Steven Crowder Responds to Talk Islam's Defense of Muhammad

In 2009, Steven Crowder posted his original “Qur’an Challenge,” and he posted Part Two in 2013. The latter was subject to a variety of criticisms, to which Crowder and his friend Gerald Morgan Jr. respond:

I have one objection to the video—namely, that I don’t see how Qur’an 4:6 or 24:59 establish puberty as a minimum age for marriage. Here’s the first verse cited by Talk Islam:

Qur’an 4:6—Make trial of orphans until they reach the age of marriage; if then ye find sound judgment in them, release their property to them; but consume it not wastefully, nor in haste against their growing up. If the guardian is well-off, Let him claim no remuneration, but if he is poor, let him have for himself what is just and reasonable. When ye release their property to them, take witnesses in their presence: But all-sufficient is God in taking account.

This verse deals with caring for orphans. If you’re put in charge of an orphan, and the orphan has an inheritance from his or her family, you are not to waste the inheritance money while caring for the orphan. Once the orphan has reached “the age of marriage,” you are to hand over the inheritance. What does this have to do with men waiting until girls reach puberty before marrying them?

Here’s the other verse (along with 24:58 for the context):

Qur’an 24:58-59—O you who believe! Let your slaves and slave-girls, and those among you who have not come to the age of puberty ask your permission on three occasions: before the Fajr prayer, and while you put off your clothes during the afternoon, and after the Isha’ prayer. (These) three (times) are of privacy for you; other than these times there is no sin on you or on them to move about, attending to each other. Thus Allah makes clear the Ayat to you. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. And when the children among you come to puberty, then let them (also) ask for permission, as those senior to them (in age) ask permission. Thus Allah makes clear His Ayat for you. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

This passage has nothing to do with marriage. It’s about members of a household asking permission to enter someone’s room when the person may be undressed or in bed. Here’s Ibn Kathir’s commentary on these verses:

These Ayat include a discussion of how people who are closely related should seek permission to enter upon one another. What was mentioned earlier in the Surah had to do with how unrelated people should seek permission to enter upon one another. Allah commanded the believers to ensure that their servants and their children who have not yet reached puberty should seek permission at three times: the first is before the Fajr prayer, because people are asleep in their beds at that time. (and while you put off your clothes during the afternoon,) means, at the time of rest, because a man may be in a state of undress with his wife at that time. (and after the `Isha’ prayer.) because this is the time for sleep. Servants and children are commanded not to enter upon household members at these times, because it is feared that a man may be in an intimate situation with his wife and so on.

So Muslim critic from Talk Islam is either completely ignorant of the Qur’an, or he’s deliberately trying to deceive his Muslim viewers.

Apart from this, we know that the Qur’an does allow Muslims to have sex with prepubescent girls. According to Surah 2:228, if a Muslim man wants to divorce his wife, he should wait until she has gone through three monthly cycles (i.e., three periods) in order to make sure that she isn’t pregnant. But the question later arose: What about wives who do not have monthly cycles? How long should their husbands wait to divorce them? The Qur’an answers this question in Surah 65:4, where it gives divorce rules for (1) women who do not have monthly cycles because they are too old, (2) girls who do not have monthly cycles because they are too young, and (3) women and girls who do not have monthly cycles because they are pregnant. The verse declares that, if Muslim men want to divorce girls who haven’t yet reached puberty, they must wait three months (after having sex with them). The verse reads:

Qur’an 65:4 (Hilali-Khan)—And those of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses, for them the ‘Iddah (prescribed period), if you have doubts (about their periods), is three months, and for those who have no courses [(i.e. they are still immature) their 'Iddah (prescribed period) is three months likewise, except in case of death]. And for those who are pregnant (whether they are divorced or their husbands are dead), their ‘Iddah (prescribed period) is until they deliver (their burdens), and whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make his matter easy for him.

In case there is confusion about the meaning of this verse, here are three classic Muslim commentaries on 65:4:

Tafsir Ibn Kathir—Allah the Exalted clarifies the waiting period of the woman in menopause. And that is the one whose menstruation has stopped due to her older age. Her `Iddah is three months instead of the three monthly cycles for those who menstruate, which is based upon the Ayah in (Surat) Al-Baqarah [see 2:228]. The same for the young, who have not reached the years of menstruation. Their `Iddah is three months like those in menopause.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn—And [as for] those of your women who (read allà’ï or allà’i in both instances) no longer expect to menstruate, if you have any doubts, about their waiting period, their prescribed [waiting] period shall be three months, and [also for] those who have not yet menstruated, because of their young age, their period shall [also] be three months.

Tafsir Ibn Abbas—(And for such of your women as despair of menstruation) because of old age, (if ye doubt) about their waiting period, (their period (of waiting) shall be three months) upon which another man asked: “O Messenger of Allah! What about the waiting period of those who do not have menstruation because they are too young?” (along with those who have it not) because of young age, their waiting period is three months.

Hence, the Qur’an clearly allows Muslims to have sex with prepubescent girls. And that’s exactly what Muhammad did. Muslims who try to twist the Qur’an in order to avoid the obvious must therefore be ashamed of their prophet. I don’t blame them.