Khadija bint Khuwaylid Around the age of 25, Muhammad wed his wealthy employer,
Khadija, the 28- or 40-year-old widow, and daughter of a merchant. Muhammad used to manage her caravans; and Khadija, being impressed by the skills of Muhammad, sent a proposal to the Islamic prophet. Around 595, the couple married, and this marriage, his first, would be both happy and monogamous; Muhammad would rely on Khadija in many ways, until her death 25 years later. They had two sons,
Qasim and
Abd Allah (nicknamed
al-Ṭāhir and
al-Ṭayyib respectively), both died young, and four daughters –
Zaynab,
Ruqaiya,
Umm Kulthum and
Fatimah. Some
Shia scholars dispute the
paternity of Khadija's daughters, as they view the first three of them as the daughters from previous marriages and only Fatimah as the daughter of Muhammad and Khadija. During their marriage, Khadija purchased the slave
Zayd ibn Harithah, then adopted the young man as her son at Muhammad's request. Muhammad's uncle
Abu Talib and Khadija died in 620 and Muhammad declared the year as
Aam al-Huzn ("Year of Sorrow").
Hijrah (migration) to Medina Sawda bint Zam'ah Before he left for Medina, it was suggested by
Khawlah bint Hakim that he should marry
Sawdah bint Zam'ah, who had suffered many hardships after she became a Muslim. Prior to that, Sawdah was married to a paternal cousin of hers named As-Sakran ibn Amr and had five or six children from her previous marriage. She along with her husband migrated to Abyssinia due to persecution of Muslims by Meccans. Her husband died in Abyssinia and hence Sawdah had to come back to Mecca. There are disagreements in Muslim tradition whether Muhammad first married Sawdah or
Aisha, but Sawdah is usually regarded as his second wife and she was living with him before Aisha joined the household. Sawdah was about 30 years old at the time. As Sawdah got older, and some time after Muhammad's marriage to
Umm Salama, Aisha was the only virgin he married. Both Aisha and Sawdah, his two wives, were given apartments adjoined to the
Al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque. Aisha was extremely scholarly and inquisitive. Her contribution to the spread of Muhammad's message was extraordinary, and she served the Muslim community for 44 years after his death. She is also known for narrating 2210 hadith, not just on matters related to Muhammad's private life, but also on topics such as
marriage,
Islamic inheritance,
Hajj and
Islamic eschatology, among other subjects. She was highly regarded for her intellect and knowledge in various fields, including poetry and medicine, which received plenty of praise by the traditionist
al-Zuhri and by her student
Urwa ibn al-Zubayr.
Zaynab bint Khuzayma was also widowed at the battle of Badr. She was the wife of
Ubaydah ibn al-Harith, a faithful Muslim and from the tribe of Al-Muttalib, for which Muhammad had special responsibility. When her husband died, Muhammad, aiming to provide for her, married her in 4 A.H. She was nicknamed Umm Al-Masakeen (roughly translates as the mother of the poor), because of her kindness and charity. Close to Aisha's age, the two younger wives, Hafsa and Zaynab, were welcomed into the household. Sawda, who was much older, extended her motherly benevolence to the younger women. Aisha and Hafsa had a lasting relationship. As for Zaynab, however, she became ill and died about three months after her marriage.
Hind bint Suhayl (Umm Salama) The death of Zaynab coincided with that of Abu Salamah, a devout Muslim and Muhammad's foster brother, as a result of his wounds from the
Battle of Uhud. She married Muhammad around the end of 4 AH.
Rayhana bint Zayd Rayhana bint Zayd was a
Jewish woman from the
Banu Nadir tribe. In 627, the
Banu Qurayza tribe was defeated and Rayhana was enslaved.
Ibn Sa'd wrote that Rayhana went on to be manumitted and subsequently married to Muhammad upon her conversion to Islam.
Al-Tha'labi reports that Muhammad paid a
mahr for her and
Ibn Hajar makes reference to Muhammad giving Rayhana a home upon their marriage.
