317. Adopted Children

In these verses (33:4, 58:2) of the Quran we find it saying the adopted children can never be equal to the biological ones.

The Quran explains why Islam prevents childless couples from adopting children.

This relation between the adopted and the adopter is a false one. Islam rejects all kinds of false relationships. Ispite of the knowledge of the biological father we find kids naming someone else as their father, and fathers who claim other’s child as their own.

This is just a word play in people's imagination, and one’s child can never be another’s.

A man can never become the father of another’s child. Islam completely rejects this notion.

If a blood relationship need to be established, there’s got be a true blood relation between the two. Verse (33:4,5) advises this is as just and honest on one’s part.

A person who is responsible for having fathered the child could be the only father, and calling another as the father is a blatant lie. 

Can a person who brings up a pet be called its father? Can a person who fosters a plant or a tree can be called as its father. Calling a person who adopts a child as its father amounts to the same.

He can be called as a guardian, but calling him as the father is a false relation.

In the beginning stages of Islam there existed the practice of calling the adopter as father. The adopted son became the legal heir to the person who adopted him, later this was prohibited in Islam.

Abdullah bin Umar (RA) narrated:

Till verse (33:5) of the Quran saying “ Call the adopted sons by addressing their biological father, along with the name of the person who adopts him, this is being just with the Almighty ” was revealed we were in the practice of calling Zaid bin Harisa (RA) as the son of Prophet Muhammad.

Bukhari 4782.

This hadith gives us the message, a person named Zaid adopted by Prophet Muhammad was called as his son till it was declared by Allah in the Quran, an adopter can never become the biological father. And this practice was given up.

Similarly a woman who adopts a girl child cannot be the mother of that child.

Hence when the adopted girl child attains puberty, she needs to conduct herself in a manner as becoming of an alien.

For instance, with a matured adopted son, women should avoid being alone or appearing without a hijab in front of him. He should be accorded the status of an alien.

When a childless man adopts a male child, and is blessed with a female child at later stage he can get his female child married to the adopted son on maturity. because the adopted son is not his own son, and Islam says he cannot become a brother to the daughter of the person.

Similarly the adopted son can never become the legal heir of the adopter because he is not the biological son. When biological brothers and sisters of the deceased adopter are there they may dislike a person from outside laying claim to the property of the deceased creating enmity within.

If one wishes to bequeath property to the adopted, it may be done when the adopter is alive or leave a wish at his death, limiting to not more than one third of the total value of property

316. Equating one’s wife with mother.

In this verse (58:2,3) of the Quran Allah reprimands people those days, buried in all kinds of superstitions.

Arabs those days, when they started developing a dislike towards their wives, simply told them “ I, treat you like my mother” implying they do not wish to continue further as a husband and wife. Islam strongly condemns this attitude of men.

Though this was declared by these men by swearing in the name of God, Islam commands them to violate the promise made in this way and start living with the wife within four months.

Islam demolishes this kind of superstition and presents a remedy as above.

315. The space journey called Mehraj.

Prophet Muhammad on a particular night, was taken on a journey from Makkah to Jerusalem and onwards to the heavens, where he witnessed a number of events bearing testimony to the signs of the Almighty. 

People with wrong ideologies refute the the hadiths that have recorded Mehraj as an event.

In verse 17:1 of the Quran Allah talks, only about Prophet Muhammad being taken from Makkah to Jerusalem. Based on this, these people argue the hadiths that speak about the journey from Jerusalem into space are contradicting the Quran, and point out being the reason they refute the space journey from Jerusalem.

Verse 17:1, no doubt talks only about the journey from Makkah to Jerusalem, but the space journey Meraj, on which the Prophet was taken into the heavens, recorded in the hadiths, is not against the Quran nor contradicts it, but gives additional details about the travel into space.

In the hadiths regarding Mehraj we come to know about Prophet Muhammad meeting Prophet Musa, and on whose guidance the 50 times worshipping a day, was reduced to 5 times a day, from the Almighty. 

