This following is a response to the article on RTS, published on the 23 January, 2012, which can be located here.
RTS quotes narrations in which the Prophet (pbuh) and A’isha (raa) are bathing together. He quotes:
Saheeh Bukhari Volume 1, Book 5, Number 263: Narrated ‘Aisha: “The Prophet and I used to take a bath from a single pot of water after Janaba”.
Aisha (la) has sought to evidence two facts namely:
• The undying love the Prophet (saw) had for her
• The legal right for spouses to bathe together when on menses
Strangely, there is nothing in the text that implies anything about menses. In fact, RTS has mistranslated the term janaba, which in reality is nothing more than the state of impurity that one is in after sexual intercourse, into menses, which is a monthly flowing of blood through the uterus.
Furthermore, the Prophet’s (pbuh) actions, of sharing a pot when bathing, was not exclusive to A’isha. In tradition #253, Ibn Abbas narrates that he (pbuh) did the same with Maymoona:
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: The Prophet and Maimuna used to take a bath from a single pot.
While Um Salama narrates the same thing about herself in narration #319:
Narrated Zainab bint Abi Salama: Um-Salama said, “I got my menses while I was lying with the Prophet under a woolen sheet. So I slipped away, took the clothes for menses and put them on. Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Have you got your menses?’ I replied, ‘Yes.’ Then he called me and took me with him under the woolen sheet.” Um Salama further said, “The Prophet used to kiss me while he was fasting. The Prophet and I used to take the bath of Janaba from a single pot.”
RTS goes on to attack Ai’sha for narrating this event and argues the following:
Now the narration from Al-Kafi is a question asked from one male to another. ‘The Imam (a.s) is explaining the method on how to perform Ghusul with a menstruating women. However A’isha on the other hand is narrating this not to a women rather a man and that been her nephew Urwah.
This is a biased observation. The wives of the Prophet (pbuh) were all engaged in sharing information about their private lives with the Messenger (pbuh) since doing such would lead to insight regarding what is prohibited and what is permissible.
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