Muhammad's marriages
Encyclopedia
Muhammad's wives were the eleven or thirteen women married to the Islam
ic prophet Muhammad
. Muslims refer to them as Mothers of the Believers (Arabic: Ummahāt ul-Muʾminīn). Muslims use the term prominently before or after referring to them as a sign of respect. The term is derived from :
Muhammad's life is traditionally delineated as 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).
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. Watt
states that all of Muhammad's marriages had the political aspect of strengthening friendly relationships and were based on the Arabian custom. Esposito
points out that some of Muhammad's marriages were aimed at providing a livelihood for widows. 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 the heart.
. This marriage, his first, would be both happy and monogamous; Muhammad would rely on the wealthy Khadijah in many ways, until her death 25 years later. They had two sons, Qasim
and Abd-Allah
(nicknamed al-Ṭāhir and al-Ṭayyib respectively), both died young, and four daughters—Zaynab, Ruqaiya
, Umm Kulthum
and Fatimah
. Shia scholars dispute the paternity of Khadijah's daughters
, as they view the first three of them as the daughters from previous marriages and only Fatimah
as the daughter of Muhammad and Khadijah. During their marriage, Khadija purchased the slave Zayd ibn Harithah
, then adopted the young man as her son at Muhammad's request.
, it was suggested by Khawlah bint Hakim
that he marry Sawda bint Zamʿa, who had suffered many hardships after she became a Muslim. Prior to that, Sawda was married to a paternal cousin of hers named As-Sakran bin ‘Amr, and had five or six sons from her previous marriage. There are disagreement in Muslim tradition whether Muhammad first married Sawda or Aisha
. In one account, he married Sawda in Shawwal
, when she was about 55 years old, in the tenth year of Prophethood, after the death of Khadijah. At about the same period, Aisha was betrothed to him. As Sawda got older, and some time after Muhammad's marriage to Umm Salama, some sources claim that Muhammad wished to divorce
Sawda. Still other traditions maintain that Muhammad did not intend to divorce her, but only Sawda feared or thought that he would. As a compromise, or because of her old age, Sawda offered to give her turn of Muhammad's conjugal visits to Aisha, stating that she "was old, and cared not for men; her only desire was to rise on the Day of Judgment as one of his wives". While some Muslim historians cite this story as a reason of revelation
for , others like Rashid Rida
dispute this whole account as "poorly supported", or mursal.
. She was initially betrothed to Jubayr ibn Mut'im, a Muslim whose father, though pagan
, was friendly to the Muslims. When Khawlah bint Hakim
suggested that Muhammad marry Aisha after the death of Muhammad's first wife (Khadijah), the previous agreement regarding marriage of Aisha with ibn Mut'im was put aside by common consent. It was also a commandement from Allah (God) to marry Aisha as she would be a great teacher and sustainer of Islam. Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad. Traditional sources state that she stayed in her parents' home until the age of nine when the marriage was consummated in Medina, with the single exception of al-Tabari
, who records that she was ten. Some modern Islamic writers have disagreed with these sources. Both Aisha and Sawda, his two wives, were given apartments adjoined to the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi
mosque
.
, 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. Zaynab bint Khuzayma
was also widowed at the battle of Badr. She was the wife of 'Ubaydah b. al-Hārith, a faithful Muslim and from the tribe of al-Muttalib, for which Muhammad had special responsibility. 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.
Close to Aisha's age, the two younger wives 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 became ill and died eight months after her marriage.
. Abu Salamah's widow, Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya
also a devoted Muslim, had none but her young children. Her manless 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.
, was among those enslaved after the defeat of the Banu Qurayza
tribe. Her relationship with Muhammed is disputed. The sources regarding her status differ as to whether she was a concubine or whether she eventually married him. Most of the sources reveal that she was a slave woman.
'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
, and an incident in which Aisha left her camp to search her lost necklace, and returned with a Companion of Muhammad.
was Muhammad's cousin, being the daughter of one of his father's sisters. 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 and the adopted son of Muhammad. Muhammad, however, was determined to establish the legitimacy and right to equal treatment of the adopted, Caesar E. Farah
states. 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. According to Maududi, the Qur'anic verse was revealed, thus Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd. Zaynab's marriage was unharmonious, and eventually became unbearable. Zaynab told Zayd about this, and Zayd offered to divorce her, but Muhammad told him to keep her. The story laid much stress on Zaynab's perceived beauty and Muhammad's supposedly disturbed set of mind. William Montgomery Watt
doubts the accuracy of this portion of the narrative, since it does not occur in the earliest source. 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. Nomani considers this story to be a rumor. 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.
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. 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." Muhammad's decision to marry Zaynab was an attempt to break the hold of pre-Islamic ideas over men's conduct in society. 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. When Zaynab's waiting period was complete, Muhammad married her. A prominent faction who held influence in the civic atmosphere in Medina, called "Hypocrites" in the Islamic tradition, criticized the marriage as incestuous. They spread rumors in an attempt to divide the Muslim community, as part of a strategy of attacking Muhammad through his wives. However, the marriage was justified by verse of the Qur'an, which implied that treating adopted sons as real sons was objectionable, and that there should now be a complete break with the past. According to Ibn Kathir, the verses were a "divine rejection" of the Hypocrites' objections. 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.
