I had been posting short notes of my Ramaḍān Tafsīr I was giving before Tarāwīḥ. I noted the incident of Marthad bin ʾAbī Marthad ʾal-Ghanawī (may Allāh be pleased with him), about whom revelation was sent in Sūrah ʾan-Nūr.

الزَّانِي لَا يَنكِحُ إِلَّا زَانِيَةً أَوْ مُشْرِكَةً وَالزَّانِيَةُ لَا يَنكِحُهَا إِلَّا زَانٍ أَوْ مُشْرِكٌ ۚ وَحُرِّمَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

The fornicator does not marry except a female fornicator or polytheist, and none marries her except a fornicator or a polytheist, and that has been made unlawful to the believers.

 There are various interpretations to this, such as legally one who fornicates may only marry a similarly impure person, or that that was the ruling but has been annulled (according to ʾal-ʾImām ʾash-Shāfiʿī). Nevertheless, the least lesson parents should take is that pure attracts pure and impure attracts impure. If children are left to wantonly live a lifestyle outside the teachings of Islām, such parents should not moan when impurity enters their homes.

Being overly brief, a reader requested detail on my tweet mentioning Marthad (may Allāh be pleased with him). The commentators quote ʾal-ʾImām ʾat-Tirmidhī in this regard:

There was a man called Marthad bin ʾAbī Marthad. He was [so huge and strong] he would [rescue Muslim] prisoners [held by the Quraysh] and carry them all the way to ʾal-Madīnah. There was also a prostitute in Makkah named ʿAnāq and they had been friends.  

[Marthad] arranged with a man from amongst the prisoners to carry him away. He says:

I arrived and hid in the shadow of a wall of Makkah for it was a moonlit night. ʿAnāq pitched up and spied the blackness of my shadow below the wall. She approached me and recognised me. “Marthad?” she called. “[Yes, it is] Marthad,” I replied.

“Most welcome!” she exclaimed, “Come and sleep with me tonight.”

“O ʿAnāq,” I declared, “Allāh has forbidden fornication.”

[So in spite] she screamed, “O people in the tents, this man is carrying away your prisoners!”

Eight men chased me and I ran to Mount Khandamah. I reached a cave and went down into it. They reached the entrance and started urinating, wetting my head, but Allāh blinded them from seeing me. When they left, I returned to [the prisoner], and lifted him, but oh, what a heavy man he was! When I reached ʾal-ʾIdhkhir I untied his bindings. I continued carrying him despite him exhausting me, until I brought him to ʾal-Madīnah.

 I then went to Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ʾalayhi wa sallam and asked, “O Rasūlullāh, may I marry ʿAnāq? May I marry ʿAnāq?” [Yes! I asked] twice. Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ʾalayhi wa sallam kept quiet and did not reply anything until the revelation of:

الزَّانِي لَا يَنكِحُ إِلَّا زَانِيَةً أَوْ مُشْرِكَةً وَالزَّانِيَةُ لَا يَنكِحُهَا إِلَّا زَانٍ أَوْ مُشْرِكٌ ۚ وَحُرِّمَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ʾalayhi wa sallam then said, “O Marthad! A fornicator marries none but a female fornicator.”

Tirmidhi

May Allāh keep us pure and accept our repentance when we do err. May He save us from elevating social convention above His pleasure.  May He be pleased with the Companions of Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ʾalayhi wa sallam, for even in their moments of weakness they were worthy of revelation rectifying them and making them permanent beacons of guidance for us unworthy ones.

سليمان الكندي
Twitter: @Sulayman_Kindi