Wives of the prophet (ِafter design)

All the Prophets were Polygamous
WHY PROPHET MUHAMMADMARRIEDNINE
LADIES?
www.knowmuhammad.org

Let’s first askourselves, how many wives did the
Prophet marry?

The total numberthe prophet married was twelve,
two of themdied in his life, so he left ten when he
died

The names of the ladies whomthe prophet married,
also known as the mothers of the believers.
In the fo llo wing slide s are the ir nam e s:

They are:
Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid
Sawdah Bint Zamaah
Aaishah Bint Abi Bakr
Hafsah Bint Omar
Zainab Bint Khuzaymah
Om-salamah , Hind Bint Otbah
Zainab Bint Jahsh
Juwayriyah Bint Alharith
Safiyah Bint Huyay Ibn Akhtab
Ommo Habibah Ramlah Bint Abi Sofian
Maria Bint Shamoun, the Egyptian
Maymonah Bint Alharith

Were they all virgins?

O NLY O NE
(Aaishah)
all the rest were either
widows or divorced.

Were they all Arabs?

All, except for (Mariya),
who was from Egypt.

Where they all
Muslims?

All but two; (Safiya) who was a Jew ,
and (Mariya) who was a Christian.

Now, let’s answer the main and very important
question: Was it lust that cause d the prophet to
have so m any m arriag e s ?

To answer the question we have to mention
the following facts:

1-The Prophet married for the first time when he
was 25 years old.

2-The first woman he married , Khadijah was 40
years old , already married twice before him and had
children.
Never had he thought of marrying her or any women
but it was upon her plan , after seeing his honesty and
integrity, that he accepted to marry her.
He remained married to her alone for 25 years until
she died. He didn’t marry any women other than her.
He remained single after her death for two years
He was then 52 years old.

• Only after her death, and upon a persistent advice did the
prophet marry the next lady.
• She was an old widow who, according to the Islamic sources
was not beautiful. He married her to give her care as she was
old poor widow.
• Now, it is obvious that if the prophet was after physical pleasure
he did not have to wait until he was more than fifty years old to
start marrying more wives. He lived in a society in which it was
quite acceptable to have many wives. But the prophet remained
devoted to his only wife for twenty-five years. When she died she
was sixty-five years old.

3- From 52 till 60, he married several times for political and
social reasons.
After two years of living single, he married Sawdah, an 80
year old widow in order to honor her because she was the
first widow in Islam. Not an act of a lustful man after a
long period of single life.

It’s not logical to say that lust had appeared suddenly at the
Prophet’s life at 52, and at the middle of the fierce physical and
psychological struggle to spread Islam

There is only one conclusion we can
extract from the above:
1-Mohammad (pbuh) - the m an married Khadijah (ra(
2-Mohammad (pbuh) - the Pro phe t married the re st o f
his wive s.

But, was Mohammad (pbuh) the only Prophet to
have multiple wives?
Or polygamy was taken by other Prophets as
well?

The answer is : NO.
Polygamy was the norm at the times of
Ibrahim , Dawo ud, and So laym an all known in
the Bible to have been polygamists.

Now, let’s mention the po litical, so cialand
re lig io us re aso ns why did the prophet had
these marriages.

First: To spread the culture through eyewitnesses with
all the details known only to intimate people.
Aaishah (ra), being so young, was able to te llall
tho se de tails to the Muslim s for more than 42 ye ars.
She had se e n and le arne d so m uch fro m him.
Her young age was a great advantage in this respect.
She could tell what the Prophet used to do or say in
all aspects of life, so that people do and say the
same in the same situations

Aaishah, was the most knowledgeable person when it
comes to the daily life o f the Muslim and how it
should go as was live d by the Pro phe t him se lf.
But how come he married her when she
was only nine years old?
The desert climate answers to that . In such environment Girls
reached menstruation very young. Not only in Arabia, but
also in Roma and Persia, girls were married that young

Second: To strengthen the relationships with his companions,
Prophet m arrie d Abu Bakr’s (ra) daug hte r and O m ar's (ra)
daug hte r.
Prophet m arrie d his daug hte rs to O thm an and Ali, May God be
pleased with them all.

Third: out of m e rcy and re warding to the early Muslim widows and
divorcees he g ave the m the ho no r o f m arrying the m himself
(Husbands either died in battles or were non Muslims who
divorced them.(.
Sawdah, O m -salam a and Habe e bah were widows.

Fourth: The Prophet was being a ro le m o de lfor the Muslims being
kind to the widows and to the pe o ple o f the bo o k who ne wly
e m brace d Islam.
He married Safiyah after her father , a Je w, embraced Islam , so
giving him and his daughter the honor among his people

Fifth: He wanted to have tie s and links with the diffe re nt
natio ns of the world.
When he married Mariya, all Eg yptians we re o n his side , and when he
married Go wayriyah, all her people (they were called the Bani
Almustalaq and were captured by the Muslims after a battle), they all
embraced Islam

• Jo hn L. Espo sito , Pro fe sso r o f Re lig io n and Dire cto r o f the Ce ntre fo r
Inte rnatio nalStudie s at the Co lle g e o f the Ho ly Cro ss , says that most of
these marriages had “po liticaland so cialm o tive s” (Islam: The Straight
Path, Oxford University Press, 1988, p. 19).
• This he explained as follows: “As was custo m ary fo r Arab chie fs, m any
we re po liticalm arriag e s to ce m e nt alliance s. O the rs we re m arriag e s to
the wido ws o f his co m panio ns who had falle n in co m bat and we re in
ne e d o f pro te ctio n” (John L. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, pp. 19-
20).