Rumors spread that something untoward had occurred although there were no witnesses to this. 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. 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.
was Juwayriya bint al-Harith
, who was the daughter of the tribe's chieftain. Upon being enslaved, Juwayriya went to Muhammad requesting that she - as the daughter of the lord of the Mustaliq - be released, however the Prophet refused. Meanwhile her father approached Muhammad with ransom
to secure her release, but Muhammed still refused to release her. Muhammad then offered to marry her, and she accepted. When it became known that tribes persons of Mustaliq were kinsmen
of the prophet of Islam through marriage, the Muslims began releasing their captives. Thus, Muhammad's marriage resulted in the freedom of nearly one hundred families whom he had recently enslaved.
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 opponents. 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 converted to Christianity
, and although she remained a steadfast Muslim. 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.
In 629, after the Battle of Khaybar
, Muhammad freed Safiyya bint Huyayy
a noblewoman of the defeated Jewish tribe Banu Nadir
, from her captor Dihya and proposed marriage. Safiyya accepted. Scholars believe that Muhammad married Safiyya as part of reconciliation with the Jewish tribe and as a gesture of goodwill. Safiyyah had been previously married to Kinana ibn al-Rabi
, a commander who was executed, and before that to the poet Salaam ibn Mas̲h̲kam, who had divorced her. He then convinced Safiyya to convert to Islam and marry him. Upon entering Muhammad's household, Safiyya became friends with Aisha and Hafsa, and also offered gifts to Fatima. But when Muhammad's other wives spoke ill of Safiyya's Jewish descent, Muhammad intervened, pointing out to everyone that Safiyya's "husband is Muhammad, father is Aaron, and uncle is Moses", a reference to revered Islamic prophets.
She greatly respected Muhammed as "Allah's Messenger". She was intelligent, learned and gentle. In fact, gentleness and patience were her dominant qualities. She had many good moral qualities.
The hadith of ʿAbdul ʿAziz bin Ṣuhayb says:
Yes, indeed Safiyyah was angry at the Prophet at first but she forgave him later on. The Prophet Muhammad apologized to Safiyyah for the killing of her father and her husband by saying, "Your father charged the Arabs against me and committed heinous act," he apologized to the extent that made Safiyyah get rid of her bitterness against the Prophet.
Saffiyah says, "I was my father's and my uncle's favorite child. When the Messenger of Allah came to Madinah and stayed at Quba, my parents went to him at night and when they looked disconcerted and worn out. I received them cheerfully but to my surprise no one of them turned to me. They were so grieved that they did not feel my presence. I heard my uncle, Abu Yasir, saying to my father, 'Is it really him?' He said, 'Yes, by Allah'. My uncle said: 'Can you recognize him and confirm this?' He said, 'Yes'. My uncle said, 'How do you feel towards him?' He said, 'By Allah I shall be his enemy as long as I live."
The Prophet Muhammad made the following offer to her, as recorded by Martin Lings:
He [the Prophet Muhammad] then told Safiyyah that he was prepared to set her free, and he offered her the choice between remaining a Jewess and returning to her people or entering Islam and becoming his wife. "I choose God and His Messenger," she said; and they were married at the first halt on the homeward march. Safiyyah moved to the house of the Prophet. He loved, appreciated and honored her to the extent that he made her say, "I have never seen a good-natured person as the Messenger of Allah". Safiyyah(R) remained loyal to the Prophet until he died.
The marriage to Safiyyah(R) had a political significance as well, as it helped to reduce hostilities and cement alliances. John L. Esposito notes that
As was customary for Arab chiefs, many were political marriages to cement alliances. Others were marriages to the widows of his companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of protection.
This significant act of marrying Safiyyah(R) was indeed a great honour for her. Haykal notes that:
The Prophet granted her freedom and then married her, following the examples of great conquerors who married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they had conquered, partly in order to alleviate their tragedy and partly to preserve their dignity.
By marrying Safiyyah, the Prophet aimed at ending the enmity and hostility adopted by the Jews against him and against Islam, all the way long, but alas they went on with their hatred for Islam and for the Prophet because he was not from their people as were most of the previous Prophets.
Safiyyah said, "The Messenger of Allah went to Hajj with his wives. On the way my camel knelt down for it was the weakest among all the other camels and so I wept. The Prophet came to me and wiped away my tears with his dress and hands. The more he asked me not to weep the more I went on weeping."
She gave some of the Prophet's other wives gifts from her jewels that she brought with her from Khaybar.
Safiyyah was a humble worshiper and a pious believer. About her ibn Kathir said, "She was one of the best women in her worship, piousness, ascetism, devoutness, and charity".
Safiyyah was a very charitable and generous woman. She used to give out and spend whatever she had for the sake of Allah to the extent that she gave out a house that she had when she was still alive.
