What is the reasoning behind the Prophet ﷺ marrying many wives?  #ProphetForAll #prophet_muhammad

1. Some critics of Islam, either because they are not aware of the facts about the marriages of the Prophet Muhammad, or because they are not honest and objective about those facts, have reviled the Prophet as a self-indulgent libertine.

2. They have accused him of character failings which are hardly compatible with being of average virtue, let alone with being a Prophet and Allah’s last Messenger and the best model for all mankind to follow.

3. Long before the appearance of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), polygamy was being practiced in other parts of the world. It was a very common practice of the society to marry more than one wife. Polygamy was not only in Arabia rather it was being practiced in the entire world.

4. The reasons behind the Prophet’s several marriages are various, but even in the privateness of some of those reasons, they all had to do with his role as the leader of the new Muslim ummah, guiding his people towards the norms and values of Islam.

5. The plurality of wives was a necessity for the Prophet through whose practice (or Sunna) the statutes and norms of Muslim law were to be established. Religion may not be excluded from the private relations between spouses, from matters that can only be known by one’s partner.

6. Therefore, there must be guidance from women who can give clear instruction and advice without using an allusive language of hints and innuendoes which leaves the meaning obscure and incomprehensible.

7. The chaste and virtuous women of the Prophet’s household were the teachers responsible for conveying and communicating to the people the norms and rules that concern the conduct of Muslims in their private lives.

8. Prophet Muhammad(SAW) eliminated racial, ethnic, cultural, tribal and national distinctions and prejudices through his marriages. Some of the marriages of the Prophet(SAW) were to unite his followers with different clans and tribes in mutual love and affection.

9.His first wife Khadija (RA) was a widow and an independent business owner 15 years older than he was, as his first wife.

This monogamous relationship, which lasted nearly 25 years, until Khadija's death, was contrary to the then-Jewish, Christian and Arab traditions that allowed for unlimited wives.

10. Perhaps even more eye-opening was the fact that Muhammad (SAW) took Sawda as his second wife when she was a 65-year-old widow.

This marriage came as a great surprise to the Prophet's contemporaries, who usually took wives for their wealth or beauty, rarely out of compassion and affording security to women.

11. Aishah (RA) was the daughter of his closest friend and devoted follower, Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr, one of the earliest converts to Islam had long hoped to cement d deep attachment that existed between himself and the Prophet, by giving to him his daughter in marriage.

By marrying her the Prophet accorded the highest honour and courtesy to a man who had shared all the good and bad times with him throughout his mission. In this way, Abu Bakr and Aishah Siddiqa acquired the distinction of being spiritually and physically near to the Prophet.

12. Marriage with Zainab (RA) was a command from Allah in order to wipe out the common practice that an adopted son was considered equal to a biological son,n as such,was entitled to equal civil liberties,while the other close relatives were ignored & their rights were neglected

So Islam drew the line between blood relations and adopted children, and gave them proper rights as they deserved. To read more about the story please read the note attached once you finish the thread. You can also read it once you finish reading the thread.

This command was one of the severest trials the Prophet, upon him be peace, had yet had to face. For he was commanded to do a thing contrary to the traditions of his people, indeed it was a taboo.

Yet it had to be done for the sake of Allah, just as Allah commanded. Aishah later said: Had the Apostle of Allah been inclined to suppress anything of what was revealed to him, he would surely have suppressed this verse (Bukhari and Muslim).

13. As was customary for Arab chiefs, many were political marriages to cement alliances. Except with Ayesha and Zainab (May Allah be pleased with them) most of the Others were marriages to the widows of his companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of protection.

For eg - Umme Salmah (RA) was a widow with many children. For the Prophet to hav married someone like her to have accepted the expenses & responsibilities that entailed, cannot be understood otherwise than in humble admiration for the infinite reserves of his humanity &compassion

Hafsah RA was the daughter of Umar bin Khattab .She lost her husband in a battle. She remained without a husband for a while.

Umar (RA) also desired, like Abu Bakr, the honour and blessing of being close to the Prophet in this world and in the Hereafter, so the Prophet,took Hafsah as his wife so as to protect and help the daughter of his faithful disciple.

14. He divided his time with them equally, and regarded and treated them with equal friendship and respect. The Prophet's daytime was spent fulfilling his prophetic mission of teaching.

15. His nights were spent in long solitary prayers. This lifestyle was scarcely conducive to sexual perversion as suggested in many misinformed quarters.

16. In the time of the Prophet of Islam, the prisoners of war were taken as slaves. The Prophet(saw) set up an example by freeing them on ransom & on several occasions without charging anything. He also married 2 of the captive women, to set up a personal eg for the believers.

17. Such were the circumstances and noble motives of the several marriages of the Prophet Muhammad(SAW) We see that these marriages were intended to provide helpless or widowed women with dignified subsistence in the absence of all other means;

to console and honour enraged or estranged tribes people, to bring those who had been enemies into some degree of relationship and harmony; to gain for the cause of Islam certain uniquely gifted individuals,

in particular some exceptionally talented women; to establish new norms of equality and relationship between different people within the unifying brotherhood of faith in Allah; and to honour with family bonds the men who were to be the first leaders of the Muslim ummah after him.

18. These marriages had nothing at all to do with self-indulgence or personal desire or lust or any other of the absurd and vile charges laid against the Prophet by Islam"s embittered enemies. With the exception of Aisha and Zainab (RA), all of the Prophet"s wives were widows,

and all his marriages (after that with the noble Khadijah) were contracted when he was already an old man. Far from being acts of self-indulgence then, these marriages were acts of self-discipline.

19. It was a part of that discipline that the Prophet, upon him be peace, provided for each of his wives with the most meticulously observed justice,dividing equally whatever slender resources he allowed to his household for their subsistence, accommodation and allowance generaly

20. He also divided his time with them equally, and regarded and treated them with equal friendship and respect. That his household (despite the fact that his wives came from different backgrounds and had acquired different tastes and temperaments) got on well with each other,

is no small tribute to his genius for creating peace and harmony. With each of them, he was not only a provider but a friend and companion.

Excerpts have been taken from 3 sources. If there are any mistakes I seek Allah’s forgiveness.