It is no secret that the war on Islam has resulted in our beloved Messenger ﷺ, his conduct and personality being attacked and scrutinised by the Kuffâr from all fronts. One of their areas of focus is the marriages of the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ.
The following piece seeks to discuss this issue and answer the question of whether the Prophet's marriages were a result of him being a self-indulgent, woman-gathering libertine, or were his marriages motivated by other reasons & causes.
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Permission to marry more than four wives
Allâh revealed in the Holy Qur’ân:
The following piece seeks to discuss this issue and answer the question of whether the Prophet's marriages were a result of him being a self-indulgent, woman-gathering libertine, or were his marriages motivated by other reasons & causes.
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Permission to marry more than four wives
Allâh revealed in the Holy Qur’ân:
"Marry women of your choice, two or three, or four but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one or your concubines. That is more fitting so that you do not deviate from the right course" [An-Nisâ'(4):3]
At the end of the eighth year of the Hijrah, after he had consummated all of his marriages with his wives, the Messenger ﷺ was, at the time of the revelation of this verse, married to more than four wives. However, he did not leave a single one of them but continued to be married to all his wives. This is because marriage to more than four wives is specific to him ﷺ. It is clear that being married to more than four wives is unique to the Messenger ﷺ and so he kept them after the revelation of this verse which limited marriage to four wives.
This is because the Prophet’s ﷺ action does not contradict a statement that he makes. If there is a contradiction, then the action is specific to him while the saying is general to the Ummah. It has been established in the foundations of jurisprudence (usûl ul-fiqh) that the action of the Prophet ﷺ does not contradict his speech that is relevant to the Ummah, but actions of the Prophet ﷺ can be specific to him alone.
This is because his ﷺ order to the Ummah is more specific than the evidences calling for us to emulate him by following his actions and sayings. Thus, the general order is built on the specific order, and therefore it is not allowed to emulate the Prophet ﷺ in an action in which there is a different order to the Ummah.
The Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to more than four wives, and the allowance for them to offer themselves to him in marriage etc, is confirmed by verses from the Holy Qur'ân.
Allâh says:
“O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their Mahr (bridal money) and those [captives or slaves] your right hand possesses from what Allâh has returned to you [of captives] and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet [and] if the Prophet wishes to marry her, [this is] a dispensation only for you, excluding the [other] believers. We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those [captives or slaves] their right hands possess, [but this is for you] in order that there will be upon you no discomfort. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 50]
This verse says: “[this is] a dispensation only for you, excluding the [other] believers.” The word خَالِصَةً۬ Khâlisah (dispensation) in the verse is a verbal noun which confirms whatever preceded it, i.e. a dispensation has been made for you by permitting what Allâh has made lawful for you specifically.
The evidence to say that it includes all that precedes it and that it is specific to the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ is that it came after the four permissible matters of marrying wives, captives directly from the Fey’, daughters of his relations who have been mentioned amongst those that migrated with him, and a woman that directly offers herself for marriage. This is in addition to being stated in an emphatic manner as mentioned previously.
This is supported by the fact that at the completion of Allâh’s saying: “excluding the [other] believers.” His saying came: “We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those [captives or slaves] their right hands possess,” So this means this is not what Allâh has enjoined on them. That is why after all of this, Allâh said: “in order that there will be upon you no discomfort.” i.e. so that there is no hardship for you.
Therefore, the marriages of the Prophet ﷺ should not be taken as an example to emulate, nor as a subject of legislative discussion because they are unique to him ﷺ alone. Not to mention that the reality of the Messenger’s ﷺ marriages indicates that they were marriages of a Prophet and not the marriages of a man marrying for sex and satisfaction of the procreation instinct, in terms of the male-female aspect.
Marriage to Khadîjah
By returning to the historical reality we find that he ﷺ married Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) while he was twenty-three years of age. Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) remained as his ﷺ wife for twenty-eight years. She died in the eleventh year of the Prophethood, two years before the Hijrah, a few months after the rescission of the boycott document and shortly before his visit to Tâ'if in the year 620CE. The Prophet ﷺ was aged fifty when she died.
He ﷺ did not contemplate since the time he married Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) until her death, the prospect of marrying more than one wife, and this was at a time when polygyny was a widespread practise amongst the Arabs.
Before the Prophet ﷺ was sent with the Message, he spent seventeen years with Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) sharing a quiet and tranquil life. He ﷺ lived with her for approximately eleven years after the Prophethood (Bi`thah), in a life of da’wah and struggle against the kufr thoughts. In spite of this he did not consider marrying again.
It was not known of the Prophet ﷺ during his life with Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) or before his marriage to her that he was one of those tempted by the alluring charms of women in an age of ignorance (Jâhiliyyah) where these charms were used to tempt people.
It is not natural for us to take the view that after passing the age of fifty a sudden change took place in the Prophe ﷺ where he wasn’t content with only one wife but rather continued marrying until he had taken ten wives. Within five years in the sixth decade of the Prophet’s ﷺ life he gathered more than seven wives, and in the remaining seven years of the sixth decade and beginning of the seventh the Prophet ﷺ gathered nine wives.
At such an age can these marriages be attributed to a desire for women and sexual intercourse? Or were there other motives, which were required by the reality of life that the Prophet ﷺ was engaged in? i.e. the life of the Message, which he had been ordered to convey to the people. In order to understand this issue, let us examine the incidents surrounding the Prophet’s ﷺ marriages in further detail.
Contracting the marriage to Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها)
In the eleventh year of the Prophethood, the year in which Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) died, the Prophet ﷺ considered getting married. He was fifty, and proposed to Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها), the daughter of Abî Bakr (رضي الله عنه), his friend and the first one who believed in his Prophethood from the men. When she was just a child of six he contracted a marriage with her but did not consummate it for a period of three years until she was nine and fully mature having reached puberty, which happened after the Hijrah.