Verse (32:23) testifies to this truth about the meeting between Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Musa. 

This verse tells Prophet Muhammad not to be suspicious about him meeting Prophet Musa.

Prophet Musa passed out of this world several thousand years before Prophet Muhammad, and there is no way they would have met each other in this world.

The living could never come to meet someone dead long long ago, but here the Almighty to exhibit His omnipotence takes Prophet Muhammad on this space journey.

Where he comes face to face with Prophet Musa. This is the meet the Almighty refers to here in verse (32:23)

Allah tells Prophet Muhammad in this verse not to cast doubts about the meeting he had with Prophet Musa, and gives the message, indeed he did meet Prophet Musa, and reassures Prophet Muhammad that he met Prophet Musa all the same. 

In this verse (32:23) we have translated as “Do not doubt about your meeting with him”. The ‘him’ refers to Prophet Musa here, since the verse talks of Prophet Muhammad being met by Prophet Musa during his space journey.

Some translators refer the ‘him’ to the Almighty. When Prophet Musa demanded the Almighty’s appearance he was thrown into unconsciousness. The explanation given by these people is against the tenets of the Quran. More on this subject can be seen explained in point No;21. 

Still some others say, reference to ‘him’ is regarding Prophet Muhammad’s meeting with the Almighty, but there are evidences to prove that Prophet Muhammad did not come face to face with God. Since the arguments by these people is against all proofs that are available, these cannot be accepted. We have explained more about this in our explanation point No;482. 

Most of the translators mention as “ Do not doubt about your meeting with ‘Him’, referring to meeting the great God in the hereafter.

This is a wrong connotation because Prophet Muhammad talks of this verse, only while on his space journey. 

Prophet Muhammad said ‘ When I was taken on a space journey, during the night, I passed by Prophet Musa the son of Imran, he appeared like one belonging to the Shanuaa tribe, wheatish in color, tall, and with curler hair. And I also saw Esa (AS) son of Mary. He was of middle height, with a skin color that seemed a mixture of fair and pink, with hanging locks of hair. I was shown the guard of hell gate Maalick, and Dajjal. ’All these were shown to me by Allah as testimony’ and Prophet Muhammad recited the verse (32:23) of the Quran as follows; “ Do not be skeptical about your meeting with him”.

This was narrated by Ibn Abbas (RA) 

Hadith Book Muslim: 267.

We do not need to turn towards those who translate against the meanings offered by Prophet Muhammad regarding a verse of the Quran. 

This stands as a clear evidence proving the event of Miraj.

Verses 53:13-18, of the Quran confirm the hadiths regarding Mehraj are are not against the Quran. 

Please refer to explanation nos 263, 267, 362 to know more.

314. The age upto which an infant can continue breastfeeding.

 Verses (2:233, 31:14) of the Quran say an infant continues to breastfeed up to the age of two. 

But verse (46:15) of the Quran mentions 30 months as the period including the days of carriage.

If one takes away 24 months as mentioned in the Quran as the duration for breastfeeding, the remaining is six months of carriage by the mother. Nobody has ever accepted the months of carriage by the mother as six months. Right from the time the Quran was revealed, it has been calculated as ten months of carriage by the mother. 

When everyone else mentions the carriage period by the mother as ten months, the Quran deliberately says the period is six months with a reason.

There is a hard fact hidden in what the Quran deliberately mentions as six months. This comes to light when research is undertaken to study the development of the fetus.

There is a difference in the shape of the human from that of other animals. Man enters the womb as semen, and develops sticking on to its walls. Then develop as a piece of flesh. During these stages of development the fetus does not take a human form, and resembles a goat at the stage without limbs etc, being formed. 

The piece of flesh that has developed at this stage cannot be differentiated as human or otherwise.

Only after this stage does the respective cells reach the appropriate locations to be developed into respective human organs. 

