Questions this modern age puts to Islam – Introduction The reasons behind the Prophet’s several marriages are various, but even in <\/span><\/p>\n The Prophet, not at that time called to his future mission, first married at At the age of twenty-five, then, and in the prime of life, Muhammad, upon A question people often ask is: How can the plurality of his marriages be in Those who neither believe in nor practise any religious way of life have no Jews and Christians who attack the Prophet for the plurality of his Polygamy was not originated by the Muslims. Furthermore, in the case of the In a sense, the plurality of wives was a necessity for the Prophet through Some of the marriages of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, were 1) Since there were young, middle-aged and old women amongst them, the 2) Since each of his wives was from a different clan or tribe, the Prophet 3) Each of his wives, from their different tribes, both whilst the Prophet 4) Through his marriages, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, What we have said so far is general and could, in some respects, be true of \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I <\/span><\/p>\n Khadijah, radi Allahu anha, was the first among the Prophet’s wives. At the \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n II <\/span><\/p>\n ‘A’isha, radi Allahu anha was his second wife, though not in the order of Moreover, ‘A’isha, who proved to be a remarkably intelligent and wise woman, \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n III <\/span><\/p>\n Umm Salamah, radi Allahu anha, was from the clan of Makhzum. She was first Some time after that, the Prophet himself offered to marry her. This was Umm Salamah was intelligent and quick in comprehension just as ‘A’isha was. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n IV <\/span><\/p>\n Umm Habibah, radi Allahu anha, was the daughter of Abu Sufyan who, for a The Companions of the Prophet were then few in number and had little in the God recompensed Umm Habibah for all that she lost or sacrificed in the way Thus Umm Habibah joined the Prophet’s household as wife and student, and Through this marriage, the powerful family of Abu Sufyan came to be linked \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n V <\/span><\/p>\n Zainab bint Jahsh, radi Allahu anha, was also a lady of noble birth, Zaid had been taken captive as a child in the course of tribal wars and sold The marriage did not bring happiness to either Zainab or Zaid. Zainab, the Divine wisdom decreed the need to join so distinguished and noble a person In the jahiliyya, the period of ignorance before Islam, an adopted son was To have an unassailable authority for future generations of Muslims, the \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n VI <\/span><\/p>\n Juwayriyah b. Harith, radi Allahu anha, was one of a large number of About a hundred families, who had not yet been ransomed, were all set free \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n VII <\/span><\/p>\n Safiyyah, radi Allahu anha, was the daughter of Huyayy, one of the Elevated to the Prophet’s household she had the title of ‘mother of the \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n VIII <\/span><\/p>\n Sawdah b. Zam’ah b. Qays, radi Allahu anha, was the widow of one Sakran. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n IX <\/span><\/p>\n Hafsah, radi Allahu anha, was the daughter of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, the \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Such were the circumstances and noble motives of the several marriages of It was a part of that discipline that the Prophet, upon him be peace, A final point to be made is that the number of wives the Prophet had was by \u00a0 by\u00a0 Fethullah Gulen \u00a0\u00a0 Questions this modern age puts to Islam by Fethullah Gulen. What were the reasons behind the several marriages of the Prophet, upon him be peace? – Introduction – Khadijah...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[42],"class_list":["post-443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prophet-muhammad","tag-muhammad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=443"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":444,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443\/revisions\/444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nby
\nFethullah Gulen. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nWhat were the reasons behind the several marriages of the Prophet, upon him
\nbe peace? <\/span><\/p>\n
\n– Khadijah
\n-A’isha
\n-Umm Salamah
\n-Umm Habibah
\n-Zainab bint Jahsh
\n-Juwayriyah b. Harith
\n-Safiyyah
\n-Sawdah b. Zam’ah b. Qays
\n-Hafsah <\/span><\/p>\n
\nSome critics of Islam, either because they are not aware of the facts about