Marriage to Sawdah bint Zam’ah (رضي الله عنها)
However, at the time in which the Prophet ﷺ contracted the marriage with Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها) he married Sawdah bint Zam’ah (رضي الله عنها). Sawdah (رضي الله عنها) was a widow of as-Sukran bin ‘Amr bin ‘Abdu-sh-Shams (رضي الله عنها), who was one of the Muslims who had migrated to Abyssinia but died on his return to Makkah. Sawdah (رضي الله عنها) had embraced Islam with her husband and she had migrated with him. She had suffered the same difficulties and hardships he suffered and faced the same harm he had faced.
After the death of Sawdah’s husband the Prophet ﷺ married her. It has not been reported that Sawdah (رضي الله عنها) was beautiful, or that she possessed wealth or standing, that would make any of the worldly aspects influence the Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to her. Since the Prophet ﷺ had married her after the death of her husband, the only thing we can deduce from this is that he married her to support her and raise her to the position of the mother of the believers. When he migrated he made the house of Sawdah (رضي الله عنها) close to the Masjid. This was the first house the Prophet ﷺ built for any of his wives.
Consummation of the marriage to Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها)
Then, in the first year of the Hijrah after the brotherhood between the Ansâr and the Muhâjirîn had been instituted, the Messenger ﷺ consummated his marriage with Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها) and he housed her next to the house of Sawdah (رضي الله عنها), close to the Masjid. He allowed his first Wazir (assistant) and friend Abû Bakr as-Siddîq (رضي الله عنه) to come and see him in his house at his daughter's home.
Marriage to Hafsah (رضي الله عنها)
In the second year of the Hijrah, after the battle of Badr and before Uhud, he married Hafsah (رضي الله عنها) the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattâb (رضي الله عنه). Hafsah (رضي الله عنها), before being married to the Prophet ﷺ, was the wife of Hanish (رضي الله عنه) who was one of the early converts to Islam. Seven months after Hanish (رضي الله عنه) died the Messenger ﷺ married her. By marrying Hafsah (رضي الله عنها) he ﷺ enabled his second Wazir, his companion Umar ibn al-Khattâb (رضي الله عنه) to come to see him in his house at Hafsah’s home.
So the marriages to Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها) and Hafsah (رضي الله عنها) were marriages to the daughters of his two Wazirs (assistants), the daughters of two companions who persevered with him in Da`wah, ruling and fighting. Therefore such marriages were not only for the purpose of marriage. Although Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها) was beautiful and the Prophet ﷺ found her attractive, this was not the case with Hafsah (رضي الله عنها), which indicates that his marriage to both of them was for a purpose other than sexual gratification.
Marriage to Juwayriyyah bint al-Hârith ibn Abî Dirar (رضي الله عنها)
During the battle of Banû Mustaliq, in the fifth year of the Hijra, he ﷺ married Juwayriyyah bint al-Hârith ibn Abî Dirar (رضي الله عنها). The reason behind his marriage to her was for the purpose of drawing her father closer to the Prophet ﷺ and raising her position. Juwayriyyah (رضي الله عنها) was from the captives of Banû Mustaliq, and had fallen into the hands of one of the Ansâr. She was the daughter of the leader of Banû Mustaliq, so she wanted to free herself from her master to whom she had become a slave-girl. Her master increased the ransom money knowing that she was the daughter of the leader of Banû Mustaliq. So her father approached the Prophet ﷺ with the ransom required to free her, which he did. Then after believing in the Message of the Prophet ﷺ he became a Muslim, and he took his daughter Juwayriyyah (رضي الله عنها) to the Prophet ﷺ and she too embraced Islam, so the Prophet ﷺ asked her father for her hand in marriage. He married her to the Prophet ﷺ himself so the Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to her was in fact a marriage to the daughter of a leader of a tribe which he had subjugated. His ﷺ objective was to win the friendship of its leader through marrying his daughter.
Marriage to Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها)
In the seventh year of the Hijra after the victory of Khaybar he ﷺ married Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها) daughter of Huyai ibn al-Akhtab who was one of the leaders of the Jews. The story of his marriage to her began when she was taken along with other captives which the Muslims seized from the fortress of Khaybar. Some of the Muslims advised the Prophet ﷺ: “Safiyyah is a noble lady of Banû Qurayzah and Banû Nadhir. She is not suitable for anyone other than you”, so the Prophet ﷺ freed her and married her. This was therefore done for her protection and to free her from the bondage of slavery, as well to raise her status. It has been narrated that Abû Ayyûb Khâlid al-Ansâriyy feared that Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها) harboured hatred against the Messenger ﷺ who had killed her father, husband and people. For this reason he spent the night, girded with his sword, around the tent in which the Messenger ﷺ consummated the marriage with Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها) on the way back from Khaybar. When the Messenger ﷺ woke up in the morning he noticed him outside the tent and asked him: “What is the matter?” He replied: “I feared for you from this woman. You have killed her father, husband and her people and she has just recently come out of kufr.” So the Messenger ﷺ set Abû Ayyûb’s mind at rest, and Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها) remained loyal to the Messenger ﷺ until Allah تعالى took his soul.
Marriage to Maymûnah (رضي الله عنها)
Later, in the eighth year of Hijrah he ﷺ married Maymûnah (رضي الله عنها) the sister of Umm al-Fadhl, the wife of al-‘Abbâs ibn Abd ul-Muttalib. He married her in Makkah at the end of the postponed pilgrimage (`Umrah al-qadâ) that the Muslims agreed to delay in the treaty of Hudaybiyah. The account of his marriage to her began when Maymûnah (رضي الله عنها) was twenty six years of age and that she had delegated her sister Umm al-Fadhl to find a suitor for her, but when she saw the predicament of the Muslims at the `umrah she herself yearned for Islam.
Therefore, al-‘Abbâs proposed to his nephew our Master Muhammad ﷺ at her behest and the Messenger ﷺ agreed to marry her. The three day time limit on staying Makkah, stipulated by the treaty of Hudaybiyah had expired. But the Messenger ﷺ wished to use his marriage to Maymûnah (رضي الله عنها) as a means to increase the understanding between himself and the Quraysh.