This message is conveyed differently in the following verse 23:14. of the Quran as follows : We made the fertilized egg into a piece of flesh and the piece of flesh into a bone, and dressed the bone with meat, and turned it into a different being altogether.

God says He turned it into a different being altogether indicating the condition of all are the same upto that stage. And only at a later stage does it take the shape of a goat, or a cow, or a human, hence the AlMighty names as a different being altogether.

In this verse, it needs to be noted the Almighty mentions as she carried man, and not the child. To know more on this topic please refer to explanation point No:296.

313. Prediction in the Quran about the victory of Romans.

At the time when Prophet Muhammad was in Makkah, there were two empires in the world, one was the Roman Empire of the Christians, and the other the Persian Empire by the fire worshippers.

During the period of Prophet Muhammad a battle broke out between the two, and the Romans were defeated. The enemies of Prophet Muhammad celebrated the defeat.

This was because the enemies of the prophet in Makkah, believed Prophet Muhammad would be overwhelmed by them as was done in the case of the Romans who claimed to have possessed a scripture like the Muslims.

It was at this juncture the verses (30:2, 3, 4.) of the Quran were revealed predicting the victory of Romans over the Persians in a few years time.

This prediction came to be true at the time of Prophet Muhammad itself proving the Quran to be the “Word of God’. 

312. On Prophet Muhammad being an illiterate.

These verses of the Quran (6:112, 7:157, 7:158, 25:5, 29:48) say Prophet Muhammad was not a literate person neither having the knowledge to read nor write.

Muslims do know that Prophet Muhammad did not possess the knowledge to read or write.

Some among the learned Muslims fabricate a lie that Prophet Muhammad was a literate.

 Since people nowadays are judged based on their educational qualifications, some feel ashamed to declare that Prophet Muhammad did not qualify as an educated person.

They fear that declaring Prophet Muhammad as a unlearned person would cause a dent in his reputation, as the reason behind their argument.

Or, are they ashamed to own up their life guide as an uneducated person?

They present some proof to support their claim. Before verifying the proof offered by them let’s get in to see, whether being uneducated is a big setback for Prophet Muhammad.

Though, generally illiteracy is associated with ignorance and ignominy, this cannot be so inthe case of Prophet Muhammad. Because certain features considered as a setback to some people in fact increases the stature of the person.

Though being a literate increases the stature of a person, in the case of Prophet Muhammad it is apt for him to be a person with illiteracy. 

.Prophet Muhammad declared that he received divine messages from Almighty God, the messages were of high literary calibre that challenged others to bring a similar one. 

Had prophet Muhammad been a learned person, people would have come to a conclusion that the Quran is his own creation, he having used his literary knowledge to create it. This would prove him to be a intelligent person, and not as a messenger of God.

It is a better qualification for Prophet Muhammad, being the messenger of God than being a learned Arabic intellectual. 

Had he been a learned person, most of the people who had seen him personally would not have accepted the Quran as a scripture from God Almighty. 

This is an arrangement from the Almighty to make prove the disqualification in Prophet Muhammad as an illiterate is in fact to his advantage.

The reason most people those days trusted Prophet Muhammad as the messenger of God, was the fact he delivered messages from God with such high calibre in literature, not possible by a person, who did not possess the knowledge to read or write. Thus proving, the message is nothing but scripture from God Almighty.

Allah says thus in verse (29:48) of the Quran addressing the prophet “ If you have had the knowledge to read and write ,the idlers among them would have doubted your integrity. 

Verse (29:48) of the Quran says in order to bestow a blessing on Prophet Muhammad, Allah did not grant him the qualification of being a literate.

The Quran in many places clearly indicates Prophet Muhammad did not possess the knowledge to read and write.

The verses (7:157, 158) of the Quran denote Prophet Muhammad as ‘Ummee’.

