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Muhammad's wives or Wives of Muhammad were the thirteen women married to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslims refer to them as Mothers of the Believers (Arabic: أمهات المؤمنين Ummahāt al-Muʾminīn). Muslims use the term prominently before or after referring to them as a sign of respect. The term is derived from Quran 33:6: "The Prophet is closer to the believers than their selves, and his wives are (as) their mothers."

Muhammad was monogamous for 25 years. After his first wife died, he proceeded to marry the wives listed below, and most of them were widows. Muhammad's life is traditionally delineated as two epochs: pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca, a city in western Arabia, from the year 570 to 622, and post-hijra in Medina, from 622 until his death in 632.

STAGES OF MARRIAGE

The prophet Muhammad was a religious and political figure whose mission was to unite the various tribes of the Arabian peninsula specifically, and the whole world generally, under one religion.  As an example for the world to follow, the life and decisions of the Prophet Muhammad are those from which much benefit and wisdom may be drawn.  From the time of revelation, the Prophet lived a life under the direct supervision of the Creator.  Thus he was under protection of God from committing any error in portraying the religion and correct way of life.  His each and every action is one which ought to be emulated, as God himself said about him:

"Indeed you are upon a high moral standard of character."

The Prophet was a man bent upon a mission, and his concerns were not those of other ordinary humans. For these reasons, one must look into the reasoning why the Prophet took certain decisions during the course of his life. Though some of them may seem easily applicable, others may be unfamiliar to this day and age. Consequently, taking things from his life at face value may lead one to draw false conclusions without any basis or evidence.

One of those facets of the life of the Prophet which is often misunderstood, or quite frankly misconstrued, is the fact that he had contracted a number of marriages in the course of his lifetime. In order to understand the wisdom in this, one must do a case study of the various factors which surrounded this decision. Only then can a proper conclusion be made based upon them.

The domestic life of the Prophet can be divided into four stages.

The First Stage

The first twenty five years of his life were a period of celibacy. Youth is normally the stage of life when people get reckless, when the passions stirred in adolescence run wild because self-control is not yet learnt. Moreover, at the period of time he lived in, Arab society did not restrict sexual relations. Yet, he led a chaste, pure life earning him the title of ‘Ameen,’ ‘the trustworthy.’ A man who can control himself as a young adult is much more likely to keep self control in old age.

The Second Stage

When he eventually married, it was not to a young virgin, junior to him. Instead, after spending 25 celibate years, his first wife, Khadeejah, was 40 years of age and married twice before. They stayed happily married for twenty five years until she died, and he did not marry anyone else during that period. After he received the first revelation, she was the first person to believe in him as a Prophet of God. Can there be a greater testimony than a wife fifteen years older than her husband being the first one to believe in his calling?

He also had every reason to marry another wife while he was married to her:

First, although she gave him three daughters, Khadeejah did not bear him any male children who survived infancy. In a society that practiced female infanticide due to their preference for male infants, this was indeed a hard trial. His adversaries even jeered at him after the death of his second son. God, however, repudiated them,

"Surely he that insults you will himself remain childless." (Quran 108:3)

Second, he was an extraordinarily handsome man. One of his companions described him,

‘I began to look at him and at the moon, he was wearing a red mantle, and he appeared to be more beautiful than the moon to me.’

Third, polygamy was widespread and socially acceptable to women at the time. There were no social barriers preventing him from taking another wife. He could have easily married a younger, more beautiful, woman had he so chosen, but he did not. Furthermore, when pressured to remarry after Khadeejah's death, he chose another widow.

Fourth, the pagans of Mecca offered him wealth, trappings of gold and silver, leadership, and even marriage to their most beautiful women only if he would stop preaching; but he refused. He said,

"Even if they set against me the sun on my right and the moon on my left, I will not abandon my purpose until God grants me success or until I die."

Could this be the reply of a man given to the call of his flesh, or one given to the call of God?