When Suhayl bin ‘Amr and Huwayteb bin ‘Abd ul-‘Uzzâ came to him representing Quraysh they said to Muhammad ﷺ: “Your time in Makkah has expired, so leave us.” He ﷺ said to them: “What is the matter with you? Why do you not leave me? I will hold a wedding feast amongst you. We will prepare food for you so why not attend it?” Their response to him was “we have no need of your food so depart from us.” The Messenge ﷺ did not hesitate and left Makkah along with the rest of the Muslims.
Marriages to Zaynab bint Khuzaymah and Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنهما)
As for his ﷺ marriage to Zaynab bint Khuzaymah (رضي الله عنها) and Umm Salamah (ra), they were marriages to the two wives of his companions who had been martyred on the battlefield.
Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was the wife of `Ubaydah ibn al-Hârith ibn al-Muttalib (رضي الله عنه) who was martyred on the day of Badr, she was not of marked beauty, but she was known for her good nature and kindness to the extent that she became nicknamed as the ‘mother of the needy.’ She had passed her youth, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ married her in the second year of the Hijrah, after the battle of Badr and after the martyrdom of her husband. She stayed with him for only two years until Allâh تعالى took her soul. After Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها), Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was the only one who died before the Prophet ﷺ.
As for Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها), she was the wife of Abû Salamah (رضي الله عنه), who had a number of sons with her. Abu Salamah (رضي الله عنها) was injured in Uhud then recovered from it, so the Prophet ﷺ agreed to let him fight Banû Asad. He defeated them and returned to Madinah victorious with the booty that had been captured, but the injury he sustained at Uhud worsened and he remained ill until his death shortly afterwards. The Prophet ﷺ was present while he was on his deathbed, and he remained by his side, praying for his wellbeing until he died. The Prophet ﷺ then closed Abû Salamah’s eyes.
Four months after Abû Salamah’s death, the Messenger ﷺ proposed to Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها) herself, but she made excuses that she had a big family and that she had passed her youth. The Prophet ﷺ however persisted until he married her and he himself saw to her children’s upbringing.
Therefore it is clear that the Messenger married those two wives to care for the family of two of his companions after their death.
Marriage to Umm Habîbah bint Abî Sufyân (رضي الله عنها)
As for his marriage to Umm Habîbah bint Abî Sufyân (رضي الله عنها), this was a marriage to a believing woman who had migrated to Abyssinia fleeing with her deen intact. She had remained patient in the path of Islam after her husband had apostatised.
Umm Habîbah (رضي الله عنها) was Ramlah the daughter of Abû Sufyân, the leader of Makkah and head of the Mushrikîn. She was the wife of a cousin (son of a paternal aunt) of the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ, `Ubayd-ullâh bin Jahsh al-Asadi. `Ubayd-ullâh embraced Islam with his wife Ramlah whilst her father Abû Sufyan was still upon kufr. She was afraid of hurting her father so she migrated, encumbered by her pregnancy, with her husband to Abbysinia. There in the place of refuge, Ramlah gave birth to her daughter Habîbah bint `Ubayd-ullâh by whom she was named. So she came to be called Umm Habîbah although her husband `Ubayd-ullâh bin Jahsh did not take long before he left the fold of Islam and professed his belief in Christianity, the religion of the Abyssinians. He tried to take his wife Ramlah away from Islam, but she patiently persevered in her deen.
Then the messenger of Allah ﷺ sent for the Negus delegating him to perform the marriage of Umm Habîbah (رضي الله عنها) to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . The Negus informed Umm Habîba (رضي الله عنها) of this, so she delegated Khâlid bin Sa`îd bin al-`Âs (رضي الله عنه) to give her in marriage, and her marriage contract with the Messenger ﷺ took place. Khâlid undertook the marriage contract on her behalf and the Negus for the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ. When the Muhajirûn of Abbysinia returned to Madinah after the battle of Khaybar, Umm Habîbah returned with them and entered the house of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Madinah celebrated the wedding of the Messenger to Umm Habîbah (رضي الله عنها) and she remained in his house.
Marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها)
As for his ﷺ marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها) this marriage explained the legislation for a number of customs and traditions of Jâhiliyyah that contradicted Islam.
Firstly, it was legislation to demolish what was called equivalence or matching between the man and the woman. In marrying a cousin (daughter of his paternal aunt) who was from the leaders of the Quraysh, to a former slave that had been freed Zayd (رضي الله عنه).
Secondly, it showed the legislation for the destruction of what had become established amongst them in Jahiliyah, in that adopting a son is like one’s own son, so one cannot marry his wife. Muhammad ﷺ married the wife of his freedman Zayd (رضي الله عنه), after he divorced Zaynab in order to destroy those non-Islamic customs.
The account of the Messenger’s ﷺ marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها) was that Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها) was the daughter of Umaymah bint `Abd al-Muttalib the paternal aunt of the Messenger ﷺ. She was raised under the Messenger’s ﷺ care and attention and because of this, she was to him like a daughter or younger sister. He ﷺ used to know her and knew whether she was attractive or not before she had married Zayd, and he had seen her from the time she was an infant crawling, until her childhood and through to her adolescent years. She was not a stranger to the Messenger ﷺ, but rather she was similar in position to his daughter.
