The Willingness of Women

that her father had her married off against her wishes. The Prophet gave her the choice of either remaining within the bonds of wedlock or freeing herself from them. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith No. 2096) Another such incident narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas concerns a woman called Barira and her husband, Mughis, who was an enslaved Black person. Abdullah ibn Abbas tells the story as if it were all happening before his eyes: “Mughis is following Barirah through the paths of Madinah. He is crying, and his tears are running down his beard. Seeing him, the Prophet said, ‘O ‘Abbas, are you not surprised at Mughis’s love for Barira and Barira’s hate for Mughis?’ Then the Prophet said to Barira, ‘I wish you would take him back.’ Barira said to the Prophet, ‘Is that a command?’ The Prophet replied, ‘No, it is only a recommendation.’ Then Barira said, ‘I don’t need your recommendation.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 5283) There was an interesting case of polygamy that took place during the Caliphate of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab. A certain widow, Umm Aban bint ‘Utbah, had four suitors for marriage. All four—‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, Zubayr, and Talhah—were already married. Umm, Aban accepted the proposal of marriage made by Talhah and, of course, refused the other three; after that, she was married to Talhah. (Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah, Vol. 7, p. 153). This happened in Madinah, the capital of the Islamic State. Among the rejected suitors was the reigning Caliph. But