Muhammad's wives

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Part of a series on Islam: The Wives of Muhammad
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid Sawda bint Zama* Aisha bint Abi Bakr* Hafsa bint Umar Zaynab bint Khuzayma Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya Zaynab bint Jahsh Juwayriya bint al-Harith Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan Rayhana bint Amr ibn Khunafa** Safiyya bint Huyayy Maymuna bint al-Harith Maria al-Qibtiyya** *succession disputed ** status as wife or concubine is disputed

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Mother of the Believers (Arabic: "Umm-al-Momineen") is an Islamic term that is given as a honorific to the wives of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (A.D. 570-632). Muslims use the term prominently before or after the name of one of Muhammads wives as a sign of respect towards them. The reasoning for the term is derived from the Qur'anic verse ^{[Qur'an 33:6]}:

The Prophet is closer to the Believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers^[1]

Muhammad's life is traditionally defined into two epochs: pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca, a city in northern Arabia, from the year 570 to 622, and post-hijra in Medina, from 622 until his death in 632. All but two of his marriages were contracted after the Hijra (migration to Medina). The verse's interpretation mandated that Muslims were forbidden to marry Muhammad's widows, instead should treat them like their mothers.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Khadijah bint Khuwaylid 1.2 Hijra 1.3 War widows 1.4 Internal dissension 1.4.1 Zaynab bint Jahsh 1.4.2 Necklace incident 1.5 Other wives 1.6 Muhammad's widows 2 Family life 3 Views 3.1 Muslim view 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 6.1 Encyclopedias 7 External links

[edit] History

During his life Muhammad married 11 or 13 women depending upon the differing accounts of who were his wives (not all at one time).

In Arabian culture, marriage was generally contracted in accordance with the larger needs of the tribe and was based on the need to form alliances within the tribe and with other tribes. Virginity at the time of marriage was emphasized as a tribal honor.^[2] Watt states that all of Muhammad's marriages had the political aspect of strengthening friendly relationships and were based on the Arabian custom.^[3] Esposito points out that some of Muhammad's marriages were aimed at providing a livelihood for widows.^[4] Francis Edwards Peters says that it is hard to make generalizations about Muhammad's marriages: many of them were political, some compassionate, and some perhaps affairs of heart.^[5]

[edit] Khadijah bint Khuwaylid

Main article: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid

At the age of 25, Muhammad married a woman named Khadijah who was 40 years old at the time and the marriage lasted for 25 years until her death.^[6] She was the first woman he married and his only wife until she died. This marriage is described as "long" and "happy," and he relied upon Khadija in many ways.^[7][8] Their sons were Qasim and Abd-Allah (who was nicknamed al Tahir and al Tayyib). Their daughters were Zainab, Ruqaiya, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah. However, there is a dispute over the genealogy of Khadijah's daughters as Shia scholars view them as born from previous marriages.^[9] During their marriage, Muhammad asked Khadija to buy Zaid bin Haritha, a slave up for sale. Upon purchase he adopted the young man as his son.^[10]

[edit] Hijra

The death of Khadija left Muhammad lonely, and, before he left for Medina, it was suggested to him that he marry Sawda bint Zama, who had suffered many hardships after she became a Muslim. Muhammad married her in Shawwal, when she was about 55 years old, in the tenth year of Prophethood, after the death of Khadijah. Prior to that, she was married to a paternal cousin of hers called As-Sakran bin ‘Amr. At about the same period, Aisha (daughter of his close friend Abu Bakr) was betrothed to Muhammad.^[11] Aisha was initially betrothed to Jubayr ibn Mut'im, a Muslim whose father, though pagan, was friendly to the Muslims. When Khawla bint Hakim suggested that Muhammad marry Aisha after the death of Muhammad's first wife (Khadijah bint Khuwaylid), the previous agreement regarding marriage of Aisha with ibn Mut'im was put aside by common consent.^[11]