He ﷺ proposed to her on behalf of his freed slave Zayd (رضي الله عنه). However, her brother `Abd-ullâh bin Jahsh refused the proposal, because Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was from Quraysh and a Hashimite in addition to being a daughter of the aunt of the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ. Whereas Zayd (رضي الله عنه) was a slave bought by Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) and later freed by Muhammad ﷺ. Zaynab’s brother felt that this was a great shame for Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) as it used to be a great dishonour for the Arabs, as daughters of the nobility did not marry slaves even if they were given their freedom. But Muhammad ﷺ wanted these considerations which existed within people solely on the basis of tribalism to be erased and for them to comprehend that there is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab except in Taqwâ and to understand Allâh’s saying:
“In Allâh’s eyes, the most honoured of you are the ones most mindful of Him (taqwâ).” [TMQ Al-Hujurât: 13]
The Messenge ﷺ did not consider it right that a woman from other than his own family should be pushed to do this. So Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها), daughter of his aunt, became the one to depart from the traditions of the Arabs and to destroy their customs, paying no attention to what people may say about her
He ﷺ let Zayd (رضي الله عنه), his slave whom he had adopted and who due to the customs and traditions of the Arabs gained the right of inheritance from him, to be the one who would marry Zaynab (رضي الله عنها). The Messenger ﷺ insisted that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) and her brother `Abdu-llâh accept Zayd (رضي الله عنه), his freed slave, as her husband. However, Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) persisted in her refusal as did her brother 'Abdullah. As a result Allâh revealed the verse:
“When Allâh and His messenger have decided on a matter that concerns them, it is not fitting for any believing man or women to claim freedom of choice in that matter: whoever disobeys Allah and His messenger is far astray.” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 36]
Therefore `Abdu-llâh and Zaynab had no choice but to submit to Allâh’s will, so they said: “We consent O Messenger of Allâh ﷺ.”
Zayd (رضي الله عنه) consummated his marriage with Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) after the Prophet ﷺ had sent her the bride gift (mahr).
However, married life between Zayd (رضي الله عنه) and Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was not good. On the contrary, from the start it was unsettled and embittered and continued to be unsettled and embittered. Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was not happy with this marriage after it had taken place even though it was a command from Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. She did not obey her husband, and she did not soften in her approach towards him. Rather, she boasted to Zayd (رضي الله عنه) that the bondage of slavery had not befallen her and she made life difficult for him.
Zayd (رضي الله عنه) complained to the Prophet ﷺ on numerous occasions and explained to him about Zaynab’s (رضي الله عنها) bad treatment of him. He sought permission from the Prophet ﷺ a number of times to divorce her. The Prophet ﷺ used to reply: “Hold on to your wife.”
Then Allâh revealed to the Messenger ﷺ that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) will be one of his wives. This was distressing for the Prophet ﷺ who feared that people will say that Muhammad ﷺ has married his son’s wife and will censure him for that since he ﷺ had adopted Zayd (رضي الله عنه) as a son. Therefore, the Messenger ﷺ did not want Zayd (رضي الله عنه) to divorce Zaynab (رضي الله عنها), but Zayd (رضي الله عنه) urged the Prophet ﷺ to allow him to divorce her.
Despite the fact that the Prophet ﷺ knew that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) would be one of his wives as Allâh had informed him of this through revelation, he ﷺ still said to Zayd (رضي الله عنه): “Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allâh.” As a result of this Allâh mildly reproached the Prophet ﷺ since Allâh told him that he ﷺ would marry Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) and that he ﷺ was concealing within himself that which Allâh wanted made known. This is the meaning of Allâh’s saying:
“You hid in your heart what Allâh would later reveal.” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 37]
The matter that the Prophet ﷺ concealed was the knowledge that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) will be his wife even though she was the wife of someone he had adopted. This is what Allâh would make manifest afterwards, which was his marriage to a divorcee of someone he had adopted as his son.
The reason for the Messenger’s ﷺ concealment of this marriage, which Allâh later made manifest, is that it was the custom of the Arabs to keep their adopted sons and daughters in their houses and ensure links with their relations. They used to give the ‘da’iyy’ (the person who is adopted, all the rights of a son.) All the rules of a son were applied to them even in inheritance and the esteem of lineage. So when Allah informed the Messenge ﷺ that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها), the wife of his freed slave whom he had adopted will be his wife he hid this knowledge and strictly insisted that Zayd (رضي الله عنه) hold on to his wife and not divorce her. This is despite Zayd’s (رضي الله عنه) insistence, his complaints about her, and the lack of harmony between them in their marital life ever since he married her. Zayd (رضي الله عنه) insisted on divorcing her so the Messenger ﷺ gave him permission, and he eventually divorced her without any knowledge that the Messenger ﷺ would marry her and without Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) herself knowing that the Messenger ﷺ would take her as his wife.
This is illustrated by what Ahmad, Muslim and an-Nasâ’iyy have reported from Sulaymân ibn al-Mughîrah on the authority of Thâbit that Anas who said: When the `Iddah (divorce period) of Zaynab was over, Allâh’s Messenger ﷺ said to Zayd to mention him to her. So I (Zayd) went to her and said: ‘O Zaynab rejoice! Allâh’s Messenger sent me to propose to you on his behalf.’ She said: ‘I do not do anything until I see my Lord order me.’ So she stood at her place of worship and Allâh’s Messenger came to her without permission when the verses of the Qur’ân (pertaining to her marriage) were revealed:
“When Zayd no longer wanted her, We gave her to you in marriage so that there might be no fault in believers marrying the wives of their adopted sons after they no longer wanted them.” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 37]
If either Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) or Zayd (رضي الله عنه) had known that Allâh had ordered the Messenger ﷺ to marry Zaynab then Zayd would not have said to her ‘rejoice,’ nor she said ‘until I see my Lord order me.’ i.e. she left the matter to Allâh to guide her in this marriage. The 'Illa (legal reason) of this marriage is so that there is no sin on the believer in marrying the wife of someone they had adopted.
Conclusion
This is the account of the Messenger’s ﷺ marriages to his wives. It is clear that each one was for an objective other than the mere aim of marrying. The intent of the Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to more than four wives and why this number is unique to him compared to the rest of his Ummah is now clear.
The fact that the objective was not the agitation of the procreation instinct of a man who had passed the age of fifty is quite evident, since he was a man who was busy with the Da`wah, engaged in conveying the Message of his Lord to the world so that he may revive a people and mould them into an Ummah whose only aim in life was to carry the Message of Allâh to the world.
