The life of the Prophet may be divided into four periods so far as his domestic life is concerned. Up to twenty-five he led a celibate life; from twenty-five to fifty-four he lived in a married state with one wife; from fifty-four to sixty he contracted several marriages; and lastly, from sixty till his death he did not contract any new marriage. The most important period to determine whether the Prophet was a slave to his passions is the period of celibacy. If he had not been a complete master of his passions, he could not have led an exceptionally chaste and pure life, which won him the title of al-Amin, to the age of twenty-five in a hot country like Arabia where development must necessarily take place early and passions are generally stronger. His worst enemies could not point to a single blot on his character when challenged later. According to Muir, all authorities agree “in ascribing to the youth of Muhammad a modesty of deportment and purity of manners rare among the people of Makka”.

Now, youth is the time when passions run riot, and the man who is able to control his passions in youth, and that in celibacy, cannot possibly be conceived as falling a prey to lust in his old age. Thus the first period of his life, his celibacy up to twenty-five years of age, is conclusive proof that the could never fall a prey to his passions. It should be noted in this connection that in Arab society at the time there was no moral sanction against an immoral life, so that it cannot be said that he was kept back from an evil course by the moral force of society. Profligacy, on the other hand, was the order of the day; and it was among people who prided themselves on loose sexual relations that the Prophet led a life of transcendent purity, and therefore all the more credit is due to his purity of character.

Take now the next period, the period of a monogamous married life. When twenty-five years of age, Muhammad married a widow, Khadija, fifteen years his senior, and led a life of the utmost devotion with her till she died, when he was fifty years of age. Polygamy was the rule in Arabia at the time; and the wife had not cause of complaint, nor did she ever grumble, if the husband brought in a second or third wife. The Prophet belonged to the noblest family of the Quraish and his marriage with Khadija had enriched him; and if he had chosen to marry another wife, it would have been quite easy for him. But he led a monogamous life of the utmost devotion to his wife during all that time. When Khadija died, he married a very elderly lady, Sauda, whose only recommendation for the honour was that she was the widow of a faithful companion of his who had to flee to Abyssinia from the persecution of the Quraish. The main part of his life, from twenty-five to fifty-four, was thus an example for his followers that monogamy was the rule in married life.

Now comes the third period. Of all his wives A’isha was the only one whom he married as a virgin. Her father, Abu Bakr, the closest friend of the Prophet had offered her to him when he suffered the great bereavement of losing both his wife and his uncle Abu Talib. The girl was one possessing exceptional qualities, and both Abu Bakr and the Prophet saw in her the great woman of the future who was best suited to perform the duties of the wife of a teacher who was to be a perfect exemplar for mankind. So the Prophet accepted her; but apparently she had not yet reached the age of puberty, and her marriage was consummated towards the close of the second year of the Flight.

Footnote on age of A’isha:

A great misconception prevails as to the age at which A’isha was taken in marriage by the Prophet. Ibn Sa‘d has stated in the Tabaqat that when Abu Bakr was approached on behalf of the Holy Prophet, he replied that the girl had already been betrothed to Jubair, and that he would have to settle the matter first with him. This shows that A’isha must have been approaching majority at the time. Again, the Isaba, speaking of the Prophet’s daughter Fatima, says that she was born five years before the Call and was about five years older than A’isha. This shows that A’isha must have been about ten years at the time of her betrothal to the Prophet, and not six years as she is generally supposed to be. This is further borne out by the fact that A’isha herself is reported to have stated that when the chapter entitled The Moon (fifty-fourth chapter) was revealed, she was a girl playing about and remembered certain verses then revealed. Now the fifty-fourth chapter was undoubtedly revealed before the sixth year of the Call. All these considerations point to but one conclusion, viz., that A’isha could not have been less than ten years of age at the time of her nikah, which was virtually only a betrothal. And there is one report in the Tabaqat that A’isha was nine years of age at the time of nikah. Again it is a fact admitted on all hands that the nikah of A’isha took place in the tenth year of the Call in the month of Shawwal, while there is also preponderance of evidence as to the consummation of her marriage taking place in the second year of Hijra in the same month, which shows that full five years had elapsed between the nikah and the consummation. Hence there is not the least doubt that A’isha was at least nine or ten years of age at the time of betrothal, and fourteen or fifteen years at the time of marriage.