As life became unbearable for him, Muhammad migrated to Medina. Because of Meccan attempts at his life Muhammad traveled only with Abu Bakr and the rest of his family traveled in stages. His wife Sawda and his daughters Fatimah and Umm Kulthum traveled with Zayd ibn Harithah, while his other wife Aisha travelled with her brother ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr. Regarding his other daughters: Zainab's husband prevented her from migrating, and Ruqayyah was with her husband Uthman Ibn Affan in Abyssinia and migrated much later.^[12]

Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad. She stayed in her parents' home until the age of nine, when the marriage was consummated in Medina.^{[13][11][14][15]} Both Aisha and Sawda, his two wives, were given apartments adjoined to the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque.^[12] Muhammad wished to divorce Sawda, who offered to give her turn of Muhammad's conjugal visit to Aisha to prevent this, and the incident is referred to in the Qur'an 4:127.^[16]

[edit] War widows

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.^[17] Zaynab bint Khuzayma was also widowed at the battle of Badr. She was the wife of 'Ubaydah b. al-Hārith,^[18] a faithful Muslim and from the tribe of al-Muttalib, for which Muhammad had special responsibility.^[19] When her husband died, Muhammad aiming to provide for her, married her 4 A.H. She was nicknamed Umm Al-Masakeen (roughly translates as the mother of the poor), because of her kindness and charity.^[20]

Close to Aisha's age, both 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 fell ill and passed away eight months after her marriage.^[21][22][23]

The death of Zaynab coincided with the that of Abu Salamah, a devoted Muslim, as a result of his wounds from the Battle of Uhud.^[22] Abu Salamah's widow, Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya also a devoted Muslim, had none but her young children. Her 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.^[24] In 626, Raihanah bint Zaid, entered Muhammad's household as a widow, as her husband had been executed along with the men of Banu Qurayza. The sources regarding his status differ, but she eventually converted to Islam and was married by Muhammad.^[25]

[edit] 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,^[26] and an incident in which Aisha spent the night in the home of another man.^[27]

[edit] Zaynab bint Jahsh

Zaynab bint Jahsh was Muhammad's cousin, being the daughter of one of his father's sisters.^[11] In Medina, Muhammad arranged Zaynab's marriage, a widow, to Zayd ibn Harithah. 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.^[28][29] Muhammad, however, was determined to establish the legitimacy and right to equal treatment of the adopted, Caesar E. Farah states.^[30] Watt however states that it is not clear why Zaynab was unwilling to marry Zayd as Zayd was held in a high place in Muhammad's esteem. Watt discusses the following two possibilities: being an ambitious woman, she was already hoping to marry Muhammad; and the other she may have been wanting to marry someone of whom Muhammad disapproved for political reason. In any case, Watt says, it is almost certain that she was working for marriage with Muhammad before the end of 626.^[31] According to Maududi, the Qur'anic verse 33:36 was revealed,^[32] thus Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd. Zaynab's marriage was unharmonious, and eventually became unbearable.^[28]

According to Ibn Sa'd and Tabari, after the marriage, Muhammad went to pay Zayd a visit, but instead found Zaynab, scantily clad, and fell in love with her.^[28][33] Zaynab told Zayd about this, and Zayd offered to divorce her, but Muhammad told him to keep her.^[11] The story laid much stress on Zaynab's perceived beauty and Muhammad's supposedly disturbed set of mind.^[34] William Montgomery Watt doubts the accuracy of this portion of the narrative, since it does not occur in the earliest source, and that it is unlikely that Muhammad was attracted since Zaynab (after Khadija) was the most elderly woman Muhammad married. He thinks that even if there is a basis of fact underlying the narrative, it is suspect to exaggeration in the course of transmission as the later Muslims liked to maintain that there was no celibacy and monkery in Islam.^[29] Nomani considers this story to be a rumor.^[35] 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.^[36]