\nthe marriages of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, or because they
\nare not honest and objective about those facts, have reviled the Prophet as
\na self-indulgent libertine. They have accused him of character failings
\nwhich are hardly compatible with being of average virtue, let alone with
\nbeing a prophet and God’s last Messenger and the best model for all mankind
\nto follow. However, if the facts are simply recounted-and they are easily
\navailable from scores of biographies and well-authenticated accounts of his
\nsayings and actions-it becomes clear that the Prophet lived the most
\nstrictly disciplined life, that his marriages were a part of that
\ndiscipline, a part of the many, many burdens that he bore as God’s last
\nMessenger. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nthe privateness of some of those reasons, they all had to do with his role
\nas the leader of the new Muslim ummah, guiding his people towards the norms
\nand values of Islam. In the following pages we shall try to explain some of
\nthose reasons and, in so doing, demonstrate that the charges levelled
\nagainst the Prophet on this count are as vile and indecent as they are
\nutterly false. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nthe age of twenty-five. Given the cultural environment in which he lived,
\nnot to mention the climate and other considerations such as his youth, it is
\nremarkable that he should have enjoyed a reputation for perfect chastity as
\nwell as integrity and trustworthiness generally. As soon as he was called to
\nthe prophethood he acquired enemies who did not hesitate to publicise false
\ncalumnies against him-but not once did any of them (and in their jahiliyya
\n(ignorance) they were not scrupulous men) dare to invent against him what
\nno-one could have believed. It is important to realise that his life was
\nfounded upon chastity and self-discipline from the outset, and so remained. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nhim be peace, married Khadijah, a woman much his senior in years. This
\nmarriage was very high and exceptional in the eyes of the Prophet and God.
\nFor twenty-three years, his life with Khadijah was a period of uninterrupted
\ncontentment in perfect fidelity. In the eighth year of prophethood, however,
\nKhadijah passed away and the Prophet was once again single, as he had been
\nuntil the age of twenty-five, though now with children. His enemies cannot
\ndeny, but are forced to admit that, during all these long years, they cannot
\nfind a single flaw in his moral character. During the lifetime of Khadijah,
\nthe Prophet took no other wife, although public opinion among his people
\nwould have allowed him to do so had he wished to. After Khadijah’s death, he
\nlived a single life for four or five years. All his other marriages began
\nafter he reached the age of fifty-five, an age by which very little real
\ninterest and desire for marriage remains. The allegation that his marriages
\nafter this age were an expression of licentiousness or self-indulgence, is
\nas groundless as it is foul. <\/span><\/p>\n
\naccord with his role as the Prophet? There are three points to be made in
\nanswering this question, but first let us recognize that those who
\ncontinually raise such questions are either atheists (who themselves have no
\nreligion) or are ‘people of the Book’ i.e. Christians or Jews. Both these
\nclasses of critics are equally ignorant of Islam and religion, or wilfully
\nconfuse right with wrong in order to deceive others and spread doubt and
\nmischief. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nright to reproach those who do. They have relations and unions with many
\nwomen without following any rule or law or ethic. However they may pretend
\notherwise, what they do is unrestrained self-indulgence with, in practice,
\nlittle regard for the consequences of their life-style upon the happiness
\nand well-being of even their own children, let alone of the young in
\ngeneral. In certain circles who advertise themselves as the most ‘free’,
\nsexual relations which most societies condemn as incestuous are regarded as
\npermissible; homosexuality is as ‘normal’ for them as any other kind of
\nrelationship; some even practise polyandry-that is, one woman having at the
\nsame time many ‘husbands’-the agony of any children from such unions who may
\nnever be sure of who their father is, we leave to the reader’s imagination.
\nThe only motive that people who live in this way can have for criticising
\nthe Prophet’s marriages is the foolish hope that they can drag Muslims down
\nwith them into the mess of moral confusion and viciousness in which they
\nthemselves are trapped. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nmarriages can only be motivated by their fear and jealous hatred of Islam.
