The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him)

 

1.12 The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him)

The Prophet Muhammad’s first marriage was to Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, a noblewoman of the clan of Asad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzza, descending from Qusayy ibn Kilab. At the time of their marriage, he was twenty-five years old. She passed away three years before the Hijra (migration to Medina), and during her lifetime, he took no other wife. Prior to her marriage with the Prophet, Khadijah had been wed to ʿAtiq ibn ʿAbid from the Makhzum clan, with whom she bore a son, ʿAbdullah. After ʿAtiq’s passing, she married Abu Hala, whose name was Hind ibn Zurarah of the Tamim tribe, with whom she had two sons, Hind and al-Harith, and a daughter named Zaynab. Notably, Hind, son of Hind, participated in the Battle of Uhud, later residing in Basra and becoming a source of narrations to al-Hasan ibn ʿAli ibn Abi Talib. Al-Harith, however, was martyred at the Yemeni Corner of the Kaʿbah by an adversary.

After Khadijah’s death, the Prophet (peace be upon him) married Sawda bint Zamʿa from the clan of ʿAmir. Sawda had been previously married to her cousin, al-Sakran ibn ʿAmr, who had passed away, leaving her a widow.

The Prophet’s subsequent marriage was to ʿAʾisha, daughter of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (ʿAbdullah ibn Abi Quhafah, also known as ʿUthman ibn ʿAmir). She was the only virgin among his wives. Their marriage contract was concluded in Mecca when she was six, and the marital union was consummated following the Hijra in Shawwal, at which point she was nine. ʿAʾisha resided with the Prophet for nine years and five months, until her passing in the year 58 AH.

Following his marriage to ʿAʾisha, the Prophet married Hafsah, daughter of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, approximately two years after the Hijra. She had previously been married to Khunays ibn Hudhafah, who had died. Hafsah passed away in the year 45 AH, with Marwan, then the governor of Medina, presiding over her funeral prayers.

Another of the Prophet’s wives was Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, from the ʿAmir clan, who had been married to ʿUbaydah ibn al-Harith of the Muttalib clan. ʿUbaydah was martyred in the Battle of Badr. Zaynab died only two months after her marriage to the Prophet. Some sources assert she was married to ʿAbdullah ibn Jahsh, who later attained martyrdom at the Battle of Uhud.

The Prophet’s marriage to Umm Salamah (whose name was Hind) followed. She was the daughter of Abu Umayyah (also known as Hudhayfah) from the Makhzum clan. Previously, she had been married to Abu Salamah, with whom she had four children: ʿUmar, Salamah, Durrah, and Zaynab. Umm Salamah was the last of his wives to pass away, in the year 59 AH.

The Prophet’s marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh was significant. She had formerly been married to his freedman, Zayd ibn Harithah, and was the first of his wives to pass away after him, at the beginning of ʿUmar’s caliphate. Known for her austerity, Zaynab prayed fervently that her life would end with minimal worldly attachments, and she passed away before the year was complete.

He also married Juwayriya bint al-Harith of the Banu al-Mustaliq tribe, who had previously been married to a relative, ʿAbdullah ibn Jahsh. She died in the year 56 AH.

Another of his wives was Umm Habibah, also known as Ramlah (or Hind) bint Abi Sufyan. A Muslim refugee in Abyssinia, she had fled Mecca to escape persecution. Previously married to ʿUbaydullah ibn Jahsh, who later apostatized to Christianity and subsequently died. According to tradition, the Negus of Abyssinia conducted her marriage to the Prophet, presenting a dowry of 400 gold dinars. She passed away during her brother Muʿawiyah’s rule in 44 AH.

Safiyyah bint Huyayy, from the Jewish Banu Nadir tribe, was a direct descendant of Prophet Aaron, brother of Moses (peace be upon them). Her former husband, Kinanah ibn Abi al-Huqayq, died prior to her marriage to the Prophet, which occurred following the conquest of Khaybar. Safiyyah died in the year 50 AH.

The Prophet’s final marriage was to Maimunah bint al-Harith, the maternal aunt of ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbbas and Khalid ibn al-Walid. Their marriage took place at Sarif following the ʿUmrat al-Qadaʾ pilgrimage, and she passed away at the same location in 51 AH under the caliphate of Muʿawiyah.

The Prophet at one point sent a proposal to a woman of the Banu Jawn clan, intending to marry her. However, upon meeting, she sought Allah’s protection from him, and he respected her request, sending her back to her family without marriage.

It is authentically recorded that the Prophet did not divorce any of his wives, except for Hafsah, whom he later remarried by Divine command. On another occasion, he contemplated separating from Sawda bint Zamʿa due to her advanced age, yet retained her as a wife when she willingly ceded her conjugal rights to ʿAʾisha.

When the Verse of Choice was revealed, each of the Prophet’s wives, designated as the Mothers of the Believers, was offered the option to either remain with him or separate, and each chose to stay with him.

Islamic tradition asserts that he granted a dowry of 500 dirhams to each of his wives, except for Safiyyah, whose freedom served as her dowry. This act established a precedent. The Prophet held a feast of lamb upon marrying Zaynab bint Jahsh, while more modest celebrations, consisting of dates, sattu (ground wheat), and clarified butter, sufficed for other marriages.

The Prophet reportedly provided an annual allotment of twenty saʿ (measures) of barley and eighty saʿ of dates to each wife, according to the most reliable narrations. However, some weaker reports claim this amount was distributed among them. Several of his wives also had servants during his lifetime, may Allah be pleased with them all.