Response to Chapter 5 Entitled “Elucidation to the truth”
The bulk of the argument brought forth by Answering-Ansar in this chapter deals with the absurd idea that perhaps it was not that Umm Kulthoom but another one. Because this argument has been recycled again and again by the Answering-Ansar team, I’ve decided to make a separate page to deal with this idea so that I can simply refer the reader there. Please click here for my response to the idea that it was another Umm Kulthoom.
There is one other minor point brought up by the Answering-Ansar team in this chapter, and I shall address it now.
Answering-Ansar says
…we would like to pose this question:
Marriage serves a number of key objectives:
Every man has a natural instinct for a woman’s companionship
It is a means to produce offspring, and seek happiness from them
Partners can reap the benefits of a comfortable life together
It can have some type of worldly / materialistic benefit
It can carry some religious benefit
When it is clear that not a single one of these aims would have been fulfilled by Umar’s marriage to Umme Kalthum binte Abu Bakr, why did he deem it necessary marry this five year old child, particularly when he already had wives to fulfil the above aims?
Firstly, these five reasons are not the only reasons people get married. Just apply this to today and you will see that this is not true. There are many other reasons people get married. Secondly, even if we limit ourselves to these five myopic reasons people get married (invented by the love gurus at Answering-Ansar), we see that Umar’s marriage to Umm Kulthoom bint Abu Bakr would fulfill all of these (except perhaps worldly benefit). Just like Umar wanted to become more related to the Prophet by marrying Ali’s daughter, he also wanted to get closer in relationship to Abu Bakr, one of the greatest Muslims in history. Sure, the Shia do not think so, but to say that wanting Abu Bakr’s companionship is not a good thing is not a valid argument for the reason that to the Sunnis Abu Bakr’s companionship is an excellent thing.
Written By: Ibn al-Hashimi, www.ahlelbayt.com