The marriage seemed incestuous to Muhammad's contemporaries because Muhammad was marrying the former wife of his adopted son, and the adopted sons were counted the same as a biological son.^[11] 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."^[37] Muhammad's decision to marry Zaynab in was an attempt to break the hold of pre-Islamic ideas over men's conduct in society.^{[citation needed]} Initially, however, he was reluctant to marry Zaynab, fearing public opinion. The Qur'an, however, indicated that this marriage was a duty imposed upon him by God. Thus Muhammad, confident that he was strong enough to face public opinion, proceeded to reject these taboos.^[38] When Zaynab's waiting period was complete, Muhammad married her.^[39] A prominent faction who held influence in the civic atmosphere in Medina, called "Hypocrites" in the Islamic tradition,^[40] criticized the marriage as incestuous.^[11] They spread rumors in an attempt to divide the Muslim community, as part of a strategy of attacking Muhammad through his wives.^[40] However, the marriage was justified by verse 33:37 of the Qur'an,^[11] which implied that treating adopted sons as real sons was objectionable, and that there should now be a complete break with the past.^[11] According to Ibn Kathir, the verses were a "divine rejection" of the Hypocrites' objections.^[40] 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.^[34]

[edit] Necklace incident

Aisha had accompanied Muhammad on his skirmish with the Banu Mustaliq. On the way back, Aisha lost her wedding necklace (a treasured possession), and Muhammad required the army to stop so that it could be found. Many in the army were indignant over the requirement, and the incident proved to be an embarrassment. 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.^[41]

Rumors spread that something untoward have occurred although there were no witnesses to this.^[27] 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.^[41] Eventually verses were revealed, 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.^[42]

[edit] Other wives

One of the captives from the skirmish with the Banu Mustaliq was Juwayriya bint al-Harith, who was the daughter of the tribe's chieftain. When made captive, Juwayriya went to Muhammad requesting that she, as the daughter of the lord of the Mustaliq, be released. Meanwhile her father approached Muhammad with ransom to secure her release, but her captor refused to ransom her. Muhammad then offered to marry her, and she accepted.^[43] When it became known that tribes persons of Mustaliq were kinsmen of the prophet of Islam through marriage, the Muslims began releasing their captives.^[44] Thus, Muhammad's marriage resulted in the freedom of nearly one hundred families from captivity.^[45]

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 opponent.^[46] He sent a proposal for marriage to Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan who was in Abyssinia at the time, when he 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 apostated to Christianity, and although she remained a steadfast Muslim, perhaps Muhammad feared that she too may apostate.^[47] Muhammad dispatched ‘Amr bin Omaiyah Ad-Damri with a letter to the Negus (king), asking him for Umm Habibah’s hand — that was in Muharram, in the seventh year of Al-Hijra.

Safiyya bint Huyayy was a member of a Jewish tribe Banu Nadir, and was married to a man named Kinana ibn al-Rabi when Muhammad defeated her people in battle at Khaybar (According to a tradition, before Kinana, she had been the wife of Salaam ibn Mas̲h̲kam, who had divorced her). While married to Kinana, she had a dream about her marriage to Muhammad for which she was beaten by her husband for desiring another man. Safiyya's beauty was known in Medina before the battle. According to Ibn Ishaq, after Muhammad had taken them captive, he threw his mantle over Safiyya as a sign that he had chosen her for himself and redeemed her from a Muslim named Dihya against seven head of cattle.^[48] Muhammad had Kinana executed (the reasoning for this is unclear). He then convinced Safiyya to convert to Islam and marry him.^[49]Some scholars argues that Muhammad chose to marry Safiyya as part of reconciliation with the Jewish tribe and as a gesture of goodwill.^[50][51]

As part of the agreement of Hudaybiyah, Muhammad visited Mecca for the lesser pilgrimage. There he married Maymuna bint al-Harith, the sister-in-law of Abbas, a long time ally of his. By marrying her Muhammad also established kinship ties with the Makhzum, his previously fierce opponents.^[52]

Maria al-Qibtiyya was an Egyptian Coptic Christian slave, sent as a gift to Muhammad from Muqawqis, a Byzantine official.^[53] She is usually considered one of Muhammad's wives, though she may have remained his concubine. She bore him a son, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, who died in his infancy.