When Muhammad was in his final illness, Safiyah felt deep and sincere sadness for him. She said: "O Messenger of Allah, I wish it was I who was suffering instead of you."
Safiya was not paid a mahr
. Instead, Muhammad considered her freedom, from the slavery at the hands of his soldiers, to be her payment. In the hadith Anas again is cited thus:
proposed marriage to him.
Muhammad accepted, and thus married Barra, the sister-in-law of Abbas, a long time ally of his. By marrying her, Muhammad also established kinship ties with the Makhzum, his previous opponents. As the Meccans did not allow him to stay any longer, Muhammad left the city, taking Barra with him. He called her "Maymuna" meaning blessed, as his marriage to her had also marked the first time in seven years when he could enter his hometown Mecca.
was an Egypt
ian Coptic Christian slave, sent as a gift to Muhammad from Muqawqis
, a Byzantine
official.
Contrary to popular belief, Maria did not serve as Muhammad's concubine; According to Islamic history, it is clear that Muhammad accepted Maria and married her immediately, so she is therefore regarded as a Mother of the Believers. She got pregnant and bore him a son, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad
, who died in infancy.
The extent of Muhammad's property at the time of his death is unclear. Although Qur'an [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:
Muhammad's widow Hafsa played a role in the collection of the first Qur'anic manuscript. After Abu Bakr had collected the copy, he gave it to Hafsa, who preserved it until Uthman took it, copied it and distributed it in Muslim lands.
Some of Muhammad's widows were active politically in the Islamic state after Muhammad's death. Safiyya, for example, aided the caliph Uthman during his siege. During the first fitna, some wives also took sides. Umm Salama, for example, sided with Ali, and sent her son Umar for help. The last of Muhammad's wives, Umm Salama lived to hear about the tragedy of Karabala
in 680, dying the same year.
Although Muhammad's wives had a special status as Mothers of the Believers, he did not allow them to use his status as a prophet to obtain special treatment in public. The grave of wives of Muhammed are located at Jannat-ul-Baqi.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. Muslims refer to them as Mothers of the Believers (Arabic: Ummahāt ul-Muʾminīn). Muslims use the term prominently before or after referring to them as a sign of respect. The term is derived from :
Muhammad's life is traditionally delineated as two epochs: pre-hijra
Muhammad before Medina
The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born and lived in Mecca for the first 52 years of his life . Orphaned early in life, he became known as a prominent merchant, and as an impartial and trustworthy arbiter of disputes. He married Khadijah bint Khuwaylid at age 25.According to the Muslim tradition,...
(emigration) in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, a city in northern Arabia
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
, from the year 570 to 622, and post-hijra
Muhammad in Medina
The period of Muhammad in Medina started with the Hijra in 622 and ended with the conquest of Mecca in 630.-Hijra to Medina:...
in Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
, from 622 until his death in 632. All but two of his marriages were contracted after the Hijra
Hijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
(migration to Medina).
History
During his life Muhammad married eleven or thirteen females depending upon the differing accounts of who were his wives. Muhammad's first marriage lasted 25 years.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. Watt
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh...
states that all of Muhammad's marriages had the political aspect of strengthening friendly relationships and were based on the Arabian custom. Esposito
John Esposito
John Louis Esposito is a professor of International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University...
points out that some of Muhammad's marriages were aimed at providing a livelihood for widows. Francis Edwards Peters
Francis Edwards Peters
Francis Edward Peters , who generally publishes as F.E. Peters, is Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and History at New York University.Peters studied at St...
says that it is hard to make generalizations about Muhammad's marriages: many of them were political, some compassionate, and some perhaps affairs of the heart.
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
At age 25, Muhammad wed his wealthy employer, the 40-year-old merchant KhadijahKhadijah bint Khuwaylid
Khadījah bint Khuwaylid or Khadījah al-Kubra was the first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. She was the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad and Fatimah bint Za'idah and belonged to the clan of Banu Asad. She is important in Islam as Muhammad's first wife, and one of the "mothers of the believers"...
. This marriage, his first, would be both happy and monogamous; Muhammad would rely on the wealthy Khadijah in many ways, until her death 25 years later. They had two sons, Qasim
Qasim ibn Muhammad
Qasim ibn Muhammad was the son of Muhammad and Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. He died in 605 CE, before his second birthday and is buried in Jannatul Mualla cemetery, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.-Siblings:*Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad*Ibrahim ibn Muhammad...
and Abd-Allah
Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad
Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad AKA Taher ibn Muhammad or Tayib ibn Muhammad was one of the sons Muhammad and Khadija...
(nicknamed al-Ṭāhir and al-Ṭayyib respectively), both died young, and four daughters—Zaynab, Ruqaiya
Ruqayyah bint Muhammad
Ruqayyah bint Muhammad was the second daughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and his first wife Khadija. She was amongst the earliest converts to Islam. She had married Utbah ibn Abu Lahab, but he divorced her after her conversion to Islam, after which she married Uthman bin Affan...
