THE NOBLE WIVES OF THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH
The Messenger of Allah married Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the daughter of Khuwaylid.1 He did not marry another lady so long as Sayyida Khadijah was alive.
He then married Sawdah bint Zamah ibn
Qays ibn Abdu Shams ibn Abdu Wudd ibn Nasr ibn Malik ibn Hisl ibn Aamir
ibn Lu-ayy. When she became older, the Messenger of Allah wished to
divorce her; so she gifted her days 2 If a person has many wives, it is necessary to appoint days for each of them equally and in turns.
to Aysha and said, “I have no inclination towards men. But I wish to be raised among your wives on the Day of Judgment.”3 So the Messenger of Allah did not divorce her and she passed away as one of his wives. May Allah Most High be well pleased with her.
He then married Aysha bint Abu Bakr Abdullah
ibn Usman ibn Aamir ibn Amr ibn Kaab ibn Saad ibn Taym ibn Murrah. He
married her in Makkah two years before the migration
4 hijra
to Madinah. It is also said that it was three years prior, when she was a girl of six or seven. She went to live with him5 In Arab/Islamic cultures, the
marriage or the contract takes place first and the bride goes to live
with her husband after a short period. In the subcontinent this is known
as rukhsati.
in Madinah when she was nine. When the Messenger of Allah passed away,
she was eighteen. She passed away at the age of fifty-eight or
thereabouts. The Messenger of Allah did not marry a virgin other than
her; her appellation was Umm Abdullah. May Allah Most High be well
pleased with her.
He then married Hafsah bint Umar ibn Al-Khattab ibn Nufayl ibn Abd al-Uzza ibn Riyah ibn Abdullah ibn Qurt ibn Razah ibn Adiy ibn Kaab.
The Messenger of Allah married Umm Habibah Ramlah bint Abu Sufyan Sakhr ibn
Harb ibn Umayyah ibn Abdu Shams ibn Abdu Manaf. The marriage took place
while she was in Abyssinia. Najashi paid a dower of four hundred gold
coins
6 dinar
on behalf of the Messenger of Allah. Sayyidina Usman ibn Affan stood as her kinsman.
7 waliy
It is also said that it was Sayyidina Khalid ibn Sayid ibn al-Aas. She
passed away in 44 AH. May Allah Most High be well pleased with her.
He married Umm Salamah Hind bint Abi Umayyah ibn
Al-Mughayrah ibn Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Makhzum. She passed away in 62
AH, and was the last of his blessed wives to leave this world. It is
also said that it was Maymunah. May Allah Most High be well pleased with
her.
He married Zaynab bint Jahsh ibn
Ri-ab ibn Yaamur ibn Sabirah ibn Murrah ibn Kabir ibn Ghanm ibn Dudan
ibn Asad ibn Khuzaymah. She was the daughter of Umaymah, his paternal
aunt. She passed away in Madinah, in the year 20 AH. She was the first
to demise after the Messenger of Allah among his noble wives. May Allah
Most High be well pleased with her.
He married Juwayriyah bint Harith ibn
Abu Dirar ibn Habib ibn Aayidh ibn Malik ibn al-Mustaliq. She was a
comely lady, and was enslaved after the battle of Bani Mustalaq and
taken by Sayyidina Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas, who then agreed to free
her for a sum.8 This is known as mukatabah in legal parlance. She came to the Messenger of Allah seeking
his help to pay the sum; the Messenger of Allah said to her: “If you
wish, I can offer you a better arrangement. I shall pay the sum that is
due, and take you in marriage.” She accepted it and the Messenger of
Allah paid the due and married her. She passed away in the year 56 AH.
May Allah Most High be well pleased with her.
He married Safiyyah bint Huy’yi ibn Akhtab [ibn Saanah ibn Thalabah ibn Ubayd] ibn Kaab ibn Khazraj an-Nadiriyyah9 Belonging to the Banu Nadir, a Jewish tribe.
from the progeny of [the Prophet] Harun. She was enslaved after the
battle of Khaybar. The Messenger of Allah manumitted her and stipulated
her manumission as her dower. She passed away in the year 50 AH. May
Allah Most High be well pleased with her.
He married Maymunah bint Harith ibn
Hazim ibn Bujayr ibn Harim ibn Ruwaybah ibn Abdullah ibn Hilal ibn
Aamir; and she was the maternal aunt of Sayyidina Khalid ibn Walid and
Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas. She was the last to marry the Messenger of
Allah. She passed away in the year 51 or 66 AH; and if the latter date
is validated, then she would be the last of his noble wives to leave
this world. May Allah Most High be well pleased with her.
These were the noble wives who survived the Messenger of Allah (except Sayyida Khadijah).
According to the most reliable reports, the dower for every one of his
noble wives was five hundred pieces of silver, except for Safiyyah and
Umm Habibah. May Allah Most High be pleased with all of them.
Tags:
Womens section