Wives of the Prophet (s): Difference between revisions

The [[Quran]] refers to the Prophet’s wives as “ummahat al-muʾminin” (mothers of the faithful), being subjected to specific rulings and commands, including the avoidance of flaunting their finery and speaking honorable words. Moreover, Muslims were commanded to talk to the Prophet’s wives from behind a curtain and not marry after the [[Prophet's demise]].

Muslims believe that the Prophet’s wives were chaste. In their view, it is not permissible to insult them. Nevertheless, there have criticisms against [[Aisha]] for her practice after the Prophet’s demise, including her role in waging the [[Battle of Jamal]].

All Muslims believe that the Prophet’s wives were chaste. However, some [[Wahhabis]] have claimed that the [[Shia]]s accuse some of the Prophet’s wives of unchastity. While Shiite scholars as well as some [[Sunni]] scholars criticize the practice of some of the Prophet’s wives in events following the Prophet’s demise, including Aisha’s role in waging the Battle of Jamal and her enmity towards [[Imam 'Ali (a)]], they never accused them of unchastity, and indeed, they believe that it is impermissible to insult them. For instance, [[al-Sayyid al-Murtada]], a Shiite theologian of the fifth/eleventh century, believes that the unchastity of the Prophet’s wives would not square with the Prophet’s [[infallibility]], since according to the [[Imamiyya]], the prophets are immune from anything that would lead to people’s aversion to them.

Furthermore, [[Ayatollah Khamenei]], the Supreme Leader of the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]], has issued a fatwa whereby it is forbidden to insult what is deemed sacred by Sunni Muslims, including their symbols and the Prophet’s wives. On this [[fatwa]], it is [[forbidden]] to throw accusations against the Prophet’s wives.

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Of the Prophet’s wives, only Khadija (a) and Mariya al-Qibtiyya gave birth to children. Mariya gave birth to [[Ibrahim Son of the Prophet (s)|Ibrahim]]. According to the majority view, Khadija (a) gave birth to four daughters: [[Fatima (a)]], [[Zaynab daughter of the Prophet (s)|Zaynab]], [[Umm Kulthum Daughter of Prophet Muhammad (s)|Umm Kulthum]], and [[Ruqayya Daughter of the Prophet (s)|Ruqayya]], and two sons: [['Abd Allah son of the Prophet (s) |ʿAbd Allah]] and [[Al-Qasim Son of the Prophet (s)|al-Qasim]]. Some Shiite scholars believe that Zaynab, Umm Kulthum, and Ruqayya were not the daughters of Khadija (a) and the Prophet (s). Indeed, they were Khadija’s daughters who were raised in their house.

Seeking the support of great Arabian tribes and clans and reinforcement of his political and social influence through establishing affinities. A case in point is his marriage with ʿAʾisha.

* Protecting and providing poor widows and their orphaned children, as in the marriage with Umm Salama and Zaynab bt. Khuzayma.

* Exhibiting the greatness and power of Islam and Muslims, as in the marriage with Safiyya.

* Protecting women from threats to their lives, as in the marriage with Sawda.

However, some authors believe that the Prophet (s) married all these women just out of his desires. In reply, [[Allama Tabataba'i]] points out that the Prophet’s practice proves otherwise. Indeed, the Prophet lived only with Khadija (a) for twenty years (about one-third of his life), and it was only toward the end of his life that he married with other women. Moreover, if the Prophet’s marriages were out of desire, then he would marry young women, instead of widows and old women.

 

Moreover, according to [[Allama Tabataba'i]], the Prophet’s treatment of women is evidence that he never saw women as means for the satisfaction of men’s lust. Instead, he tried to save women from humility and slavery. Kashif al-Ghitaʾ is quoted as saying that the Prophet (s) tried to display a prime example of restraint, persistence, and observance of equality and justice through his polygamy.

According to the Quranic verse, “O wives of the Prophet! Whoever of you commits a gross indecency, her punishment shall be doubled, and that is easy for Allah. But whoever of you is obedient to Allah and His Apostle and acts righteously, We shall give her a twofold reward, and We will have in store for her a noble provision”<ref>Quran 33:30-31</ref>. Thus, if the Prophet’s wives acted righteously, their [[rewards]] would be doubled, and if they committed an indecent act, their punishments would be doubled, because they serve as role-models for other women on account of their relation with the Prophet. Furthermore, Quranic exegetes appeal to the Quranic verse, “O wives of the Prophet! You are not like other women: if you are wary [of Allah]” <ref>Quran 33:32</ref> to show that their obligation is more taxing than other people, since it is not rational for obligations to be the same, while rewards are different.

