Download A Brief Note on the Wives of the Prophet Muhammad

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A Brief Look at
The Wives of Prophet Muhammad:
Mothers of the Believers
Faqir Hussain Shakir
Hazrat Khadijah:
Hazrat Khadijah had become widowed twice before she married the third time at the
age of 40 to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who was only 25 years old. She was a rich
and highly respected person in Makkah who had earned great respect among her
people for her piety and generosity. She had also children from her previous
marriages. The marriage of Prophet Muhammad with Hazrat Khadijah lasted for 25
years when she died in Makkah at the age of 65. Prophet Muhammad had never had
a second wife during the lifetime of Hazrat Khadijah. They had several children from
this marriage.
Hazrat Saudah:
After the death of Hazrat Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was alone and there
was no one to look after his young family. Hazrat Saudah was widow of a ripe old
age. She was one of the earlier refugees to Ethiopia who had left Makkah for the fear
of persecution. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) honoured her for her sacrifices in the
cause of Islam by marrying this brave lady. She was a motherly figure who looked
after Prophet's children with love and tender care. She alone was Prophet's wife for
the next four years until he married Hazrat Ayesha.
Hazrat Ayesha:
Ayesha, the daughter of Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddique; the first khalifah of the Islamic
State, was the third wife of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). She turned out to be one of
the greatest Islamic scholars of her time who was not only expert in Islamic
jurisprudence but possessed good knowledge of ancient Arab history, literature,
mathematics and medicines. She surpassed all the Companions of the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh), except Hazrat Abu Hurairah, by quoting over two thousand and
two hundred Sahih Hadiths (sayings/actions of the Prophet). She was a source of
knowledge, for both men and women that illuminated the lands for 48 years after the
death of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Hazrat Hafzah:
Hazrat Hafzah was the daughter of Hazrat Omar, the second Khalifah of the Islamic
State. She had become a widow after her husband earned the martyrdom in the
battle of Uhad. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) wanted to comfort her and her father
Hazrat Omar who was so close to the Prophet. He decided to marry Hazrat Hafzah
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to bring the tribal ties even closer. This was a marriage that cemented the
relationship of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with not only Hazrat Omar but also his
tribe Banu Adi. Hazrat Hafzah, blessed with a great memorising power, was one of a
few Arab women at the time that could read and write. She was also the custodian of
the first copy of the holy Quran once it was put together during the Khilafat period of
Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddique in about 634 C.E
Hazrat Zainab bint Khuzaimah:
Hazrat Zainab belonged to a very powerful Arab tribe Aamar bin Sa'sa'h who was
well known for its enmity towards Islam. She was a very generous lady and had
earned a title of "Ummul Masaakeen - the mother of the poor" even before she had
entered into the folds of Islam. She was highly placed in the eyes of her tribe. Hazrat
Zainab became widowed after her husband Hazrat Ubaidullah ibn Haarith was
martyred in the battle of Badr. Her tribe was a fierce enemy of Islam. After the
martyrdom of Hazrat Ubaidullah, Prophet Muhammad decided to marry Hazrat
Zainab in order to soften the relationships between Islam and her tribe. Hazrat
Zainab suffered from ill health and, at the age of 30, died in Madinah after only three
months of marriage to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Hazrat Umm-e-Salmah:
Hazrat Umm-e-Salmah belonged to a famous Arab tribe Banu Makhzoom. She was
a close relative of Hazrat Khalid ibn Walid. Hazrat Umm-e-Salmah and her husband
became Muslims in the earlier years of Islam. They also escaped to Ethiopia from
the fear of persecution in Makkah. Many years later, they returned to Madinah where
her husband was blessed with martyrdom in the battle of Uhad in Hijrah 3. Hazrat
Umm-e-Salmah had suffered a lot in her life and now she had lost her husband in
the cause of Islam. She was old with many children under her care. This was the
time when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) offered himself to marry her in order to take
care of her family and to comfort her broken heart. It was such an unexpected
honour for her that she could not refuse this noble offer. The political consequences
were far reaching as the tribe Banu Makhzoom and Khalid ibn Walid, who were still
the fierce enemies of Islam, came closer to Islam. Their enmity was severely dented
by this marriage. We must not forget that marriage alliance in any culture but
especially in a tribal society brings people together and helps to evaporate old feuds
and enmities. Hazrat Umm-e-Salmah was also among those few women who had
acquired reading and writing skills. She lived for a long time and died in Hijrah 61 by
leaving a legacy of many Hadiths and Traditions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) for
the Muslim Ummah.