, Umm Kulthum
Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad
Umm Kulthum was the third daughter of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.- Marriage and children :She was first married to Utaybah bin Abu Lahab...
and Fatimah
Fatimah
Fatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
. Shia scholars dispute the paternity of Khadijah's daughters
Genealogy of Khadijah's Daughters
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, had six children. Some Shia dispute whether all of the children were born in her marriage to Muhammad, or if three of the four daughters were born to a previous marriage.-Introduction:...
, as they view the first three of them as the daughters from previous marriages and only Fatimah
Fatimah
Fatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
as the daughter of Muhammad and Khadijah. During their marriage, Khadija purchased the slave Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah or Zayd mawla Muhammad was a prominent figure in the early Islamic community and the only one of sahaba whose name is spelled directly in the Qur'an. As he was the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, before Islam abolished adoption in exchange of Kafala. He was an...
, then adopted the young man as her son at Muhammad's request.
Marriage to Sawda bint Zamʿa
The death of Khadijah left Muhammad lonely, and, before he left for MedinaHijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
, it was suggested by Khawlah bint Hakim
Khawlah bint Hakim
-Biography:Khawla was the daughter of one of the chiefs of Bani Assad tribe, and her family embraced Islam in its first days. She was married to Uthman bin Maz'oon, both being two of the earliest converts to Islam ....
that he marry Sawda bint Zamʿa, who had suffered many hardships after she became a Muslim. Prior to that, Sawda was married to a paternal cousin of hers named As-Sakran bin ‘Amr, and had five or six sons from her previous marriage. There are disagreement in Muslim tradition whether Muhammad first married Sawda or Aisha
Aisha
Aisha bint Abu Bakr also transcribed as was Muhammad's favorite wife...
. In one account, he married Sawda in Shawwal
Shawwal
Shawwāl is the tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Shawwāl means to ‘lift or carry’; so named because she-camels normally would be carrying a fetus at this time of year.-Fasting during Shawwāl:...
, when she was about 55 years old, in the tenth year of Prophethood, after the death of Khadijah. At about the same period, Aisha was betrothed to him. As Sawda got older, and some time after Muhammad's marriage to Umm Salama, some sources claim that Muhammad wished to divorce
Divorce (Islamic)
In Islam there are separate rules for divorce for men and women under the terms of Islamic law . When a man has initiated a divorce the procedure is called . When a woman has initiated a divorce it is called khula ....
Sawda. Still other traditions maintain that Muhammad did not intend to divorce her, but only Sawda feared or thought that he would. As a compromise, or because of her old age, Sawda offered to give her turn of Muhammad's conjugal visits to Aisha, stating that she "was old, and cared not for men; her only desire was to rise on the Day of Judgment as one of his wives". While some Muslim historians cite this story as a reason of revelation
Asbab al-nuzul
Asbāb al-nuzūl , an Arabic term meaning "occasions/circumstances of revelation", is a secondary genre of Qur'anic exegesis directed at establishing the context in which specific verses of the Qur'an were revealed...
for , others like Rashid Rida
Rashid Rida
Muhammad Rashid Rida is said to have been "one of the most influential scholars and jurists of his generation" and the "most prominent disciple of Muhammad Abduh"...
dispute this whole account as "poorly supported", or mursal.
Marriage to Aisha
Aisha was the daughter of Muhammad's close friend Abu BakrAbu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
. She was initially betrothed to Jubayr ibn Mut'im, a Muslim whose father, though pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
, was friendly to the Muslims. When Khawlah bint Hakim
Khawlah bint Hakim
-Biography:Khawla was the daughter of one of the chiefs of Bani Assad tribe, and her family embraced Islam in its first days. She was married to Uthman bin Maz'oon, both being two of the earliest converts to Islam ....
suggested that Muhammad marry Aisha after the death of Muhammad's first wife (Khadijah), the previous agreement regarding marriage of Aisha with ibn Mut'im was put aside by common consent. It was also a commandement from Allah (God) to marry Aisha as she would be a great teacher and sustainer of Islam. Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad. Traditional sources state that she stayed in her parents' home until the age of nine when the marriage was consummated in Medina, with the single exception of al-Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
, who records that she was ten. Some modern Islamic writers have disagreed with these sources. Both Aisha and Sawda, his two wives, were given apartments adjoined to the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi
Al-Masjid al-Nabawi
Al-Masjid al-Nabawi , often called the Prophet's Mosque, is a mosque situated in the city of Medina. As the final resting place of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, it is considered the second holiest site in Islam by Muslims and is one of the largest mosques in the world...
mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
.
Marriage to Hafsa and Zaynab bint Khuzayma
During the Muslim war with MeccaConquest of Mecca
Mecca was conquered by the Muslims in January 630 AD .-Background:In 628 the Meccan tribe of Quraysh and the Muslim community in Medina signed a 10 year truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah....
, many men were killed leaving behind widows and orphans. Hafsa bint Umar
Hafsa bint Umar
Ḥafsah bint ‘Umar and wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and therefore a Mother of the Believers.-Biography:She was married to Khunais ibn Hudhaifa, but became a widow when she was eighteen and according to Islamic tradition her father offered her to Abu Bakr and Uthman Ibn Affan...
