There have been a number of Muslims who claimed that the quotes in the book "The Place of Women in Pure Islam" are forged, but only Mr. Melhulan has been so audacious to post public articles with his charges and accusations in multiple newsgroups and has done so dozens of times.

Hence we see the need to expose his attacks publically for what they are. To keep to the principles of honesty and fairness, we extend the invitation, that we will link to a rebuttal by Mr. Melhulan if he wants to set up his own web page and answer to this documentation done here.

One of many similar reactions was:

The above email is displayed anonymously since we will not reveal the identity of private email communication. It is included here to show that Mr. Melhulan is not alone in his charges he only added the element to go public with his false accusations based on ignorance.

Exposing the false accusations

On several dozens of newsgroups like alt.religion.islam, soc.culture.pakistan.religion, and many others, Mr. Barzeen Melhulan has slandered and insulted Mr. Newton [the author of the book "The Place of Women in Pure Islam" as well as Mr. Katz who had posted an excerpt of it to the newsgroups in an ongoing discussion under the header "polygamy in Islam" header, where he accused them of dishonesty and forged quotations of Qur'an verses and especially quotes from the Ihya' of Imam Ghazali.

This will be full proof of the falsehood of his claims and hopefully it will also be fool-proof and we can lay this topic of forgery accusations to rest once and for all.

There are many good and wise sayings in Islam. Let everybody take heed of this one:

"Never abandon the truth, even if it is against you."    -- Imam Ali

May this article help to deter the ignorant from charging and accusing others publically before the facts are established. Mr. Melhulan has all evidence he needs to see the accuracy of all quotations. I asked if he would be willing to apologise publically on the newsgroups he filled with his the accusation for several weeks and so spare me the time and effort to write out this long article fully exposing his charges as false. He refused to even answer to this offer. Therefore this and maybe subsequent public charges from his side or from others will be exposed on this web page for what they are.

But now that I have verified it and since they are indeed correct you will surely give your permission that they should stay on this web site, right? [As if you are the one to be asked for any permission.] In fact, since your motivation was to defend Imam Ghazali's teaching from being corrupted you should be delighted that his true teachings are given a prominent place on this web site.

I again invite you to apologize publically for accusing us of fabrication.

Below the relevant part of the newgroup posting and clicking here will create a second browser where the pages of Ghazali relating to the charges are displayed. 


Subject:      Re: polygamy in Islam
From:         melhulan@ix.netcom.com(Melhulan)
Date:         1996/10/15
Message-Id:   <53v8s7$n9l@dfw-ixnews5.ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups:   soc.culture.pakistan,soc.culture.bangladesh,soc.culture.indian,alt.religion.islam,soc.culture.pakistan.religion

...


)This is a small part of the book "The Place of Women in Pure Islam" 
)which can be read in full at the address:

  http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gt6125c/women.html

We studied the obscurantist book and do not find it fit for reference.
IT does NOT have authentic quotes, and the commentaries are inaccurate 
and out of place.

)2.  MEN MAY MARRY UP TO FOUR FREE WOMEN AND
)HAVE  SEX WITH AN UNLIMITED NUMBER OF SLAVE
)GIRLS

This heading is OF COURSE INACCURATE and
incorrect

)A  provision is made for men to marry  more
)than one woman as follows:

 )"If  you  fear  you can not treat  orphans
 ()girls) with fairness, then you may  marry
 )other  women  who seem good to  you:  two,
 )three  or  four of them. But if  you  fear
 )that  you can not maintain equality  among
 )them,  marry  only one or any slave  girls
 )you  may own. This will make it easier for
 )you to avoid injustice."[72]

THERE IS A SUBTLE INACCURACY IN THE QUOTE
THE SUBTLE inaccuracy treis to obfuscate the holy book
which I will point out in this writing
....here is the actual quote
and I have quoted the verse BEFORE IT

This is out of Surat Nisa (Women). Marmaduke Pickthall
says the following about this surah.

