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Women of Prophet Muhammad

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (Married, July 595) - Muhammad's first marriage was to Khadijah bint Khuwaylid in 595, when he was ~24-25 years old and she was either 28 or 41. She was his only wife until her death in 619 (the Year of Sorrow) ended their 24-year-long marriage. After Khadija, Muhammad went on to marry another 10 women. Khadijah was a wealthy merchant from Mecca who employed the young Muhammad and then proposed marriage. She was the mother of six of his children and a key character in the earliest development of Islam. She died in April 620.

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 sexual prowess of thirty men.[Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 126-127 - The Last Years of the Prophet - Translator: Ismail K. Poonawala - Published: September 1990 ISBN: 978-0-88706-691-7] The historian Al-Tabari calculated that Muhammad married a total of fifteen women, though only ever eleven at one time; and two of these marriages were never consummated. This tally of 15 women does not include at least 4 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". All of Muhammad's concubines were his slaves. Al-Tabari also excludes from the 15 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 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.

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The History of al-Tabari is an English translation of The History of the Prophets and Kings (تاريخ الرسلوالملوك Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk, popularly known as Tarikh al-Tabari). It is an historical and religious chronicle written by the Muslim historian Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838-923), beginning with the Islamic Creation to the year 915 AD.
It forms one of Islam's major religious sources, containing the most complete recension of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah (the most important biography of Prophet Muhammad, partially forming his Sunnah), and is universally praised by Muslims for its detail and accuracy concerning Muslim and Middle Eastern history.

Name Status Date Details Notable Early Sources
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid Married July 595. She was a wealthy merchant from Mecca who employed the 24-year-old Muhammad and then proposed marriage. She was the mother of six of his children and a key character in the earliest development of Islam. She was Muhammad's only wife as long as she lived. She died in April 620.
Sawda bint Zam'a Married, though with limited rights. May 620. She was a tanner who had been an early convert to Islam. Muhammad married her at a time when he was unpopular and bankrupt. He considered divorcing her when, as the oldest and plainest of his wives (described as "fat and very slow"), she no longer attracted him, but she persuaded him to keep her in the house in exchange for never sleeping with her again (she gave up her turn to Aisha).
Aisha bint Abi Bakr Married Contracted May 620 but first consummated in April or May 623. 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 Islam.
Hafsa bint Umar Married January or February 625. She was the daughter of Muhammad's wealthy friend Umar. Hafsa was the custodian of the autograph-text of the Qur'an, which was somewhat different from the standard Qur'an of today.
Zaynab bint Khuzayma Married February or March 625. She was a middle-class widow known as "Mother of the Poor" because of her commitment to charity work. She died in October 625.
Hind (Umm Salama) bint Abi Umayya Married April 626. An attractive widow with four young children, Hind had been rejected by her aristocratic family in Mecca because they were so hostile to Islam. Her tact and practical wisdom sometimes mitigated Muhammad's cruelties. She was a notable teacher of Islamic law and a partisan of Ali.
Zaynab bint Jahsh Married March 627. An early convert to Islam, Zaynab was the wife of Muhammad's adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah. She was also the Prophet's biological cousin. When Muhammad became infatuated with Zaynab, Zayd was pressured into a divorce. To justify marrying her, Muhammad announced new revelations that (1) an adopted son did not count as a real son, so Zaynab was not his daughter-in-law, and (2) as a prophet, he was allowed more than the standard four wives. Zaynab excelled at leather-crafts.
Juwayriyah bint Al-Harith Married January 628. The daughter of an Arab chief, she was taken prisoner when Muhammad attacked her tribe. Muhammad did not make a habit of marrying his war-captives, but Aisha claimed that Juwayriyah was so beautiful that men always fell in love with her at first sight.
Ramlah (Umm Habiba) bint Abi Sufyan Married July 628 (following a proxy wedding earlier in the year) She was a daughter of Abu Sufyan, the Meccan chief who led the resistance against Muhammad, but she had been a teenaged convert to Islam. This marriage offset some of Muhammad's political humiliation in the Treaty of Hudaybiya by demonstrating that he could command the loyalty of his adversary's own daughter. Ramlah was devoted to Muhammad and quick to pick quarrels with people who were not.
Safiyah bint Huyayy Married July 628. She was the beautiful daughter of a Jewish chief, Huyayy ibn Akhtab. Muhammad married her on the day he defeated the last Jewish tribe in Arabia, only hours after he had supervised the slaying of Kinana her second husband. His earlier victims had included her father, brother, first husband, three uncles and several cousins. This marriage was of no benefit to Safiyah's defeated tribe, who were banished from Arabia a few years later; though some consider that it was politically significant in that Safiyah's presence in Muhammad's household was an open demonstration that he had defeated the Jews.
Maymunah bint Al-Harith Married February 629. She was a middle-class widow from Mecca who proposed marriage to Muhammad. A placid woman who kept a very tidy house, Maymunah was one known to be obsessed with rules and rituals.
Mulayka bint Kaab Divorced January 630. Her family resisted the Muslim invasion of Mecca. Needing to appease the conqueror, they gave him the beautiful Mulayka as a bride. When she realised that Muhammad's army had killed her father, she demanded a divorce, which he granted her. She died a few weeks later.
Fatima al-Aliya bint Zabyan al-Dahhak Divorced February or March 630. She was the daughter of a minor chief who had converted to Islam. Muhammad divorced her after only a few weeks "because she peeked at men in the mosque courtyard." Fatima had to work for the rest of her life as a dung-collector, and she outlived all Muhammad's widows.
Asma bint Al-Numan Divorced June or July 630. She was a princess from Yemen whose family hoped the marriage alliance would ward off a military invasion from Medina. But Muhammad divorced her before consummation after Aisha tricked her into reciting the divorce formula. Asma later married a brother of Umm Salama.
Amra bint Yazid Divorced c. 631. She was a Bedouin of no political importance. Muhammad divorced her before consummation when he saw she had symptoms of leprosy.

