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Muhammed's Multiplicity In Marriage - Religion - Nairaland

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Muhammed's Multiplicity In Marriage by nossycheek(f): 3:50pm On May 15, 2007
The Quran limits the number of wives that a Muslim can have to four:

If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice. S. 4:3

On at least two occasions Muhammad forced certain man who had more than four wives to divorce some of them:

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar
Ghaylan ibn Salamah ath-Thaqafi accepted Islam and that he had ten wives in the pre-Islamic period who accepted Islam along with him; so the Prophet (peace be upon him) told him to keep four and separate from the rest of them.
Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it. (Al-Tirmidhi, Number 945 taken from the Alim CD-ROM Version)

Narrated Al-Harith ibn Qays al-Asadi
I embraced Islam while I had eight wives. So I mentioned it to the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Select four of them. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 12, Number 2233)

Yet Muhammad failed to live up to his own standards since he had more than 4 wives and didn’t treat them all fairly:

O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the captives of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Makkah) with thee; and any believing woman who gives herself to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her;- this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large); We know what We have appointed for them as to their wives and the captives whom their right hands possess;- in order that there should be no difficulty for thee. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Thou mayest defer (the turn of) any of them that thou pleasest, and thou mayest receive any thou pleasest: and there is no blame on thee if thou invite one whose (turn) thou hadst set aside. This were nigher to the cooling of their eyes, the prevention of their grief, and their satisfaction - that of all of them - with that which thou hast to give them: and Allah knows (all) that is in your hearts: and Allah is All- Knowing, Most Forbearing. It is not lawful for thee (to marry more) women after this, nor to change them for (other) wives, even though their beauty attract thee, except any thy right hand should possess (as handmaidens): and Allah doth watch over all things. S. 33:50-52

The hadiths state:

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." I asked Anas, "Had the Prophet the strength for it?" Anas replied, "We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty (men)." And Sa'id said on the authority of Qatada that Anas had told him about nine wives only (not eleven). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 5, Number 268)

Narrated 'Ata:
We presented ourselves along with Ibn 'Abbas at the funeral procession of Maimuna at a place called Sarif. Ibn 'Abbas said, "This is the wife of the Prophet so when you lift her bier, do not Jerk it or shake it much, but walk smoothly because the Prophet had NINE WIVES and he used to observe the night turns with eight of them, AND FOR ONE OF THEM THERE WAS NO NIGHT TURN." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 5)

Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet used to pass by (have sexual relation with) all his wives in one night, and at that time he had NINE wives. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 142)

One modern Muslim biographer of Muhammad provides the names of his wives and concubines:

Those were the eleven women that the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] had married and consummated marriage with them. He outlived two of them — Khadijah and Zainab, the Umm Al-Masakeen. Whereas the other nine wives outlived him.

The two wives that he did not consummate marriage with were, one from Bani Kilab and the other from Kindah and this was the one called Al-Jauniyah.

Besides these, he had two concubines. The first was Mariyah, the Coptic (an Egyptian Christian), a present gift from Al-Muqauqis, vicegerent of Egypt — she gave birth to his son Ibrâhim, who died in Madinah while still a little child, on the 28th or 29th of Shawwal in the year 10 A.H., i.e. 27th January, 632 A.D. The second one was Raihanah bint Zaid An-Nadriyah or Quraziyah, a captive from Bani Quraiza. Some people say she was one of his wives. However, Ibn Al-Qaiyim gives more weight to the first version. Abu ‘Ubaidah spoke of two more concubines, Jameelah, a captive, and another one, a bondwoman granted to him by Zainab bint Jahsh. [Za'd Al-Ma'ad 1/29] (Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (THE SEALED NECTAR) Biography of the Noble Prophet, Saif-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri [Maktaba Dar-us-Salam Publishers & Distributors, First Edition 1995], "The Prophetic Household", pp. 483-485; online source)

So how come the laws were meant only for the followers and not for the "prophet"?
Re: Muhammed's Multiplicity In Marriage by seyibrown(f): 3:19pm On Nov 17, 2010
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Re: Muhammed's Multiplicity In Marriage by firebrand: 2:25pm On Nov 18, 2010
So a prophet that suppose to be an oracle of God still flirts around with concubines.