The period of revelation is the months following the Uhad or as
Noldeke a careful critic puts it “between the end of the third
and the end of the fifth year of the prophets reign in Medinah...
Many Muslims were killed at the battle of Uhud, hence the concern
for orphans and widows in the opening verses which lead on to a
declaration of some rights of women of which they were deprived
among the pagan Arabs

1) O mankind be careful of your duty to
your lord who created you form a single soul
and from it created its mate and from them
twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men
and women. Be careful of your duty toward
Allah in Whom ye claim (your rights) of one
another, and toward the wombs (that bare you).
Lo! Allah hath been a watcher over you

2) Give unto orphans their wealth. Exchange not
the good for the bad (in your management thereof)
nor absorb their wealth ito your own wealth. Lo!
That would be a great sin.

3) And if ye fear hat ye will not deal fairly by the
orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to
you, two or three or four; and if ye fear that ye
cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only)
or (the captives) that your right hand possess.
Thus it is more likely that ye will not do
injustice.

This quote from the Holy Quran CLEARLY
tells Muslims that they CAN marry UPTO
four wives from free women or slaves. The
following phrase clearly explains this.

25) And those whoso is not able toafford to
marry free, beleiving women, let them marry
from the beleiving maids whom your right
hand posses. Allah knowth best 9concerning)
your faith. Ye (proceed) from one another;
so wed them by permission of their folk, and
give unto them their portions in kindness, they
being honest, not debauched nor of loose
conduct.

The above AUTHENTIC translations of the Quran
by Marmaduke Pickthal clear up all misgivings.
ONLY FOUR wives are allowed.

)Some   however  have  argued   that   since
)maintaining  equality is  impossible,  then
)marrying   more  than  one  wife   is   not
)permissible using the following verse:

) "Try  as  you  may, you cannot  treat  all
 )your   wives  impartially.  Do   not   set
)yourself altogether against any of them."[73]



)But the majority of the commentators agreed
)that


 )The  equality  in Q 4:3 is concerned  with
 )apportioning  time and  money,  while  the
 )equality   mentioned   in   Q   3:129   is
 )concerned with the affection and  love  of
 )the man towards his wives.[74]

THIS COMMENTARY by Mr. Katz
is TOTALLY unfounded and incorrect.
The prpphet was just and unbiased.



)They  further argued that Mohammad  himself
)was not impartial in his affections towards
)his  wives, for he loved 'A'isha more  than
)any of his  wives.[75] So as  long  as  the
)husband  can  be  fair in apportioning  his
)time and money he can marry up to four.

This commentary is inaccurate. ONE HAS
TO BE FAIR and the prophet was to ALL



)Others  believe the number  is  limited  to
)nine  wives, as two and three and four make
)nine,  and Mohammad himself when he  passed
)away  had  nine  wives, and to  follow  his
)tradition is the commended way of living.[76]

This again has subtle but important inaccuracies. The
prophet did NOT have nine wives AT ONE
TIME. he had FOUR wives at a time. Some
of the wives were old and passed away and
Muhamamd took others in shelter. Throughout
his life Muhamamd had nine wives but never
MORE THAN FOUR
Muhamamd married women to allow them
shelter and to assist them NOT for debauchery.



)Others believe that the above verse is  the
)proof  for  an unlimited number  of  wives,
)because the verse does not say two or three
)or  four  but literally says two and  three
)and  four, meaning two and three  and  four
)etc[77]. The majority believe the number of
)wives  the  man may marry to be limited  to
)four,  because of the reported Hadith about
)a  man who had ten wives. When he became  a
)Muslim, Mohammad said to him : 'Keep  four,
)and leave the rest.'[78]

There is NO AMBIGUITY on the number.
This again is INACCURATE.. The Quran is very
VERY clear on the number of wives. IT is FOUR.