References

  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 82-83, 106-107, 111, 113-114, 160-161, 191, 313-314.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 127-128; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 3-4
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:9-12, 39, 151-152.
  • ↑ Sahih Bukhari 2:26:740.
  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 148, 309, 530.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Vol. 9, pp. 128-130; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 169-170.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:39-42, 152.
  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 116, 223, 279-280, 311, 457, 464-465, 468, 493-499, 522, 535-536, 544, 649-650, 667, 678-688.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 128-131; Vol. 39, pp. 171-174.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:43-56, 152.
  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 218, 301, 679.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 131-132; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 174-175.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:56-60, 152.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 138; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 63-64.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:82, 152.
  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 146, 147, 150-153, 167-169, 213-214, 462, 529, 536, 546, 589, 680.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 132; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 175-177.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:61-67, 152.
  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 215, 495.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 134; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 180-182.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:72-81, 152.
  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 490-493.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 133; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 182-184.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:83-85, 152.
  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 146, 527-528, 529, 543.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 133-134; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 177-180.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:68-71, 153.
  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 241-242, 511, 514-515, 516-517, 520.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 134-135; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 184-185.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 134-135; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 184-185.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:85-92, 153.
  • ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 531, 679-680.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 135; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 185-186.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:94-99, 153.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, p. 165.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:106, 154.
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 138; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 186-188. Despite the confusion over the name, she is probably also the woman referred to in Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 136-137 and the “Fatima bint Shurayh” of Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 139
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:100-101, 153.
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918 (here he has apparently confused her with Amra bint Yazid).
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 188-191. She is mentioned in Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 128-130 but has apparently been partly confused with Amra bint Yazid.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:101-105, 153.
  • ↑ Ibn Ishaq, cited in Guillaume, A. (1960). New Light on the Life of Muhammad, p. 55. Manchester: Manchester University Press
  • ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918 (here he has apparently confused her with Asma bint Al-Numan).
  • ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 139; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 187-188.
  • ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:100-101.

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