The word ‘Ummu’ in Arabic means the ‘mother’, and the word ‘Ummee’ denotes ‘reliant on the mother’. Since infants are reliant on their mothers, they are called as ‘Ummee’. Later on the same term was used to refer to people who were unable to read or write, since they were dependent on others for the same.

In verses 24:4, 5 it is said “ they refer to this Quran as some kind of mythology that has been made to be written down by him (Prophet Muhammad) and read out to him every morning and evening. This verse also stands testimony to the fact,that Prophet Muhammad did not possess the knowledge to read and write. 

The enemies of Prophet Muhammad believed, he had fabricated the Quran himself, and got it written with the help of others. Since they were aware Prophet Muhammad was an illiterate, he had others write the Quran for him is the message that is conveyed here.

The root word here is ‘kathaba’ meaning ‘wrote‘, and ikthaba means ‘to get it written by someone’. We find the word ‘ikthaba’ in this verse.

 Verse 29:48, tops all others in expressing the same message. 

This verse declares clearly “ You have not read anything before and neither will you further write anything with your hand. 

Some have wrongly translated as “you will not further write with your right hand” this is wrong (walaadhahutu) is an expression of future happening, meaning “ will further not write “ is the direct correct meaning. 

When Allah has declared “ You did not read before and neither will you now, after becoming a messenger, the argument by some the Prophet Muhammad woud have turned a literate after becoming a messenger of God is proven wrong. 

The people who argue that Prophet Muhammad was a literate, cite the following event as an evidence:-

The enemies of Islam refused to accept Prophet Muhammad as the messenger of God and objected to the mention of the same in the agreement of Hudaibiya, by saying, in the first place, if we had accepted him as the messenger of God, the very question of agreement wouldn’t arise. Prophet Muhammad accepted their contention, and ordered his companions to erase the words ‘ Muhammad the messenger of God’ and replace it with ‘Muhammad son of Abdullah’ But none of his comrade came forward to do it, and the prophet himself erased the same. (Hadith Book : Bukhari 2698, 2699.) 

These people argue that because the prophet knew to read and write could he erase his name exactly. Though there is clear indication in the Quran about the inability to read and write on the part of Prophet Muhammad, these people are beating about the bush to bring an evidence.

The hadiths with nos 3184 and 4251, in the book Bukhari deny their claim, as can be seen. Since Prophet Muhammad did not know to read write, he ordered Ali (RA) to erase the particular words ‘Muhammad the prophet of Allah’ and replace it with “ Muhammad son of Abdullah”, but Ali (RA) refused to do so. And Prophet Muhammad asked Ali (RA) to point out the words and the Prophet erased it himself. This is the hadith quotes regarding the event.

Though generally illiteracy is regarded as a lesser qualification, in the case of Prophet Muhammad it seen as a special one.

311. Prediction in the Quran, about Makkah to be won over.

This verse (28:85) of the Quran talks Prophet Muhammad will return to Makkah victorious

Prophet Muhammad was forced to flee Makkah, in order to save himself from being killed.

A person thus evacuated from the place, could never be imagined by anybody to return as a ruler of the same place. 

But this verse while talking about the departure of Prophet Muhammad from Makkah predicts and says, “I will restore you the same place from where you were evacuated”. This prediction was also announced openly to the world by Prophet Muhammad. 

The prediction that, Prophet Muhammad would subjugate his native town which banished him, within a few years coming true is yet another proof that Quran is “Word of God”.

310. The prediction in the Quran announcing the availability of fruits in the desert.

Makkah during the period of Prophet Muhammad, and before him was never a place of growth for fruits, neither is it now.

This verse (28:57) of the Quran, predicted the availability of all kinds of fruits from around the world in the barren desert. Each and everyone who visits Makkah on pilgrimage can witness even now the prediction having come true.

The world now witnesses the scenario where all kinds of fruits from around the world are moved towards the people at Makkah.

This has been taking place for the past 1443 years even from the time when things produced at one part of the world were not available in another.

This is yet another evidence to prove the Quran is the ‘Word of God’.