)The reason for marrying more than one woman
)is   given  by  Ghazali  the  great  Muslim
)scholar:




) "Some  men  have such a compelling  sexual
 )desire  that  one woman is not  sufficient
 )to  protect them [from adultery]. Such men
 )therefore preferably marry more  than  one
 )woman and may have up to four wives."[79]



Without offending Mr. Katz let me state
that this QUOTE IS PURE garbage. I have
been unable to find this quote in Ihya
Ulum Ud Din. I have ALL FOUR volumes.
I REALLY looked. This leads e to believe
that some fo the other quotes attributed
to Imam Razi and other may also be incorrect.


)Besides  the  above provision men  have the
)right to have sex with their slave girls.

Is this Mr. Katz commentary. If so it is inaccurate.
This is wher the Holy Quran tells Muslims to marry
the salves Nisa (Women) 25.
25) And those whoso is not able toafford to
marry free, beleiving women, let them marry
from the beleiving maids whom your right
hand posses. Allah knowth best (concerning)
your faith. Ye (proceed) from one another;
so wed them by permission of their folk, and
give unto them their portions in kindness, they
being honest, not debauched nor of loose
conduct.


)  "For  if  a  man purchases a slave  girl,
 ) the   purchase  contract   includes   his
  )right to  have  sex with her."[80]  "This
  )contract  is  primarily to  own  her  and
  )secondarly to enjoy her sexually."[81]


These two quotes are garbage.
Quote 80 and 81 are from obscure authors
and have NO CREDIBILITY. We will NOT
waste anytime on these.

)And  the  reason for having  sex  with  the
)slave  girls  beside one's  wives  is  also
)given by Ghazali:

Unable to find this quote in Ihya by Imam
Ghazalli. The stature of Gahzalli is in high
esteem in Christiandom and Europe. He was
held invery high esteem because he translated
the Greek classics

Even if the quote EXISTS sex has to be done
with slaves UNDER MARIAGE

 )"Since   among   Arabs   passion   is   an
 )overpowering aspect of their  nature,  the
  )need  of  their pious men to have sex  has
  )been  found  to be the more  intense.  And
  )for  the purpose of emptying the heart  to
  )the  worship of God they have been allowed
  )to  have sex with women slaves if at  some
  )time  they  should fear that this  passion
  )will  lead them to commit adultery. Though
  )it  is  true that such action  could  lead
  )to  the  birth of a child that will  be  a
  )slave,     which    is    a    form     of
  )destruction,...yet enslaving a child is  a
  )lighter  offence than the  destruction  of
  )religious  belief. For enslaving  the  new
  )born   is   a  temporary  thing   but   by
  )committing adultery eternity is lost."[82]


Even if the quote EXISTS sex has to be done
with slaves UNDER MARIAGE as evidenced
by verse 25 of surah Nisa in the Quran

Unable to find this quote in Ihya by Imam
Ghazalli.
There is a STORY that IS taken out of
context......there is NO such story on page 33

 Ihya does NOT have the above mentioned quotes.
On page 27 the following story is WORTH noting
however. Once a young man asked Hazrat Ibn Abbas
I am a young man, I have got no wife. I fear sin in
most cases and many a time I take out semen by
hand pollution. Is there any sin in it? Hazrat Ibn
Abbas turned his face from him and said: Alas!
 it is better to MARRY a slave girl then it but it is
better than fornication.

Sex has to be done
with slaves UNDER MARIAGE as evidenced
by verse 25 of surah Nisa in the Quran


)Ghazali   gives  us  an  example  of   this
)overpowering sexual desire.

Unable to find this quote in Ihya by Imam
Ghazalli.

Even if the quote EXISTS sex has to be done
with slaves UNDER MARIAGE as evidenced
by verse 25 of surah Nisa in the Quran


 )"The son of 'Omar who was an ascetic,  and
 )a  scholar,  used  to break  his  fast  by
 )having  sex  before having  food.  And  he
 )might  have  had  sex with  three  of  his
 )slave girls before the last meal."[83]


Omars son was punished by Omar himself
till he died. Omar did not spare his OWN
son. He personally punished his son till his
son died. The punishment was completed.

