Just by looking I could tell that the trio was utterly delighted with my opinion. I now decided to generalize my statement about the obligation of marriage.
"You young men of good will," I told them, "none of you should reach the age of twenty or so without searching for a wife to marry according to the law. That way you can steer clear of all kinds of censorious conduct and harmful indiscretions that inevitably accompany young people's unruly behavior-and how very many of those there are in this era of ours! Like prayer itself, marriage precludes fornication and evil conduct."
With a finger raised, a student now started reciting such Qur'anic verses and hadith reports as came to his mind on the subject. I thanked him for doing so and proceeded to comment on the passages he had cited, and in terms of both language and usage, going into detailed explanation whenever required.
At this point a voice was raised, inquiring as to whether it was better and more observant for a man to marry more than one wife or to have just one.
"There is a noble verse in the Sura of Women," I replied, "that should be cited in full in order to understand what it is saying: `Should you fear that you are not dealing fairly with orphans, then marry women in twos, threes, or fours. If you are afraid that you may not treat them all equally, then marry only one or whatever your right hand may own. That makes it more likely that you will not be partial' [Sura 4, v. 3]. So, if you all think about the matter carefully, you will conclude that this justification of polygamy is neither an obligation nor a command, but rather a kind of license dictated by temporary conditions and requirements. To be more specific, it is referring to the earliest conquests of Islam and the shortage of married men and bachelors that they inevitably caused. When it comes to a clearly fixed principle, the clinching arguments are based on the unequivocally clear verse that says, `even if you desire it, you will never be able to be fair to all your women' [Sura 4, v. 129]. In this instance justice is not merely a matter of expenditure, but involves matters of the heart and emotional attachment. In this latter sense justice-being clearly the more worthy and positive-was something that Muhammad, Lord of all Prophets, found to be a challenge. So what can we say about those who are not endowed with the same morals and virtues as he?"
Someone now inquired about the permissibility of a husband's striking his wife, based on the verses in the Sura of Women that are devoted to the topic. I explained that with this particular subject we are confronted with a case involving ultimate sanctions, namely disobedience, estrangement, or desertion. They may involve any number of shameful and extraordinary situations that can mar the laudable principles and goals of married life, something that is established in more than one Qur'anic verse. I pointed out that the application of the traditional injunction "to command what is good," to marriage as well as to divorce is "the most hateful to God among what is legitimate." To the people that believe in the unity of God and its monotheistic faith, this principle is the chief cornerstone and the clearest possible injunction, as it says in the verse from the Sura of the Cow: "You may divorce twice; then keep them in charity or else let them depart in kindness" [Sura 2, v. 229]. With regard to the question of the permissibility of beating your wife as found in the relevant Qur'anic verse, we need to bear in mind something that zealots and pedants overlook and fail to give its required importance, namely that the topic of beating is placed in a position following other measures that are considered preferable and anterior: counseling and separation. If beating should take place, then it has to be lightly administered, nothing excessive-with the sleeve perhaps or a silk strap. That is what is enjoined in those exact terms as part of the sermon delivered by the Prophet during the pilgrimage of farewell-that being the final statement of the noblest of prophets and an obligatory core of Muslim law. Even so, the fact of the matter is that, as I have insisted before, the Prophet of Islam, who is our model and guide, never beat any of his wives even in the most trying and tense of circumstances such as the famous incident in which `A'ishah, mother of the believers, was falsely accused.
I hesitated to recount this story and explain it, but I heard 'Abd al-'Ali continuing the discussion.
"Concerning the ideal woman, we children of this generation need to give maximum weight to what the truest of messengers had to say on the subject: `Take fully half of your religious faith from this Himyari woman,' by which he meant `A'ishah, the pure and noble. In another hadith he says, `If I had to make a choice, I would prefer women to men,' and in still another, `That which does honor to women is noble; that which belittles them is vile."'
A student in the very back row spoke up. "My name is Zayd al-Masmudi," he said in an angry tone, "and I'm almost thirty. Everything the master has told us about the obligations found in the Qur'an has helped me a lot, but my problem is one that also affects others like me. It's not a case of whether one wife is better than more than one, but simply the fact that I can't find even half a wife. As the saying puts it, master, `the eye may be able to see, but the hand is weak.' There is no way for someone like me who has exhausted all his resources and is trapped in the vice of unemployment to fulfill the obligations of marriage."
"Dear brother," I said in response not only to this anxious student with all his problems, but also to others like him, "unemployment is indeed a genuine curse on the nobility of mankind, a dagger-thrust aimed at the innate desire for knowledge and learning. Its harmful effects are felt in both present and future. But we're a group of people who try to ward off its harmful effects by helping each other and making an effort to find a decent job. When it comes to making a good-faith effort to get married, no one will fail if we are willing to offer our help. God's hand is with the community. So get to work and cooperate with each other so that you can grow in God's eyes."
Another student had a question. "What does our teacher advise," he asked, "when someone needs to get married or do something else, but he can't find anyone to offer him assistance or make him a loan without interest? Is he supposed to remain deprived till he grows old and decrepit, or should he bow to necessity even though it involves usury?"
I said nothing for a while since I wanted the students to listen carefully to what I was going to say.
"The Qur'anic verse dealing with usury is a late one," I went on. "`Umar ibn al-Khattab regretted the fact that the Prophet did not have enough time to clarify and explain it. My personal view on the subject is that it all depends on the price situation, living costs, and the value of money. If the total amount involved between the time of taking the loan and repayment remains constant, then the profits involved are indeed usury as defined by the text. If on the other hand the funds involved suffer change or loss, then the value added to the loan is considered compensation for the loss and any damage that might have been incurred. Just imagine, my brother, that you loaned someone else a large amount of money and reclaimed it after a number of years. You then find that the amount no longer covers the expenses that would have been incurred before. What are you supposed to do in such a case?"
The student remained silent and stared pensively at the ground. Another student now asked me about the ultimate sanction of cutting off the hand of a robber, male or female, and the requirements involved in carrying out such a sentence, whatever the case and time period involved.
"There is only a single verse on that subject, and it comes in the Sura of the Table. Its purpose was a general one, to scare people. As a result, when it comes to specifics and consideration of particular circumstances, two principles have to be taken into consideration: the first involves the need to avoid resorting to these ultimate sanctions on the basis of doubts concerning the case itself. As Muhammad himself-peace and blessings upon him! — says, `As far as possible, avoid applying the sanctions on Muslims. If you can find a means of avoiding them, then allow them to go free. It is far better for an imam to make a mistake by forgiving someone than to do so in his punishment.' The identification of that avoidance mechanism-following the pattern of conduct of `Umar, the caliph known as the `arbiter' (God be pleased with him!)-is an obligation on all judges who exercise their discretion in legal matters and rulers in difficult times such as those in which we ourselves are now living. The most significant of those difficulties are hunger, need, and poverty. As the proverb puts it, `Poverty is akin to disbelief.' `What amazes me about someone with no food in his house,' says Abu Dharr al-Ghifari,* `is that he doesn't go out in public with his sword drawn.' The second of these principles requires that the facts concerning the crime of theft be contextualized in terms of removal of the conditions that cause the thief to steal in the first place. Cutting off the limbs of thieves and making them an example to others is not the answer. Even when this ultimate sanction is applied, it is still not a sufficient deterrent when it comes to putting a stop to theft. In summary then, the proper thing to do is to find a way of dealing with the root causes of this severe problem and determining what are the appropriate reformatory or incarceration penalties in accordance with circumstances and possibilities. God alone can guide us to the correct answer!"