The Jarash Crime
Peace and Mercy of Allah
be upon you all.
Welcome dear viewers!
May Allah bless you on this Friday.
Frankly, with all the
information overload,
and other concerns,
I heard of the Jarash crime late.
For those who haven't heard:
A criminal intentionally, brutally,
and completely blinded his wife!
I prefer not to mention the details
because they are very disturbing,
and may inspire similar crimes,
for people in fits of anger.
In fact, when I heard the details,
I was deeply saddened and grieved.
I thought to myself: We need
to pause and reflect on this incident.
We need a few reminders,
so such atrocities do not recur.
First of all, dear viewers:
Choosing the right husband.
We all memorize the words of the Prophet,
Peace and Blessings be upon him,
"When someone whose religion and
character are in order, comes to you,
then accept him."
(At-Tirmidhi)
Therefore, the criteria are
piety and character,
not her cousin, relative, or whatnot.
The woman and her family should ease
the financial burden on pious men
of good character.
Second: If a woman is already married
and her husband has neither piety
nor good character,
but instead is a sinful criminal
who does not fear Allah
in the treatment of his wife,
should her family tell her,
"Be patient, maybe Allah will guide him.
Don’t wreck your marriage!"?
Is the wife required to be patient
with such a husband?
Never! It is unfair to her
and a separation should be sought.
There is a difference, dear viewers,
between a man who fears Allah
but displays harshness occasionally;
who heeds advice and reminders;
whose harshness is deterred
by his faith and morality,
and, on the other hand,
a merciless criminal.
A wife shouldn't be asked to
be patient with such a man!
Nor should she be told,
"Be patient for the sake of your children"
It is worse for children to witness
their father's brutality with their mother
than to live with two divorced parents.
Then, why is it so difficult for people
to consider divorce?
Why is divorce such a problem nowadays?
This takes us to the third point:
society's very negative stance
towards divorce and divorcées;
the societal disdain towards divorcées
which contradicts our religion
People got divorced at the time
of the Prophet,
Peace and Blessings be upon him,
and divorcées got married again.
Our Prophet, Peace and Blessings be upon
him, married Zainab, who was a divorcée.
Therefore, it is unjust and ignorant
to look down upon divorced women.
In some relations, in general, the only
solution is to end the relationship!
Allah says, what can be translated as,
"retain (the wife) with honor or
separate with grace."
(Quran 2:229)
If you want to retain your wife,
treat her well; if you want divorce,
do it with grace.
We explained how to
"retain the wife with honor"
in the episode:
"Nada Complains to Aisha",
and explained how the Prophet,
Peace and Blessings be upon him,
treated his wives.
If people who are truly obedient to Allah
get divorced, what is expected?
Allah Almighty says, what can be
translated as, "If the two separate,
Allah will enrich both out of His
abundance." (Quran 4:130)
Without the complications of this
"Age of Ignorance"!
Without criminalizing divorce
and injustice towards divorcées!
The fourth point:
We hear some people say,
regarding this crime,
"The penalty must be increased."
Here's a question:
Is the penalty unspecified
–left to human estimation–
for us to increase or reduce?
Have you not heard what Allah Almighty
ordained, which can be translated as,
"therein a life for a life,
an eye for an eye,
a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear,
a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds
is legal retribution." (Quran 5:45)
The injunction of Shari'a (Islamic Law)
is retributive justice.
If the wronged party voluntarily
decides to give up their right,
Allah Almighty says,
what can be translated as
"But whoever gives
up his right as charity,
it is an expiation for him."
(Quran 5:45)
However, the right remains his,
and he can chose to forgive or not.
This is the Shari'a of Allah.
In the hadith narrated by Al-Bukhari,
"During the lifetime of Allah's Messenger,
Peace and Blessings be upon him,
a Jew attacked a girl.
He took some silver ornaments
she was wearing and crushed her head.
Her relative brought her to the Prophet,
Peace and Blessings be upon him,
while she was in her last breath.
She was unable to speak.
Allah's Messenger,
Peace and Blessings be upon him,
asked her, "Who hit you? So-and so?",
mentioning somebody
other than her attacker.
She moved her head in denial.
He then asked her
about another man.
She again moved her head in denial.
Then he asked, "Was it so-and-so?"
Hearing the name of her attacker,
she nodded in agreement."
(Al-Bukhari 5295)
What did the Prophet do?
In another authentic narration
outside of Al-Bukhari,
the Jew confessed to his crime.
What did the Prophet do to him?
He ordered that the head of the Jew
be crushed between two stones:
Retributive justice!
Girl, boy, woman, man;
the penalty is retributive justice.
In the hadith also narrated by Al-Bukhari,
"Rubai, the paternal aunt of Anas,
broke the tooth of a girl." Just a tooth!
"Her family demanded retributive justice.
They came to the Prophet,
Peace and Blessings be upon him, who
ordered retaliation." (Al-Bukhari 4611)
For a tooth!? Yes!
Even for a tooth he ordered justice.
The girl's family then accepted monetary
compensation instead of retribution.
A Muslim, whether male or female,
is honored.
His/her rights are preserved in Shari'a.
Anyone who wants to attack a Muslim faces
strong deterrents to stop his aggression.
Therefore, dear viewers,
this heart-wrenching crime
is a consequence of the absence
of Allah's Shari'a in our societies:
Its rulings,
its views on divorcees,
its criteria for choosing spouses,
its handling of family problems,
its views on everything.
May Allah help us!
We ask Allah to guide us back to Him
in a beautiful way.
Because what we see is extremely ugly,
painful, and unbelievable:
a level of brutality unprecedented
in history.
Allah is the One from whom
all help is sought!
We ask Allah Almighty to have mercy
on this blinded sister;
to help her and her children
who witnessed this tragic event;
to keep their faith steady and
ease their suffering.
Moreover, we ask Allah Almighty
to illuminate her heart and vision
and to compensate her with
the sight of Jannah (Paradise).
Allah is the One from whom
all help is sought.
May the Peace and Mercy of Allah
be upon you.