Bringing up such examples simply to discredit
Islam is unfair and improper.
Omars son was not a prophet and DOES NOT
represent Islam

)And Bukhari reported,

 )"The  Prophet  used to pass  (have  sexual
 )relation  with)  all  his  wives  in   one
) night,  and  at  that  time  he  had  nine
) wives."[84]

THIS IS A PURE GARBAGE QUOTE
and/or taken out of context

For

) "He  once said of himself that he had been
) given the power of forty  men in sex."[85]


And

 "Ali  who was the most ascetic of all  the
 companions  had four wives, and  seventeen
 slave girls as concubines."[86]

Ihya does NOT have the above mentioned quotes.
On page 27 the following story is WORTH noting
however. Once a young man asked Hazrat Ibn Abbas
I am a young man, I have got no wife. I fear sin in
most cases and many a time I take out semen by
hand pollution. Is there any sin in it? Hazrat Ibn
Abbas turned his face from him and said: Alas!
 it is better to MARRY a slave girl then it but it is
better than fornication.

Emphasis IS mine.

Even if the quote EXISTS sex has to be done
with slaves UNDER MARIAGE as evidenced
by verse 25 of surah Nisa in the Quran


While

 "some  of  the other companions had  three
 and  four  wives  and those  who  had  two
 wives were countless in number."[87]

Ihya was MISQUOTED here also.
to give a different impression

“Hazrat Ali took a wife seven days after
the death of Fatima. It is said that Hazrat
Hasan took many wives BUT NOT MORE THEN
FOUR AT A TIME.....some of the companions had
three or four wives and those who took two wives
were many.

Emphasis is mine. The quote means that MANY
companions had two wives. it must be REMEMBERED
that these wives were NOT sexual objects. “wives”
at this time were taken to give the women PROTECTION.
During the time of Ohud inthe early stages of Islam,
many many men had been lost AND marying the
aged womenprovided them protection from
exploitation

)Concerning  the  provision for  having  sex
)with  slave girls,  found in the last  part
)of the above Qur'anic verse, Razi said:

I am sorry, Mr. Katz did NOT quote the Quran
on having sex with slaves. THERE IS NO SUCH
quote in the Quran except 25 in Surah Nisa
where men are asked to MARRY slaves.


 )"God  made  the  provision of  having  sex
 )with   many   slave  girls  as   easy   as
 )marrying  one  free  woman.  Besides,  the
 )responsibilities  and  provisions  of  the
 )slave girls are lighter than those of  the
 )dowers,  no  matter (never  mind)  if  you
 )have  a few of them or many, no matter  if
 )you  were fair in apportioning your nights
 )amongst  them  or not, no  matter  whether
 )you completed the sexual act or not."[88]

Mr. Katz commentary is based on his
OWN opinion and has NO relation
to FACT and has nothing to do with
the Quran or Islam

The above quote is INACCURATE and
an amalgamation of several portions of
the Quran,

Let us look at the FULL QUOTE THAT
Mr. Katz deliberately did not state here

25) And those whoso is not able toafford to
marry free, believing women, let them marry
from the beleiving maids whom your right
hand posses. Allah knowth best (concerning)
your faith. Ye (proceed) from one another;
so wed them by permission of their folk, and
give unto them their portions in kindness, they
being honest, not debauched nor of loose
conduct.

AND if when they are honourably married, they
commit lewdness they shall incur the half the
punishment for free women. This is for him
among you who fareth to commit sin. But to ]
have patience would be better for you. Allah
is forgiving, Merciful”

Obviously slaves had less rights then free women.
This was universally true even in America

)The  commentator Qortobi sees in that verse
)(Q 4:3)  that slave girls  used as such  by
)the free Muslim man

 )"have    neither   sexual   rights,    nor
 )financial  rights. For God made  the  'one
 )free  woman' and the 'slave girls you  may
 )own'   of  the  same  category.  The   man
 )however   owes   the   slave   girls   the
 )appropriate rights of ownership,  and  the
 )kindness that befits slaves."[89]

Qortobi WHOEVER he is absolutely
WRONG.  Slave women had to be married
and once they were married they had ALL the
rights.

