Latin polemicists read Quranic verses as proof of Islamic sanction for sin

Evidence

San Pedro’s treatment of the Mariyah episode was fuller and substituted ‘A’ishah for Hafsah, but was substantially the same. He quoted the text of stirah Lxv1, to stress the Islamic justification of oath-breaking: ‘O Prophet, why dost thou prohibit what God has allowed thee? God is righteous in sparing; God remits our oaths for us and absolves us from them; our God is compassionate.’ The point was always the religious justification of sin. Ricoldo also emphasised this story, which he told at length; he understood simply that ‘A’ishah and Hafsah found the Prophet with Mariyah and were jealous. The most probable explanation of the actual incident is that it was a quarrel over the rotation of the Prophet’s visits to his women. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 575

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the vault’s claim in Anidjar/Aziz about how ‘Islam’ gets constructed through selective, hostile reading of sources.