\nThey plainly forget that the great patriarchs of the Hebrew race, named as
\nprophets in the Bible as well as the Qur’an, and revered by the followers of
\nall three faiths as exemplars of moral excellence, all practised
\npolygamy-and indeed on a far greater scale than the Prophet Muhammad, upon
\nhim be peace. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nProphet of Islam, as we shall see, polygamy (or, more strictly, polygyny)
\nhas, from the viewpoint of its function within the mission of prophethood,
\nfar more significance than people generally realise. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nwhose practice (or Sunna) the statutes and norms of Muslim law were to be
\nestablished. Religion may not be excluded from the private relations between
\nspouses, from matters that can only be known by one’s partner. Therefore,
\nthere must be guidance from women who can give clear instruction and advice
\nwithout using an allusive language of hints and innuendoes which leaves the
\nmeaning obscure and incomprehensible. The chaste and virtuous women of the
\nProphet’s household were the teachers responsible for conveying and
\ncommunicating to the people the norms and rules that concern the conduct of
\nMuslims in their private lives. <\/span><\/p>\n
\ncontracted for specific reasons to do with his wives: <\/span><\/p>\n
\nrequirements and norms of Islamic law could be exemplified in relation to
\ntheir different life stages and experiences. These provisions of the law
\nwere first learnt and applied within the Prophet’s household and then passed
\non to other Muslims through the teaching of his wives. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nestablished bonds of kinship and affinity throughout the ummah. This enabled
\na profound attachment to him to spread amongst the diverse peoples of the
\nnew ummah, creating and securing equality and brotherhood amongst them in a
\nmost practical way and on the basis of religion. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nwas living and after he passed away, proved of great benefit and service to
\nthe cause of Islam. They conveyed his message and interpreted it to their
\nclans; the outer and inward experience, the qualities, the manners and faith
\nof the man whose life, in all its details, public and intimate, was the
\nembodiment of the Qur’an-Islam in practice. In this way, all the members of
\ntheir clan, men and women, learnt about the Qur’an, Hadith, tafsir
\n(interpretation and commentary on the Qur’an), and fiqh (understanding of
\nthe Islamic law), and so became fully aware of the essence and spirit of the
\nIslamic religion. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nestablished ties of kinship throughout the Arabian peninsula. What this
\nmeant was that he was free to move and be accepted as a member in each
\nfamily, each of whose members regarded him as one of their own. For that
\nreason each felt that they could go to him in person to learn about the
\naffairs of this life and of the life hereafter, directly from him. Equally,
\nthe tribes benefited collectively also from this proximity to the Prophet;
\nthey esteemed themselves to be fortunate and took pride in that
\nrelationship, such as the Ummayads through Umm Habibah, the Hashimites
\nthrough Zaynab bint Jahsh, and the Banu Makhzum through Umm Salamah. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nall the Prophets. However, now we will discuss the life sketches of ummahat
\nal-mu’min-the mothers of the believers-not in the order of the marriages but
\nin a different perspective. <\/span><\/p>\n
\ntime of her marriage, she was forty years old and Muhammad, upon him be
\npeace, was twenty-five. She was the mother of all his children except a son,
\nIbrahim, who did not live long. As well as being a wife, Khadijah was also a
\nfriend to her husband, the sharer of his inclinations and ideals to a
\nremarkable degree. Their marriage was wonderfully blessed; they lived
\ntogether in profound harmony for twenty-three years. Through every contumely
\nand outrage heaped upon him by the idolaters, through every persecution,
\nKhadijah was his dearest companion and helper. He loved her very deeply and
\ndid not marry any other woman during her lifetime. This marriage is the
\nideal of intimacy, friendship, mutual respect, support and consolation, for
\nall marriages. Though faithful and loyal to all his wives, he never forgot
\nKhadijah after her death and mentioned her virtues and merits extensively on
\nmany occasions. The Prophet did not marry for another four to five years
\nafter Khadijah’s death. Providing their daily food and provisions, bearing
\ntheir troubles and hardships, Muhammad, upon him be peace, looked after his
\nchildren and performed the duties of mother as well as father. To allege of
