Muhammad's wives, or the wives of Muhammad, were the women married to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslims often use the term "Mothers of the Believers" prominently before or after referring to them as a sign of respect, a term derived from Quran 33:6.[1][2]
Muhammad was monogamous for 25 years when married to his
first wife, Khadija bint Khuwaylid. After her death in 619 CE, he over time
married a number of women. His life is traditionally delineated by two epochs:
pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca, a city in western Arabia, from the year 570 to
622 CE, and post-hijra in Medina, from 622 until his death in 632. All but two
of his marriages were contracted after the Hegira (or Hijra - migration to
Medina).
Of his 13 wives, only two bore him children: Khadija and
Maria al-Qibtiyya.
Women and girls in Islam are encouraged to follow their
footsteps to succeed in existing life and the life hereafter. Prophet Muhammed
PBUH has been awarded the highest category amongst all human being based on his
sacrifices to spread the words of Allah. He will be the first person to enter
Jannah (paradise). So, one can imagine the importance of his wives in the eyes
of God. Hence, we must make all his wives our path to succeed and learn from
their struggles.
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
At the age of 25, Muhammad wed his wealthy employer, the 28-
or 40-year-old daughter of a merchant, Khadija. This marriage, his first,
would be both happy and monogamous; Muhammad would rely on Khadija in many
ways, until her death 25 years later. They had two sons, Qasim and Abd-Allah (nicknamed al-Ṭāhir and al-Ṭayyib respectively), both
died young, and four daughters—Zaynab, Ruqaiya, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah. Shia scholars
dispute the paternity of Khadija's daughters,
as they view the first three of them as the daughters from previous marriages
and only Fatimah as
the daughter of Muhammad and Khadija.[21] During
their marriage, Khadija purchased the slave Zayd
ibn Harithah, then adopted the young man as her son at Muhammad's
request. Abu Talib and Khadija died in
the same year. He declared the year as Aam ul-Huzn (year of sorrow).
Hijrah (migration) to Medina[edit]
See also: Hegira
Sawda bint Zamʿa
Before he left for Medina, it was suggested by Khawlah bint Hakim that he marry Sawda bint
Zamʿa, who had suffered many hardships after she became a Muslim. Prior to
that, Sawda was married to a paternal cousin of hers named As-Sakran bin ‘Amr,
and had five or six sons from her previous marriage. There are disagreements in
Muslim tradition whether Muhammad first married Sawda or Aisha, but Sawda is
usually regarded as his second wife and she was living with him before Aisha
joined the household. In one account, he married Sawda in Shawwal, when
Sawda was about 55 years old, in the tenth year of prophethood, after the death
of Khadija. At about the same period, Aisha was betrothed to him.
As Sawda got older, and some time after Muhammad's marriage
to Umm
Salama, some sources claim that Muhammad wished to divorce Sawda.
Some traditions maintain that Muhammad did not intend to divorce her, but only
Sawda feared or thought that he would. Ibn Kathir says
that Muhammad was worried that Sawda might be upset about having to compete
with so many younger wives, and offered to divorce her. Sawda offered to give
her turn of Muhammad's conjugal visits to Aisha, of whom she was very fond, stating
that she "was old, and cared not for men; her only desire was to rise on
the Day of Judgment as one of his wives". While some Muslim
historians cite this story as a reason
of revelation, citing Quran 4:128, others like Rashid
Rida dispute this whole account as "poorly supported", or mursal.
Aisha bint Abu Bakr
Aisha was the daughter of Muhammad's close friend Abu Bakr.
She was initially betrothed to Jubayr ibn Muṭʽim, a Muslim whose father,
though pagan,
was friendly to the Muslims. When Khawlah bint Hakim suggested that Muhammad
marry Aisha after the death of Muhammad's first wife (Khadija), the previous
agreement regarding marriage of Aisha with ibn Mut'im was put aside by common
consent.