Hazrat Zainab bint Jahsh:
Hazrat Zainab's mother was Umaimah, the daughter of Abdul Muttalib who was the
grandfather of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Thus, Umaimah was aunt of the Prophet
and Hazrat Zainab was his close cousin. Obviously, she belonged to the noble tribe
of Quraish. The Arabs were very proud of their genealogy. Prophet Muhammad's
adopted son, Hazrat Zaid ibn Haarith, was a slave whom the Prophet had freed. The
Prophet wanted to abolish the racial inequalities among all mankind so he married
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his noble cousin Hazrat Zainab to his adopted son Hazrat Zaid ibn Haarith. However,
the marriage went on the rock after some time on account of incompatibilities
between the couple. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) tried to save their marriage but
eventually they were divorced.
In the ancient Arab society, it was a taboo to marry adopted son's wife. It was
considered a shameful act but Allah wanted to abolish it forever as it carried many
unjust practical implications for the family and the society at large. Surah Al-Ahzaab
was revealed at the right time when Hazrat Zaid ibn Haarith divorced his wife Hazrat
Zainab. Allah Subhanahu commanded Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to marry Hazrat
Zainab to abolish this unjust tradition once for all and so the marriage of Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) with his adopted son's divorced wife and his close cousin took
place under the direct commandment of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. This is one of
the greatest social events in the history of Islam that raised the slaves to the highest
social ladders as well as got rid of the unjust customs. Hazrat Zainab died in Hijrah
20.
Hazrat Juwairiyah bint Al-Haarith:
Hazrat Juwairiyah belonged to a very powerful tribe Banu Al-Mustaliq, an ally of
Jewish tribes, who was a staunch enemy of Islam. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
discovered through his network of intelligence sources the tribe of Banu Al-Mustaliq
was planning to attack Madinah. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), on such occasions,
would not wait as a rule for the enemy to attack. Instead, he went with his
companions like a lightening and surrounded them at dawn. The enemy was
defeated and surrendered. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) treated the enemy with
kindness and even returned the war booty. The tribe was so impressed that they
accepted Islam. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) married Hazrat Juwairiyah on this
occasion to put a dent in the strength of his enemies. Hazrat Juwairiyah was an
extremely pious lady. She has quoted many Hadiths. She lived nearly 47 years after
the departure of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Hazrat Umm-e-Habibah bint Hazrat Abu Sufiyan:
Hazrat Umm-e-Habibah, the sister of Amir Muaawiya, was an earlier Muslim who had
migrated to Ethiopia with her husband from the fear of persecution in Makkah. Umme-Habibah's husband turned to Christianity in Ethiopia and forced his wife to follow
him but she stood firm on her faith. It is reported that her husband later drowned and
died in Ethiopia. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) wanted to comfort and reassure Hazrat
Umm-e-Habibah in a distant land of Ethiopia hundreds of miles away from home.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) proposed her for marriage through Najjashi, the king of
Ethiopia. The marriage had also far-reaching political implications, as Abu Sufiyan,
the leader of Quraish of Makkah, was still a fierce enemy of Islam. This marriage
severely dented the enmity of Abu Sufiyan towards Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as it
was considered an unworthy act of fighting with one's son-in-law in that tribal society.
Hazrat Umm-e-Habibah was an exemplary figure of piety and left a considerable
wealth of Hadiths and Sunnah's traditions. She had a long life and died in Hijrah 59.
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Hazrat Safia bint Hayye:
Hazrat Safia was a daughter of a Jewish leader of Khaiber. Muslims in Hijrah 7
conquered Khaiber and she was among the prisoners of war. Hazrat Safia accepted
Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) married her to soften the enmity of Jews
against Islam. Hazrat Safia was a very God-fearing lady who looked after the poor
and needy alike. She died in Hijrah 50.
Hazrat Rehanah:
Hazrat Rehanah belonged to a famous Jewish tribe of Banu Quraizah. During the
conquest of Khaiber, she became a prisoner of war. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), for
political reasons, freed and married her to diffuse the enmity of Jewish tribes towards
Islam.