\nsuch a man that he was a sensualist or suffered from lust for women, is as
\ndisgraceful and as stupid a lie as can be imagined. For if there were even
\nthe least grain of truth in it, he could not have lived as we know that he
\ndid. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nmarriages. She was the daughter of his closest friend and devoted follower,
\nAbu Bakr. Abu Bakr, one of the earliest converts to Islam had long hoped to
\ncement the deep attachment that existed between himself and the Prophet, by
\ngiving to him his daughter in marriage. By marrying ‘A’isha the Prophet
\naccorded the highest honour and courtesy to a man who had shared all the
\ngood and bad times with him throughout his mission. In this way, Abu Bakr
\nand ‘A’isha Siddiqa acquired the distinction of being spiritually and
\nphysically near to the Prophet. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nhad both the nature and temperament to carry forward the work of prophetic
\nmission. Her marriage was the schooling through which she was prepared as a
\nspiritual guide and teacher to the whole of the female world. She became one
\nof the major students and disciples of the Prophet and through him, like so
\nmany of the Muslims of that blessed time, her skills and talents were
\nmatured and perfected, so that she joined him in the abode of bliss both as
\nwife and as student. Her life and her services to Islam after her marriage
\nprove that such an exceptional person was worthy to be the wife of the
\nProphet. For, when the time came, she proved herself one of the greatest
\nauthorities on Hadith, an excellent commentator on the Qur’an and a most
\ndistinguished and knowledgeable expert (faqih) in Islamic law. She truly
\nrepresented the inward and outward qualities and experiences (zahir and
\nbatin) of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, through her unique
\nunderstanding. This is surely why the Prophet was told in his dream that he
\nwould marry ‘A’isha, and thus, when she was innocent and knew nothing about
\nmen and worldly affairs, she was prepared and entered into the Prophet’s
\nhousehold. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nmarried to her cousin. The couple had embraced Islam at the very beginning
\nand emigrated to Abyssinia, to avoid the persecutions of the Quraysh. After
\nreturning from Abyssinia, the couple and their four children migrated to
\nMadinah. Her husband participated in many battles and received severe wounds
\nat the battle of Uhud from which he later died. Abu Bakr and ‘Umar proposed
\nmarriage to Umm Salamah, aware of her needs and suffering as a widow with
\nchildren to support and no means of doing so. She refused because, according
\nto her judgement, no-one could be better than her late husband. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nquite right and natural. For this great woman who had never shied from
\nsacrifice and suffering for her faith in Islam was now alone after having
\nlived many years in the noblest clan of Arabia. She could not be neglected
\nand left to beg her way in life. Considering her piety, sincerity and all
\nthat she had suffered, she certainly deserved to be helped. By taking her
\ninto his household, the Prophet was doing what he had been doing since his
\nyouth, namely befriending those who were lacking in friends, supporting
\nthose who were unsupported, protecting those who were unprotected. In the
\ncircumstances in which Umm Salamah found herself, there was no kinder or
\nmore gracious way to give her what she lacked. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nShe had all the capacities and gifts to become a spiritual guide and
\nteacher. When the gracious and compassionate Prophet took her under his
\nprotection, a new student to whom all the female world would be grateful,
\nwas accepted into the school of knowledge and guidance. Let us recall that,
\nat this time, the Prophet was approaching the age of sixty. For him to have
\nmarried a widow with many children, to have accepted the expenses and
\nresponsibilities that entailed, cannot be understood otherwise than in
\nhumble admiration for the infinite reserves of his humanity and compassion. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nlong time had been the most determined enemy of the Prophet’s mission, and
\nthe most determined supporter of kufr (unbelief). Yet his daughter was one
\nof the earliest converts to Islam. She emigrated to Abyssinia because of
\npersecution by the unbelievers. Whilst there, her husband converted to
\nChristianity. As she remained a Muslim, she separated from him. When,
\nshortly after that, her husband died she was all alone, and desperate, in
\nexile. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nway of material wealth to support themselves, let alone to support others.