Zaynab bint Jahsh Zaynab bint Jahsh was Muhammad's cousin, the daughter of one of his
father's sisters. In the
Pre-Islamic Era, Arabs used to consider children who had been sponsored exactly the same as their biological children as far as rights such as inheritance and sanctities were concerned. However, after marriage the sponsored children lost their inheritance rights and were henceforth known as the children of their biological parents. After attaining puberty, they could not live with the sponsoring family but were still subsidised. This was to reduce the enmity of biological children towards sponsored children and to prevent the mingling of male sponsors with adult sponsored females. Zaynab disapproved of the marriage, and her brothers rejected it, because according to
Ibn Sa'd, she was of aristocratic lineage and Zayd was a former slave.
Watt states that it is not clear why Zaynab was unwilling to marry Zayd, as Muhammad esteemed him highly. He postulates that Zaynab, being an ambitious woman, was already hoping to marry Muhammad or that she might have wanted to marry someone of whom Muhammad disapproved for political reasons. According to
Maududi, after the Qur'anic verse was revealed, Zaynab acquiesced and married Zayd. Zaynab's marriage was unharmonious. According to Watt, it is almost certain that she was working for marriage with Muhammad before the end of 626. Zaynab had dressed in haste when she was told "the Messenger of God is at the door". She jumped up in haste and excited the admiration of the Messenger of God so that he turned away murmuring something that could scarcely be understood. However, he did say overtly: "Glory be to God the Almighty! Glory be to God, who causes the hearts to turn!" Zaynab told Zayd about this, and he offered to divorce her, but Muhammad told him to keep her. Watt doubts the accuracy of this portion of the narrative since it does not occur in the earliest source. He thinks that even if there is a basis of fact underlying the narrative, it would have been subject to exaggeration in the course of transmission as the later Muslims liked to maintain that there was no celibacy and monkery in Islam. The Qur'an however, indicated that this marriage was a duty imposed upon him by God. It implied that treating adopted sons as real sons was objectionable and that there should now be a complete break with the past. When Zaynab's waiting period was complete, Muhammad married her. An influential faction in Medina, called "
Hypocrites", a term that refers to those who convert to Islam while secretly working against it in the Islamic tradition, did indeed criticise the marriage as incestuous.
Reconciliation Juwayriya bint al-Harith One of the captives from the skirmish with the
Banu Mustaliq was
Juwayriya bint al-Harith, who was the daughter of the tribe's chieftain. Her husband, Mustafa bin Safwan, had been killed in the battle. She initially fell among the booty of Muhammad's companion
Thabit ibn Qays ibn Al-Shammas. Upon being enslaved, Juwayriyya went to Muhammad requesting that she – as the daughter of the lord of the Mustaliq – be released, however, he refused. Meanwhile, her father approached Muhammad with
ransom to secure her release, but Muhammed still refused to release her. Muhammad then offered to marry her, and she accepted. When it became known that tribes persons of Mustaliq were
kinsmen of Muhammad through marriage, the Muslims began releasing their captives. Thus, Muhammad's marriage resulted in the freedom of nearly one hundred families whom he had recently enslaved.
Safiyya bint Huyayy Ibn Akhtab Safiyya bint Huyayy was a noblewoman and the daughter of
Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the chief of the Jewish tribe
Banu Nadir, who was executed after surrendering at the
Battle of the Trench. She had been married first to the poet
Sallam ibn Mishkam, who had divorced her, and second to
Kenana ibn al-Rabi. he died following the battle of khaybar. In 628,
Muhammad attacked Khaybar made the inhabitants, including the Banu Nadir, surrender. One of Muhammad's companions,
Dihya al-Kalbi, asked Muhammad to be allowed to take a slave girl from the captives; he gave permission, so Dihya went and took Safiyya. However, a man then came to Muhammad reporting that Dihya had taken Safiyya, who was the chief mistress of the
Qurayza and the Nadir, which he thought was only suitable for Muhammad. Thus, Muhammad gave the order to call them. When Safiyya was brought, she was with another woman, and when the woman saw the headless bodies, she screamed wildly, struck herself in the face, and poured sand on her own head. The woman was taken away, Muhammad then took Safiyya for himself and told Dihya to take any other slave girl from the captives. Reportedly, Dihya got seven slaves in exchange. According to
Martin Lings, Muhammad had given Safiyyah the choice of returning to the defeated Banu Nadir or becoming Muslim and marrying him, and Safiyyah opted for the latter choice.