The Third Stage

After passing the prime of his life (physically), he contracted marriages to more than one wife from the period 2 A.H. - 7 A.H. (623-628 CE). This happened between the ages of 55 and 60, and all of the marriages were contracted for unselfish reasons. These were years of wars for the nascent Muslim nation, when Muslims had to fight in self-defense to protect their lives and the religion. Consequently, hundreds of his companions were killed, leaving behind widows and orphans without anyone left to care for them. Prophet Muhammad set an example for the surviving companions to remarry the widows in order to support them, so most of his wives were widows. If sheer lust was the motive, the choice would not have been widows or divorcees.

The Prophet Muhammad did marry one virgin, Aisha, who was very young. This marriage is the one that causes the most controversy among critics who impute immorality in the character of the Prophet due to this. He married her on the request of her father, Abu Bakr, who was his closest and earliest follower outside the family. Abu Bakr was the first among the companions in the Prophet's esteem, and his most trusted ally. With him he shared the dangerous flight to Medina. Why would he gratuitously offend such an ally by refusing his request? Aisha is also the source of much of what we know of the Prophet's Sunnah, without which the legacy left by him would be so much poorer. Also, the Prophet was fulfilling a commandment of God, which is to marry those who are ready to marry as soon as they are ready. The consummation, or full wedding (nikah), was three years after the contractual arrangement (engagement), when she was fully mature. As a child, she lived in her father's house, where Muhammad would visit, often joining in with her play with dolls.

Another reason behind his marriages was to cement alliances. By marrying into the families of key allies and vanquished enemies, he laid the ground work for cooperation between Muslims of different tribes. None of the wives the Prophet married after Aisha compared with her in youth, intelligence or desire to learn, but all of them contributed in other ways to the stability of the Muslim nation. Such a man was a master, not slave, of his passions. His marriages point to farsighted planning and compassionate interest. If it was not for this compassion, he would have definitely have chosen, besides Aisha, others similar to her rather than widows or divorcees to be his wives!

History

In Arabian culture, marriage was 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. He noted that remarriage was difficult for widows in a society that emphasized virgin marriages. 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. Muhammad's first marriage lasted 25 years.

Objectives of Muhammad marriages

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According to Islamic belief, the main objectives of Muhammad's marriages can be divided into four.

1. Helping out the widows of his companions.
2. Creating family bonds between him and his companions (Muhammad married the daughters of Abu Bakr and Umar, whereas Uthman and Ali married his daughters. He therefore had family bonds with all the first four Caliphs).
3. Spreading the message by uniting different clans through marriage.
4. Increasing credibility and sources for conveying his private family life. If he only had one wife, then it would have been a tremendous responsibility on her to convey Muhammad's private acts of worship and family life, and people would try to discredit her to destroy the credibility of these practices. However, with multiple wives, there were a lot more sources to the knowledge, making it more difficult to discredit. Therefore, his marriages gave more women the opportunity to learn and teach the matters of his private life.

Muhammad's first marriage was at the age of 25 to the 40-year-old Khadijah. He was married to one woman until the age of 50, after which he is believed to have had multiple wives for the four reasons explained above. With the exception of Aisha, Muhammad only married widows and divorced women or captives.

Muhammad's marriages

Khadija bint Khuwaylid

At age 25, Muhammad wed his wealthy employer, the 40-year-old merchant Khadija. In another narration, it is reported that she was only 28 years old, given that she had four children with Muhammad after their marriage. This marriage, his first, would be both happy and monogamous; Muhammad would rely on Khadija 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 Khadija'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 Khadija. During their marriage, Khadija purchased the slave Zayd ibn Harithah, then adopted the young man as her son at Muhammad's request. According to Shia scholars Khadija was a virgin when she married Muhammad and she was not a widow. Abu Talib and Khadija passed away in the same year after living in Shaeb e Abi Talib with Muhammad. He declared the year as Aam ul Huzn ( year of sorrow).

Hijra (migration) to Medina

Sawda bint Zamʿa

Before he left for Medina, 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 disagreements in Muslim tradition whether Muhammad first married Sawda or Aisha. In one account, he married Sawda in Shawwal, when Sawda was about 55 years old, in the tenth year of Prophethood, after the death of Khadija. 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 Quran 4:128, others like Rashid Rida dispute this whole account as "poorly supported", or mursal.

Aisha bint Abu Bakr

Aisha was the daughter of Muhammad's close friend Abu Bakr. 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 (Khadija), the previous agreement regarding marriage of Aisha with ibn Mut'im was put aside by common consent.'