\nWhat then were the practical options open to Umm Habibah? She might convert
\nto Christianity and so obtain support from the Christians, but that was
\nunthinkable. She might return to her father’s home, now a headquarters of
\nthe war against Islam, but that too was unthinkable. She might wander from
\nhousehold to household as a beggar, but again it was an unthinkable option
\nfor one who belonged to one of the richest and noblest Arab families to
\nbring shame upon her family name by doing so. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nof Islam. She had suffered a lonely exile in an insecure environment among
\npeople of a race and religion different from her own; she was made wretched
\ntoo by her husband’s conversion and death. The Prophet, on learning of her
\nplight, responded by sending an offer of marriage through the king Negus.
\nThis was an action both noble and generous, and a practical proof of the
\nverse: We have not sent you save as a mercy for all creatures (al-Anbiya’,
\n21.107). <\/span><\/p>\n
\ncontributed much to the moral and spiritual life of the Muslims who learnt
\nfrom her and, in their turn, passed on their knowledge to future
\ngenerations. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nwith the person and household of the Prophet, something that led them to
\nadopt a different attitude to Islam. It is also correct to trace the
\ninfluence of this marriage, beyond the family of Abu Sufyan, on all the
\nUmayyads, who ruled the Muslims for almost a hundred years. The clan whose
\nmembers had been the most fanatical in their hatred of Islam produced some
\nof Islam’s most renowned warriors, administrators and governors in the early
\nperiod. Without doubt it was the marriage to Umm Habibah that began this
\nchange: the Prophet’s depth of generosity and magnanimity of soul surely
\noverwhelmed them. <\/span><\/p>\n
\ndescended and a close relative of the Prophet. She was, moreover, a woman of
\ngreat piety, who fasted much, kept long vigils, and gave generously to the
\npoor. When the Prophet asked for the hand of Zainab for Zaid, Zainab’s
\nfamily and Zainab herself were at first unwilling. The family had hoped to
\nmarry their daughter to the Prophet. Naturally, when they realized that it
\nwas the Prophet’s wish that Zainab should marry Zaid, they all consented out
\nof deference to their love for the Prophet and his authority. In this way,
\nthe marriage took place. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nas a slave. The noble Khadija whose slave he was, presented him to Muhammad,
\nupon him be peace, on the occasion of her marriage to the future Prophet.