His ﷺ aim was to build the society anew after he had demolished the previous structures, and establish a state pushing ahead the world before it, in order to carry the Call of Islam to the people. Anyone whose mind is occupied with the revival of an Ummah, the establishment of a state, the building of a society, and the carrying of the Message to the world cannot be preoccupied by women devoting himself to them and marrying one every year. Rather, he carried his Da`wah and he enjoyed a normal married life like any other human.
Taken from the book 'The Social System in Islam' by Taqiuddin an-Nabhani
At the end of the eighth year of the Hijrah, after he had consummated all of his marriages with his wives, the Messenger ﷺ was, at the time of the revelation of this verse, married to more than four wives. However, he did not leave a single one of them but continued to be married to all his wives. This is because marriage to more than four wives is specific to him ﷺ. It is clear that being married to more than four wives is unique to the Messenger ﷺ and so he kept them after the revelation of this verse which limited marriage to four wives.
This is because the Prophet’s ﷺ action does not contradict a statement that he makes. If there is a contradiction, then the action is specific to him while the saying is general to the Ummah. It has been established in the foundations of jurisprudence (usûl ul-fiqh) that the action of the Prophet ﷺ does not contradict his speech that is relevant to the Ummah, but actions of the Prophet ﷺ can be specific to him alone.
This is because his ﷺ order to the Ummah is more specific than the evidences calling for us to emulate him by following his actions and sayings. Thus, the general order is built on the specific order, and therefore it is not allowed to emulate the Prophet ﷺ in an action in which there is a different order to the Ummah.
The Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to more than four wives, and the allowance for them to offer themselves to him in marriage etc, is confirmed by verses from the Holy Qur'ân.
Allâh says:
“O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their Mahr (bridal money) and those [captives or slaves] your right hand possesses from what Allâh has returned to you [of captives] and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet [and] if the Prophet wishes to marry her, [this is] a dispensation only for you, excluding the [other] believers. We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those [captives or slaves] their right hands possess, [but this is for you] in order that there will be upon you no discomfort. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 50]
This verse says: “[this is] a dispensation only for you, excluding the [other] believers.” The word خَالِصَةً۬ Khâlisah (dispensation) in the verse is a verbal noun which confirms whatever preceded it, i.e. a dispensation has been made for you by permitting what Allâh has made lawful for you specifically.
The evidence to say that it includes all that precedes it and that it is specific to the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ is that it came after the four permissible matters of marrying wives, captives directly from the Fey’, daughters of his relations who have been mentioned amongst those that migrated with him, and a woman that directly offers herself for marriage. This is in addition to being stated in an emphatic manner as mentioned previously.
This is supported by the fact that at the completion of Allâh’s saying: “excluding the [other] believers.” His saying came: “We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those [captives or slaves] their right hands possess,” So this means this is not what Allâh has enjoined on them. That is why after all of this, Allâh said: “in order that there will be upon you no discomfort.” i.e. so that there is no hardship for you.
Therefore, the marriages of the Prophet ﷺ should not be taken as an example to emulate, nor as a subject of legislative discussion because they are unique to him ﷺ alone. Not to mention that the reality of the Messenger’s ﷺ marriages indicates that they were marriages of a Prophet and not the marriages of a man marrying for sex and satisfaction of the procreation instinct, in terms of the male-female aspect.
Marriage to Khadîjah
By returning to the historical reality we find that he ﷺ married Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) while he was twenty-three years of age. Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) remained as his ﷺ wife for twenty-eight years. She died in the eleventh year of the Prophethood, two years before the Hijrah, a few months after the rescission of the boycott document and shortly before his visit to Tâ'if in the year 620CE. The Prophet ﷺ was aged fifty when she died.
He ﷺ did not contemplate since the time he married Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) until her death, the prospect of marrying more than one wife, and this was at a time when polygyny was a widespread practise amongst the Arabs.
Before the Prophet ﷺ was sent with the Message, he spent seventeen years with Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) sharing a quiet and tranquil life. He ﷺ lived with her for approximately eleven years after the Prophethood (Bi`thah), in a life of da’wah and struggle against the kufr thoughts. In spite of this he did not consider marrying again.
It was not known of the Prophet ﷺ during his life with Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) or before his marriage to her that he was one of those tempted by the alluring charms of women in an age of ignorance (Jâhiliyyah) where these charms were used to tempt people.
It is not natural for us to take the view that after passing the age of fifty a sudden change took place in the Prophe ﷺ where he wasn’t content with only one wife but rather continued marrying until he had taken ten wives. Within five years in the sixth decade of the Prophet’s ﷺ life he gathered more than seven wives, and in the remaining seven years of the sixth decade and beginning of the seventh the Prophet ﷺ gathered nine wives.
At such an age can these marriages be attributed to a desire for women and sexual intercourse? Or were there other motives, which were required by the reality of life that the Prophet ﷺ was engaged in? i.e. the life of the Message, which he had been ordered to convey to the people. In order to understand this issue, let us examine the incidents surrounding the Prophet’s ﷺ marriages in further detail.
Contracting the marriage to Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها)
In the eleventh year of the Prophethood, the year in which Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) died, the Prophet ﷺ considered getting married. He was fifty, and proposed to Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها), the daughter of Abî Bakr (رضي الله عنه), his friend and the first one who believed in his Prophethood from the men. When she was just a child of six he contracted a marriage with her but did not consummate it for a period of three years until she was nine and fully mature having reached puberty, which happened after the Hijrah.
Marriage to Sawdah bint Zam’ah (رضي الله عنها)
However, at the time in which the Prophet ﷺ contracted the marriage with Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها) he married Sawdah bint Zam’ah (رضي الله عنها). Sawdah (رضي الله عنها) was a widow of as-Sukran bin ‘Amr bin ‘Abdu-sh-Shams (رضي الله عنها), who was one of the Muslims who had migrated to Abyssinia but died on his return to Makkah. Sawdah (رضي الله عنها) had embraced Islam with her husband and she had migrated with him. She had suffered the same difficulties and hardships he suffered and faced the same harm he had faced.
