom or any other shortcoming. Moreover,
it should also remain clear that the Qur'an does not ascribe to the view that
Lot's wife was punished merely because she turned back (as is given in the
Bible). On the contrary, as is clear from Al-Tehreem 66: 10 - 11, cited
above that she was punished due to a consistent attitude of disobedience and
deception toward God and her husband, who, incidentally, was a messenger and a
representative of God. This was precisely the reason that the angels had
declared to Lot (pbuh) that his wife shall meet the same fate as that which is
met by the other rejecters, because of the simple reason that she is one of them
(absolute justice). It should be remembered that Lot's wife was indeed punished
because of God's decision to the effect. However, God's decision, in this case,
as in every other case, was not arbitrary, but based on complete knowledge,
wisdom, and justice.
This fact is further substantiated by the
Al-Zaariyaat 51: 32 - 35, in which the Qur'an has categorically declared
that God saved all those who believed in Lot and that the punishment was
administered only upon the transgressors. The referred verses read as:
The angels said: We have
been sent to [punish] a group of sinners. To shower clay stones upon them,
marked for the transgressors. Thus We saved all the believers who resided in it
[the town]…
Thus, it is quite clear that Lot's wife
was destined to be of those who lagged behind, only because she - due
to her transgression and unbecoming behavior - deserved to be grouped
with the transgressors, who lagged behind.
© Copyright June 2000. All Rights
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