Why Did the Prophet PBUH Had So Many Wives?

[rehmatullah]

Why Did the Prophet PBUH Had So Many Wives?

Other Prophets Practiced Polygamy

The fact that only Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is accused of polygamy is rather surprising, since this is a privilege enjoyed by prophets before him. Their wives and concubines came in great numbers, too! The Torah, the Bible, and the Qur’an tell of some of them; the rest are not mentioned so we don’t know, but among the ones who were polygamous we can count Prophets Ibrahim (Abraham), Ya`qub (Jacob), Dawud (David), and Sulayman (Solomon). The Scriptures talk of polygamy as a “favor” bestowed upon them from the Lord.

First Kings 11:1-3 indicates that King Solomon had 700 hundred wives and 300 hundred concubines! In sealing treaties in ancient days, it was customary for a lesser king to give his daughter in marriage to the greater king. Every time a new treaty was sealed, Solomon ended up with yet another wife. These wives were considered “tokens of friendship” and “sealed” the relationship between the two kings. (Reasoning from the Scriptures on 1 Kings)

Scripture indicates that David also acquired wives and concubines, David’s blessings, including his wives, were given to him as a result of God’s favor (2 Sam. 5:12-13; 12:8; D & C 132:39). Scriptural records say that the Lord did command some of his ancient saints to practice plural marriage. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—among others (D & C 132)—conformed to this ennobling and exalting principle; the whole history of ancient Israel was one in which plurality of wives was a divinely accepted and approved order of matrimony. Those who entered this order at the Lord’s command, and who kept the laws and conditions appertaining to it, have gained for themselves eternal exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world. (Mormon Doctrine of Plural Marriage p. 578)
Islam Didn’t Invent Polygamy but Only Regulated It—in Favor of Women!

From the above accounts, we can clearly see that Prophets—including Muhammad—were allowed to be more polygamous than their followers, not just for carnal reasons, but for political and religious reasons pertaining to their call. Consequently, it is groundless to wonder why Muslims can’t marry 12 wives like their prophet, just as it is groundless to wonder why Jews and Christians can’t marry 700 like theirs! Islam didn’t invent polygamy; Islam only made polygamy more humane, instituting equal rights for all wives. And even so, Muslim women are not forced to accept this and may put a condition against it in their marriage contract.
The Qur’an Is the Only Holy Book That Actually Says “Marry Only One”

Images of “sheikhs with harems” are not consistent with Islam, as, in fact, the general rule in Islam is monogamy not polygamy. the Qur’an says what means:

*{Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one.}* (An-Nisaa’ 3:3)

Polygamy in Islam is not recommended; it is only permitted under certain guidelines. Permission to practice polygamy is not associated with mere satisfaction of passion. It is, rather, associated withcompassion toward widows and orphans.

Before the Qur’an was revealed, there was no upper limit for polygamy, and many men had more than four wives. Islam put an upper limit of four wives, permitting a man to marry more than once, only on the condition that he deal justly with all of them. Yet the same verse points out:

*{Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women}* (Al-Nisaa’ 3:129)

Therefore polygamy is not a rule but an exception.
Why Is the Exception of Polygamy Allowed in Islam?

The exception is made for many reasons, but let’s note only one here, addressing your concern that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) “had intercourse outside of wedlock.”

In Western society, it is common for a man to have mistresses or multiple extra-marital affairs. Women in this case are degraded to mere sex objects with absolutely no rights; they’re usually on the losing end of such liaisons. The same society, however, cannot accept a man having more than one wife so that women can retain their lawful rights and lead an honorable, dignified, and respectable life.

If every adult American man married only one woman, there would still be more than 25 million women in the United States who would not be able to get husbands, at least considering that—according to latest statistics—10 percent of the American population is gay! That’s close to 30 million people!