After the death of Sawdah’s husband the Prophet ﷺ married her. It has not been reported that Sawdah (رضي الله عنها) was beautiful, or that she possessed wealth or standing, that would make any of the worldly aspects influence the Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to her. Since the Prophet ﷺ had married her after the death of her husband, the only thing we can deduce from this is that he married her to support her and raise her to the position of the mother of the believers. When he migrated he made the house of Sawdah (رضي الله عنها) close to the Masjid. This was the first house the Prophet ﷺ built for any of his wives.
Consummation of the marriage to Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها)
Then, in the first year of the Hijrah after the brotherhood between the Ansâr and the Muhâjirîn had been instituted, the Messenger ﷺ consummated his marriage with Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها) and he housed her next to the house of Sawdah (رضي الله عنها), close to the Masjid. He allowed his first Wazir (assistant) and friend Abû Bakr as-Siddîq (رضي الله عنه) to come and see him in his house at his daughter's home.
Marriage to Hafsah (رضي الله عنها)
In the second year of the Hijrah, after the battle of Badr and before Uhud, he married Hafsah (رضي الله عنها) the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattâb (رضي الله عنه). Hafsah (رضي الله عنها), before being married to the Prophet ﷺ, was the wife of Hanish (رضي الله عنه) who was one of the early converts to Islam. Seven months after Hanish (رضي الله عنه) died the Messenger ﷺ married her. By marrying Hafsah (رضي الله عنها) he ﷺ enabled his second Wazir, his companion Umar ibn al-Khattâb (رضي الله عنه) to come to see him in his house at Hafsah’s home.
So the marriages to Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها) and Hafsah (رضي الله عنها) were marriages to the daughters of his two Wazirs (assistants), the daughters of two companions who persevered with him in Da`wah, ruling and fighting. Therefore such marriages were not only for the purpose of marriage. Although Â’ishah (رضي الله عنها) was beautiful and the Prophet ﷺ found her attractive, this was not the case with Hafsah (رضي الله عنها), which indicates that his marriage to both of them was for a purpose other than sexual gratification.
Marriage to Juwayriyyah bint al-Hârith ibn Abî Dirar (رضي الله عنها)
During the battle of Banû Mustaliq, in the fifth year of the Hijra, he ﷺ married Juwayriyyah bint al-Hârith ibn Abî Dirar (رضي الله عنها). The reason behind his marriage to her was for the purpose of drawing her father closer to the Prophet ﷺ and raising her position. Juwayriyyah (رضي الله عنها) was from the captives of Banû Mustaliq, and had fallen into the hands of one of the Ansâr. She was the daughter of the leader of Banû Mustaliq, so she wanted to free herself from her master to whom she had become a slave-girl. Her master increased the ransom money knowing that she was the daughter of the leader of Banû Mustaliq. So her father approached the Prophet ﷺ with the ransom required to free her, which he did. Then after believing in the Message of the Prophet ﷺ he became a Muslim, and he took his daughter Juwayriyyah (رضي الله عنها) to the Prophet ﷺ and she too embraced Islam, so the Prophet ﷺ asked her father for her hand in marriage. He married her to the Prophet ﷺ himself so the Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to her was in fact a marriage to the daughter of a leader of a tribe which he had subjugated. His ﷺ objective was to win the friendship of its leader through marrying his daughter.
Marriage to Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها)
In the seventh year of the Hijra after the victory of Khaybar he ﷺ married Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها) daughter of Huyai ibn al-Akhtab who was one of the leaders of the Jews. The story of his marriage to her began when she was taken along with other captives which the Muslims seized from the fortress of Khaybar. Some of the Muslims advised the Prophet ﷺ: “Safiyyah is a noble lady of Banû Qurayzah and Banû Nadhir. She is not suitable for anyone other than you”, so the Prophet ﷺ freed her and married her. This was therefore done for her protection and to free her from the bondage of slavery, as well to raise her status. It has been narrated that Abû Ayyûb Khâlid al-Ansâriyy feared that Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها) harboured hatred against the Messenger ﷺ who had killed her father, husband and people. For this reason he spent the night, girded with his sword, around the tent in which the Messenger ﷺ consummated the marriage with Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها) on the way back from Khaybar. When the Messenger ﷺ woke up in the morning he noticed him outside the tent and asked him: “What is the matter?” He replied: “I feared for you from this woman. You have killed her father, husband and her people and she has just recently come out of kufr.” So the Messenger ﷺ set Abû Ayyûb’s mind at rest, and Safiyyah (رضي الله عنها) remained loyal to the Messenger ﷺ until Allah تعالى took his soul.
Marriage to Maymûnah (رضي الله عنها)
Later, in the eighth year of Hijrah he ﷺ married Maymûnah (رضي الله عنها) the sister of Umm al-Fadhl, the wife of al-‘Abbâs ibn Abd ul-Muttalib. He married her in Makkah at the end of the postponed pilgrimage (`Umrah al-qadâ) that the Muslims agreed to delay in the treaty of Hudaybiyah. The account of his marriage to her began when Maymûnah (رضي الله عنها) was twenty six years of age and that she had delegated her sister Umm al-Fadhl to find a suitor for her, but when she saw the predicament of the Muslims at the `umrah she herself yearned for Islam.
Therefore, al-‘Abbâs proposed to his nephew our Master Muhammad ﷺ at her behest and the Messenger ﷺ agreed to marry her. The three day time limit on staying Makkah, stipulated by the treaty of Hudaybiyah had expired. But the Messenger ﷺ wished to use his marriage to Maymûnah (رضي الله عنها) as a means to increase the understanding between himself and the Quraysh.
When Suhayl bin ‘Amr and Huwayteb bin ‘Abd ul-‘Uzzâ came to him representing Quraysh they said to Muhammad ﷺ: “Your time in Makkah has expired, so leave us.” He ﷺ said to them: “What is the matter with you? Why do you not leave me? I will hold a wedding feast amongst you. We will prepare food for you so why not attend it?” Their response to him was “we have no need of your food so depart from us.” The Messenge ﷺ did not hesitate and left Makkah along with the rest of the Muslims.