The majority of traditional sources state that Aisha was betrothed to Muhammad at the age of six or seven, but she stayed in her parents' home until the age of nine, or ten according to Ibn Hisham, when the marriage was consummated with Muhammad, then 53, in Medina. This timeline has been challenged by a number of scholars in modern times. Both Aisha and Sawda, his two wives, were given apartments adjoined to the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque.

Per Sunni belief, Aisha was extremely scholarly and inquisitive. Her contribution to the spread of Muhammad's message was extraordinary, and she served the Muslim community for 44 years after his death. She is also known for narrating 2210 hadith, not just on matters related to Muhammad's private life, but also on topics such as inheritance, pilgrimage, eschatology, among other subjects. She was highly regarded for her intellect and knowledge in various fields, including poetry and medicine, which received plenty of praise by early luminaries, such as the historian Al-Zuhri and her student Urwa ibn al-Zubayr.

Widows of the war with Mecca

Hafsa bint Umar and Zaynab bint Khuzayma

During the Muslim war with Mecca, many men were killed leaving behind widows and orphans. Hafsa bint Umar, daughter of Umar (‘Umar bin Al-Khattab), was widowed at battle of Badr when her husband Khunais ibn Hudhaifa was killed in action. Muhammad married her in 3 A.H./625 C.E. 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 less than eight months after her marriage.

Hind bint Abi Umayya (Umm Salama)

The death of Zaynab coincided with that of Abu Salamah, a devout Muslim, as a result of his wounds from the Battle of Uhud. 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.

Rayhana bint Zayd

In 626, Rayhana bint Zayd, was a Jewish woman enslaved along with others 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 concubine.

Internal dissension

After Muhammad's final battle against his Meccan enemies, he diverted his attention to stopping the Banu Mustaliq's raid on Medina. During this skirmish, Medinan dissidents, begrudging Muhammad's influence, attempted to attack him in the more sensitive areas of his life, including his marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh, and an incident in which Aisha left her camp to search for her lost necklace, and returned with a Companion of Muhammad.

Zaynab bint Jahsh

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Zaynab bint Jahsh was Muhammad's cousin, being the daughter of one of his father's sisters. In Medina Muhammad arranged the widowed Zaynab's marriage to his adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah. Caesar E. Farah states that Muhammad was determined to establish the legitimacy and right to equal treatment of the adopted. 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. Watt states that it is not clear why Zaynab was unwilling to marry Zayd as Muhammad esteemed him highly. He theorises that Zaynab, being an ambitious woman, was already hoping to marry Muhammad; or that she might have wanted to marry someone of whom Muhammad disapproved for political reasons. According to Maududi, after the Qur'anic verse 33:36 was revealed, Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd.

Zaynab's marriage was unharmonious. According to Watt, it is almost certain that she was working for marriage with Muhammad before the end of 626. "Zaynab had dressed in haste when she was told 'the Messenger of God is at the door.' She jumped up in haste and excited the admiration of the Messenger of God, so that he turned away murmuring something that could scarcely be understood. However, he did say overtly: 'Glory be to God the Almighty! Glory be to God, who causes the hearts to turn!'" Zaynab told Zayd about this, and he offered to divorce her, but Muhammad told him to keep her. The story laid much stress on Zaynab's perceived beauty. Nomani considers this story to be a rumor. 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 would have been subject to exaggeration in the course of transmission as the later Muslims liked to maintain that there was no celibacy and monkery in Islam. 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.

Muhammad, fearing public opinion, was initially reluctant to marry Zaynab. The marriage would seem incestuous to their contemporaries because she was the former wife of his adopted son, and adopted sons were considered the same as biological sons. 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. The Qur'an,33:37 however, indicated that this marriage was a duty imposed upon him by God. It implied that treating adopted sons as real sons was objectionable and that there should now be a complete break with the past. 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. An influential faction in Medina, called "Hypocrites" in the Islamic tradition, did indeed criticize the marriage as incestuous. Attempting to divide the Muslim community, they spread rumors as part of a strategy of attacking Muhammad through his wives. According to Ibn Kathir, the relevant Qur'anic 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 of surah Nur 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

Juwayriyya bint al-Harith

One of the captives from the skirmish with the Banu Mustaliq was Juwayriyya bint al-Harith, who was the daughter of the tribe's chieftain. 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. Upon being enslaved, Juwayriyya 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.