In the second year of the Flight began the series of battles with the Quraish and the other Arab tribes, which appreciably reduced the number of males, the bread-winners of the family. These battles continued up to the eighth year of the Flight, and it was during this time that the Prophet contracted all the marriages which appear objectionable to the modern mind, but which neither friend nor foe looked upon with disapprobation at the time. A Christian writer says:

It would be remembered, however, that most of Muhammad’s marriages may be explained at least as much by his pity for the forlorn condition of the persons concerned, as by other motives. They were almost all of them widows who were not remarkable either for their beauty or their wealth, but quite the reverse.

Let us look the facts straight in the face. The Prophet had now in his house a young and beautiful wife in A’isha. None of the other wives whom he married later compared with her either in youth or beauty. Surely then it was not attraction for beauty that led to these marriages. We have already seen that from his youth till his old age the Prophet remained a complete master of his passions. The man who could live in celibacy up to twenty-five and still have the reputation of a spotless character, who up to fifty-four lived with a single wife and this notwithstanding the fact that polygamy was more the rule than the exception at the time and that a polygamous connection was not in the least objectionable — such a man could not be said to have changed all of a sudden after fifty-five when old age generally soothes the passions even of those who cannot control their passions in youth. No other motive than compassion for the ladies who were given this honour can be attached to these marriages. If there had been any less honourable motive, his choice would have fallen on others than widows, and under the Arab custom a man in his position could have plenty of youthful virgins.

I have said that change for the worse could not come over a man who had led an undoubtedly spotless life until he reached fifty-five. If the beauty of women could not excite his passions in youth and lead him away from the path of rectitude, how could it lead him away in old age? And what were the circumstances in which he lived in Madina during these years? It was not a life of ease and luxury that he was leading at the time; it was a life of hardness, because it was at this very time that he had to carry on a life-or-death struggle with the enemies of Islam. Huge armies came to crush him and the small band of Muslims at Madina. The whole of Arabia was aflame against him. He was not secure for a minute. Battles had to be fought in quick succession. Expeditions had to be arranged and sent. “Prophet of God! We are tired of being in arms day and night,” his companions would say to him; and he had to console them by telling them that the time would come when a traveller would be able to go from one end of the country to the other without having any arms. The Jews and the Christians were his enemies along with the idolaters. His best friends were falling sometimes in battle and sometimes by treachery. Is it possible for a man to lead a life of ease and luxury under such circumstances? Even if a man had the mind to lead a life of self-indulgence, which the Prophet according to all available evidence had not, this was not the opportune time for it. In such circumstances of warfare, with enemies within Madina and enemies all around it, with the number of Muslims being insignificantly small in comparison with the enemy, with news of assaults by the overwhelming numbers on all sides, even a profligate’s life would be changed, to say nothing of a man of avowed purity of character, which no temptation could shake, turning into a profligate.

If the Prophet’s days during this period were passed so strenuously, how did he pass the nights? He had a number of lawful wives, but he did not spend his nights in enjoyment with them. There is clearest evidence on record in the Holy Quran as well as Hadith that he passed half, and sometimes even two-thirds, of the night in prayers and in reciting the Holy Quran while standing in prayer. He would stand so long that his feet would get swollen. Could such a man be said to be taking wives for self-indulgence when the minutest details of his life as available to show us conclusively that it was a strenuous life furthest away from indulgence of any kind?

Let us now consider another point. Was any change really witnessed in the latter part of his life when he became the ruler of a state?


When the Prophet actually became the ruler of a state, the furniture of his house was composed of a coarse matting of palm leaves for his bed and an earthen jug for water. Some nights he would go without food. For days no fire would be lighted in his house to prepare food, the whole family living on mere dates. There was no lack of means to live a life of ease and comfort. The public treasury was at his disposal. The well-to-do among his followers, who did not shrink from sacrificing their lives for his sake, would have been only too glad to provide him with every comfort of life, should he choose to avail himself of it. But worldly things carried little weight in his estimation. No mundane craving could ever prevail over him, neither in times of indigence nor of plenty. Just as he spurned wealth, power and beauty which the Quraish offered him when he was yet in a state of utmost helplessness, so did he remain indifferent to them when God granted him all these things out of His grace.

