ITHFUL The Wives of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Muslims all over the world place Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the highest esteem, respect him and love him to the core. That of course is desired of them as part of iman or faith. He is the one who brought the light of faith from Almighty Allah for humanity which is inevitable for everlasting success in this world, in the hereafter and to enter Paradise. His life is the epitome of enlightenment, a bright torch for human beings in the world of ignorance and darkness. He left his footprints by working on divine commands to facilitate their observance by the faithful.
Muslims can happily boast of having all the minutest, authentic details of all his actions with respect to all aspects of life. All his actions, movements and sayings are codified, certified by a valid chain of narrators. His teachings are valid, to remain so till the Doomsday. This is unparalleled for any of the leaders and their followers in the world. It is a divine arrangement by Allah. In fact, Muslims are commanded through the Qur’an to take his life as a role model.
The Prophet ﷺ had eleven wives in his entire life. Lives of the revered wives of the Prophet ﷺ are a role model for Muslim women. Due to sheer lack of complete knowledge, detailed rationale and background, some people draw a wrong conclusion for this aspect of the Prophet’s life. It emerges from a deep study of his biography that the Prophet ﷺ did so with an aim to teach the etiquette, the intricacies of family-life to the faithful as directed by Almighty Allah.
The Prophet’s efforts were to eradicate tribal rivalries, racial discernment, burying of girl child alive and other such highly inhuman age-old ethos prevailing then in society. He encouraged the young among the faithful to support widows and the destitute by marrying them even if they are older to them to help those women lead a dignified life and save the society from evils.
The following details of his marriages in a chronological order will surely add to the existing knowledge of all interested. It is worthy to note that except Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her), the other women Allah’s Messenger ﷺ had married were either widows, destitute, facing tough time, or as instructed by Almighty Allah. In the case of one marriage, Allah Himself did organise the Nikah ceremony.
The first marriage of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was to Khadija bint Khuwailid, (may Allah be pleased with her) who was 15 years elder to him. At the time of marriage, the Prophet ﷺ was 25 years old. She was a widow and the Prophet ﷺ lived with her for 25 years during which he ﷺ did not have any other wife.
The Prophet’s second marriage was with Sauda bint Zam‘a bin Qays. She too was a widow. She was blessed with a long life. She died during the later days of the Caliphate of Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) in the year 54 or 55 H.
The Prophet’s ﷺ third marriage was with Ayesha bint Abu Bakr. The Prophet ﷺ married her in the same year after the demise of Khadija. Ayesha says that the conduct of a marriage in the month of Shawwal was considered inauspicious among Arabs. The Prophet ﷺ married her in Shawwal to break that tradition. Her young age enabled her to acquire vast knowledge with regard to Islamic way of life directly from the Messenger of Allah. She is regarded as an authority in many matters in general as well as in women-related affairs. Many ahadith of the Prophet ﷺ are narrated by her. She died at the age of 66 years in Madinah in the year 57 H.
The above three marriages were conducted before the Prophet could migrate to Medina.
The Prophet’s ﷺ fourth marriage was with Hafsa bint Umar bin al-Khattab and a widow of Khunais bin Huzaifa. She was very pious and known for being engaged in prayers, observing fast, etc. She died at the age of 60 years in the year 41 A.H.
The Prophet’s ﷺ fifth marriage was solemnised with Zainab bint Khuzaima, a widow of the Companion, Abdullah bin Jahsh who was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. The Prophet ﷺ married her in the year 3 H. She lived only for eight months after this marriage and died in the year 4 H.
The Prophet’s ﷺ sixth marriage was with Umm Salma bint Abu Umaiyyah, widow of Abu Salma in 4 H. She died in 59 H. after reaching the age of 84 years.
The seventh marriage was with Zainab bint Jahsh. She was earlier married to Zaid bin Haritha, the adopted son of the Prophet. After Zaid divorced her, Allah Himself solemnised her Nikah ceremony with the Prophet ﷺ (as is revealed in Chapter al-Ahzab of the Qur’an) in the year 5 H. She was then 35 years old. She died in 20 H. at the age of 50 years. Her marriage broke the long-standing belief and tradition that the adopted son was equal to one’s own son.
The eighth marriage of our Prophet ﷺ was with Juwairiyah bint al-Haarith bin Abi Zaraar, daughter of tribal chief of Banu al-Mustaliq settled between Makkah and Madinah. Consequent to the establishment of this relationship by the Prophet ﷺ, 700 captives from 100 families belonging to that tribe were released by various Companions without collecting any ransom. Solemnising of this marriage thus became a source of great relief for 700 persons from 100 families. She died at the age of 70 in the year 56 H.
Umm Habeeba was the ninth wife of the Prophet ﷺ. She was the daughter of famous chief of the Makkan pagans Abu Sufiyan and Hinda. They both were extremely hostile towards the Prophet ﷺ through many decades and even attempted to harm the Holy Prophet ﷺ physically.
Safiya bint Haiyyi, daughter of Haiyyi, was the tenth wife of the Prophet ﷺ. She became captive of Waheei Kalabi, a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ. He offered her to the Prophet ﷺ. Paying the ransom amount, the Prophet ﷺ offered her choice of liberty to live. She embraced Islam and offered herself for marriage with the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ then married her. She died at the age of 60 in the year 50 H.
Maimoona bint Haarith bin Huzun was his eleventh wife of the Prophet ﷺ. Her earlier name was ‘Barrah’. She was married earlier to one Abu Raheem bin Abdul ‘Uzzaa. Upon her becoming widow, the Prophet ﷺ married her in the year 7 H. Incidentally, she died at the same place later in the year 61 H. at the age of 81 years. She had earned a good name for her piety, generosity and social service.
[The article is based on the information available in the book ‘Hikayat al-Sahaaba’ by Shaikh al Hadith Maulana Muhammad Zakariya Kandhelwi]