Hazrat Maimunah bint Al-Haarith:
Hazrat Maimunah belonged to a Najdi tribe of Aamar ibn Sa'sa'h. She was the
stepsister of Hazrat Zainab bint Khuzaimah and had other eight sisters who were
married in different tribes. She, herself, was a widow. In the year Hijrah 7 Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) went for Umrah in Makkah where Hazrat Maimunah bequeathed
herself (Hibah) to the service of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) (see Surah Al-Ahzaab
verse number 50). It is reported, however, that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) paid the
Mehr (religiously approved sum of money) and married Hazrat Maimunah in order to
strengthen relationships with all the other tribes who were related to the tribe of
Aamar ibn Sa'sa'h. Hazrat Maimunah died in Hijrah 51 and quoted a number of
Hadiths.
Hazrat Maria of Egypt:
Hazrat Maria was a slave lady who was sent as a gift by the Patriarch of Egypt to
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when he invited him to accept Islam after the Peace
Treaty at Hudaibiah with the Quraish of Makkah in Hijrah 6. Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) freed Hazrat Maria. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had a son Ibrahim from
Hazrat Maria but the son died in his infancy.
A BRIEF NOTE:
Any just person can see that these latter marriages had nothing to do with sexual
motives or desires but rather to bring people closer to one another in a most practical
way. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has set a model of how to treat wives with justice
and equality. Now let us look at some of his achievements in terms of his marriages.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was born into a society of multitude of tribes spread over
a vast land that had seen no government, no police force to keep peace and no law
and order at any level for centuries. The society as a whole was uncouth,
undisciplined and almost brute to say the least. The task of Prophet Muhammad
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(pbuh) was to knead, mould and polish this human brute force into the leaders of
mankind and this he accomplished in only 23 years. This is a unique event, in fact, a
miracle in the entire history of mankind.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Movement who
was appointed by Allah, Himself, to deliver His Divine Message to mankind. The
canvass of responsibilities of Prophet Muhammad was beyond our imagination from
teaching manners and personal hygiene to designing rules and regulations for peace
and war. In fact, to formulate laws to cover all aspects of human life and then to
install them into the fabric of the society in a practical manner. To attain this, Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) required as much flexibility as was endowed by Allah in terms of
marrying more than four wives as mentioned in Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 50. He was
also commanded by Allah to perform certain obligations (Farz) whereas the Muslim
Ummah is exempted from them. For instance, the past-midnight prayer (Tahajjad) is
Farz or obligatory for the Prophet but optional for his followers; Sadaqah (charity)
and Zakah (poor-due) were forbidden for Prophet Muhammad and his family; his
inheritance could not be divided but given away in charity, and his wives (the
Mothers of Believers) could not remarry after his death etc.
Islam forbids the free and open interaction of men and women. Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) married women from different backgrounds, with different skills and ages for a
variety of reasons. One of the reasons was to train his wives not only in all aspects of
Islamic life but also about women's private matters and issues that only women could
talk to women. The Mothers of the Believers learned from Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) and passed the information to other women of all ages. In fact, they became
living fountains of this acquired knowledge for decades for all the seekers after the
death of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in 632 C.E.
Some of the marriages into different enemy tribes were socio-political in order to
curtail the enmity towards Islam of the non-Muslims opposing tribes. This helped to
bring the tribes closer to Islam and eventually all the Arab tribes accepted Islam.
The marriage to Hazrat Zainab bint Jahsh was ordained by Allah Himself as
described in the holy Quran in Surah Al-Ahzaab, verse 37. Thus, the ancient unjust
custom was abolished once for all when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) married his
adopted son's wife Hazrat Zainab.
One of the great lessons that we learn from the foregoing note is that polygamy in
Islam has a much wider canvass than what we have confined it to today; for
instance, having another wife just because the first wife suffers from bad health or
she is barren or there is no male heir in the family etc. It is no less than narrowing
down the Shariah of Allah to one's own whims and desires. Polygamy has farreaching practical implications, if observed with the fear of Allah, to stabilise the
society in moral terms and harmonise the human relationships at every level.
F.H. Shakir
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Email: [email protected]
Dated: April, 2000