Safiyya bint Huyeiy Ibn Akhtab

Safiyya bint Huyayy was a noblewoman, the daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, chief of the Jewish tribe Banu Nadir, who was killed at the Battle of the Trench. She had been married first to the poet Sallam ibn Mishkam, who had divorced her, and second to Kenana ibn al-Rabi, a commander. In 628, at the Battle of Khaybar, Banu Nadir was defeated, her husband was executed and she was taken as a prisoner. Muhammad freed her from her captor Dihya and proposed marriage, which Safiyya accepted. According to Martin Lings, Muhammad had given Safiyyah the choice of returning to the defeated Banu Nadir, or becoming Muslim and marrying him, and Safiyyah opted for the latter choice.

According to a hadith, Muhammad's contemporaries believed that due to Safiyya's high status, it was only befitting that she be manumitted and married to Muhammad. Modern scholars believe that Muhammad married Safiyya as part of reconciliation with the Jewish tribe and as a gesture of goodwill. John L. Esposito states that the marriage may have been political or to cement alliances. Haykal opines that Muhammad's manumission of and marriage to Safiyaa was partly in order to alleviate her tragedy and partly to preserve their dignity, and compares these actions to previous conquerors who married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they had defeated. According to some, by marrying Safiyyah, Muhammad aimed at ending the enmity and hostility between Jews and Islam.

Muhammad convinced Safiyya to convert to Islam. According to Al-Bayhaqi, Safiyyah was initially angry at Muhammad as both her father and husband had been killed. Muhammad explained "Your father charged the Arabs against me and committed heinous acts." Eventually, Safiyyah got rid of her bitterness against Muhammad. According to Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, Safiyya came to appreciate the love and honor Muhammad gave her, and said, "I have never seen a good-natured person as the Messenger of Allah". Safiyyah remained loyal to Muhammad until he died.

According to Islamic tradition, Safiyya was beautiful, patient, intelligent, learned and gentle, and she respected Muhammad as "Allah's Messenger". Muslim scholars state she had many good moral qualities. She is described as a humble worshiper and a pious believer. Ibn Kathir said, "she was one of the best women in her worship, piousness, ascetism, devoutness, and charity". According to Ibn Sa'd, Safiyyah was very charitable and generous. She used to give out and spend whatever she had; she gave away a house that she had when she was still alive.

Upon entering Muhammad's household, Safiyya became friends with Aisha and Hafsa. Also, she offered gifts to Fatima. She gave some of Muhammad's other wives gifts from her jewels that she brought with her from Khaybar. However, some of 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 prophets.

Muhammad once went to hajj with all his wives. On the way Safiyya's camel knelt down, as it was the weakest in the caravan, and she started to weep. Muhammad came to her and wiped her tears with his dress and hands, but the more he asked her not to cry, the more she went on weeping. When Muhammad was terminally ill, Safiyya was profoundly upset. She said to him "I wish it was I who was suffering instead of you."

Ramla bint Abi Sufyan (Umm Habiba)

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 Ramla 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. Muhammad dispatched ‘Amr bin Omaiyah Ad-Damri with a letter to the Negus (king), asking him for Umm Habiba’s hand — that was in Muharram, in the seventh year of Al-Hijra.

Maria al-Qibtiyya

Maria al-Qibtiyya was an Egyptian Coptic Christian slave, sent as a gift to Muhammad from Muqawqis, a Byzantine official. and bore him a son Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, who died in infancy. Many sources, including Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya claim that she was only a concubine. She is also not mentioned in Ibn-Hisham's notes on Ibn-Ishaq's biography where he lists the wives of Muhammad.

Maymuna bint al-Harith

As part of the treaty of Hudaybiyah, Muhammad visited Mecca for the lesser pilgrimage. There Maymuna bint al-Harith proposed marriage to him. Muhammad accepted, and thus married Maymuna, the sister-in-law of Abbas, a longtime ally of his. By marrying her, Muhammad also established kinship ties with the banu Makhzum, his previous opponents. As the Meccans did not allow him to stay any longer, Muhammad left the city, taking Maymuna with him. Her original name was "Barra" but the Prophet called her "Maymuna", meaning the blessed, as his marriage to her had also marked the first time in seven years when he could enter his hometown Mecca.