, daughter of Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
(‘Umar bin Al-Khattab), was widowed at battle of Badr
Battle of Badr
The Battle of Badr , fought Saturday, March 13, 624 AD in the Hejaz region of western Arabia , was a key battle in the early days of Islam and a turning point in Muhammad's struggle with his opponents among the Quraish in Mecca...
when her husband Khunais ibn Hudhaifa
Khunais ibn Hudhaifa
Khunais ibn Hudhaifa was a sahaba of Muhammad, from the Banu Sahm of Quraish.-Biography:He was married to Hafsa bint Umar. According to Sunni sources:-External links:...
was killed in action. Muhammad married her in 3 A.H./625 C.E. Zaynab bint Khuzayma
Zaynab bint Khuzayma
Born in 595, Zaynab bint Khuzayma was the fifth wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.As a result of her early death, less is known about her than any of his other wives.-Life:...
was also widowed at the battle of Badr. She was the wife of 'Ubaydah b. al-Hārith, a faithful Muslim and from the tribe of al-Muttalib, for which Muhammad had special responsibility. 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.
Close to Aisha's age, the two younger wives 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 became ill and died eight months after her marriage.
Marriage to Umm Salama Hind
The death of Zaynab coincided with that of Abu Salamah, a devoted Muslim, as a result of his wounds from the Battle of UhudBattle of Uhud
The Battle of Uhud was fought on March 19, 625 at the valley located in front of Mount Uhud, in what is now northwestern Arabia. It occurred between a force from the Muslim community of Medina led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a force led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb from Mecca, the town from...
. Abu Salamah's widow, Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya
Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya
Hind bint Abi Umayya was a wife of Muhammad, and therefore a Mother of the Believers.-Name:Hind bint Abi Umayya, Hind al Makhzumiyah, Hind bint Suhayl, also called as Umm Salama ....
also a devoted Muslim, had none but her young children. Her manless plight reportedly saddened the Muslims, and after her iddah
Iddah
In Islam, iddah or iddat is the period a woman must observe after the death of her spouse or after a divorce, during which she may not marry another man. The period, three months after a divorce and four months and ten days after the death of a spouse, is calculated on the number of menses that a...
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.
Rayhana
In 626, Raihanah bint ZaidRayhana
Rayhāna bint Zayd ibn ʿAmr was a Jewish woman from the Banu Qurayza tribe. Her relationship with Muhammad is disputed.Rayhana was originally a member of the Banu Nadir tribe who married a man from the Banu Qurayza...
, was among those enslaved after the defeat of the Banu Qurayza
Banu Qurayza
The Banu Qurayza were a Jewish tribe which lived in northern Arabia, at the oasis of Yathrib , until the 7th century, when their conflict with Muhammad led to their demise, after the Invasion of Banu Qurayza, took place in the Dhul Qa‘dah, 5 A.H i.e. in February/March, 627 AD...
tribe. Her relationship with Muhammed is disputed. The sources regarding her status differ as to whether she was a concubine or whether she eventually married him. Most of the sources reveal that she was a slave woman.
Internal dissension
After Muhammad's final battle against his Meccan enemies, he diverted his attention to stopping the Banu MustaliqBanu Mustaliq
The Banu Mustaliq are an Arabic tribe. The tribe is a sub-clan of the Banu Khuza'a, descended from Azdi Qahtani. They occupied the territory of Qadid on the Red Sea shore between Jeddah and Rabigh.-History:...
'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
Zaynab bint Jahsh
Zaynab bint Jahsh was a wife of Muhammad and therefore a Mother of the Believers. Prior to this, she was briefly married to Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah...
, and an incident in which Aisha left her camp to search her lost necklace, and returned with a Companion of Muhammad.
Zaynab bint Jahsh
Zaynab bint JahshZaynab bint Jahsh
Zaynab bint Jahsh was a wife of Muhammad and therefore a Mother of the Believers. Prior to this, she was briefly married to Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah...
was Muhammad's cousin, being the daughter of one of his father's sisters. 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 and the adopted son of Muhammad. Muhammad, however, was determined to establish the legitimacy and right to equal treatment of the adopted, Caesar E. Farah
Caesar E. Farah
-Works:*The Eternal Message of Muhammad Dec 28, 1993*An Arab's Journey to Colonial Spanish America: The Travels of Elias Al-Musili in the Seventeenth Century Nov 2003*The Sultan's Yemen: 19th-Century Challenges to Ottoman Rule Jun 29, 2002...
states. 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. According to Maududi, the Qur'anic verse was revealed, thus Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd. Zaynab's marriage was unharmonious, and eventually became unbearable. Zaynab told Zayd about this, and Zayd offered to divorce her, but Muhammad told him to keep her. The story laid much stress on Zaynab's perceived beauty and Muhammad's supposedly disturbed set of mind. William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt was a Scottish historian, an Emeritus Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh...
doubts the accuracy of this portion of the narrative, since it does not occur in the earliest source. 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. Nomani considers this story to be a rumor. 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.
