Wives of the Prophet (s): Difference between revisions

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.

According to the Quranic verse, “do not be complaisant in your speech, lest he in whose heart is a sickness should aspire”<ref>Quran 33:32</ref>, the Prophet’s wives were not allowed to soften their voice, lest that might have aroused lustful men.

According to the Quranic verse, “speak honorable words”<ref>Quran 33:32</ref>, the Prophet’s wives had the obligation to speak in ways that were satisfactory to [[God]] and the Prophet (s)—in right and just manners.

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. 'Allama 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 ʿAllama Tabataba'i, the verse “And remember what is recited in your homes of the signs of Allah and wisdom”<ref>Quran 33:34</ref> says that the Prophet’s wives should memorize and remember those Quranic verses that they hear in their houses, and they should not go beyond the path determined by God. Some Quranic exegetes say that the verse says that the Prophet’s wives should be thankful for the blessing that they are in houses where the [[Quran]] and [[hadiths]] are recited.

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”<ref>Quran 33:53.</ref>, 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 the Quranic verse, “nor may you ever marry his wives after him”<ref>Quran 33:53</ref>, Muslims were not allowed to marry the Prophet’s wife after his demise, since they were the spiritual mothers of the faithful. There are possible accounts of why such marriage was forbidden, including the following:

* Prevention of any abuse of power: if marriage with the Prophet’s wives was allowed, some people could gain a social advantage through such marriage, or they could distort Islamic doctrines under the pretext that they had a special access to his ideas.

* Marriage with the Prophet’s wives was banned because they would be the Prophet’s wives in the [[Heaven]].

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.