According to the Quranic verse, “O Prophet! Say to your wives, ‘If you desire the life of the world and its glitter, come, I will provide for you and release you in a graceful manner. But if you desire Allah and His Apostle and the abode of the Hereafter, then Allah has indeed prepared a great reward for the virtuous among you’”<ref>Quran 33:28-29</ref>. Accordingly, if the Prophet’s wives wanted the Prophet (s) and the [[Hereafter]], then they had to adopt a simple way of life; and if they wanted life in this world, then the Prophet had to [[divorce]] them and pay their [[mahr]]s. As suggested in ''[[Tafsir-i nimuna]]'', the verse was revealed when some of the Prophet’s wives express complaints about their life conditions. When they saw the booties acquired by Muslims in battles, they asked for a share of those booties. The Prophet (s) refused to meet their demands and withdrew from them for one month until the above verses were revealed.

The Quranic verse, “Stay in your houses and do not flaunt your finery like the former [days of pagan] ignorance”<ref>Quran 33:33</ref>, asks the Prophet’s wives to stay in their houses and not display their bodies or adornments to others, as was customary in the period of ignorance. According to Quranic exegetes, this is a general ruling, extending to all Muslim women. It was addressed to the Prophet’s wives because the ruling is more emphatic in their case.

According to the verse, “Maintain the prayer and pay the zakat, and obey Allah and His Apostle”<ref>Quran 33:33</ref>, the Prophet’s wives should say [[prayer]]s, pay the [[zakat]], and obey God and the Prophet (s). According to Quranic exegetes, these commands are not restricted to the Prophet’s wives, although they are more emphatic in their case. ʿAllama Tabataba'i says that, of all rulings, this verse picks out the prayer and the zakat, which is because they constitute the tenets of all worships and transactions, respectively, other commands being included in the obedience of God and the Prophet (s).

According to the verse, “When you ask [his] womenfolk for something, do so from behind a curtain. That is more chaste for your hearts and theirs” (Quran 33:53), when Muslim men had to talk the Prophet’s wives, they should do so from behind a curtain. The term “hijab” here is not just the ordinary hijab that Muslim women should wear. It is an additional rulings, specific to the Prophet’s wives: there had to be a curtain between them and men, to prevent faultfinding about them and to protect their honor.

According to hadiths, the Prophet’s wives had a [[mahr]] of 500 [[dirham]]s. The mahr determined by the Prophet (s) for his wives, and according to [[al-Shaykh al-Saduq]], for his daughters, is called “mahr al-sunna’ (the mahr of the tradition). There is, nevertheless, a hadith quoted by al-Shaykh al-Saduq from [[Imam al-Baqir (a)]] to the effect that [[Umm Habiba]]’s mahr was 4,000 dirhams. It is said that Imam al-Baqir (a) referred to this mahr as an exception case, which was paid by al-Najashi, the ruler of [[Abyssinia]] who served as the Prophet’s representative in asking Umm Habiba for marriage, although the Prophet did not object to that mahr.

According to Muhammad Husayn Haykal (d. 1376/1956), an [[Egypt]]ian author, the Prophet’s special treatment of his wives was unknown to Arabs at the time. There are verses in the Quran to the effect that he deprived himself of certain permissible things in order to please his wives. For example, the [[occasion of the revelation]] of the verse “O Prophet! Why do you disallow [yourself] what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives?” <ref>Quran 66:1</ref> was that the Prophet refused to drink a honey syrup prepared for him by Zaynab bt. Jahsh in order to please his other wife Hafsa.

Moreover, the Prophet (s) treated his wives with justice. There are accounts of how he equally divided his possessions among his wives. For instance, Muhammad b. ʿUmar al-Waqidi says that, after the [[Battle of Khaybar]], the Prophet (s) gave eighty cups (wasaq) of palm dates and twenty cups (wasaq) of barley. Furthermore, he equally divided his night stays among them, and when he went on a battle or a journey, he chose one of them to accompany him based on a lottery, although verse 51 of Sura al-Ahzab had permitted him to postpone the shares of any of his wives.

There are many books about the Prophet’s wives in Arabic and Persian by Shiite and Sunni scholars, including:

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