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 wives after him at any time.

The extent of Muhammad's property at the time of his death is unclear. Although Qur'an clearly addresses issues of inheritance, Abu Bakr, the new leader of the Muslim ummah, refused to divide Muhammad's property among his widows and heirs, saying that he had heard Muhammad say:

We (Prophets) do not have any heirs; what we leave behind is (to be given in) charity.

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 Karbala in 680, dying the same year. The grave of the wives of Muhammed is located at al-Baqīʿ Cemetery, Medina.

Timeline of marriages

The vertical lines in the graph indicate, in chronological order, the start of prophethood, the Hijra, and the Battle of Badr.

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, "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.

See also

• Nikah mut‘ah
• Ahl al-Bayt
• Women in Islam
• Children of Muhammad

Notes

1. Aleem, Shamim (2007). "12. Mothers of Believers". Prophet Muhammad(s) and His Family. AuthorHouse. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-4343-2357-6.
2. Bennett, Clinton, ed. (1998). In Search of Muhammad (reprint ed.). A&C Black. p. 251. ISBN 9780304704019.
3. Fred James Hill; Nicholas Awde (2003). A History of the Islamic World (illustrated ed.). Hippocrene Books. p. 24. ISBN 9780781810159.
4. Jerome A. Winer (2013). Winer, Jerome A.; Anderson, James W. (eds.). The Annual of Psychoanalysis, V. 31: Psychoanalysis and History. Routledge. p. 216. ISBN 9781134911820.
5. David S. Powers (2011). Muhammad Is Not the Father of Any of Your Men: The Making of the Last Prophet. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 8. ISBN 9780812205572.
6. Amira Sonbol, Rise of Islam: 6th to 9th century, Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures
7. Watt (1956), p.287
8. Esposito (1998), pp. 16–8.
9. John Esposito. Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press. p.17-18.
10. F. E. Peters (2003), p.84
11. Anwar Al Awlaki, The Life of the Prophet Muhammad, the Makkan Period, CD 5
12. Ibn Ishaq. Mustadrak Al-Hakim. Vol. 3. p. 182.
13. Ibn Sa'd. Tabaqat al-Kubra (in Arabic). Vol. 8. أخبرنا هشام بن محمد بن السائب عن أبيه عن أبي صالح عن ابن عباس قال:كانت خديجة يوم تزوجها رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – ابنة ثمان وعشرين سنة
14. Abu ‘Abdullah Al-Hakim. al-Mustadrak (in Arabic). Vol. 3. عن محمد بن إسحاق، أن أبا طالب وخديجة بنت خويلد هلكا في عام واحد، وذلك قبل مهاجر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى المدينة بثلاث سنين، ودفنت خديجة بالحجون، ونزل في قبرها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وكان لها يوم تزوجها ثمان وعشرون سنة
15. Esposito (1998), p.18
16. Reeves (2003), p. 46
17. Paul Gwynne (23 Dec 2013). Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad: A Comparative Study. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118465493. According to Sunni Islam, Khadija bore Muhammad four daughters (Zaynab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Fatima) and two sons ('Abdallah and Qasim).
18. Muhammad al-Tijani in his The Shi'a: The Real Followers of the Sunnah on Al-Islam.org note 274
19. Muhammad Husayn Haykal. The Life of Muhammad: "From Marriage to Prophethood." Translated by Isma'il Razi A. al-Faruqi
20. ^ Watt,"Aisha bint Abu Bakr", Encyclopaedia of Islam Online
21. Al-Shati, Bint (December 2006). The wives of the Prophet. Matti Moosa (trans.), D. Nicholas Ranson. Gorgias Press LLC. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-59333-398-0.
22. ^ Vacca, V. (1995). "Sawda BT. Zamʿa B. Ḳayyis B. ʿAbd Shams". Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 9 (2nd ed.). Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 89–90. ISBN 90-04-10422-4.
23. ^ Wessels, Antonie (1972). A modern Arabic biography of Muḥammad: a critical study of Muḥammad Ḥusayn Haykal's Ḥayāt Muḥammad. Brill Archive. pp. 105–6. ISBN 978-90-04-03415-0.
24. Spellberg 1994, pp. 39–40 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSpellberg1994 (help)
25. Armstrong 1992, p. 157 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFArmstrong1992 (help)
26. Sahih al-Bukhari, 5:58:234, 5:58:236, 7:62:64, 7:62:65, 7:62:88, Sahih Muslim, 8:3309, 8:3310, 8:3311, 41:4915, Sunan Abu Dawood, 41:4917
27. al-Tabari 1987, p. 7 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFal-Tabari1987 (help), al-Tabari 1990, p. 131 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFal-Tabari1990 (help)
28. Al-Mustadrak by Al-Hakim, v3, page 169 and page 371
29. Nomani (1970), pg. 257-9
