The Quran tells us that the wives of Hz. Nuh and Hz. Lut were unbelievers. Was it permissible to marry unbelievers in their shari’ah?
- Or, did those prophets not know that their wives were unbelievers?
Submitted by on Sat, 15/06/2019 - 15:43
Dear Brother / Sister,
The verse regarding the issue is as follows:
“Allah sets forth, for an example to the Unbelievers, the wife of Noah and the wife of Lut: they were (respectively) under two of our righteous servants, but they were false (acted treacherously) to their (husbands), and they profited nothing before Allah on their account, but were told: ‘Enter ye the Fire along with (others) that enter!’” (at-Tahrim, 66/10)
The statement “they were false (acted treacherously) to their husbands” in the verse indicate that Hz. Nuh (Noah) and Hz. Lut (Lot) did not know that their wives were unbelievers. For, the concept “treachery” shows that the bad deed was done secretly. (see Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the verse in question)
It should not be forgotten that prophets do not know about ghayb unless Allah informs them. It is possible that those women were believers at first, deviated afterwards by obeying their souls and Satan and acted as hypocrites by hiding their denial.
Thus, they might have lived as believers in appearance though they were really unbelievers. As a matter of fact, the wife of Hz. Nuh is mentioned in the Torah when he left the ship after the deluge. (Ibn Ashur, ibid) This shows that she became a denier after the deluge because the unbelievers did not get on the ship; they were drowned.
The duty of the people is to act based on what is apparent even if they are prophets. Therefore, it is religiously permissible for those prophets to live with their wives, who were apparently believers.
Questions on Islam
- How can it be explained that the life of the Prophet Nuh (Noah) is narrated as a whole in the Torah but briefly and in bits in the Quran?
- How many nations and tribes were destroyed? Where, how and why?
- Did the Flood of Noah cover the whole world? Did the humankind continue from Hz. Nuh (Noah)?
- Prophet Nuh [Noah] (Peace be upon him)
- Prophet Lut [Lot] (Peace be upon him)
- Why was Lut’s (Lot's) wife destroyed?
- Why were there not any women prophets? Why did Allah choose prophets among men?
- How would you answer the claims that the incidents like the Deluge of Noah (Nuh) and the Red Sea being split into two are mentioned in the Sumerian, Babylonian and Egyptian resources and that they were copied from those resources?
- is husband allowed to beat his wife?
- For whom is the hadith ‘Belief wipes out the page before it’?