Abdo Khal

Okaz

Many popular stories we normally hear need to be thoroughly verified because seem far away from reality. One of them is a story about Al-Zubai Bin Al-Awwam, the great companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The story was narrated by Ibn Wahab quoting Malik Bin Ans. It said Al-Zubair’s wife, Asma Bint Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, used to go out so often, much to the disliking of her husband. He brought her and his second wife (who was said to be Atika Bint Zaid) and tied them together by hair and started beating them. Asma took most of the beating while the second wife avoided them. She complained to her father who asked her to be patient as Al-Zubair was a good man and one of the 10 companions who were promised paradise while they were still alive.



This is a strange story which targets one of the role models in our Islamic history. The veracity of the story is doubtful because it did not say where Malik had gotten it. It will open the door for other Muslims to beat their wives as this was done by a great companion like Al-Zubair.



These introductory words were important to refute an irresponsible tweet put on Twitter by someone who claimed that when Al-Zubair asked his wife not to go out to the mosque she refused, so he disguised himself and touched her while she was on her way to mosque. She stopped going out after that for fear of being touched or harassed by others.



This is a bogus story which is aimed at inviting husbands to harass their wives so as not to allow them to go out to work. I do not know if the tweeter meant only the husbands or was he asking all the men to harass women so that they do not go out to work? Whatever the tweeter’s intention was, he seems to be completely wrong.



Does he know that every woman who goes out to work to earn a living does this with the knowledge of her family? The streets are lighted so that neither the husbands nor anyone else would dare disguise and touch the women or openly harass them.



Those who harass women on the streets or in shops should be severely punished.