MUHAMMAD AND A SLAVEGIRL MARIYA THE COPT
In the Qur’an Muhammad claimed that he received a revelation from Allah. And this revelation is nothing but to fulfil Muhammad desire.
According to Islamic tradition which I will quote below Muhammad had a slave-girl whom he took to the house of Hafsa his wife and had sex with her own Hafsa house, room and bed. This woman get angry and Muhammad apologize that he h would not do that again. But after a while Muhammad break his promise and claimed Allah has reveal to him.
Quran 66:1-3
1.Arabic
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَآ أَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ لَكَ ۖ تَبْتَغِى مَرْضَاتَ أَزْوَٰجِكَ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Yusuf Ali
O Prophet! Why holdest thou to be forbidden that which Allah has made lawful to thee? Thou seekest to please thy consorts. But Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
2.Arabic
قَدْ فَرَضَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ تَحِلَّةَ أَيْمَٰنِكُمْ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ مَوْلَىٰكُمْ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
Yusuf Ali
Allah has already ordained for you, (O men), the dissolution of your oaths (in some cases): and Allah is your Protector, and He is Full of Knowledge and Wisdom.
3.Arabic
وَإِذْ أَسَرَّ ٱلنَّبِىُّ إِلَىٰ بَعْضِ أَزْوَٰجِهِۦ حَدِيثًا فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَتْ بِهِۦ وَأَظْهَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ عَرَّفَ بَعْضَهُۥ وَأَعْرَضَ عَنۢ بَعْضٍ ۖ فَلَمَّا نَبَّأَهَا بِهِۦ قَالَتْ مَنْ أَنۢبَأَكَ هَٰذَا ۖ قَالَ نَبَّأَنِىَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ
Yusuf Ali
When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his consorts, and she then divulged it (to another), and Allah made it known to him, he confirmed part thereof and repudiated a part. Then when he told her thereof, she said, “Who told thee this? “He said, “He told me Who knows and is well-acquainted (with all things).”
TAFSIR AL TABARI
God Almighty says to His Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him: “O Prophet, who forbids for yourself what God has made lawful for you, seeking thereby to please your wives, why do you forbid for yourself what God has made lawful for you, seeking by your forbidding it to please your wives?” Scholars differed regarding the lawful thing that God, may His praise be exalted, had made lawful for His Messenger, which he then forbade for himself to please his wives. Some said it was his Coptic slave, Maria, whom he forbade himself by swearing that he would not approach her, seeking thereby to please his wife, Hafsa bint Umar, because she was jealous that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, had been alone with her on her day and in her room. The one who said that mentioned: Muhammad bin Abdul Rahim Al-Barqi told me, he said: Ibn Abi Maryam told me, he said: Abu Ghassan told me, he said: Zaid bin Aslam told me that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, had intercourse with Umm Ibrahim in the house of one of his wives. He said: She said: O Messenger of God, in my house and on my bed? So he made her forbidden to him. She said: O Messenger of God, how can you make forbidden what is lawful for you? So he swore to her by God that he would not have intercourse with her. Then God Almighty revealed: {O Prophet, why do you forbid what God has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives?} Zaid said: So his saying, “You are forbidden to me,” is meaningless. Ya’qub told me, saying: Ibn ‘Ulayyah told me, saying: Dawud ibn Abi Hind told us, on the authority of al-Sha’bi, who said: Masruq said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade his slave girl and swore an oath of abstinence from her, thus making what was lawful unlawful. He said regarding the oath: { Allah has already ordained for you the expiation for your oaths } . Yunus ibn ‘Abd al-A’la told us, saying: Sufyan told us, on the authority of Dawud, on the authority of al-Sha’bi, on the authority of Masruq, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) swore an oath of abstinence and forbade her, so he was reproached for the prohibition and ordered to offer expiation for the oath. Yunus told me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, on the authority of Malik, on the authority of Zayd ibn Aslam, who said to her: You are forbidden to me, and by Allah, I will not have intercourse with you. Bishr narrated to us, saying: Yazid narrated to us, saying: Sa’id narrated to us, on the authority of Qatadah, regarding the verse, {O Prophet, why do you prohibit [yourself from] what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives?} He said: Ash-Sha’bi used to say: He prohibited her to himself and swore not to approach her, so he was reproached for the prohibition, and the expiation was prescribed for the oath. Ibn ‘Abd al-A’la narrated to us, saying: Ibn Thawr narrated to us, on the authority of Ma’mar, on the authority of Qatadah and ‘Amir ash-Sha’bi, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited his slave girl. Ash-Sha’bi said: He swore an oath along with the prohibition, so Allah reproached him for the prohibition and prescribed for him the expiation for the oath. Yunus told us, saying: Ibn Wahb told us, saying: Ibn Zayd said regarding the verse {O Prophet, why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you?}: A woman from among the wives of the Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, found the Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, with his slave girl in her house, and she said: O Messenger of Allah, how could this have happened, when I was the least valued of them to you? So the Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, said to her:
“Be quiet and do not mention this to anyone. She is forbidden to me if I ever approach her again after this.” She said: “O Messenger of God, how can you forbid what God has made lawful for you when you say: She is forbidden to me forever?” He said, “By God, I will never go to her again.” Then God said, “O Prophet, why do you prohibit what God has made lawful for you?”… the verse. I have forgiven you for this. And your saying, “ God has already ordained for you the dissolution of your oaths. And God is your Protector, and He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, ” was narrated on the authority of al-Husayn, who said: I heard Abu Mu’adh say: ‘Ubayd narrated to us, saying: I heard ad-Dahhak say regarding His saying, “O Prophet, why do you prohibit what God has made lawful for you?” The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, had a young woman, and he had intercourse with her. Hafsa saw him, and it was Aisha’s day, and they were both conspiring. So the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Keep this a secret from me and do not…” Tell Aisha what you saw.” So Hafsa told Aisha, and Aisha became angry. She kept at the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until he swore that he would never approach her again. Then God revealed this verse, commanding him to expiate his oath and have relations with his slave girl. Ibn Humayd narrated to us, saying: Jarir narrated to us, on the authority of Amir, regarding God’s statement, “O Prophet, why do you prohibit what God has made lawful for you?” concerning a slave girl he had relations with. Hafsa found out about it, and he said, “She is forbidden to me, so keep this a secret and do not tell anyone.” But she mentioned it. Others said: Rather, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade his slave girl, so God, the Exalted and Glorified, made his prohibition of her like an oath, and thus required the same expiation for it as He required for an oath if its taker broke it. The one who said that mentioned: Ali told me, he said: Abu Salih told us, he said: Muawiyah told me, on the authority of Ali, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, regarding His saying {God has ordained for you the expiation of your oaths}: God commanded the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the believers, if they forbade something that God made lawful for them, to expiate their oaths by feeding ten poor people or clothing them, or freeing a slave, and that does not include divorce. Muhammad ibn Sa`d told me, saying: My father told me, saying: My uncle told me, saying: My father told me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn `Abbas, regarding his statement: {O Prophet, why do you prohibit what Allah has made lawful for you?}… until his statement { And He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise }. He said: Hafsa and `A`isha were close friends and were both wives of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace. Hafsa went to her father and conversed with him. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, sent for his maidservant, who stayed with him in Hafsa’s house. It was the day he was to visit `A`isha. Hafsa returned and found them both in her house. She waited for them to leave, and she became very jealous. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, sent his maidservant out, and Hafsa entered and said: I saw who was with you. By God, you have displeased me. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said “By God, I will please you, for I am going to tell you a secret, so keep it safe.” She said: “What is it?” He said, “I bear witness that this concubine of mine is forbidden to me, for your sake.” Hafsa and Aisha were conspiring against the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Hafsa went to Aisha and whispered to her, “Rejoice! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden his concubine to him.” When she revealed the Prophet’s secret, God Almighty revealed it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and He revealed to His Messenger, regarding their conspiracy against him, {O Prophet, why do you prohibit [yourself from] what God has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives?}… until His saying, { And He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise
In this Tafsir you will see it clearly that Muhammad firstly admit that what he did is wrong, he confess that this lady is her concubine which is also recorded in Sirah Al Tabari volume 9 page 141. An Account of the Messenger of God’s Slave Concubines They were Mariyah bt. Sham’un, the Copt, and Rayhanah bt. Zayd a1-Quraziyyah, who, it is said, was of the Bann al-Nadir. An account of them has been given above.
He beg his wife not to tell anyone and also take an oath that he would never touch her again, which everyone who is God fearing should do. But after Muhammad discover that this lady has explain the incident to Aisha because they are close. Muhammad change the topic and claimed that Allah has make her lawful to him.