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. 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." Muhammad's decision to marry Zaynab was an attempt to break the hold of pre-Islamic ideas over men's conduct in society. 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. When Zaynab's waiting period was complete, Muhammad married her. A prominent faction who held influence in the civic atmosphere in Medina, called "Hypocrites" in the Islamic tradition, criticized the marriage as incestuous. They spread rumors in an attempt to divide the Muslim community, as part of a strategy of attacking Muhammad through his wives. However, the marriage was justified by verse of the Qur'an, which implied that treating adopted sons as real sons was objectionable, and that there should now be a complete break with the past. According to Ibn Kathir, the verses were a "divine rejection" of the Hypocrites' objections. 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.
Necklace incident
Aisha had accompanied Muhammad on his skirmish with the Banu Mustaliq. On the way back, Aisha lost her necklace which she had borrowed from her sister Asma Bint Abu Bakr(a treasured possession), and Muhammad required the army to stop so that it could be found. 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.Rumors spread that something untoward had occurred although there were no witnesses to this. 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. 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.
Reconciliation
One of the captives from the skirmish with the Banu MustaliqBanu Mustaliq
The Banu Mustaliq are an Arabic tribe. The tribe is a sub-clan of the Banu Khuza'a, descended from Azdi Qahtani. They occupied the territory of Qadid on the Red Sea shore between Jeddah and Rabigh.-History:...
was Juwayriya bint al-Harith
Juwayriya bint al-Harith
Juwayriyya bint al-Harith was married to Muhammad, the Islamic prophet when he was 58 years old and she was 20, thus placing the marriage in 628...
, who was the daughter of the tribe's chieftain. Upon being enslaved, Juwayriya went to Muhammad requesting that she - as the daughter of the lord of the Mustaliq - be released, however the Prophet refused. Meanwhile her father approached Muhammad with ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
to secure her release, but Muhammed still refused to release her. Muhammad then offered to marry her, and she accepted. When it became known that tribes persons of Mustaliq were kinsmen
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
of the prophet of Islam through marriage, the Muslims began releasing their captives. Thus, Muhammad's marriage resulted in the freedom of nearly one hundred families whom he had recently enslaved.
In the same year, Muhammad signed a peace treaty with his Meccan enemies
Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is the treaty that took place between the state of Medina and the Quraishi tribe of Mecca in March 628CE .-Background:...
, 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
Abu Sufyan ibn Harb
Sakhr ibn Harb , more commonly known as Abu Sufyan was a leading man of the Quraish of Mecca. He was a staunch opponent of the Islamic prophet Muhammad before accepting Islam later in his life.-Opposition to Islam:...
, aimed at further reconciling his opponents. 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
Second migration to Abyssinia
Following the migration and return of the most Sahabas from the First migration to Abyssinia , the Muslims continued to suffer Persecution by the Meccans...
her husband had converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and although she remained a steadfast Muslim. Muhammad dispatched ‘Amr bin Omaiyah Ad-Damri with a letter to the Negus
Negus
Negus is a title in Ge'ez, Tigrinya, Tigre and Amharic, used for a king and at times also a vassal ruler in pre-1974 Ethiopia and pre-1890 Eritrea. It is subsequently used to translate the word "king" in Biblical and other literature...
(king), asking him for Umm Habibah’s hand — that was in Muharram
Muharram
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year in which fighting is prohibited...
, in the seventh year of Al-Hijra.
In 629, after the Battle of Khaybar
Battle of Khaybar
The Battle of Khaybar was fought in the year 629 between Muhammad and his followers against the Jews living in the oasis of Khaybar, located from Medina in the north-western part of the Arabian peninsula, in modern-day Saudi Arabia....
, Muhammad freed Safiyya bint Huyayy
Safiyya bint Huyayy
Safiyya bint Huyayy was a Jewish woman captured from the Banu Nadir tribe at age 17, who became Muhammad's wife. She was, along with all other wives of Muhammad, titled Umm-ul-Mo'mineen or the "Mother of Believers"....
a noblewoman of the defeated Jewish tribe Banu Nadir
Banu Nadir
The Banu Nadir were a Jewish tribe who lived in northern Arabia until the 7th century at the oasis of Yathrib . The tribe challenged Muhammad as the leader of Medina. and planned along with allied nomads to attack Muhammad and were expelled from Medina as a result. The Banu Nadir then planned the...
, from her captor Dihya and proposed marriage. Safiyya accepted. Scholars believe that Muhammad married Safiyya as part of reconciliation with the Jewish tribe and as a gesture of goodwill. Safiyyah had been previously married to Kinana ibn al-Rabi
Kinana ibn al-Rabi
Kinana ibn al-Rabi was a Jewish leader of seventh-century Arabia and an opponent of Muhammad; son of the poet al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq. Ibn al-Rabi' was killed during early Muslim clashes with the Banu Nadir.-Biography:...
