Posted By Bernard Gaynor on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 7:59 am | 7 comments

If you do a google search of “Islamic bookstore Australia”, the first item on the search list will be “The Islamic Bookstore – Australia”.

And if you go to that page and hover your mouse over the tab titled “Books” at the top, you will find a dropdown menu that will give you the option to buy English translations of the Koran.

And just for your benefit, I’ve included a screenshot of this option below.

Now, I am going to make a very bold assumption here. I am going to assume that the Islamic Bookstore of Australia is not in the business of selling dodgy translations of the Koran. If they sell an English translation, it’s reasonable to believe that it is a good one.

And if you click on the link to the English versions of the Koran sold by the Islamic Bookstore of Australia, you will find a total of 46 different options.

Let’s choose “The Quran (Saheeh International)”.

It has the very helpful publisher’s description:

“Widely acclaimed and respected for accurately reflecting Arabic meanings. Simple language and attention to detail have made this a superior English translation. It has received recommendations by numerous well-known scholars, including Shaykh Muhammad bin Saleh al-Munajjid, Dr. Zakir Naik, Sheikh Yusuf Estes, Dr. Bilal Philips and Dr. Jamal Badawi.”

Yes. Saheeh International is renowned for its accurate reflection of Arabic meanings. Its attention to detail makes it a superior English translation.

Luckily, you don’t have to cough up $35 to buy it because it can easily be found online.

Like right here, at the official Saheeh International website. All you have to do is click on the red writing at the top of the page that says “The Saheeh International translation flash book edition” and wait for the download.

And let’s see what it says. Let’s pick any old verse, say Chapter 65:4:

“And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women – if you doubt, then their period is three months, and [also for] those who have not menstruated. And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they give birth. And whoever fears Allah – He will make for him of his matter ease.”

So what’s all this about then?

Why do you need to wait three months for menstruating women? And three months for those who have not yet menstruated? And until birth for those women who are pregnant?

Well, Chapter 65 of the Koran is called “al Talaq”. In Arabic, that means divorce.

The entire chapter is all about what Allah had to say to Mohammad on the issue.

In Islam, if you want to divorce your wife and she menstruates, then you need to wait three months. If she’s got a bun in the oven, then you must hang around until bub arrives. Bummer.

But if your bride has not yet menstruated, you can still divorce her too. It’s just a three month wait as well.

Normally speaking, a bride who has not yet menstruated is called something else in the English world: a little girl. And normally speaking, it is a criminal offence to marry little girls off to grown men.

But don’t get all hot under the collar. It’s not all pure unmitigated evil.

Let’s be truthful.

While the Koran makes it crystal clear that child marriage is not a problem in Islam, there is some contention about when it becomes acceptable to consummate that marriage.

For instance, the good Shaykh Muhammad bin Saleh al-Munajjid, who was so kind as to recommend the Saheeh International version of the Koran, has some rather illuminating and clarifying points to make on his website: http://islamqa.info/en

If you enter the word “Aisha” into his search bar, up will pop a number of questions, along with Shaykh Mohammad’s answers. And for those who don’t know, Aisha was Mohammad’s six year old wife.

Make sure you stay focused. Don’t get tempted to stray from the task at hand. So, fascinating as it may be to find out whether it is haraam to urinate standing up, definitely do not click on that link.

Oh all right. Give in. I did.

Thankfully, it’s not wrong to urinate while you stand up, but just know that Mohammad liked to sit down. Good for him and good for those devoted followers who recorded these personal details.

But back to our main focus. We want to know why Mohammad married Aisha when she was only six years old. Luckily, there is a question right there that asks this.

And Shaykh Mohammad, in a nutshell, says that while Mohammad married Aisha when she was six, he virtuously abstained from consummating that marriage until she was nine years old because that is when she became a woman.

He also goes on to say this:

“It may be noted that among his wives were those who were young and old, the daughter of his sworn enemy, the daughter of his closest friend. One of them occupied herself with raising orphans, another distinguished herself  from others by fasting and praying qiyaam a great deal… They represented all kinds of people, through whom the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was able to set out a way for the Muslims showing how to deal properly with all kinds of people.”

That sounds kind of like the PR message that you’d get from a crazy religious cult leader justifying why he slept with the daughters and wives of his followers. The big difference between Mohammad and the rest of these types is that he was also in the business of building an army.

But if reading isn’t your thing, just watch this informative video:

See, I told you not to get all hot under the collar.

Anyway, in completely unrelated news, Michael Smith has been barred from hosting radio programs at 2GB.

According to the national broadcaster, Smith’s show was cancelled for “making controversial comments about the Prophet Mohammad”.

Anyone who knows anything about the militant secularists who run the ABC would raise an eyebrow at the use of the word ‘Prophet’. Has the ABC ever referred to Jesus Christ in such a reverential way? Have all the journalists there just had their desks redirected to face towards Mecca?

And anyone who knows the facts of Mohammad’s life would know that you’d need to say something completely outrageous to make a controversial comment about this man. Maybe Smith said that he was a pacifist?

No. He didn’t.

Michael Smith just said that Mohammad was “a man who promoted the idea that it was OK to marry a six-year-old and consummate the marriage when the little girl was nine”.

Boring.

Any student of Islam knows that to be the case. It might be a dangerous idea, but it’s not controversial to acknowledge that it is one of Mohammad’s teachings. It’s about as controversial as acknowledging that Jesus Christ said “Blessed are the peacemakers”.

But there is more to this story. Michael Smith was also told by 2GB that “you can’t call a Deity a paedophile”.

Now that is controversial.

Not the paedophile part. The calling Mohammad a deity part.

I hate to break it to 2GB, but Islam teaches that it’s sweet to marry little girls. But it’s the highest possible outrage to call something other than Allah a deity.

So here’s some advice for the dudes running the show there.

If a rogue band of ISIS militants ever drops by Saunders Street demanding correct answers to their questions while brandishing rusty hacksaws, don’t call Mohammad a deity. You’ll lose your head. But they won’t care if you accept that he married Aisha when she was six, or that he consummated the marriage when she turned nine.

They know all about that already.

That’s why in Iraq they have laws allowing women to be divorced when they reach Grade 3.