What Did the Prophet (Allah Bless Him and Give Him Peace) Mean When He Said, “The Ansari Women Had Intense Jealousy”?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
What did the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) mean when he said, “the Ansari women had intense jealousy”? I am asking this because I read a hadith that once someone asked the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) why he didn’t marry someone from the Ansar, and he said it was because they had intense jealousy.
I understood that part, but some say that this hadith can be used to take heed and not marry women with intense jealousy. These people imply that women are bad for having extreme jealousy. Is this true?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
It was narrated from Anas (Allah be pleased with him) that they said: “O Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), why don’t you marry a woman from the Ansar?” He said: “They are very jealous.” [Nasai]
Intense jealousy is blameworthy; it is when it is severe, and it can possibly lead to indifferences and ill-treatment. [Adam Al-Atyubi, Dhakhira al-‘Uqba Fi-Sharh al-Mujtaba]
This hadith shows that it was something that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give peace) observed. However, it does not mean any woman with intense jealousy should not be married, or it is a sign of an evil trait. Also, extreme jealousy can only set off if the husband co-marries, which was a custom back then. This intense jealousy can lead one to do good actions and work in society for the better.
We all have good and bad character traits and are commanded to develop sound and remove harmful or inclined intense character traits into using them for good works and actions.
Prophet’s Love for the Ansar
Bara’ (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “None loves the Ansar, but a believer and none hates them but a hypocrite. Whoever loves them, Allah will love him. Whoever hates them, Allah will hate him.” [Muslim]
‘A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: She prepared a lady to marry a man among the Ansar. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “O ‘A’isha, do you have any entertainment? Verily, the Ansar are fond of entertainment.” [Bukhari]
When the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) wanted to marry ‘Umm Salama to console her after the death of her husband, Abu Salama, and she apologized because of being jealous, he (Allah bless him and give him peace) supplicated Allaah for her and Allaah removed the jealousy that she had. [Ahmad and others]
Check these links as well:
Purification of the Heart for Youth: Diseases of the Heart and Their Cure – YouTube
The Path of Muhammad: Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained – YouTube
Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart: Hamza Yusuf: 9780985565909: Amazon.com: Books (Book)
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I pray this helps with your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.
He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.
He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