, a commander who was executed, and before that to the poet Salaam ibn Mas̲h̲kam, who had divorced her. He then convinced Safiyya to convert to Islam and marry him. Upon entering Muhammad's household, Safiyya became friends with Aisha and Hafsa, and also offered gifts to Fatima. But when Muhammad's other wives spoke ill of Safiyya's Jewish descent, Muhammad intervened, pointing out to everyone that Safiyya's "husband is Muhammad, father is Aaron, and uncle is Moses", a reference to revered Islamic prophets.
Juwayriya bint al-Harith
She became one of the wives of Muhammad after having been taken captive after the battle of Banu Mustaliq. Her husband, Mustafa bin Safwan, had been killed in the battle. She initially fell among the booty of Muhammad's companion Thabit b. Qays b. Al-Shammas. Upset about this, Juwayriya sought a deed of redemption from Muhammad. Muhammad proposed to marry her and as a result freed her from the bondage of Thabit b. Qais and consequently ameliorated the condition of her captured tribe.Safiyah Bint Huyeiy Ibn Akhtab
Safiyah Bint Huyeiy Ibn Akhtab became one of the wives of Muhammad after having been taken captive in the war of Khaibar. She was the daughter of Huyeiy Ibn Akhtab, the chief of the Banu Nadir tribe, who were all expelled from Madinah in 4 AH after plotting against Muhammad. where her father and husband were killed in battle. She had formerly been the wife of Sallam ibn Mishkam, who divorced her. She was married to Kinana ibn al-Rabi'a just before the Muslims attacked Khaibar. She was then seventeen and known for her extreme beauty. Because she was the daughter of a tribal chief, she was given the offer of marrying the Prophet and remaining free, rather than be enslaved. She accepted this offer.She greatly respected Muhammed as "Allah's Messenger". She was intelligent, learned and gentle. In fact, gentleness and patience were her dominant qualities. She had many good moral qualities.
The hadith of ʿAbdul ʿAziz bin Ṣuhayb says:
We conquered Khaibar, took the captives, and the booty was collected. Dihya came and said, 'O Allah's Prophet! Give me a slave girl from the captives.' The Prophet said, 'Go and take any slave girl.' He took Safiya bint Huyai. A man came to the Prophet and said, 'O Allah's Apostles! You gave Safiya bint Huyai to Dihya and she is the chief mistress of the tribes of Quraiza and An-Nadir and she befits none but you.' So the Prophet said, 'Bring him along with her.' So Dihya came with her and when the Prophet saw her, he said to Dihya, 'Take any slave girl other than her from the captives.' Anas added: The Prophet then manumittedManumissionManumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
her and married her.
Yes, indeed Safiyyah was angry at the Prophet at first but she forgave him later on. The Prophet Muhammad apologized to Safiyyah for the killing of her father and her husband by saying, "Your father charged the Arabs against me and committed heinous act," he apologized to the extent that made Safiyyah get rid of her bitterness against the Prophet.
Saffiyah says, "I was my father's and my uncle's favorite child. When the Messenger of Allah came to Madinah and stayed at Quba, my parents went to him at night and when they looked disconcerted and worn out. I received them cheerfully but to my surprise no one of them turned to me. They were so grieved that they did not feel my presence. I heard my uncle, Abu Yasir, saying to my father, 'Is it really him?' He said, 'Yes, by Allah'. My uncle said: 'Can you recognize him and confirm this?' He said, 'Yes'. My uncle said, 'How do you feel towards him?' He said, 'By Allah I shall be his enemy as long as I live."
The Prophet Muhammad made the following offer to her, as recorded by Martin Lings:
He [the Prophet Muhammad] then told Safiyyah that he was prepared to set her free, and he offered her the choice between remaining a Jewess and returning to her people or entering Islam and becoming his wife. "I choose God and His Messenger," she said; and they were married at the first halt on the homeward march. Safiyyah moved to the house of the Prophet. He loved, appreciated and honored her to the extent that he made her say, "I have never seen a good-natured person as the Messenger of Allah". Safiyyah(R) remained loyal to the Prophet until he died.
The marriage to Safiyyah(R) had a political significance as well, as it helped to reduce hostilities and cement alliances. John L. Esposito notes that
As was customary for Arab chiefs, many were political marriages to cement alliances. Others were marriages to the widows of his companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of protection.
This significant act of marrying Safiyyah(R) was indeed a great honour for her. Haykal notes that:
The Prophet granted her freedom and then married her, following the examples of great conquerors who married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they had conquered, partly in order to alleviate their tragedy and partly to preserve their dignity.
By marrying Safiyyah, the Prophet aimed at ending the enmity and hostility adopted by the Jews against him and against Islam, all the way long, but alas they went on with their hatred for Islam and for the Prophet because he was not from their people as were most of the previous Prophets.
Safiyyah said, "The Messenger of Allah went to Hajj with his wives. On the way my camel knelt down for it was the weakest among all the other camels and so I wept. The Prophet came to me and wiped away my tears with his dress and hands. The more he asked me not to weep the more I went on weeping."
She gave some of the Prophet's other wives gifts from her jewels that she brought with her from Khaybar.
Safiyyah was a humble worshiper and a pious believer. About her ibn Kathir said, "She was one of the best women in her worship, piousness, ascetism, devoutness, and charity".