The majority of traditional sources state that Aisha was
betrothed to Muhammad at the age of six or seven, but she stayed in her
parents' home until the age of nine, or ten according to Ibn Hisham,
when the marriage was consummated with Muhammad, then 53, in Medina. Aisha's
age at marriage has been a source of controversy and debate, and some
historians, Islamic scholars, and Muslim writers have challenged the
previously-accepted timeline of her life. Both Aisha and Sawda, his two
wives, were given apartments adjoined to the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque.[34]
According to Sunni belief, Aisha was extremely scholarly and
inquisitive (the Shia belief is somewhat different, considering her role in The
Battle of Camel against Ali, along with other matters). Her contribution to the
spread of Muhammad's message was extraordinary, and she served the Muslim
community for 44 years after his death. She is also known for narrating 2210
hadith, not just on matters related to Muhammad's private life, but also on
topics such as marriage, sex, inheritance, pilgrimage, eschatology, among other subjects. She was
highly regarded for her intellect and knowledge in various fields, including
poetry and medicine, which received plenty of praise by prominent
historian Al-Zuhri and
her student Urwa ibn al-Zubayr.
Widows of
the war with Mecca
Hafsa bint Umar and Zaynab bint Khuzayma
During the Muslim
war with Mecca, many men were killed leaving behind widows and
orphans. Hafsa bint Umar, daughter of Umar (‘Umar bin
Al-Khattab), was widowed at battle
of Badr when her husband Khunais ibn Hudhaifa was killed in
action. Muhammad married her in 3 A.H./625 C.E. Zaynab bint Khuzayma was also widowed at
the battle of Uhad. She was the wife of 'Ubaydah b. al-Hārith, a faithful Muslim
and from the tribe of al-Muttalib, for which Muhammad had special
responsibility. When her husband died, Muhammad aiming to provide for her,
married her in 4 A.H. She was nicknamed Umm Al-Masakeen (roughly translates as
the mother of the poor), because of her kindness and charity.
Close to Aisha's age, the two younger wives Hafsa and Zaynab
were welcomed into the household. Sawda, who was much older, extended her
motherly benevolence to the younger women. Aisha and Hafsa had a lasting
relationship. As for Zaynab, however, she became ill and died about three
months after her marriage.
Hind bint Suhayl (Umm Salama
The death of Zaynab coincided with that of Abu Salamah, a
devout Muslim and Muhammad's foster brother, as a result of his wounds from
the Battle of Uhud. Abu Salamah's widow, Umm Salama,
also a devoted Muslim, had none but her young children. Her man-less plight
reportedly saddened the Muslims, and after her iddah some
Muslims proposed marriage to her; but she declined. When Muhammad proposed her
marriage, she was reluctant for three reasons: she claimed to suffer from
jealousy and pointed out the prospect of an unsuccessful marriage, her old age,
and her young family that needed support. But Muhammad replied that he would
pray to God to free her from jealousy, that he too was of old age, and that her
family was like his family. She married Muhammad around the end of 4 AH.
Rayhana bint Zayd
In 626, Rayhana
bint Zayd, was a Jewish woman from the Banu Nadir tribe,
enslaved along with others after the defeat of the Banu
Qurayza tribe.
Internal
dissension
After Muhammad's final battle against his Meccan enemies, he
diverted his attention to stopping the Banu
Mustaliq's raid on Medina. During this skirmish, Medinan dissidents,
begrudging Muhammad's influence, attempted to attack him in the more sensitive
areas of his life, including his marriage to Zaynab
bint Jahsh, and an incident in which Aisha left her camp to search for
her lost necklace, and returned with a Companion of Muhammad.