Not only did he himself live the simple life of a labourer, but he did not even allow wealth to have any attraction for his wives. Shortly after their immigration into Madina, the condition of the Muslims had changed, and they carried on a prosperous trade. Their conquests, later on, went further to add to the comforts of life which the Muslims enjoyed. A quite human desire crept into the hearts of the Prophet’s wives that, like other Muslim families, they too should avail themselves of their share of comforts. Accordingly, they approached the Prophet in a body to prevail upon him to allow them their legitimate share of worldly comforts. Thereupon came the Divine injunction:

“O Prophet ! Say to thy wives, If you desire this world's life and its ornature, come, I will give you a provision and allow you to depart a goodly departing. And if you desire Allah and His Messenger and the latter abode, then surely Allah has prepared for the doers of good among you a mighty reward.” [33:28,29]

Thus they were offered two alternatives. They might either have worldly finery, or remain in the Prophet’s household Should they decide to have the former, they would have plenty of what they wanted, but would forthwith forfeit the honour of being the Prophet’s wives. Is this the reply of a sensual man? Such a man would have done everything to satisfy the whim of the objects of his affection. Nay, he would himself have desired that his wives should wear the most beautiful dress and live in comfort. No doubt the Prophet cherished great love for his wives. He had immense regard for the rights of women and was the champion of their cause. But when his wives came to him with what was apparently a quite legitimate demand to have more finery and ornaments, they were coldly told that if they would have these things they were not fit to live in the Prophet’s house. This shows beyond a shadow of doubt how free the Prophet’s mind was of all base and sensual thoughts. He was prepared to divorce all his wives rather than yield to what he regarded as unworthy of his wives — an inclination towards worldly things. It shows conclusively that the object of his marriages was anything but self-indulgence.

Let us consider once more the historical facts which led the Prophet to take a number of wives within the short space of five years from the third year of Hijra to the seventh, while before that he passed nearly thirty years of his life in a monogamous state. This period coincides exactly with the period during which incessant war was carried on between the Muslims and the non-Muslims. The circle of Muslim brotherhood was at the time very narrow. The perpetual state of war created disparity between the male and the female elements of society. Husbands having fallen on the field of battle, their widows had to be provided for. But bread and butter was not the only provision needed in such cases. intimacy-inclination is implanted in human nature, and the statesman who neglects the intimacy requirements leads society to moral corruption, ending ultimately in the ruin of the whole nation. A reformer with whom morals were all in all could not content himself with making provision merely for the maintenance of the widows. The Prophet was anxious for their chastity to a far greater extent than their physical needs. It became therefore necessary allow polygamy. This is the reason that he himself took so many women for his wives during the period when war was raging. Nearly all his wives were widows. If self-indulgence were the motive, the choice would not have fallen on widows. It would have been an enviable privilege for any Muslim to be the father-in-law of the Prophet. But the object was a noble one — the protection of the widows of his friends. In polygamy alone lay the safety of the Muslim society.

That he was peace-loving by nature is shown by the clear injunctions relating to peace in the Holy Quran:

“And if they incline to peace, do thou also incline to it and trust in Allah , And if they intend to deceive thee, then surely Allah is sufficient for thee.” [8:61,62]

The Prophet’s acceptance of the truce of Hudaibiya, though its conditions were humiliating for the Muslims, who were ready to lay down their lives one and all rather than accept those terms, is also a clear proof of his peace-loving nature. But when duty called him to take the field to save his community, he did not hesitate to take up the sword against an overwhelming majority. He acted as a sagacious general in all fields of battle and behaved like a brave soldier when opportunity demanded. He knew how to disperse an enemy in time before it had gained sufficient strength to deal a severe blow at the Muslims. And once, in the battle of Hunain, when his army was in flight owing to the severe onslaught of the enemy’s archers, he was all alone advancing towards the enemy forces, till his soldiers rallied round him. By disposition he had no inclination for war, yet circumstances arose which dragged him into the field of battle, and he then displayed the wisdom of a general and the bravery of a soldier. So by disposition he was not inclined to polygamy, living a celibate life of unexampled purity up to twenty-five years of age and a married life of a monogamous husband up to fifty-four, but when duty called him to take more women under his shelter, he answered the call of duty.

na only me the spambot dey stalk for this place?

السلام عليكم
it is quite difficult to read long post ,  it  is better to divide it into small parts!

this is a very reasonable post, but its too long. if u can compress it a bit,

u guys need to read

its quite lengthy but very educative. i hardly read long articles like this but this is quite exceptional. Jazakalllahi wa khairan.

nice one, everyone need to read this

السلام عليكم
it is quite difficult to read long post , it is better to divide it into small parts!