30. Aleem, Shamim (2007). Prophet Muhammad(s) and His Family: A Sociological Perspective. AuthorHouse. p. 130. ISBN 9781434323576.
31. Islamyat: a core text for students
32. ^ Sayeed, Asma (2013-08-06). Women and the Transmission of Religious Knowledge in Islam. Cambridge University Press. pp. 27–9. ISBN 9781107031586.
33. Nomani (1970), pg. 360
34. Watt(1956), pg.393
35. Watt(1956), pg.287
36. Lings (1983), p. 201
37. Lings (1983), p. 165
38. ^ Lings (1983), p. 206
39. Nomani (1970), pg. 345
40. Umm Salamah. Courtesy of ISL Software. University of Southern California.
41. al-Baghdadi, Ibn Sa'd. Tabaqat. vol VIII, pg. 92–3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)
42. Watt (1956), 330-1
43. Denise A. Spellberg, Aisha bint Abī Bakr, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
44. Watt (1974), p.156-159
45. Caesar E. Farah, Islam: Beliefs and Observances, p.69
46. ^ Freyer Stowasser (1996), p. 88, Oxford University Press
47. ^ Watt (1974), page 158.
48. Watt (1974), page 157-158.
49. Maududi, S. Abul A'la (1967). The Meaning of the Qur'an. Vol. 4. Islamic publications ltd. p. 108.
50. Fishbein, Michael (February 1997). The History Al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam. State University of New York Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-7914-3150-4. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
51. ^ Rodinson, page 207.
52. Nomani (1970). Sirat al-Nabi.
53. William Montgomery Watt (1974), p.233
54. Watt(1956), p.330-1
55. Watt, page 156.
56. ^ Freyer Stowasser (1996), p. 89
57. ^ Peterson (2007), page 169-71
58. D. A. Spellberg, Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: the Legacy of A'isha bint Abi Bakr, Columbia University Press, 1994, p. 40
59. Ramadan (2007), p. 121
60. Rodinson, page 196.
61. Lings (1983), pg. 241-2
62. Nomani, pg. 365-6
63. ^ Al-Shati', 1971, 171
64. Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). The Life of Muhammad, p. 464. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
65. Ahmad ibn Jabir al-Baladhuri, Kitab Futuh al-Buldan. Translated by Hitti, P. K. (1916). Origins of the Islamic State vol. 1 p. 41. New York: Columbia University.
66. V. Vacca, Safiyya bt. Huyayy b. Ak̲htab, Encyclopedia of Islam
67. Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume p. 510.
68. ^ Rodinson (1971), p. 254.
69. Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based On The Earliest Sources (George Allen & Unwin, 1983), p. 269
70. Volume 1, Book 8, Number 367: Narrated 'Abdul 'Aziz
71. Nomani(1970) p. 424.
72. Watt (1964) p. 195
73. John L. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, pp. 19-20
74. Muhammad Husayn Haykal, The Life of Muhammad (North American Trust Publications, 1976), p. 373
75. Al-Bayhaqi, Dala'il an-Nubuwwah, vol. 4, p. 230
76. Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, Musnad, vol. 13, p. 38, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.172)
77. Muhammad Husayn Haykal, The Life of Muhammad (North American Trust Publications, p. 374
78. ^ Safiyah Bint Huyeiy Ibn Akhtab, www.islamonline.com
79. Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah, vol. 8, p. 47, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.177
80. Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, vol. 8, p. 102, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.178
81. Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, vol.8, p.100, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.172
82. ^ Al-Shati', 1971, 178-181
83. Ahmad, vol.6, p. 337, Cited in Muhammad Fathi Mus'ad, The Wives of the Prophet Muhammad: Their Strives and Their Lives, p.176
84. Watt (1961), p. 195
85. Umm Habibah: Ramlah Bin Abi Sufyan. IslamOnline. Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
86. A. Guillaume (1955), p. 653
87. Exegesis (Tafsir) of Quran by ibn Kathir for Chapter 66, verses 1-5 of Quran
88. Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/103
89. Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, p. 792.
90. ^ Al-Shati', 1971, 222-224
91. Ramadan (2007), p. 1701
92. "The Book of Jihad and Expedition (Kitab Al-Jihad wa'l-Siyar)". USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts,. University of Southern California. pp. Chapter 16, Book 019, Number 4351. Retrieved 2007-10-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
93. Al-Shati', 1971, p. 110
94. ^ Al-Shati', 1971, p. 135
95. Numani, p. 259-60
96. Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:5:268: Narrated Qatada: 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."
97. Ramadan (2007), p. 168-9