Zaynab bint Jahsh
Zaynab bint Jahsh was Muhammad's cousin, the
daughter of one of his father's sisters. In Medina Muhammad
arranged the widowed Zaynab's marriage to his adopted son Zayd ibn
Harithah. Caesar E. Farah states that Muhammad was
determined to establish the legitimacy and right to equal treatment of the
adopted. Zaynab disapproved of the marriage, and her brothers rejected it,
because according to Ibn Sa'd, she was of aristocratic lineage and Zayd was a
former slave. Watt states that it is not clear why
Zaynab was unwilling to marry Zayd as Muhammad esteemed him highly. He
postulates that Zaynab, being an ambitious woman, was already hoping to marry
Muhammad; or that she might have wanted to marry someone of whom Muhammad
disapproved for political reasons. According to Maududi, after
the Qur'anic verse 33:36 was
revealed, Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd.
Zaynab's marriage was unharmonious. According to Watt,
it is almost certain that she was working for marriage with Muhammad before the
end of 626. "Zaynab had dressed in haste when she was told 'the Messenger
of God is at the door.' She jumped up in haste and excited the admiration of
the Messenger of God, so that he turned away murmuring something that could
scarcely be understood. However, he did say overtly: 'Glory be to God the
Almighty! Glory be to God, who causes the hearts to turn!'" Zaynab
told Zayd about this, and he offered to divorce her, but Muhammad told him to
keep her. The story laid much stress on Zaynab's perceived
beauty. Nomani considers this story to be a rumor. Watt doubts the
accuracy of this portion of the narrative, since it does not occur in the
earliest source. He thinks that even if there is a basis of fact underlying the
narrative, it would have been subject to exaggeration in the course of
transmission as the later Muslims liked to maintain that there was no celibacy
and monkery in Islam. Rodinson disagrees with Watt arguing that the story
is stressed in the traditional texts and that it would not have aroused any
adverse comment or criticism. This story has been rejected by most Muslim
scholars mainly because of its lack of having any chain of narration and its
complete absence from any authentic hadith. Some commentatorshave found it
absurd that Muhammad would suddenly become aware of Zaynab's beauty one day
after having known her all her life; if her beauty had been the reason for
Muhammad to marry her, he would have married her himself in the first place
rather than arranging her marriage to Zayd.
Muhammad, fearing public opinion, was initially reluctant to
marry Zaynab. The marriage would seem incestuous to their contemporaries
because she was the former wife of his adopted son, and adopted sons were
considered the same as biological sons. According to Watt, this
"conception of incest was bound up with old practices belonging to a
lower, communalistic level of familial institutions where a child's paternity
was not definitely known; and this lower level was in process being eliminated
by Islam." The Qur'an,33:37 however,
indicated that this marriage was a duty imposed upon him by God. It implied
that treating adopted sons as real sons was objectionable and that there should
now be a complete break with the past. Thus Muhammad, confident that he
was strong enough to face public opinion, proceeded to reject these
taboos. When Zaynab's waiting period was complete, Muhammad married her. An
influential faction in Medina, called "Hypocrites"
in the Islamic tradition, did indeed criticize the marriage as
incestuous. Attempting to divide the Muslim community, they spread rumors
as part of a strategy of attacking Muhammad through his wives. According
to Ibn Kathir, the relevant Qur'anic verses were a "divine rejection"
of the Hypocrites' objections. According to Rodinson, doubters argued the
verses were in exact conflict with social taboos and favored Muhammad too much.
The delivery of these verses, thus, did not end the dissent.
Necklace
incident
Aisha had accompanied Muhammad on his skirmish with the Banu
Mustaliq. On the way back, Aisha lost her necklace which she had borrowed from
her sister Asma Bint Abu Bakr (a treasured possession), and Muhammad required
the army to stop so that it could be found. The necklace was found, but during
the same journey, Aisha lost it again. This time, she quietly slipped out in
search for it, but by the time she recovered it, the caravan had moved on. She
was eventually taken home by Safw'an bin Mu'attal.
Rumors spread that A'isha and Safw'an committed adultery
although there were no witnesses to this. Disputes arose, and the
community was split into factions. Meanwhile, Aisha had been ill, and unaware
of the stories. At first, Muhammad himself was unsure of what to believe, but
eventually trusted Aisha's protestations of innocence. Eventually, verses of
surah Nur were revealed to Muhammad, establishing her innocence, and condemning
the slanders and the libel. Although the episode was uneasy for both Muhammad
and Aisha, in the end, it reinforced their mutual love and trust.