A man of God is expected to lay less emphasy on intimacy with women for spiritual elevation. How come a prophet sleeps with as much as 8, 9 women in a night. That must be a prophet of women affairs.
Re: Muhammed's Multiplicity In Marriage by LagosShia: 7:41pm On Nov 18, 2010
there are only two points i find necessary to explain (maybe they are genuinely misunderstood):

1.) unlike the bible,in islam having a "concubine" is not allowed.therefore all the women the Prophet had,were his legitimate wives.in the bible you'd find men of God with concubines.one example is Keturah,who is refered to as the "concubine" of Abraham (auozubillah!).in islam,the term "concubine" is not acceptable because it is a civilized term for a willing *p*rostitue.

2.) the Prophet had one than the limit of 4 wives at a time because marriage was one of the means the Prophet used to unite tribes with himself,especially those ones whose members were defeated and killed by the muslims.the marriages of the Prophet after a thorough examination was not for pleasure seeking.
as for some of the nonsense hadiths posted from "sahih bukhari",their statements do not deserve a reply as they are outright fabrications,fabricated by men of low morals against the Prophet to justify their own state.


you can read about the marriages of the prophets and a reply to the accusations labelled at him,here:

"The Concept of Polygamy and the Prophet's Marriages" by Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi:


http://www.al-islam.org/polygamy-marriages-prophet/
Re: Muhammed's Multiplicity In Marriage by LagosShia: 7:49pm On Nov 18, 2010
excerptsfrom the book whose link is given above,"the concept of polygamy and the prophet's marriages":


Part 5

The Prophet’s Marriages
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



One of the examples of Islam-bashing that we see on the TV and the internet these days is the one liner statement like: “Muhammad was a womanizer; he had nine wives.” For Muslims who have studied the books of the Orientalists and the Crusade-minded missionaries, such statements are not new. It is the same old wine packaged with a new label!



Study the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and you will see that the Prophet was a man of highest character even long before he started preaching Islam.



At the age of twenty-five, Prophet Muhammad married a famous and a highly respected lady of Mecca, by the name of Khadija bint Khuwaylid, who was older than him in age.



(According to the popular opinion, she was 15 years older than the Prophet, but based on further research into this matter, we can say that she was only two years older than the Prophet).[7]





The important thing is that he remained married to her for twenty-five years until she passed away in Mecca. Two years after her death, the Prophet migrated from Mecca to Medina where he founded the first Islamic society.



So for the first 50 years of his life, the Prophet had only one wife, Lady Khadīja, whom he loved dearly and who was one of the strongest pillars of support in promoting his cause. During the last 13 years of his life, he married other wives.





Prophet Muhammad:

From birth to age 25: single.
From age 25 to age 50: married to one wife, Khadija.
From age 50 to age 63: married ten wives.




Notes:

[7] Ibn Kathīr in al-Bidãyah wa an-Nihãyah, vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar Ihyã’ Turathi ’l-‘Arabi, 1408) p. 360 as well as in his as-Sīrah an-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1 (Beirut: Dar al-Ma‘rifa, 1396) p. 265 states that Khadījah was twenty five years old at the time of her marriage to the Prophet of Islam, while ‘Ali bin ‘Isa al-Irbilī in Kashfu ’l-Ghumma, vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar al-Adwã’, 1985) p. 133 and Ibn al-‘Imãd al-Hanbali in Shadharãtu ’dh-Dhahab, vol. 1, p. 14 (Egyptian edition) say that she was twenty-eight years old at that time. Ahmad al-Bulãdhurī and Abu ’l-Qãsim al-Kufī in their books as well as Sayyid al-Murtada in ash-Shãfī and Abu Ja‘far in at-Talkhīs say that at the time of her marriage to the Prophet, Khadījah was a virgin; this is further collaborated by the report in al-Anwãr wa al-Bida‘ that Ruqayya and Zaynab were the daughters of Hãlah, the sister of Khadījah. See Manãqib Ãl-I Abi Tãlib, vol. 1, p. 159. Those interested in studying more on the question whether Ruqayya, Zaynab, and Umm Kulthûm were real daughters or adopted daughters of the Prophet, see Sayyid Ja‘far Murtaza al-‘Ãmili, “Banãtu ’n-Nabí am Rabã’ibuhu?” in the quarterly Turãthunã (Qum: Mu’assasatu Ãli ’Bayt, 1413) nos. 30-31.
Re: Muhammed's Multiplicity In Marriage by LagosShia: 7:58pm On Nov 18, 2010
Part 6

The Other Wives

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



During the last thirteen years of his life, the Prophet married ten wives.This has become an easy target for anti-Muslim writers and speakers who would like to tarnish the image of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and portray him as someone who was driven by lust and passion.