25) And those whoso is not able toafford to
marry free, believing women, let them marry
from the beleiving maids whom your right
hand posses. Allah knowth best (concerning)
your faith. Ye (proceed) from one another;
so wed them by permission of their folk, and
give unto them their portions in kindness, they
being honest, not debauched nor of loose
conduct.

)So  because "the need of the pious  men  to
)have  sex was found to be the more intense,
)and  for the purpose of emptying the  heart
)for  the  worship of God"  they  have  been
)allowed to marry up to four women and  have
)sex with an unlimited number of slave girls
)even  if  this provision may lead  to  "the
)birth  of  a  child that will be  a  slave,
)which is a form of destruction."

AND THIS IS PURE GARBAGE commentary
because it is based on a INCORRECT
quotations.


      )And there the footnotes on this part:

72. The Qur'an 4:3. 

73.    The    Qur'an   4:129.   (Dawood's
translation). 

74.  Tuffaha, Ahmad Zaky, Al-Mar'ah  wal-
Islam,  Dar al-Kitab al-Lubnani,  Beirut,
first edition, 1985, p. 58. See also Razi
and  al-Galalayn on the above verses. And
Ihy'a 'Uloum ed-Din by  Ghazali, Dar  al-
Kotob  al-'Elmeyah, Beirut, Vol II, Kitab
Adab  al-Nikah, p. 54. And Ibn al-'Arabi,
Ahkam al-Qur'an, vol. 1, p.504. 

75. Razi At-tafsir al-kabir,commenting on
Q4:129. 

76. Ibid., commenting on Q. 4:3. 

77. Ibid., commenting on Q. 4:3. 

78. Ibid.r, commenting on Q. 4:3. 

79.  Ihy'a 'Uloum ed-Din by  Ghazali, Dar
al-Kotob  al-'Elmeyah,  Beirut,  Vol  II,
Kitab Adab al-Nikah, p.34. 

80. Abd ar-Rahman al-Gaziri, al-Fiqh 'ala al-
Mazahib   al-Arba'a,   Dar   al-Kutub   al-
'Elmeyah, 1990, vol. 4, p. 89. 

81. Ibid. 

82.  Ihy'a 'Uloum ed-Din by  Ghazali, Dar
al-Kotob  al-'Elmeyah,  Beirut,  Vol  II,
Kitab Adab al-Nikah, p. 33. 

83. Ibid. 

84.    Sahih    Bukhari,   Arabic-English
translation, vol. 7, Hadith No. 142.  And
vol. 1, Hadith No.268. 

85.   Mohammad  Ibn Saad, al-Tabakat  al-
Kobra, Dar al-Tahrir, Cairo, 1970, Vol 8,
p. 139. 

86.  Ihy'a 'Uloum ed-Din by  Ghazali, Dar
al-Kotob  al-'Elmeyah,  Beirut,  Vol  II,
Kitab Adab al-Nikah, p.27. 

87. Ibid., p.34. 

88.  Razi, At-tafsir al-kabir, commenting
on Q. 4:3. 

89. Qortobi, commenting on Q. 4:3. 


Let us summarize:

)First: In traditional Islam, the number of FREE wives
)is four, and the slave girls are extra and no restriction
)on those.

Quote about FREE wives and slaves is INACCURATE
All wives must be married to the spouse. Christianity
and Christiandom ALSO practiced slavery WITHOUT
restrictions. Islam put restrictions

)Second: The Qur'an says "two AND three AND four" and some MUSLIMS
)have read it as indicating NO limit, or adding it to mean NINE.

THIS IS PURE GARBAGE..there is NO "AND"..it si OR


)I agree that the traditional understanding is that this is to
)be meaning "or" instead of "and" and this is a limit to four,
)but the Qur'an does actually NOT say so. This is hadith or other
)outside Qur'an material which is used to impose this limit of four.

THIS IS GARBAGE commentary. The limit is four and Christianty
and Judaism DO NOT PUT A LIMIT on number of spouses

Rest of garbage deleted.

Mr. Katz, please chack your SOURCES again you may have a BAD copy