According to shia (Allameh Tabataba'), revealing of Nur's
verses belongs to Maria al-Qibtiyya, another wife of Muhammad. Also the
accuracy of incident free from which wife of Muhammad, isn't confirmed by shia
scholar (Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem
Shirazi), because the Ismah of Muhammad is violated.
Reconciliation
Juwayriyya bint al-Harith
One of the captives from the skirmish with the Banu
Mustaliq was Juwayriyya bint al-Harith, who was the
daughter of the tribe's chieftain. Her husband, Mustafa bin Safwan, had been
killed in the battle. She initially fell among the booty of Muhammad's
companion Thabit b. Qays b. Al-Shammas. Upon being enslaved, Juwayriyya went to
Muhammad requesting that she - as the daughter of the lord of the Mustaliq - be
released, however he refused. Meanwhile, her father approached Muhammad
with ransom to
secure her release, but Muhammed still refused to release her. Muhammad then
offered to marry her, and she accepted. When it became known that tribes
persons of Mustaliq were kinsmen of the prophet of Islam through marriage, the Muslims
began releasing their captives. Thus, Muhammad's marriage resulted in the
freedom of nearly one hundred families whom he had recently enslaved.
Safiyya bint Huyayy Ibn Akhtab
Safiyya bint Huyayy was a noblewoman, the
daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, chief of the Jewish
tribe Banu
Nadir, who was executed after surrendering at the Battle of the Trench. She had been
married first to the poet Sallam ibn Mishkam, who had divorced
her, and second to Kenana ibn al-Rabi, a commander. In 628, at
the Battle of Khaybar, Banu Nadir was defeated, her
husband was executed and she was taken as a prisoner. Muhammad freed her from
her captor Dihya and proposed marriage, which Safiyya accepted. According
to Martin Lings, Muhammad had given Safiyyah the choice of returning to the
defeated Banu Nadir, or becoming Muslim and marrying him, and Safiyyah opted
for the latter choice.
According to a hadith, Muhammad's contemporaries believed
that due to Safiyya's high status, it was only befitting that she be manumitted and
married to Muhammad. Modern scholars believe that Muhammad married Safiyya as
part of reconciliation with the Jewish tribe and as a gesture of goodwill. John L. Esposito states that the marriage may
have been political or to cement alliances. Haykal opines that Muhammad's
manumission of and marriage to Safiyaa was partly in order to alleviate her
tragedy and partly to preserve their dignity, and compares these actions to
previous conquerors who married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they
had defeated. According to some, by marrying Safiyyah, Muhammad aimed at ending
the enmity and hostility between Jews and Islam.
Muhammad convinced Safiyya to convert to
Islam. According to Al-Bayhaqi, Safiyyah was initially angry at Muhammad
as both her father and husband had been killed. Muhammad explained "Your
father charged the Arabs against me and committed heinous acts."
Eventually, Safiyyah got rid of her bitterness against Muhammad. According
to Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, Safiyya came to appreciate the love and honor Muhammad
gave her, and said, "I have never seen a good-natured person as the Messenger
of Allah".Safiyyah remained loyal to Muhammad until he died.
According to Islamic tradition, Safiyya was beautiful,
patient, intelligent, learned and gentle, and she respected Muhammad as
"Allah's Messenger". Muslim scholars state she had many good moral
qualities. She is described as a humble worshiper and a pious
believer. Ibn Kathir said, "she was one of the best
women in her worship, piousness, ascetism, devoutness, and
charity". According to Ibn Sa'd, Safiyyah was very charitable and
generous. She used to give out and spend whatever she had; she gave away a
house that she had when she was still alive.