If Prophet Muhammad was a man of lust, then why did he not marry any other woman when he was young and wealthy and lived in a society that accepted unlimited polygamous relationships? Why did he not marry any other woman as long as Lady Khadija was alive even though it was the prime time of his youth?



And so the question comes, what was the rationale behind the other marriages of the Prophet during the last thirteen years of his life.



All the marriages of the Prophet, other than that with Lady Khadija, had a good political or religious rationale. We may divide these marriages into four categories, and some marriages had double purpose or reasons.







FIRST: Providing Protection & Dignity to Widows So That Others May Follow That Example





1. Lady Sawdah bint Zam‘ah: a Muslim lady whose husband had died in Abyssinia. When she returned to Mecca, she was a widow; and her father and brother were not only infidels but also enemies of Islam. She could not seek shelter with them; they were so much opposed to Islam that they could even torture her to death.



The Prophet, now a widower himself, married Sawdah in order to provide protection to her as well as to forge important link of kinship with his opponents.



2. Lady Zaynab bint Khuzaymah: a widow for the second time when her second husband ‘Abdullah bin Jahsh was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. She was known for her generosity, and was famous as “Ummul masãkīn, mother of the poor”. Now she herself faced hard times. The Prophet wanted to maintain her prestige, and so he married her in the 3rd year AH. She died less than a year after this marriage.



3. Lady Umm Salamah. She was first married to ‘Abdullah Abu Salamah. She migrated to Abyssinia with her husband. She was known for her piety and wisdom. When she became a widow and had orphan children, the Prophet married her in the 4th year A.H. She was also the sister of the chief of a powerful Meccan tribe of Makhzum. This marriage had the element of forging the link of kinship with his opponents in Mecca.







Second: To Set the Slaves Free





4. Lady Juwayriyyah bint al-Hãrith. After the Battle of Banu Mustaliq in the 5th year AH, the Muslims took two hundred families of that tribe in slavery. Juwayriyyah, the daughter of the chief of that tribe, had become a widow. The Prophet set her free and married her.



Why? The Muslims, who had made the two hundred families of Banu Mustaliq their slaves, realized that by Juwayriyyah’s marriage to the Prophet, all these two hundred families were now related to the Prophet by marriage. Out of courtesy to the Prophet, the Muslims set them free. Impressed by this nobility, the whole tribe of Banu Mustaliq became Muslim. By this marriage, the Prophet was able to transform a hostile tribe into an ally.







Third: To Forge Friendly Relations for Sake of Islam





5. Lady ‘Ãisha bint Abi Bakr. Although the betrothal was done in Mecca, she came into the household of the Prophet after his migration to Medina. She was the youngest wife of the Prophet.[8]



This marriage sealed the alliance with Abu Bakr so that he would be on the side of Muslims during the confrontation against the idol-worshippers of Mecca.



6. Lady Hafsah bint ‘Umar ibn al-Khattãb. She became a widow after her husband was killed in the Battle of Badr. The Prophet married her in the 4th year AH. This marriage was also done to seal the Prophet’s alliance with ‘Umar.



7. Lady Umm Habibah, daughter of Abu Sufyan. She was married to ‘Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh and had migrated to Abyssinia. He became a Christian; while she continued the Islamic faith and separated from him. Her father, Abu Sufyan, was a bitter enemy of Islam and planned battles after battles against Muslims. When she returned to Medina, the Prophet married her in order to provide protection for her and also to soften the heart of Abu Sufyan. However, that marriage did not have the desired effect on Abu Sufyan.



8. Lady Safiyyah bint Huyaiy ibn Akhtab. She was the daughter of the chief of Banu Nadhir, a Jewish tribe of Khaybar. She became a widow when her husband was killed in the Battle of Khaybar. She was taken as a captive by the Muslim forces. The Prophet married her in the 7th year AH to maintain her noble status and also to establish marriage ties with her Jewish tribe.





Fourth: The Desire to be Related to the Prophet



9. Lady Maymunah bint al-Hãrith al-Hilaliyyah. Her second husband died in 7 AH. She came to the Prophet and “gifted” herself to him if he would accept her. She only desired the honour of being called “the wife of the Prophet”. The Prophet (based on verse 33:50 of the Qur’ãn) accepted her as his wife.