• Why did the prophet marry 9 at a ce rtain po int o f tim e ?
• How come God gave Muslims the option to marry up to 4, yet the
prophet was married to 9 and ke pt the m all?
• Why didn’t the prophet divorce 5 and stay within the Islamic law limit
of 4 (saving him se lf allthe accusatio ns that wo uld co m e afte rwards )?
• Was the prophet a womanizer, hence marrying Aisha(ra) at the age
of 7?
Why Prophet Mohammad had 9 Wives When the Rule
Says 4 Only?

Says 4 Only?
• Before Islam (in m any culture s and re lig io ns ) it was normal for people
to marry many women at the same time without any limitation
whatsoever.
• Marrying more than one isn’t an Islam ic “inve ntio n”.
• When Islam came, it put the limitation of 4 (with co nditio ns ).

• In Exo dus 21 : 1 0 , a man can marry an infinite amount of women
without any limits to how many he can marry.
• In 2 Sam ue l 5: 1 3; 1 Chro nicle s 3: 1 -9 , 1 4: 3 , King David had six wives
and numerous concubines.
• In 1 King s 1 1 : 3, King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
• In 2 Chro nicle s 1 1 : 21 , King Solomon's son Rehoboam had 18 wives
and 60 concubines.
Polygamy In Christianity

Polygamy In Hinduism
• "Now a Brahmin may take four wives in the direct order of the (four)
castes." — Visnusm rti 24: 1 .
• Lord Krishna had 1 6 , 0 0 0 wive s and 36 0 0 0 co ncubine s
• Lord Visnu & Brahma also had multiple consorts
• Ksatriyas are recorded in the itihasas (Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc…)
as having as many as thousands of wives & thousands of progeny.
• In the epic, the Mahabharata the five renowned Pandava brothers sharing
one wife Draupadi

Polygamy in Islam
• When Islam came, it put the lim itatio n o f 4 (with co nditio ns).
• Qur’an is the only religious book on the face of the earth that says
‘marry only one’.
• "Marry wo m e n o f yo ur cho ice , two , o r thre e , o r fo ur; but if ye fear that
ye shall not be able to de al justly (with them), the n o nly o ne ." [Al-
Qur’an 4:3]
• "Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women...." [Al-
Qur’an 4:129]
• Therefore polygamy is not a rule but an exception

Says 4 Only?
• When the above Quranic verse was revealed, all muslims (whom had
more than 4 wives) had to limit themselves to 4 or less (depending on
the case). And so they did.
• Yet, at that time the prophet (PBUH) was married to 9 wives (before
this order was revealed), and he didn’t divorce them.
Why?

• Let it be know that in Islam, the Prophet’s wives are o f spe cial value
and stance . They are not like any other women
• 33:32. O wives of the Prophet! Yo u are no t like any o the r wo m e n.
• What a lot of people don’t know, is that before the above verse
(limiting to 4 wives) was, another order (rule) was revealed a while
back.
• 33:53.And it is not (right) for you that you should annoy Allah's
Messenger, no r that yo u sho uld e ve r m arry his wive s afte r him (his
de ath). Verily! With Allah that shall be an enormity.
Says 4 Only?

• Before applying that ruling on the wives, they were provided a
choice…either to stay his wives and stick to the ruling (never to
remarry again) or for them to get divorced at that time… they all
preferred to stay with him!
• The reasons for such a rule (his wives never to remarry)are obvious,
it was to protect the prophet and his wives (whether while or after the
prophet passed away) from any form of harm or mistreatment.
• This of course was important because the wives of the prophet have
a very special stance in Islam (after all they are called “Mothers of all
Muslims”).
Says 4 Only?

• So, here is the situation:
1- God said the prophet’s wives (9 of them at that time) are not to
remarry after him.
2- God ordered Muslims not to marry more than 4 at the same time.
• In other words, the prophet will have to divorce 5 out of the 9 he had
as wives at that point. Those 5 will neither be his wives nor any one
else's (unlike all other women who when divorced can remarry).
Says 4 Only?

• Out of God’s mercy for the Prophet’s wives, Allah revealed this
verses in quran.
• 33:52. It is not lawful for you (to marry other) women after this, nor to
change them for other wives even though their beauty attracts you,
except those (captives or slaves) whom your right hand possesses.
And Allah is Ever a Watcher over all things.
• It is an order from God directed to the prophet (specifically) never to
marry anymore women at all (keeping the 9 he already has).
• And that he (the prophet) does not have the right to replace his wives
(divorce one or more and marry new ones while keeping his limit of
wives at 9).
Says 4 Only?

• And this rule (that applied to him only) was the answer for his
situation (since he had 9 wives whom cannot remarry again).
• So, from that point on... neither could the prophet remarry nor could
his wives!
• Special case, special reason and that was that.
Says 4 Only?

Wives of the prophet (ِafter design)

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