Marriages to Zaynab bint Khuzaymah and Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنهما)
As for his ﷺ marriage to Zaynab bint Khuzaymah (رضي الله عنها) and Umm Salamah (ra), they were marriages to the two wives of his companions who had been martyred on the battlefield.
Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was the wife of `Ubaydah ibn al-Hârith ibn al-Muttalib (رضي الله عنه) who was martyred on the day of Badr, she was not of marked beauty, but she was known for her good nature and kindness to the extent that she became nicknamed as the ‘mother of the needy.’ She had passed her youth, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ married her in the second year of the Hijrah, after the battle of Badr and after the martyrdom of her husband. She stayed with him for only two years until Allâh تعالى took her soul. After Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها), Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was the only one who died before the Prophet ﷺ.
As for Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها), she was the wife of Abû Salamah (رضي الله عنه), who had a number of sons with her. Abu Salamah (رضي الله عنها) was injured in Uhud then recovered from it, so the Prophet ﷺ agreed to let him fight Banû Asad. He defeated them and returned to Madinah victorious with the booty that had been captured, but the injury he sustained at Uhud worsened and he remained ill until his death shortly afterwards. The Prophet ﷺ was present while he was on his deathbed, and he remained by his side, praying for his wellbeing until he died. The Prophet ﷺ then closed Abû Salamah’s eyes.
Four months after Abû Salamah’s death, the Messenger ﷺ proposed to Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها) herself, but she made excuses that she had a big family and that she had passed her youth. The Prophet ﷺ however persisted until he married her and he himself saw to her children’s upbringing.
Therefore it is clear that the Messenger married those two wives to care for the family of two of his companions after their death.
Marriage to Umm Habîbah bint Abî Sufyân (رضي الله عنها)
As for his marriage to Umm Habîbah bint Abî Sufyân (رضي الله عنها), this was a marriage to a believing woman who had migrated to Abyssinia fleeing with her deen intact. She had remained patient in the path of Islam after her husband had apostatised.
Umm Habîbah (رضي الله عنها) was Ramlah the daughter of Abû Sufyân, the leader of Makkah and head of the Mushrikîn. She was the wife of a cousin (son of a paternal aunt) of the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ, `Ubayd-ullâh bin Jahsh al-Asadi. `Ubayd-ullâh embraced Islam with his wife Ramlah whilst her father Abû Sufyan was still upon kufr. She was afraid of hurting her father so she migrated, encumbered by her pregnancy, with her husband to Abbysinia. There in the place of refuge, Ramlah gave birth to her daughter Habîbah bint `Ubayd-ullâh by whom she was named. So she came to be called Umm Habîbah although her husband `Ubayd-ullâh bin Jahsh did not take long before he left the fold of Islam and professed his belief in Christianity, the religion of the Abyssinians. He tried to take his wife Ramlah away from Islam, but she patiently persevered in her deen.
Then the messenger of Allah ﷺ sent for the Negus delegating him to perform the marriage of Umm Habîbah (رضي الله عنها) to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . The Negus informed Umm Habîba (رضي الله عنها) of this, so she delegated Khâlid bin Sa`îd bin al-`Âs (رضي الله عنه) to give her in marriage, and her marriage contract with the Messenger ﷺ took place. Khâlid undertook the marriage contract on her behalf and the Negus for the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ. When the Muhajirûn of Abbysinia returned to Madinah after the battle of Khaybar, Umm Habîbah returned with them and entered the house of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Madinah celebrated the wedding of the Messenger to Umm Habîbah (رضي الله عنها) and she remained in his house.
Marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها)
As for his ﷺ marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها) this marriage explained the legislation for a number of customs and traditions of Jâhiliyyah that contradicted Islam.
Firstly, it was legislation to demolish what was called equivalence or matching between the man and the woman. In marrying a cousin (daughter of his paternal aunt) who was from the leaders of the Quraysh, to a former slave that had been freed Zayd (رضي الله عنه).
Secondly, it showed the legislation for the destruction of what had become established amongst them in Jahiliyah, in that adopting a son is like one’s own son, so one cannot marry his wife. Muhammad ﷺ married the wife of his freedman Zayd (رضي الله عنه), after he divorced Zaynab in order to destroy those non-Islamic customs.
The account of the Messenger’s ﷺ marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها) was that Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها) was the daughter of Umaymah bint `Abd al-Muttalib the paternal aunt of the Messenger ﷺ. She was raised under the Messenger’s ﷺ care and attention and because of this, she was to him like a daughter or younger sister. He ﷺ used to know her and knew whether she was attractive or not before she had married Zayd, and he had seen her from the time she was an infant crawling, until her childhood and through to her adolescent years. She was not a stranger to the Messenger ﷺ, but rather she was similar in position to his daughter.
He ﷺ proposed to her on behalf of his freed slave Zayd (رضي الله عنه). However, her brother `Abd-ullâh bin Jahsh refused the proposal, because Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was from Quraysh and a Hashimite in addition to being a daughter of the aunt of the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ. Whereas Zayd (رضي الله عنه) was a slave bought by Khadîjah (رضي الله عنها) and later freed by Muhammad ﷺ. Zaynab’s brother felt that this was a great shame for Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) as it used to be a great dishonour for the Arabs, as daughters of the nobility did not marry slaves even if they were given their freedom. But Muhammad ﷺ wanted these considerations which existed within people solely on the basis of tribalism to be erased and for them to comprehend that there is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab except in Taqwâ and to understand Allâh’s saying:
“In Allâh’s eyes, the most honoured of you are the ones most mindful of Him (taqwâ).” [TMQ Al-Hujurât: 13]
The Messenge ﷺ did not consider it right that a woman from other than his own family should be pushed to do this. So Zaynab bint Jahsh (رضي الله عنها), daughter of his aunt, became the one to depart from the traditions of the Arabs and to destroy their customs, paying no attention to what people may say about her
He ﷺ let Zayd (رضي الله عنه), his slave whom he had adopted and who due to the customs and traditions of the Arabs gained the right of inheritance from him, to be the one who would marry Zaynab (رضي الله عنها). The Messenger ﷺ insisted that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) and her brother `Abdu-llâh accept Zayd (رضي الله عنه), his freed slave, as her husband. However, Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) persisted in her refusal as did her brother 'Abdullah. As a result Allâh revealed the verse:
“When Allâh and His messenger have decided on a matter that concerns them, it is not fitting for any believing man or women to claim freedom of choice in that matter: whoever disobeys Allah and His messenger is far astray.” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 36]
Therefore `Abdu-llâh and Zaynab had no choice but to submit to Allâh’s will, so they said: “We consent O Messenger of Allâh ﷺ.”