Fifth: To Break a Taboo & Show an Example



10. Lady Zaynab bint Jahsh. She was a cousin of the Prophet; and she was a widow and a divorcee. The circumstance of her marriage to the Prophet was very unusual.



Islam had come to end all the material and social criterion of distinction. Every Muslim was equal to the other. While preaching this equality, the Prophet, as an example, gave his three female relatives in marriage to persons of so-called low birth or status. Among those three relatives was Zaynab bint Jahsh. She was given in marriage to Zayd son of Hãritha, an Arab slave whom the Prophet had freed and then adopted as a son. After that adoption, Zayd was being called, Zayd bin Muhammad – Zayd the son of Muhammad.



The marriage of Zaynab to Zayd soon turned sour. Zaynab could not overcome the fact she was of nobler descent than her husband. No matter how much the Prophet counseled them, Zaynab’s attitude did not change. So finally Zayd divorced her. At the same time, verses 4 and 5 of Chapter 33 (Surah al-Ahzaab) were revealed which declared that adoption was not recognized in Islam[9].



After these verses, the people started calling Zayd by his real father’s name: Zayd bin Hãritha.



But in order to fully abolish the system of adoption, Almighty God ordered the Prophet to marry Zaynab, the divorcee of Zayd. In the pre-Islamic society of Arabia, an adopted son was considered to be like a real son: with the same rights and duties: for example, an adopted son’s wife was considered like a real daughter-in-law with whom marriage was forbidden forever. And so to break that taboo, the Prophet married Zaynab, the divorcee of his former adopted son.



Both the marriages of Zaynab bint Jahsh served to enforce two important social principles of Islam: First, equality among Muslims irrespective of their ethnic or social distinctions; and second, it demonstrated the fact that a fostering or adoptive relationship was not a tie of blood and should not be a barrier in marriage.





Notes: (AISHA WAS NOT 9 YEARS OLD OR A CHILD WHEN THE PROPHET MARRIED HER)

[8] The popular version of ‘Ãisha’s youth age has been exploited by the anti-Islamic groups to attack the Prophet “for marrying a child”. The fact of the matter is that Lady ‘Ãisha was not a child when she was married in 2 AH to the Prophet. At-Tabari, the famous Muslim historian, writes that Abu Bakr’s first two wives and their children were all born in the pre-Islamic era. (Ta’rīkh at-Tabari, vol. 2 [Beirut: al-A‘lami, n.d.] p. 616.) Based on this, even if she was born a year before the commencement of Islam, ‘Ãisha would be 15 or 16 years old at the time of her marriage to the Prophet – an age in which marriage is common in most cultures. Ibn Kathīr, in his al-Bidãyah wa ’n-Nihãyah (vol. 8, p. 381) states that Asmã’ bint Abu Bakr, the sister of ‘Ãisha, was ten years older than ‘Ãisha. He also reports that Asmã’ died in the year 73 AH at the age of 100. Based on this calculation, ‘Ãisha was 18 or 19 years old at the time of her marriage.

[9] For more details on the Islamic perspective, see my article, “Adoption in Islam,” which is available on-line at www.jaffari.org (Section: Resources/ Resident Alim) and at www.al-islam.org
Re: Muhammed's Multiplicity In Marriage by vedaxcool(m): 8:32am On Nov 19, 2010
3- Certain things were specific for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) only: Let it be clear that this was not the only thing peculiar to the Holy Prophet, infact there were many. For instance, as we Muslims believe that Prayers at Late Night (Tahajjud) is a great deed of piety, still for us it‟s not obligatory. But it was obligatory for the Holy Prophet (PBUH). And it is really demanding to get out of bed and offer Late Night (Tahajjud) prayers and that too regularly not missing without a genuine reason. This is only to refute the notion that Holy Prophet (PBUH)-God forbid!- himself created this exception for himself.
Holy Prophet (PBUH) didn't marry out of his physical desires! He did not marry more women out of his physical desires for he had only one wife even till the age of 54. Till 50 he had only one wife Sayyidah Khadija who was 15 years elder to him and was twice widowed before. And for next 4 years his only wife was Sayyida Sawda, also an aged lady. All, but one, of his wives were either widows or divorced.

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