Good.

did mohammed marry his daughter inlaw or not? yes or no? yes
can any of you do so? no insults to you my brothers. just two questions

Kgdavid:

did mohammed marry his daughter inlaw or not? yes or no? yes
can any of you do so? no insults to you my brothers. just two questions

Read d post nd get ur answer

alimat2,

thank you for answering this question.

Kgdavid:

did mohammed marry his daughter inlaw or not? yes or no? yes
can any of you do so? no insults to you my brothers. just two questions

u ask a question and u answered it ur self,

what a creature,

where in the post is the answer? such a lenghty article about the Prophets marital life which only mentions three of the wives while there were eleven or thirteen!

@bilms are you educated? never heard of rhetorical questions?

do you deny that the Prophet married his son's daughter who happened to be his own cousin?

lol



i will only give u an advice,

seek for forgiveness from your lORD.

because d prophet ( peace be Upon him) said most people wouldn't have entered hell if not for there mouth,

what u wrote here is what u will say if asked,

seek for forgiveness and may God forgive u

Ameen

pls i don't need forgiveness i need an answer, when did it become a sin to ask a question?

Kgdavid:

where in the post is the answer? such a lenghty article about the Prophets marital life which only mentions three of the wives while there were eleven or thirteen!

@bilms are you educated? never heard of rhetorical questions?

do you deny that the Prophet married his son's daughter who happened to be his own cousin?

you're the one making an illiterate of yourself
do you even know what a rhetorical question is? A QUESTION WHERE NO ANSWER IS EXPECTED

Kgdavid:

did mohammed marry his daughter inlaw or not? yes or no? yes
can any of you do so? no insults to you my brothers. just two questions

you asked a "rhetorical" question and then answered it yourself. does that make any sense to you?
any questions concerning the Prophet's marriages are explained in the article. if you cant read it then bounce.

@ dominique i really don't want to get into grammar here but if i ask a question and answer it myself does it not imply that no answer is expected from you? but lets assume that i'm an illiterate if it makes you happy. would you kindly mind highlighting the part of the write up that answers my question? i have read it and found no answer. please help me to find the answer. better still where is the original poster? guess ur the one i need to talk to here

if you read the article and didn't find what you were looking for. . . then the answer is NO.
the prophet never married his cousin.

well ur wrong there. Zaynab was the prophet Mohammed's first cousin. please stop referring to this "article" as if it is complete fact. it is very lenghty yet it is very scanty(paradox huh?). not only was she his cousin but she married his slave turned adopted son(Zayd) and then re-married the prophet Mohammed while Zayd was still alive. now i know there were a lot of weird customs back in those days but a prophet who, it is said, was God's last messenger should have known better. or is there something i'm missing?

Kgdavid:

well your wrong there. Zaynab was the prophet Mohammed's first cousin. please stop referring to this "article" as if it is complete fact. it is very lenghty yet it is very scanty(paradox huh?). not only was she his cousin but she married his slave turned adopted son(Zayd) and then re-married the prophet Mohammed while Zayd was still alive. now i know there were a lot of weird customs back in those days but a prophet who, it is said, was God's last messenger should have known better. or is there something i'm missing?

when i made my post, i said u can ask question politely. but did u ask ur question politely?

well to ur question,

all the names mentioned in thi post are the name of the wives the propeht married for him self,

Khadijat his first five, he married her when we was 25 and she died when he was 54.

after her death, he married another elderly lady whose name is saura,

Now comes the third period. Of all his wives A’isha was the only one whom he married as a virgin. Her father, Abu Bakr, the closest friend of the Prophet had offered her to him when he suffered the great bereavement of losing both his wife and his uncle Abu Talib. The girl was one possessing exceptional qualities, and both Abu Bakr and the Prophet saw in her the great woman of the future who was best suited to perform the duties of the wife of a teacher who was to be a perfect exemplar for mankind. So the Prophet accepted her; but apparently she had not yet reached the age of puberty, and her marriage was consummated towards the close of the second year of the Flight.

apart from this three mentioned It would be remembered, however, that Muhammad’s marriages may be explained at least as much by his pity for the forlorn condition of the persons concerned, as by other motives. They were almost all of them widows who were not remarkable either for their beauty or their wealth, but quite the reverse.


he pity them leaving alone, instead he embrace and cater for them with there consent,

he has nothin to gain from them.