\nThe Prophet immediately gave Zaid his freedom and shortly afterwards adopted
\nhim as his son. The reason for his insistence on Zaid’s marriage to Zainab
\nwas to establish and fortify equality between the Muslims, to make this
\nideal a reality. His desire was to break down the ancient Arab prejudice
\nagainst a slave or even freedman marrying a ‘free-born’ woman. The Prophet
\nwas therefore starting this hard task with his own relatives. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nlady of noble birth, was a good Muslim of a most pious and exceptional
\nquality. Zaid, the freedman, was among the first to embrace Islam, and he
\ntoo was a good Muslim. Both loved and obeyed the Prophet, but their marriage
\nwas unsustainable because of their mutual incompatibility. Zaid found it no
\nlonger tolerable and on several occasions expressed the wish to divorce. The
\nProphet, however, insisted that he should persevere with patience and that
\nhe should not separate from Zainab. Then, on an occasion while the Prophet
\nwas in conversation, the Angel Gabriel came and a divine revelation was
\ngiven to him (Bukhari, Tawhid, 22). The Prophet’s marriage to Zainab was
\nannounced in the revealed verses as a bond already contracted: We have
\nmarried her to you (al-Ahzab, 33.37). This command was one of the severest
\ntrials the Prophet, upon him be peace, had yet had to face. For he was
\ncommanded to do a thing contrary to the traditions of his people, indeed it
\nwas a taboo. Yet it had to be done for the sake of God, just as God
\ncommanded. ‘A’isha later said: Had the Messenger of God been inclined to
\nsuppress anything of what was revealed to him, he would surely have
\nsuppressed this verse (Bukhari and Muslim). <\/span><\/p>\n
\nas Zainab to the Prophet’s household, so as to provide her with true
\nknowledge and prepare her for the task of guiding and enlightening the
\nMuslims. In the event, after the marriage finally took place, Zainab proved
\nherself most worthy to be the Prophet’s wife; she was always aware of the
\nresponsibilities as well as the courtesies proper to her role, and fulfilled
\nthose responsibilities to universal admiration. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nregarded as a natural son, and an adopted son’s wife was therefore regarded
\nas a natural son’s wife would be. According to the Qur’anic verse, those who
\nhave been ‘wives of your sons proceeding from your loins’ fall within the
\nprohibited degrees of marriage. But this prohibition does not relate to
\nadopted sons with whom their is no real consanguinity. What now seems
\nobvious was not so then. The pagan taboo against marrying the former wives
\nof adopted sons was deeply rooted. It was to uproot this custom that the
\nProphet’s marriage to Zainab was commanded by the Revelation. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nbreak in the taboo had to be achieved through the authority of the Prophet’s
\nown example. It is but one further instance of the depth of faith of the man
\nthat he accepted the divine decree, against the most established customs of
\nhis people. As a result the Arabs were rescued from their pagan confusion of
\na legal fiction, however worthy, with a biological, natural reality. <\/span><\/p>\n
\ncaptives taken by Muslims in a military expedition. She was the daughter of
\nHarith, chief of the defeated Banu Mustaliq clan. She was held captive, like
\nother members of her proud family, alongside the ‘common’ people of her
\nclan. When Juwayriyah was taken to the Prophet, upon him be peace, she was
\nin considerable distress, not least because her kinsmen had lost everything
\nand her emotions were a profound hate and enmity toward the Muslims. The
\nProphet understood the wounded pride and dignity and the suffering of this
\nwoman; more than that he understood also, in his sublime wisdom, how to
\nresolve the problem and heal that wounded pride. He agreed to pay her
\nransom, set her free and offered to take her as his wife. How gladly
\nJuwayriyah accepted this offer can easily be imagined. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nwhen the Ansar and the Muhajir (the Emigrants) came to realise that the Bani
\nMustaliq were now among the Prophet’s kin by marriage. A tribe so honoured
\ncould not be allowed to remain in slavery (Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 6, 277). In
\nthis way the hearts of Juwayriyah and all her people were won. A hundred
\nfamilies who regained their liberty blessed the marriage of Juwayriyah with
\nMuhammad, upon him be peace. Through his compassionate wisdom and generosity
\nhe turned a defeat for some into a victory for all; what had been an
\noccasion of enmity and distress became one of friendship and joy. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nchieftains of the Jewish tribe of Khaybar, who had persuaded the Bani
\nQurayzah to break their treaty with the Prophet. From her earliest years she
\nsaw her family and relatives determined in opposition to the Prophet. She
\nhad lost her father, brother and husband at the hands of Muslims, and
\nherself became one of their captives. The attitudes and actions of her
\nfamily and relatives might have nurtured in her a deep indignation against
\nthe Muslims and a desire for revenge. But three days before the Prophet,
\nupon him be peace, arrived at Khaybar, and Safiyyah fell captive in the
\nbattle, she had seen in a dream a brilliant moon coming out from Madina,
\nmoving towards Khaybar, and falling into her lap. She later said: ‘When I
\nwas captured I began to hope that my dream would come true.’ When she was
\nbrought before him as a captive, the Prophet generously set her free and
\noffered her the choice between remaining a Jew and returning to her people
\nor entering Islam and becoming his wife. ‘I chose God and his Messenger’,
\nshe said. Shortly after that, they were married. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nbelievers’. The Companions of the Prophet honoured and respected her as
\n‘mother’; she witnessed at first hand the refinement and true courtesy of
\nthe men and women whose hearts and minds were submitted to God. Her attitude
\nto her past experiences changed altogether, and she came to appreciate the
\ngreat honour of being the Prophet’s wife. As a result of this marriage, the
\nattitude of many Jews changed as they came to see and know the Prophet
\nclosely. It is also worth noting here that it is through such close relation
\nwith others that Muslims can come to understand how those others think and
\nfeel and live. And it is through understanding that Muslims can learn how to
\ninfluence and guide, if God wills, those others. Without a degree of trust
\nestablished by such generous actions as the Prophet’s marriage to Safiyyah,
\nneither mutual respect nor tolerance can become social norms. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nSakran and Sawdah were among the first to embrace Islam and had been forced
\nto flee Abyssinia to escape the persecution of the idolaters. Sakran died in
\nexile and left his wife utterly destitute. As the only means of assisting
\nthe poor woman, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, though himself
\ndistressed for the means of daily subsistence, married Sawdah. This marriage
\ntook place some time after the death of the noble Khadijah. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nfuture second Caliph of Islam. This good lady had lost her husband who
\nemigrated to both Abyssinia and Madina and who died of wounds received in
\nbattle in the path of God. She remained without a husband for a while. ‘Umar
\nalso desired, like Abu Bakr, the honour and blessing of being close to the
\nProphet in this world and in the Hereafter, so that the Prophet, upon him be
\npeace, took Hafsah as his wife so as to protect and help the daughter of his
\nfaithful disciple. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nthe Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace. We see that these marriages were
\nintended to provide helpless or widowed women with dignified subsistence in
\nthe absence of all other means; to console and honour enraged or estranged
\ntribes people, to bring those who had been enemies into some degree of
\nrelationship and harmony; to gain for the cause of Islam certain uniquely
\ngifted individuals, in particular some exceptionally talented women; to
\nestablish new norms of relationship between different people within the
\nunifying brotherhood of faith in God; and to honour with family bonds the
\nmen who were to be the first leaders of the Muslim ummah after him. These
\nmarriages had nothing at all to do with self-indulgence or personal desire
\nor lust or any other of the absurd and vile charges laid against the Prophet
\nby Islam’s embittered enemies. With the exception of ‘A’isha, all of the
\nProphet’s wives were widows, and all his marriages (after that with the
\nnoble Khadijah) were contracted when he was already an old man. Far from
\nbeing acts of self-indulgence then, these marriages were acts of
\nself-discipline. <\/span><\/p>\n
\nprovided for each of his wives with the most meticulously observed justice,
\ndividing equally whatever slender resources he allowed to his household for
\ntheir subsistence, accommodation and allowance generally. He also divided
\nhis time with them equally, and regarded and treated them with equal
\nfriendship and respect. That his household (despite the fact that his wives
\ncame from different backgrounds and had acquired different tastes and
\ntemperaments) got on well with each other, is no small tribute to his genius
\nfor creating peace and harmony. With each of them, he was not only a
\nprovider but a friend and companion. <\/span><\/p>\n
\na special dispensation within the Law of Islam and unique to his person.
\nSome of the merits and wisdom of this dispensation, as we understand them,
\nhave been explained. The number of wives for any other Muslim may not exceed
\nfour at any one time. When that Revelation restricting polygamy came, the
\nProphet’s marriages had already been contracted. Thereafter, the Prophet
\nalso was prohibited to marry again. May God bless him and grant him peace,
\nand may He enable us to understand and follow his noble example.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"