Ibrahim H. Malabari Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 77 | Size: 1 MB
A brief book regarding Ten Questions and
Answers about the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), Some non-Muslim
westerners have been wondering what it is that Prophet Muhammad (Peace
be upon him) presented to humanity, particularly after the defamation of
his honorable character by western media, and we deem it our duty to
answer the questions regarding what our Prophet gave to humanity and the
world.
Why did Muhammad marry several women? Did he do so for sexual gratification?
Whenever Prophet Muhammad’s name emerges,
the image in many people’s minds is a man with many wives. For Muslims,
his multiple marriages had meaning and immense implications for Islam,
and by extension, the history of the world. Needless to say, the issue
remains controversial, and as such, any study of the matter requires an
objective approach. Therefore we will endeavour to tackle this topic by
being as objective as possible.
The Prophet Muhammad was driven by the
goal to ensure that his mission as the Messenger of God was fulfilled
and to establish a society based on God’s commands, and not his own. In
order to achieve this goal, he did everything that was humanly possible:
he forged relations with the various tribes of Arabia, concluded peace
treaties with his sworn enemies and kept relations with the heads of
various tribes, nations and religions. Taken together his marriages was
one way bywhich he fostered relationships with various influential
tribes.
If one were to view the marriages of the
Prophet from this context, the motivating factors behind his marriages
become clear. It would be very simplistic and incorrect to view his
marriages as being merely for lustful ends.
Let us now briefly examine the context of
each one of his marriages to see whether this was the case. From the
outset, it is of ultimate importance to note that, except for one of his
wives, all of his eleven wives were widowed or divorced. Most were in
fact widowed.
His first marriage was to a widow named
Khadijah, who had been married twice and whom he married when she was
forty years old and he was twenty five. She was the first woman to
embrace Islam. She provided great consolation to him throughout his life
and he continued to remember her in his later years as his most beloved
wife. He stayed with her faithfully for 25 years until her death, at
which time he was 50 years old, and she was 65 years old.
If he was driven by lustful desires as
accused by his opponents, he could have married several, beautiful young
women in a society where having numerous wives was a norm – there would
be no reason to faithfully remain with an older woman until the age of
50. This single fact would be sufficient to totally refute the charges
against him in this regard. However, an examination of all of his
marriages, as we shall see, should put this question to rest.
After Khadija’s death, he married another
widow, Sawda, who was 65 years old. She and her previous husband,
Sakran, were among those who had immigrated to Ethiopia, fleeing from
the oppression and persecution of the Meccans. It was during their
return to Mecca that her husband had died. Seeing her difficult
condition, the Prophet married her.
Then he married Aisha, daughter of his
lifelong friend and companion Abu Bakr. Aisha had first been betrothed
to Jabir bin Mut’im at the age of 5. Child marriages were evidently the
norm at that time. She was the only virgin among the Prophet’s wives and
the only one who was born into a Muslim family.
One of the Prophet’s goals in this
marriage was to strengthen the bond of his brotherhood with Abu Bakr,
who was his main defender against the Meccans. Second, Aisha was of a
lineage known for honor and intelligence. The Prophet knew that she
would tremendously benefit his nation (ummah) by transmitting crucial
knowledge from his life, especially family and personal matters that
others were not privy to. Indeed, the Prophet advised his community to
learn half of the knowledge of the religion from Aisha. The foresight of
the Prophet proved itself, for she would live for 45 years after his
death, and thus became one of the main sources of Prophetic wisdom and
knowledge.
He also married another widow, Hafsa, who
was the daughter of Umar Bin Khattab, his next closest companion. Her
husband, Khunays, had been martyred in the Battle of Badr. He felt a
duty towards Umar, whose acceptance of Islam provided a major boost for
the Muslims in Mecca against their foes.
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