Salam,

I just see this thread. Very educative, well-composed but lengthy as some have already pointed out. You really are an "expert". Keep it up.

experts i don't see how i was disrespectful in the asking of my questions but i'm sorry u were offended. i'm less concerned with the other wives than with the particularly contentious marriage of Zaynab. Two, with regards to Aisha,by todays standards, you would be prosecuted for having sexual relations with a girl of14(more popularly believed to have been ten but never mind). how do you explain these irregularities in the prophet's life?

plz kindly state any irregularity and it will be explained

@kgdavid
please point out where it was stated in the article that the Prophet has relations with her.

even outside d article

r u guys reading anything i say?? and why is there this assumption that just because the article is long it is sacrosant? plz someone fully explain the marriage to Zaynab

dominique:

@kgdavid
please point out where it was stated in the article that the Prophet has relations with her.

wher in the article is it stated that he had sexual relations with any of the other wives? does this mean this didn't happen? wat kind of relations did he then have with her??

@kgdavid

Answer to your Question

Zainab was the Prophet's cousin. The Prophet had adopted Zaid, a freed slave, and when he attained the age of marriage, he facilitated Zaid's marriage to his cousin Zainab. The marriage wasn't a happy one. Perhaps it was due to Zaid's former slave-status that made the marriage unhappy. Zaid sought permission several times from the Prophet to end the marriage. Afterall, he was the one that facilitated it. Eventually, Zaid divorced Zainab. The Prophet married Zainab after that.

There's no irregularity. The marriages that are forbidden in Islam are known. In Islam "Adoption" doesn't establish a blood relation and doesn't make a person a father or a son in the real sense to another person. This used to be the opinion of the Arabs before Islam.

As far as Islamic Law is concerned, "Adoption" is just an "artifact" where someone takes another person under his care and treats him as he would treat his biological offspring. It doesn't create any blood relation where there was none pre-existing.

The only "adoption" that bars a marriage is "fostering".

As it stands, Zaid would never have married Zainab, were it not for the Prophet. The Prophet facilitated it in order to establish equality in the Muslim community.

Finally there is someone who could answer me truthfully and with a measure of knowledge. thanks mann for clearing my issues on the Zayd matter. however i still don't think that marriage to one's cousin is right nor is marriage to a girl below the age of 18. a prophet should be one to set a perfect example and unfortunately if you follow this example today, you will land in jail.

@KgDavid

i still don't think that marriage to one's cousin is right

Well, it depends on where you're coming from. Cousin-cousin marriages are commonplace in other cultures. As an example, Einstein married his first cousin. And so did Charles Darwin. I'm just giving you notable examples.

nor is marriage to a girl below the age of 18

Not many years ago, it will be very odd indeed for an 18 year old girl to still be in her parent's house. Not to talk of thousands of years ago. The age of 18 is a "legal age of majority" which came about only recently. (This allowed a boy or girl attain a certain level of education before marriage - this didn't hold in the past!). It also allowed them to have a driver's license!

Even in this present day, there are some countries where people can marry < 18 and legally. And not just Muslim countries.

In the past, what determined a girl's suitability for marriage, was her biological maturity - or the ability to bear children. Boys got married, only a few years later.

It's only nowadays that you hear a girl (or boy) say "Hey, mum I'm just thirty . . . isn't THAT too soon?!!!!!!!!!!" 

Back then, probably due to lesser populations and the generally more precarious living conditions, any physically mature member of the "clan", got married. And that's how mankind perpetuated to where it is today.

Salam,

May Allah bless you, IbrahimB. I am very much fascinated by your answers. Keep them up.

This is one area where non-Muslims quickly take to "corner" some Muslims. And am telling you their only purpose is to do that for hearing/reading the answers or otherwise has nothing to do with their "understanding" the religion--Islam. Hmm. May Allah guide us to the right path, amin.

muhsin:

Salam,

May Allah bless you, IbrahimB. I am very much fascinated by your answers. Keep them up.

This is one area where non-Muslims quickly take to "corner" some Muslims. And am telling you their only purpose is to do that for hearing/reading the answers or otherwise has nothing to do with their "understanding" the religion--Islam. Hmm. May Allah guide us to the right path, amin.

Thanks. May Allah increase us all in understanding, amin.