W. Montgomery Watt and Nomani believe that Muhammad married Safiyya as part of reconciliation with the Jewish tribe and as a gesture of goodwill. John L. Esposito states that the marriage may have been political or to cement alliances. Haykal opines that Muhammad's manumission of and marriage to Safiyaa was partly in order to alleviate her tragedy and partly to preserve their dignity, and compares these actions to previous conquerors who married the daughters and wives of the kings whom they had defeated. According to some, by marrying Safiyyah, Muhammad aimed at ending the enmity and hostility between Jews and Islam. According to Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili, Safiyya came to appreciate the love and honor Muhammad gave her, and said, "I have never seen a good-natured person as the Messenger of Allah". Safiyyah remained loyal to Muhammad until he died. According to Islamic tradition, Safiyya was beautiful, patient, intelligent, learned and gentle, and she respected Muhammad as "Allah's Messenger". Muslim scholars state she had many good moral qualities. She is described as a humble worshiper and a pious believer.
Ibn Kathir said, "she was one of the best women in her worship, piousness, ascetism, devoutness, and charity". According to Ibn Sa'd, Safiyyah was very charitable and generous. She used to give out and spend whatever she had; she gave away a house that she had when she was still alive. Upon entering Muhammad's household, Safiyya became friends with Aisha and Hafsa. Also, she offered gifts to Fatima. She gave some of Muhammad's other wives gifts from her jewels that she brought with her from Khaybar. However, some of Muhammad's other wives spoke ill of Safiyya's Jewish descent. Muhammad intervened, pointing out to everyone that Safiyya's "husband is Muhammad, father is
Aaron, and uncle is
Moses", a reference to revered prophets. Muhammad once went to
hajj with all his wives. On the way, Safiyya's camel knelt down, as it was the weakest in the caravan, and she started to weep. Muhammad came to her and wiped her tears with his dress and hands, but the more he asked her not to cry, the more she went on weeping. When Muhammad was terminally ill, Safiyya was profoundly upset. She said to him, "I wish it was I who was suffering instead of you". He sent a proposal for marriage to
Ramla bint Abi Sufyan, who was in Abyssinia at the time when she learned her husband had died. She had previously converted to Islam (in Mecca) against her father's will. After
her migration to Abyssinia her husband had converted to
Christianity. Muhammad dispatched 'Amr bin Omaiyah Ad-Damri with a letter to the
Negus (king), asking him for Umm Habiba's hand—that was in
Muharram, in the seventh year of Al-Hijra.
Mariyah bint Shamoon al-Qibtiya Maria al-Qibtiyya was one of several slaves whom the Governor of Egypt sent as a present to Muhammad. He kept her as a concubine despite the objections of his official wives. It is said in early biographies of Muhammad that Mariyah is a slave girl or concubine. Mariyah bore Muhammad a son,
Ibrahim who later died at 18 months.
Maymuna binti al-Harith As part of the
treaty of Hudaybiyah, Muhammad visited Mecca for the pilgrimage. There
Maymuna bint al-Harith proposed marriage to him. Muhammad accepted, and thus married Maymuna, the sister-in-law of Abbas, a longtime ally of his. By marrying her, Muhammad also established kinship ties with the Banu Makhzum, his previous opponents. As the Meccans did not allow him to stay any longer, Muhammad left the city, taking Maymuna with him. Her original name was "Barra" but he called her "Maymuna", meaning the blessed, as his marriage to her had also marked the first time in seven years when he could enter his hometown Mecca. Some of Muhammad's widows were active politically in the Islamic state after Muhammad's death. Safiyya, for example, aided the Caliph Uthman during his siege. The last of Muhammad's wives, Umm Salama, lived to hear about the tragedy of
Karbala in 680, dying the same year. The grave of the wives of Muhammed is located at
Al-Baqi Cemetery,
Medina. == Timeline of marriages ==