Women of Prophet Muhammad - Engagements and Broken Contracts
Khawla bint Hudhayl (~627) - She was a princess from the powerful Christian Taghlib tribe in northern Arabia. Her uncle arranged the marriage, which was expected to be politically advantageous on both sides. Muhammad signed the contract, but Khawla died on her journey to Medina, before they met in person. The same year, Sharaf bint Khalifa (~627 - she was an aunt of Khawla bint Hudhayl) - after Khawla's death, the family tried to substitute Sharaf. In one tradition, Sharaf also died before consummation. In another tradition, Muhammad changed his mind and broke off the contract.
| Name | Date | Details | Notable early sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghaziya (Umm Sharik) bint Jabir | Early 627. | She was a poor widow with dependent children. She sent Muhammad a proposal of marriage, and he agreed to the contract. However, when he met her in person, he saw that, although attractive, she was "old", and he divorced her immediately. She never remarried. | |
| Khawla bint Hudhayl | Probably mid- or late-627. | She was a princess from the powerful Christian Taghlib tribe in northern Arabia. Her uncle arranged the marriage, which was expected to be politically advantageous on both sides. Muhammad signed the contract, but Khawla died on her journey to Medina, before they met in person. | |
| Sharaf bint Khalifa | Probably mid- or late-627. | She was an aunt of Khawla bint Hudhayl (above). After Khawla's death, the family tried to substitute Sharaf. In one tradition, Sharaf also died before consummation. In another tradition, Muhammad changed his mind and broke off the contract. | |
| Layla bint al-Khutaym | After 627. | One of the first converts in Medina, Layla asked Muhammad to marry her so that her clan, the Zafar, would be the most closely allied to the Prophet. He agreed. However, Layla's family warned her that she was too "jealous and whip-tongued" to adapt well to polygamy, which would cause political problems for the whole community. Under this pressure, Layla broke off the engagement. | |
| Umm Habib bint Al-Abbas | After March 630. | She was Muhammad's cousin. He saw her as a baby crawling around and remarked, "If I am alive when she grows up, I will marry her." He changed his mind when he found out that her father had been his foster-brother and died soon afterwards. | |
| Sana al-Nashat bint Rifaa (Asma) ibn As-Salt | c. April 630. | She was the daughter of a Muslim warrior who hoped to advance his career by becoming Muhammad's father-in-law. Muhammad signed the contract, but Sana died before the marriage could be consummated. | |
| Umra bint Rifaa | c. May 630. | She was the sister of Sana (above). After Sana died, their father tried to interest Muhammad in Umra. At first he agreed, but he later changed his mind, ostensibly because Rifaa boasted that Umra "has never known a day's illness in her life." |
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| Bint Jundub ibn Damra of Janda’a | Unknown. | Nothing is known about this woman except that Muhammad contracted marriage with her but divorced her before consummation. |
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| Jamra bint Al-Harith | c. 631 | She proposed marriage to Muhammad, and he accepted. Her father informed him that she suffered from a serious disease, whereupon Muhammad broke off the engagement. According to the Muslim chroniclers, her father arrived home only to find that she really had been afflicted with leprosy. |
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| Al-Shanba’ bint Amr | January 632. | She was from a Bedouin tribe who appeared friendly to Muhammad but who had also been friends of the Qurayza tribe. Al-Shanba’ insulted Muhammad on the first day by implying that he was not a true prophet, and he divorced her immediately. |
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| Qutayla (Habla) bint Qays | May 632. | She was a cousin of Asma bint Al-Numan, and the Yemenites sent her to Muhammad as a substitute bride. He signed the marriage contract but he died before Qutayla arrived in Medina. As soon as she heard that he was dead, she apostated from Islam. Soon afterwards she married an Arab chief who was a leader in the Apostasy Wars. | |
| Mary, mother of Jesus | The Afterlife. | According to some sources of varying authenticity, Muhammad said that Allah had wedded him in Heaven to the Virgin Mary. Authentic sources quote Muhammad describing her as one of 'the four perfect women'.[88][89][90] The Qur'an refers several times to Mary, praising her chastity and affirming the virgin birth of Jesus. The scriptures describing their marraige state that she lived in a beautiful jewelled palace in Paradise next to Khadijah's. | |
| Queen Asiya of Egypt | The Afterlife. | According to some sources of varying authenticity, Muhammad said that Allah had wedded him in Heaven to the Queen Asiya. Authentic sources quote Muhammad describing her as one of 'the four perfect women'.[93][94] The Qur'an tells how Asiya rescued the infant Moses from the evil Pharaoh, and how Pharaoh later tortured his wife to death for her monotheism. The scriptures describing their marraige state that Asiya's palace in Heaven was on the other side of Khadijah's. | |
| Kulthum bint Amram | The Afterlife. | Muhammad originally believed that Maryam the sister of Moses and Maryam the mother of Jesus were one and the same. When he realized his mistake, he (perhaps over-)corrected himself by stating that Moses' sister was not named Maryam. He renamed her Kulthum ("Chubby Cheeks") and, according to some sources of varying authenticity, said that Allah had wedded him to her in heaven. However, he did not say that she was a perfect woman or that she lived next to Khadijah.[97][98] |
References
- ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918
- ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 139
- ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:111-114
- ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 139; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, p. 166
- ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:116
- ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 138
- ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:116-117
- ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 139
- ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:7, 108-109, 231
- ↑ Guillaume/Ishaq 311
- ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 140
- ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:36
- ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 135-136; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, p. 166
- ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:106-107
- ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:107
- ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:106
- ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 140-141
- ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 136
- ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 138-139
- ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:105
- ↑ Quran 3:33-51; Quran 19:16-40; Quran 21:91; Quran 66:12
- ↑ Sahih Bukhari 4:55:642 Sahih Bukhari 5:58:163
- ↑ Sahih Muslim 31:5965
- ↑ Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wal-Nihayah [From the Beginning to the End], 2, Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 431
- ↑ Majlisi, Hayat al-Qulub 2:26
- ↑ Quran 28:4-13; Quran 66:11
- ↑ Sahih Muslim 31:5966.
- ↑ Ibn Kathir, Tafsir on Quran 66:11
- ↑ Majlisi, Hayat al-Qulub 2:26
- ↑ Quran 19:27-28.
- ↑ Sahih Muslim 25:5326
- ↑ Majlisi, Hayat al-Qulub 2:26
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