Zayd (رضي الله عنه) consummated his marriage with Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) after the Prophet ﷺ had sent her the bride gift (mahr).
However, married life between Zayd (رضي الله عنه) and Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was not good. On the contrary, from the start it was unsettled and embittered and continued to be unsettled and embittered. Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) was not happy with this marriage after it had taken place even though it was a command from Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. She did not obey her husband, and she did not soften in her approach towards him. Rather, she boasted to Zayd (رضي الله عنه) that the bondage of slavery had not befallen her and she made life difficult for him.
Zayd (رضي الله عنه) complained to the Prophet ﷺ on numerous occasions and explained to him about Zaynab’s (رضي الله عنها) bad treatment of him. He sought permission from the Prophet ﷺ a number of times to divorce her. The Prophet ﷺ used to reply: “Hold on to your wife.”
Then Allâh revealed to the Messenger ﷺ that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) will be one of his wives. This was distressing for the Prophet ﷺ who feared that people will say that Muhammad ﷺ has married his son’s wife and will censure him for that since he ﷺ had adopted Zayd (رضي الله عنه) as a son. Therefore, the Messenger ﷺ did not want Zayd (رضي الله عنه) to divorce Zaynab (رضي الله عنها), but Zayd (رضي الله عنه) urged the Prophet ﷺ to allow him to divorce her.
Despite the fact that the Prophet ﷺ knew that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) would be one of his wives as Allâh had informed him of this through revelation, he ﷺ still said to Zayd (رضي الله عنه): “Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allâh.” As a result of this Allâh mildly reproached the Prophet ﷺ since Allâh told him that he ﷺ would marry Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) and that he ﷺ was concealing within himself that which Allâh wanted made known. This is the meaning of Allâh’s saying:
“You hid in your heart what Allâh would later reveal.” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 37]
The matter that the Prophet ﷺ concealed was the knowledge that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) will be his wife even though she was the wife of someone he had adopted. This is what Allâh would make manifest afterwards, which was his marriage to a divorcee of someone he had adopted as his son.
The reason for the Messenger’s ﷺ concealment of this marriage, which Allâh later made manifest, is that it was the custom of the Arabs to keep their adopted sons and daughters in their houses and ensure links with their relations. They used to give the ‘da’iyy’ (the person who is adopted, all the rights of a son.) All the rules of a son were applied to them even in inheritance and the esteem of lineage. So when Allah informed the Messenge ﷺ that Zaynab (رضي الله عنها), the wife of his freed slave whom he had adopted will be his wife he hid this knowledge and strictly insisted that Zayd (رضي الله عنه) hold on to his wife and not divorce her. This is despite Zayd’s (رضي الله عنه) insistence, his complaints about her, and the lack of harmony between them in their marital life ever since he married her. Zayd (رضي الله عنه) insisted on divorcing her so the Messenger ﷺ gave him permission, and he eventually divorced her without any knowledge that the Messenger ﷺ would marry her and without Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) herself knowing that the Messenger ﷺ would take her as his wife.
This is illustrated by what Ahmad, Muslim and an-Nasâ’iyy have reported from Sulaymân ibn al-Mughîrah on the authority of Thâbit that Anas who said: When the `Iddah (divorce period) of Zaynab was over, Allâh’s Messenger ﷺ said to Zayd to mention him to her. So I (Zayd) went to her and said: ‘O Zaynab rejoice! Allâh’s Messenger sent me to propose to you on his behalf.’ She said: ‘I do not do anything until I see my Lord order me.’ So she stood at her place of worship and Allâh’s Messenger came to her without permission when the verses of the Qur’ân (pertaining to her marriage) were revealed:
“When Zayd no longer wanted her, We gave her to you in marriage so that there might be no fault in believers marrying the wives of their adopted sons after they no longer wanted them.” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 37]
If either Zaynab (رضي الله عنها) or Zayd (رضي الله عنه) had known that Allâh had ordered the Messenger ﷺ to marry Zaynab then Zayd would not have said to her ‘rejoice,’ nor she said ‘until I see my Lord order me.’ i.e. she left the matter to Allâh to guide her in this marriage. The 'Illa (legal reason) of this marriage is so that there is no sin on the believer in marrying the wife of someone they had adopted.
Conclusion
This is the account of the Messenger’s ﷺ marriages to his wives. It is clear that each one was for an objective other than the mere aim of marrying. The intent of the Prophet’s ﷺ marriage to more than four wives and why this number is unique to him compared to the rest of his Ummah is now clear.
The fact that the objective was not the agitation of the procreation instinct of a man who had passed the age of fifty is quite evident, since he was a man who was busy with the Da`wah, engaged in conveying the Message of his Lord to the world so that he may revive a people and mould them into an Ummah whose only aim in life was to carry the Message of Allâh to the world.
His ﷺ aim was to build the society anew after he had demolished the previous structures, and establish a state pushing ahead the world before it, in order to carry the Call of Islam to the people. Anyone whose mind is occupied with the revival of an Ummah, the establishment of a state, the building of a society, and the carrying of the Message to the world cannot be preoccupied by women devoting himself to them and marrying one every year. Rather, he carried his Da`wah and he enjoyed a normal married life like any other human.
Taken from the book 'The Social System in Islam' by Taqiuddin an-Nabhani