Upon entering Muhammad's household, Safiyya became friends
with Aisha and Hafsa. Also, she offered gifts to Fatima. She gave some of
Muhammad's other wives gifts from her jewels that she brought with her from
Khaybar. However, some of Muhammad's other wives spoke ill of Safiyya's Jewish
descent. Muhammad intervened, pointing out to everyone that Safiyya's
"husband is Muhammad, father is Aaron,
and uncle is Moses", a reference to revered prophets.
Muhammad once went to hajj with all his
wives. On the way Safiyya's camel knelt down, as it was the weakest in the
caravan, and she started to weep. Muhammad came to her and wiped her tears with
his dress and hands, but the more he asked her not to cry, the more she went on
weeping. When Muhammad was terminally ill, Safiyya was profoundly upset.
She said to him "I wish it was I who was suffering instead of you."
Ramla bint Abi Sufyan (Umm Habiba)
In the same year, Muhammad signed a peace treaty with his Meccan enemies,
the Quraysh effectively ending the state of war
between the two parties. He soon married the daughter of the Quraysh
leader, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, aimed at further
reconciling his opponents. He sent a proposal for marriage to Ramla bint Abi Sufyan, who, was in Abyssinia
at the time when she learned her husband had died. She had previously converted
to Islam (in Mecca) against her father's will. After her migration to Abyssinia her
husband had converted to Christianity. Muhammad
dispatched ‘Amr bin Omaiyah Ad-Damri with a letter to the Negus (king), asking
him for Umm Habiba’s hand — that was in Muharram, in
the seventh year of Al-Hijra.
Maria al-Qibtiyya
Maria al-Qibtiyya was an Egyptian Coptic Christian, sent as a
gift to Muhammad from Muqawqis, a Byzantine official. and
bore him a son named Ibrahim, who died in infancy.
Maymuna binti al-Harith
As part of the treaty of Hudaybiyah, Muhammad visited Mecca
for the lesser pilgrimage. There Maymuna bint al-Harith proposed
marriage to him.Muhammad accepted, and thus married Maymuna, the sister-in-law
of Abbas, a longtime ally of his. By marrying her, Muhammad also established
kinship ties with the banu Makhzum, his previous opponents. As the Meccans did
not allow him to stay any longer, Muhammad left the city, taking Maymuna with
him. Her original name was "Barra" but he called her
"Maymuna", meaning the blessed, as his marriage to her had also
marked the first time in seven years when he could enter his hometown Mecca.
Muhammad's widows
A map showing the grave of the wives of Muhammad and his daughters in al-Baqīʿ Cemetery. Central rectangle just in front of Main Gate.
Grave of the wives of Muhammad in al-Baqīʿ Cemetery, Medina.
According to the Qur'an, God forbade anyone to marry the
wives of Muhammad, because of their respect and honour, after he died.
Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy Allah's Messenger, or that
ye should marry his wives after him at any time.[Quran 33:53]
The extent of Muhammad's property at the time of his death
is unclear. Although Qur'an [2.180] clearly addresses issues of inheritance,
Abu Bakr, the new leader of the Muslim ummah, refused to
divide Muhammad's property among his widows and heirs, saying that he had heard
Muhammad say:
We (Prophets) do not have any heirs; what we leave behind is
(to be given in) charity.
Muhammad's widow Hafsa played a role in the collection of
the first Qur'anic manuscript. After Abu Bakr had collected the copy, he gave
it to Hafsa, who preserved it until Uthman took it, copied it and distributed
it in Muslim lands.
Some of Muhammad's widows were active politically in the
Islamic state after Muhammad's death. Safiyya, for example, aided the Caliph
Uthman during his siege. During the first fitna, some wives also took sides.
Umm Salama, for example, sided with Ali, and sent her son Umar for
help. The last of Muhammad's wives, Umm Salama lived to hear about the
tragedy of Karbala in
680, dying the same year. The grave of the wives of Muhammed is located
at al-Baqīʿ
Cemetery, Medina.
Timeline of marriages
The vertical lines in the graph indicate, in chronological order,
the start of prophethood, the Hijra,
and the Battle of Badr.
Family tree
Note that direct lineage is marked in bold.
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