Safiyyah was a very charitable and generous woman. She used to give out and spend whatever she had for the sake of Allah to the extent that she gave out a house that she had when she was still alive.
When Muhammad was in his final illness, Safiyah felt deep and sincere sadness for him. She said: "O Messenger of Allah, I wish it was I who was suffering instead of you."
No mahr for Safiya
Safiya was not paid a mahr
Mahr
In Islam, mahr is an amount of money paid by the groom to the bride at the time of marriage which she can spend as she wishes. The English concept of "dower", the gift of funds to the wife in the event she becomes widowed, closely approximates mahr. The terms "dowry" and "bride price" are...
. Instead, Muhammad considered her freedom, from the slavery at the hands of his soldiers, to be her payment. In the hadith Anas again is cited thus:
The Prophet stayed for three rights between Khaibar and Medina and was married to Safiya. I invited the Muslim[s] to h[i]s marriage banquet and there wa[s] neither meat nor bread in that banquet but the Prophet ordered Bilal to spread the leather mats on which dates, dried yogurt and butter were put. The Muslims said amongst themselves, "Will she (i.e. Safiya) be one of the mothers of the believers, (i.e. one of the wives of the Prophet ) or just (a lady captive) of what his right-hand possesses" Some of them said, "If the Prophet makes her observe the veil, then she will be one of the mothers of the believers (i.e. one of the Prophet's wives), and if he does not make her observe the veil, then she will be his lady slave." So when he departed, he made a place for her behind him (on his [camel)] and made her observe the veil.
Barra bint al-Harith
As part of the agreement of Hudaybiyah, Muhammad visited Mecca for the lesser pilgrimage. There Barra bint al-HarithMaymuna bint al-Harith
Maymuna bint al-Harith was a wife of Muhammad and therefore a Mother of the Believers.-Family:Her original name was Burrah, but Muhammad changed it to Maimunah....
proposed marriage to him.
Muhammad accepted, and thus married Barra, the sister-in-law of Abbas, a long time ally of his. By marrying her, Muhammad also established kinship ties with the Makhzum, his previous opponents. As the Meccans did not allow him to stay any longer, Muhammad left the city, taking Barra with him. He called her "Maymuna" meaning blessed, as his marriage to her had also marked the first time in seven years when he could enter his hometown Mecca.
Maria al Qibtiyya
Maria al-QibtiyyaMaria al-Qibtiyya
Maria al-Qibtiyya , or Maria the Copt, was an Egyptian Coptic Christian slave who was sent as a gift from Muqawqis, a Byzantine official, to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 628. Some sources say she became his wife, taking the title "Mother of the Believers"...
was an Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Coptic Christian slave, sent as a gift to Muhammad from Muqawqis
Muqawqis
Al-Muqawqis is mentioned in Islamic history as a ruler of Egypt, who corresponded with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is often identified with Cyrus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who administered Egypt on behalf of the Byzantine Empire. However, this identification is challenged as being based on...
, a Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
official.
Contrary to popular belief, Maria did not serve as Muhammad's concubine; According to Islamic history, it is clear that Muhammad accepted Maria and married her immediately, so she is therefore regarded as a Mother of the Believers. She got pregnant and bore him a son, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad
Ibrahim ibn Muhammad
Ibrahim ibn Muhammad was the male child of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Maria al-Qibtiyya. He was born in the last month of the year 8 AH. The child was named after Abraham, the common ancestor of both Arabs and Jews...
, who died in infancy.
Muhammad's widows
According to the Qur'an, God forbade anyone to marry the wives of Muhammad, because of their respect and honour, after he died.Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy Allah's Messenger, or that ye should marry his widows after him at any time.
The extent of Muhammad's property at the time of his death is unclear. Although Qur'an [2.180] clearly addresses issues of inheritance, Abu Bakr, the new leader of the Muslim ummah
Ummah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
, 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.
Muhammad's widow Hafsa played a role in the collection of the first Qur'anic manuscript. After Abu Bakr had collected the copy, he gave it to Hafsa, who preserved it until Uthman took it, copied it and distributed it in Muslim lands.
Some of Muhammad's widows were active politically in the Islamic state after Muhammad's death. Safiyya, for example, aided the caliph Uthman during his siege. During the first fitna, some wives also took sides. Umm Salama, for example, sided with Ali, and sent her son Umar for help. The last of Muhammad's wives, Umm Salama lived to hear about the tragedy of Karabala
Karbala
Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people ....
in 680, dying the same year.
Family life
Muhammad and his family lived in small apartments adjacent the mosque at Medina. Each of these were six to seven spans wide (5.5 feet) and ten spans long (7.5 feet). The height of the ceiling was that of an average man standing. The blankets were used as curtains to screen the doors. According to an account by Anas bin Malik said, "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night and they were eleven in number."Although Muhammad's wives had a special status as Mothers of the Believers, he did not allow them to use his status as a prophet to obtain special treatment in public. The grave of wives of Muhammed are located at Jannat-ul-Baqi.