[edit] Muhammad's widows

The extent of Muhammad's property at the time of his death is unclear. Although Quran [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^[54]

However, Abu Bakr and the succeeding caliphs did make provision for Muhammad's widows and relatives out of the proceeds of the Muslim conquests. One-fifth of the spoils were to be given to the ruler, as public funds and part of this was devoted to pensions.^{[citation needed]}

Neither the wives nor the relatives were satisfied with this decision, and there are many traditions recounting their complaints to Abu Bakr and succeeding caliphs.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Family life

Muhammad and his family lived in small apartments adjacent the mosque at Medina. Each of these were six to seven spans wide and ten spans long. The height of the ceiling was that of an average man standing. The blankets were used as curtains to screen the doors.^[55]

Muhammad helped out with the housework, such sewing clothes, and repairing shoes. He would usually do this for long periods of time, stopping only for prayers. Muhammad had accustomed his wives to dialogue; he listened to their advice, and the wives debated and even argued with him. Muhammad's wives distinguished his role as a prophet from his role as a husband. He did not allow his wives to use his status as a prophet to obtain special treatment in public.^[56]

[edit] Views

[edit] Muslim view

Muslims title all Muhammad's wives as Mother of the Believers, a title given to them in the Qur'an.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Criticism of Muhammad

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Bullough, Vern; Brenda Shelton, Sarah Slavin (1998). The Subordinated Sex: A History of Attitudes Toward Women. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0820323695. 
• Esposito, John (1998). Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511233-4. 
• Freyer Stowasser, Barbara (1996). Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195111484. 
• Guillaume, Alfred (1955). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-1963-6033-1. 
• Haykal, Muhammad Husayn (1976). The Life of Muhammad. 
• Khadduri, Majid (1978). "Marriage in Islamic Law: The Modernist Viewpoints". American Journal of Comparative Law 26 (2): pp. 213-218. The American Society of Comparative Law. doi:10.2307/839669. 
• Lings, Martin (1983). Muhammad: his life based on the earliest sources. Inner traditions international. 
• al-Mubarakpuri, Safi ur Rahman (1979). Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum. Muslim World League. 
• Maududi, S. Abul A'la (1967). The Meaning of the Qur'an. Islamic publications ltd.. 
• Nomani, Shibli (1970). Sirat Al-Nabi. Pakistan Historical Society. 
• Reeves, Minou (2003). Muhammad in Europe: A Thousand Years of Western Myth-Making. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0814775646. 
• Rodinson, Maxime (1971). Muhammad. Allen Lane the Penguin Press. 
• Vacca, V "Sawda bint Zama ibn Qayyis ibn Abd Shams". Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Ed. P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN. 
• Watt, William Montgomery (1956). Muhammad at Medina. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0195772865. 
• Watt, William Montgomery (1974). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198810784. 

[edit] Encyclopedias

• Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Ed. P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN. 

[edit] External links

• 2.^ Bahishti Zewar by Maulana Ashraf Thanvi
• 3.^ THE SEALED NECTAR Memoirs of the Noble Prophet. Chapter on the Prophetic Household by Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
• 4.^ THE SEALED NECTAR Memoirs of the Noble Prophet. Chapter on the Prophetic Household by Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
• 5.^ THE SEALED NECTAR Memoirs of the Noble Prophet. Chapter on the Prophetic Household by Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
• 6.^ Bahishti Zewar by Maulana Ashraf Thanvi
• 7.^ THE SEALED NECTAR Memoirs of the Noble Prophet. Chapter on the Prophetic Household by Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri