Muhammad's Marriages: Difference between revisions

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According to Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet [[Muhammad]] used to visit all eleven of his wives in one night; but he could manage this, as he had the [[Sex|sexual]] prowess of thirty men.<ref>{{Bukhari|||268|darussalam}}. See also {{Bukhari|||5215|darussalam}}.</ref> The historian Al-[[Tabari]] calculated that Muhammad [[Marriage|married]] a total of fifteen [[Islam and Women|women]], though only ever eleven at one time; and two of these marriages were never consummated.<ref>{{Tabari|9|pp. 126-127}}.</ref> This tally of fifteen does not include at least four concubines. According to Merriam-Webster, a concubine is “a woman with whom a man cohabits without being married”,  and has a “social status in a household below that of a wife.”<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concubine|2=2011-09-28}} Concubine] – Merriam-Webster, accessed September 28, 2011</ref> All of Muhammad’s concubines were his [[Slavery|slaves]]. Al-Tabari also excludes from the fifteen several other women with whom Muhammad had some kind of marriage contract but who, due to legal technicalities, never became full wives. It is fairly certain, however, that none of these legally-stifled unions was ever consummated. They were the cultural equivalent of a broken engagement. Finally, there were several other women whom Muhammad wished to marry, or whom he was invited to marry, but for various reasons he did not.

==List of Wives and Concubines of the Prophet==

===Wives of the Prophet===

 

Despite the injunction of the Qur'an to only take 4 women as wives, according to the [[sira]] literature Muhammad took far more wives than this number. This table lists the women

*Bukhari<ref>{{Bukhari|||1680|darussalam}}.</ref>

|She was the daughter of Muhammad's best friend and head evangelist Abu Bakr. Muhammad selected the six-year-old Aisha in preference to her teenaged sister, and she remained his favourite wife. She contributed a major body of information to Islamic law and history. The paedophilic aspect of this relationship has institutionalised such marriages within Islamic law.  

|She was the daughter of Muhammad's wealthy friend Umar. Hafsa was the custodian of the autograph-text of the Qur'an, which was [[Textual History of the Qur'an|somewhat different]] from the standard Qur'an of today.

|The daughter of an Arab chief, she was taken prisoner when Muhammad attacked her tribe. Muhammad did always marry his war-captives, but Aisha claimed that Juwayriyah was so beautiful that men always fell in love with her at first sight.

! style="background: #EEEEEE;" |9

! style="background: #EEEEEE;" |10

! style="background: #EEEEEE;" |11

! style="background: #EEEEEE;" |12

! style="background: #EEEEEE;" |13

! style="background: #EEEEEE;" |14

! style="background: #EEEEEE;" |15

! style="background: #EEEEEE;" |2

 

 

|According to some sources of varying authenticity, Muhammad said that Allah had wedded him in Heaven to the Virgin Mary. Authentic sources quote Muhammad describing her as one of 'the four perfect women'.<ref>{{Quran-range|3|33|51}}; {{Quran-range|19|16|40}}; {{Quran|21|91}}; {{Quran|66|12}}.</ref><ref>{{Bukhari|||3432|darussalam}}</ref><ref>{{Muslim||2430|reference}}.</ref> The Qur'an refers several times to Mary, praising her chastity and affirming the virgin birth of Jesus. The scriptures describing their marraige state that she lived in a beautiful jewelled palace in Paradise next to Khadijah's.

|According to some sources of varying authenticity, Muhammad said that Allah had wedded him in Heaven to the Queen Asiya. Authentic sources quote Muhammad describing her as one of 'the four perfect women'.<ref>{{Quran-range|28|4|13}}; {{Quran|66|11}}.</ref><ref>{{Muslim||2431|reference}}.</ref> The Qur'an tells how Asiya rescued the infant Moses from the evil Pharaoh, and how Pharaoh later tortured his wife to death for her monotheism. The scriptures describing their marraige state that Asiya's palace in Heaven was on the other side of Khadijah's.

|Muhammad originally believed that Maryam the sister of Moses and Maryam the mother of Jesus were one and the same. When he realized his mistake, he (perhaps over-)corrected himself by stating that Moses' sister was not named Maryam. He renamed her Kulthum ("Chubby Cheeks") and, according to some sources of varying authenticity, said that Allah had wedded him to her in heaven. However, he did not say that she was a perfect woman or that she lived next to Khadijah.<ref>{{Quran-range|19|27|28}}.</ref><ref>{{Muslim||2135|reference}}.</ref>

*Al-Tabari<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 140}}; {{Tabari|39|pp. 196-197}}</ref>

*Abu Dawud<ref>{{Abu Dawud||2227|darussalam}}; {{Abu Dawud||2228|darussalam}}; {{Abu Dawud||2229|darussalam}}.</ref>

*Bukhari<ref>{{Bukhari|||5087|darussalam}}; {{Bukhari|||5126|darussalam}}; {{Bukhari|||5132|darussalam}}; {{Bukhari|||5135|darussalam}}.</ref>

*Muslim<ref>{{Muslim||1449a|reference}}; {{Muslim||1449c|reference}}.</ref>

*Muslim<ref>{{Muslim||1449a|reference}}; {{Muslim||1449c|reference}}.</ref>

It is often suggested that [[Muhammad]]’s wives were, for the most part, poor widows whom he [[marriage|married]] to save from a life of destitution. This article investigates the plausibility of such a perspective.

The Prophet Muhammad himself never claimed that he married women out of compassion for their poverty. On the contrary, he asserted that he, and men in general, chose their wives for four basic motives: for their money, for their family connections, for their beauty and for their piety. He added: “So you should marry the pious woman or you will be a loser.”<ref>{{Bukhari|||5090|darussalam}}.</ref> The suggestion that Muhammad’s many marriages were motivated by a charitable concern for the welfare of widows is not found in the early sources. This assertion only appears in modern sources.  

As such, the widely held view that “Muhammad married poor widows to provide them with a home” is not supported by the available historical evidence from Islamic sources.

As for Muhammad’s other wives, it is true that most of them were widowed, divorced or both. Only Mariyah,<ref>{{Tabari|39|193-195}}; {{Tabari|9|pp. 137, 141}}.</ref> Mulaykah<ref>{{Tabari|8|p. 187}}.</ref> and Fatima<ref>{{Tabari|9|136-139}}; {{Tabari|39|pp. 186-188}}.</ref> are not recorded as having been previously married.<ref>Since so little is known about these women, it cannot be asserted that they were ''not'' widows. We only state here that no previous marriages are ''recorded''.</ref>

As a general commentary on the social problems in the Muslim community, it should be noted that at this early date, the Muslims had not fought a single battle. No Muslim “died in the wars” before the [[Battle of Badr]] in 624,<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 289ff.</ref> an event that, in all likelihood, no one could have foreseen in 620. In fact, the only Muslim who had so far died violently was a woman.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 145.</ref> So it is equally difficult to maintain that there was a problem with finding enough men to take care of the numerous widows. On the contrary, the gender imbalance appears to have been in the opposite direction. The Egyptian scholar Al-Suyuti compares different traditions about Umar’s conversion in 616: “He embraced the faith early — after the conversion of 40 men and 10 women — or as some say, after 39 men and 23 women, and others, 45 men and 11 women.”<ref>Al-Suyuti, ''Tarikh al-Khulafa''. Translation by Jarrett, H. S. (1881). ''History of the Caliphs'', p. 112. Caclutta: The Asiatic Society.</ref> All these numbers appear to be incorrect, however, for [[Ibn Ishaq]]’s list of Muslims who emigrated to Abyssinia in 615 includes 83 men and 18 women.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 146-148.</ref> His list of Muslims converted by Abu Bakr has 41 men and 9 women.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 115-117.</ref> One consistency among all these lists, however, is that the early Muslims seemed to comprise ''far'' more men than women, at least twice (and perhaps ''four times'') as many. Moreover, many of the Muslim women whose names are missing from these early lists<ref>There is no mention of Khadijah and her daughters, nor of Umm Ruman, nor of the numerous sisters of Lubabah bint Al-Harith ({{Tabari|39|p. 201}}).</ref> were married to [[Pagan Origins of Islam|pagan]] men; so even if they had been “numerous” (although they likely were not), there could have been no such pervasive problem of “homeless widows”.

Hafsah’s first husband, Khunays ibn Hudhayfa, died of battle-wounds in mid-624.<ref>{{Bukhari|||4005|darussalam}}. Bewley/Saad 8:56: "He died, leaving her a widow after the ''Hijra'' when the Prophet arrived from Badr."</ref> He seems to have been a man of humble means who relied on the patronage of Hafsah’s father Umar.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 218.</ref> This suggests that his death did not make much change to Hafsah’s economic situation. Before, during, and after her marriage, she was dependent on her father. Umar claimed to be “one of the richest of the Quraysh”<ref>Guillaume/Ibn Ishaq 216.</ref> and thus should have had no financial difficulty maintaining his daughter.

By contrast, Muhammad could not afford to keep his wives. Aisha claimed that they never ate bread for more than three successive days, and sometimes the family did not light a fire for a month on end because they had nothing to cook but lived off dates and water.<ref>{{Muslim||2970c|reference}}; {{Muslim||2970a|reference}}; {{Muslim||2970d|reference}}; {{Muslim||2970b|reference}}; {{Muslim||2970e|reference}}; {{Muslim||2972a|reference}}; {{Muslim||2972c|reference}}; {{Muslim||2974|reference}}; {{Muslim||2976a|reference}}; {{Muslim||2976b|reference}}.</ref> By marrying Muhammad, it then seems, Hafsah was accepting a significant cut in her standard of living. In fact, Umar later warned her never to ask her husband, Muhammad, for money: “If you need something, come and ask me.”<ref>{{Bukhari|||5191|darussalam}}.</ref>

If this story is true, Muhammad declined the offer. He told Zaynab that she had a “duty” to marry his son Zayd because that was what “Allah and his apostle” wished for her.<ref>{{Quran|33|36}}.</ref> At first she refused, and was supported in her refusal by her brother Abdullah.<ref>[http://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=33&tAyahNo=36&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2/ Jalalayn's ''Tafsir'' on Q33:36.]</ref> However, when Abdullah was killed in the battle of Uhud,<ref>Guillaume/Ibn Ishaq 607.</ref> at about this time, Zaynab was talked into marrying Zayd.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 180}}.</ref> Zayd divorced her within two years, after which, according to Muhammad, Allah commanded her to marry Muhammad himself.<ref>Ibn Hisham note 918; {{Bukhari|||7420|darussalam}}; {{Tabari|39|pp. 180-181}}.</ref>

Ramlah and her first husband, Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh, were among the early converts to Islam who emigrated to Abyssinia in 615.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 146; {{Tabari|39|p. 177}}.</ref> “They were safely ensconced there and were grateful for the protection of the ''Negus'' [King]; could serve Allah without fear; and the ''Negus'' had shown them every hospitality.”<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 148.</ref> It is not known how the exiles earned their living, but they must have found a means of subsistence, for they all stayed at least four years. Forty of them returned to Arabia in 619, only to discover that Mecca was still not a safe place for Muslims.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 167-168.</ref> After the Muslim victory at Badr in 624, however, the exiles realized that they would be safe in Medina, and they began to leave for Arabia in small groups.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 527-529.</ref> About half of them remained in Abyssinia, Ramlah and Ubaydullah among them.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 527.</ref> There is no obvious reason why they could not have gone to Medina, where all of Ubaydullah’s siblings lived,<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 214-215. Ubaydullah’s eldest brother was married to Ramlah’s sister.</ref> so presumably their continuation in Abyssinia was voluntary.

It was several months, perhaps over a year, before Muhammad took Mariyah as his concubine. Her son was born between 25 March and 22 April 630.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:149.</ref> This suggests that her month alone with Muhammad, when he refused to speak to his official wives,<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:136-137.</ref> was around July 629. The wives’ strong reaction to the situation<ref>See the story in Bewley/Saad 8:49. It is also told in {{Bukhari|||2468|darussalam}}, although Mariyah’s part in the story is minimised.</ref> indicates that they had only just found out that the housemaid had become a concubine - that is, she had not been a concubine for very long. So in this preceding year before becoming his concubine, Mariyah had nevertheless lived at Muhammad’s expense; and she continued to live at his expense afterwards.

Fatima’s father was a minor chief, and he was still alive when she married Muhammad.<ref>Guillaume/Ishaq 570ff shows her father as a military commander of some authority. {{Abu Dawud||2927|darussalam}} shows that he survived to the caliphate of Umar.</ref> Hence, she was not poor at the time of her marriage to Muhammad.

Asma was a wealthy princess from Yemen who had lived all her life in luxury.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 189}}. Her tribe, the Kindah, were the rulers of Yemen.</ref> Her father hinted that he found Muhammad’s standard 12½ ounces of silver a “stingy” dower, but was ultimately forced to accept that this was all Asma would be paid.<ref>{{Tabari|39|p. 189}}.</ref>

Prophet [[Muhammad]] taught others to "run away from the leper as one runs away from a lion."<ref>"''Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, '(There is) no 'Adwa (no contagious disease is conveyed without Allah's permission). nor is there any bad omen (from birds), nor is there any Hamah, nor is there any bad omen in the month of Safar, and one should run away from the leper as one runs away from a lion ''" - {{Bukhari|||5707|darussalam}}</ref> He also put an end to two of his relationships with women on account of them being afflicted with leprosy. Amra bint Yazid, whom he divorced in circa 631 before consummating the [[marriage]] when he saw she had symptoms.<ref>Ibn Ishaq, cited in Guillaume, A. (1960). ''New Light on the Life of Muhammad'', p. 55. Manchester: Manchester University Press</ref><ref>Ibn Hisham note 918 (here he has apparently confused her with Asma bint Al-Numan).</ref><ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 139}}; {{Tabari|39|pp. 187-188}}.</ref><ref>Bewley/Saad 8:100-101.</ref> And Jamra bint Al-Harith, whose own father informed Muhammad in circa 631 that she suffered from the disease, whereupon Muhammad broke off the engagement (later chroniclers claim her father lied but arrived home only to find that she really had been afflicted with leprosy).<ref>{{Tabari|9|pp. 140-141}}</ref>