References

Wives of Muhammad

• Al-Shati, Bint (December 2006). The wives of the Prophet. Matti Moosa (trans.), D. Nicholas Ranson. Gorgias Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-59333-398-0.

Women in Islam

• Freyer Stowasser, Barbara (1996). Women in the Qur'an, Traditions, and Interpretation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-511148-4.
• Mernissi, Fatima (originally published 1987 in French, 1991 english translation, Paperback 1993). The Veil and the Male Elite; A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam. Addison-Wesley (now Perseus Books). {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Khadduri, Majid (1978). "Marriage in Islamic Law: The Modernist Viewpoints". American Journal of Comparative Law. 26 (2). The American Society of Comparative Law: 213–218. doi:10.2307/839669. JSTOR 839669.

General

• Ramadan, Tariq (2007). In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-530880-8.
• Peters, Francis Edward (2003). Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11553-2.
• Peters, Francis Edward (2003b). The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11461-7. ASIN: B0012385Z6.
• Peterson, Daniel (2007). Muhammad, Prophet of God. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 0-8028-0754-2.
• Esposito, John (1998). Islam: The Straight Path. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511233-4.
• Guillaume, Alfred (1955). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-636033-1.
• Wessels, Antonie (1972). A modern Arabic biography of Muḥammad: a critical study of Muḥammad Ḥusayn Haykal's Ḥayāt Muḥammad. Brill Archive. ISBN 978-90-04-03415-0.
• Haykal, Muhammad Husayn (1976). The Life of Muhammad.
• Lings, Martin (1983). Muhammad: his life based on the earliest sources. Inner traditions international.
• al-Mubarakpuri, Safi ur Rahman (1979). Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum. Muslim World League.
• Nomani, Shibli (1970). Sirat Al-Nabi. Pakistan Historical Society.
• Reeves, Minou (2003). Muhammad in Europe: A Thousand Years of Western Myth-Making. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-7564-6.
• Rodinson, Maxime (1971). Muhammad. Allen Lane the Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1-86064-827-4.
• Watt, William Montgomery (1956). Muhammad at Medina. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-577286-5.
• Watt, William Montgomery (1974). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-881078-4.

v t e Wives of Muhammad
Khadija bint Khuwaylid (595–620) Sawdah bint Zam'ah (620–632) Aisha bint Abi Bakr (620–632) Hafsa bint Umar (625–632) Zaynab bint Khuzayma (626–627) Hind bint Abi Umayya (627–632) Zaynab bint Jahsh (627–632) Juwayriya bint al-Harith (628–632) Safiyya bint Huyayy (628–632) Ramla bint Abi Sufyan (629–632) Maymunah bint al-Harith (629–632) Rayhana bint Zayd (627–631) Maria bint Sham'ūn

• Islam and women
• Marriage in Islam
• Wives of Muhammad
• Life of Muhammad
• Lists of women
• Family trees
• Polygyny