Superman Elseworlds: 'In the Name of...'

Chapter 11: Odyssey (part 6)

'One of the things the Prophet (saw) said was that one of his purposes for being sent was as an emancipation for women.'

'How? I'll tell you this right now: if you said that to pretty much anyone else they would laugh in your face at the very least.'

'Various ways. One of his uncles, for example – a man who would be one of his greatest enemies later in life – when he heard that his brother's wife, the Prophet's (saw) mother, had given birth he freed the slave girl who had brought him the news.'

'Okay, pretend I don't know anything about Islamic history – that I only know bad stuff-'

I'm pretty sure Kam muttered 'not hard to imagine', but that might just be me adding to things. I don't know. He got up, though, and stepped into the darkness around our small camp.

'Okay,' said Ishy, and he paused briefly. 'The Prophet's (saw) father was called Abdullah and he was the son of Abdul Muttalib of the Hashimite family - which was one of the 'sub-tribes', I suppose you could say, of the Quraysh. Abdullah married Aminah and, a few months later, he went on a trading expedition in what's now known as Syria. There's nothing unusual about that, it was just the way things were back then and still are now. Aminah was pregnant, and Abdullah fell ill and passed away before he could return to Makkah.'

'Makkah? Not Mecca?'

'You can call it that if it's easier for you.'

'Okay, so his father passed away before he was born and his mum was..?'

'Around six months pregnant at the time. Since her husband passed away her father-in-law, Abdul Muttalib, took on the responsibility of caring for her. He had other sons and one of them was one who came to be known as Abu Lahab-'

''Came to be known as'?'

'Often people were given nicknames based on characteristics or relationships. Like how, when someone becomes a parent, they might be referred to as the father or mother of so-and-so.'

'Yeah, but they still have their actual name.'

'Of course, as did he. He just became more well-known by the nickname.'

'And he was okay with this nickname?'

'It means 'father of flame' and was originally given to him because of his charm and good looks. There was another man, a Companion of the Prophet (saw) who was known as 'the father of cats', but it's not like he actually fathered any.'

'Okay, so this uncle of his...go on...'

'One of his slave-girls – the woman I mentioned – came to him with the news that his brother's wife – or widow, rather – had given birth to a boy and, apparently, he was so happy at the news that he set her free.'

I refrained from making a joke about giving her clothes because I don't think Ishy would have gotten it.

'So there are some who use that incident as an example of how, even though it was only for one woman, the Prophet (saw) had been an immense benefit to her.'

'What happened to her afterwards?'

'She was the Prophet's (saw) foster-mother, or wet-nurse, for a while. When he was older the Prophet (saw) used to send her gifts and money. She passed away a few years after the Muslims had migrated to Madinah.'

'Okay, that's all well and good, I suppose, but that's not exactly a wide reaching 'emancipation for women' thing.'

'No, it isn't. It was merely a start. A lot of things in life take time, and bringing about freedoms to women in a culture where they were, basically, things, would take more time. There were societal complexities and other things that needed to be addressed.'