❖ Dialogue with Sharafantah (5)

Sheikh.

Welcome, Sharafantah. It's been a while! Where have you been hiding?

Yesterday, I saw you at a grocery store with some women, and I didn't want to embarrass you, so I postponed our meeting until today. Honestly, Sheikh, I went to perform Umrah, and I brought you a kilo of Medina Ajwa dates—the kind you love.

Masha'Allah, may Allah bless you, my son.

But honestly, they're quite expensive! Imagine, a kilo costs 100 riyals, while another type—not from Medina—costs only 5 riyals!

Well, of course, because the Messenger (PBUH) mentioned Medina's Ajwa and said: "Whoever starts his morning with seven dates of Medina's Ajwa will not be harmed by magic or poison."

Masha'Allah! So, if I eat seven dates tomorrow morning and then give you some poison, you won't die and nothing will happen to you?

Ahem... by the way, you didn't tell me, where did you see me yesterday?

At Al-Baraka grocery. I was going to greet you, but I saw you with women and didn't want to bother you.

Women? But I don't go out with my four wives to stores. You must be mistaken.

I'm not mistaken. There were two women. To be precise, you were at the checkout buying bags of 'Sumroot' and 'Derby' snacks among other things.

Aha! No, my son, those were my two daughters, may Allah forgive you! 'Women,' you say? They are two young girls, still in primary school. How did you turn them into 'women'?

Even if they are children, was I wrong to call them 'women'?

Of course you were! The word 'Women' (Nisaa) refers to mature, adult women, not children. Don't you read the Quran? As far as I know, you're a diligent student. Allah referred to adult females as 'Woman' (Imra'ah) and 'Women' (Nisaa), whereas children like my daughters—pre-pubescent—He referred to as 'Children' (Atfal), as in the verse: {And when the children among you reach puberty...}.

That's beautiful, Sheikh! But last time, when we discussed child marriage, you said it was a 'Prophetic Sunnah' and cited the verse: {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...}. You said that the Ummah and the great Imams reached a consensus that 'those who have not menstruated' refers to young girls who haven't reached puberty yet.

Ahem...

First of all, the verse uses the word 'Women' (Nisaa), not 'Children.' Secondly, the verse doesn't talk about marriage at all—not even remotely! It talks about divorce, which is clear from the context. From the beginning of the Surah to the end, the topic is divorce, waiting periods (Iddah), pregnancy, nursing... so why do you use this verse to justify the crime of marrying minors? Even the name of the Surah itself is 'The Divorce' (Al-Talaq)! Why did you apply it to marriage?!

What is the point of this talk now? Why do you want to cast doubt on the core principles of religion?! Do you mean to say that for 1400 years, our noble jurists—'may Allah reward them and feed them birds'—understood it wrong, and you've come now to correct them?!

You forgot to say that I am a paid agent, an infiltrator, and a 'Ruwaibidah' receiving dollars from the Freemasons.