Thus the only option for a woman who cannot find a husband is either to marry a married man or to become “public property.” Islam gives women the honorable position by permitting the first option and disallowing the second. At least one of the reasons Islam has permitted limited polygamy is to protect the modesty of women!
Islam’s Straightforward Approach in Problem Solving

In Islam, problems are supposed to be faced and solved—not ignored! So, rather than requiring hypocritical compliance, Islam provides legitimate and clean solutions to the problems of individuals and societies. There is no doubt that the second wife legally married and treated kindly is better off than a mistress without any legal rights. Through practical example, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as the guide of Muslims has set the applicable rules for this aspect of human relations in order not to leave anything for speculation.
Stages of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) Married Life

First, let’s remember that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) led a life supported only by the bare minimum of necessities. His wives were not idly wasting away the hours in a luxurious harem but led a life of labor and sacrifice, while he was mostly busy away from home overseeing his numerous duties as a Prophet. So, obviously, lust was not a factor, as he wasn’t even at home most of the time. Further, most of his marriages occurred at an age when lust is not a major factor in any man’s life:

1. He remained single until age 25.

2. From age 25 to 50 he was faithful to only one wife, Khadijah, who bore all his children except one. She was 15 years older than him, with children from two previous marriages. She was his greatest ally when he received the Call at age 40 until she died when he was 50 years old. He remained in love with her until he died and often talked of his life with her with great nostalgia.

3. Between ages 50 and 52 he remained unmarried and mourning his late beloved wife. He lived alone with his daughters.

4. Between ages 53 and 60 he married all his other wives for many noble reasons detailed below. It’s unimaginable for a man to suddenly turn lustful at this age, especially as he was constantly traveling, with bloodthirsty enemies on his heels.

5. At age 60, Allah revealed to him verse preventing him from marrying any more until he died, which was at age 63. The Qur’an says what means:

*{It is not lawful for you (to marry other) women after this, nor to change them for other wives.}* (Al-Ahzab 33:52)

Reasons for the Prophet’s Marriages

We can categorize all his marriages under two aspects of his personality:
- Muhammad the man who needed a loving wife, children, and a stable home, so he married Khadijah and remained with only her for 20 years until she died.
- Muhammad the Prophet who married the other wives for reasons pertaining to his duty to deliver the Message to the world. Those particular women were carefully selected, not just haphazardly “acquired” for carnal reasons, as suggested. Here are some of the reasons for which Muhammad married:

1. To pass on Islam to the next generations as a practical legacy

Prophet Muhammad is the only prophet without any privacy, and with a meticulously preserved tradition in speech and actions in all minute details of his public and private life. Preserved in the sharp minds of his wives and his Companions, those narrations comprise the “daily life manual” for Muslims to follow until the end of time. The fact that Islam was spread on the shoulders of women and preserved in their hearts is a great honor to the females of this Ummah. The books of authentic Hadith attribute more than 3,000 narrations and Prophetic traditions to his wives alone.

2. To cement the relations of the budding nation

In a tribal society, it was customary to seal treaties through marrying into tribes. Muhammad’s closest Companions later became the four caliphs who led Islam at the critical stage after his death. Two of them were the fathers of his wives `A’ishah (daughter of Abu Bakr) and Hafsa (daughter of `Umar); the other two married his daughters (`Uthman married Ruqayyah and Zaynab in succession, and `Ali married Fatimah).

3. To teach Muslims compassion with women

He taught them to be compassionate not just to the young and beautiful maidens, but more so to the weak and destitute widows, divorcees, orphans, and elderly women. Islam teaches that women are to be respected, protected, and cared for by their men folk. They’re not to be cast out to face a harsh life alone while able men around them just pity them and do nothing to help, or worse, use their weakness to take them as mistresses!

4. To offer a practical role model to Muslims until the end of time
Although many believing women often approached Muhammad offering him themselves in marriage, he politely turned down their offers. Most of his wives after the death of Khadijah were old, devoid of beauty, and previously married, except `A’ishah, who was the only young virgin. He married from other nations and religions; some were the daughters of his worst enemies, and his marriage to one woman won all her people into Islam. Regardless of his neutral feelings towards many of them, he was a model example of equal justice and kindness to them all, and he would never discriminate among them.
Who Were the Prophet’s Wives?

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) married 12 wives in his life. When he died he had 9 wives. They have a very special status in the hearts of Muslims as the “Mothers of the Believers,” as the Qur’an instructs, and they are the source of a great amount of wisdom which they learned while living close to such a great man. Perhaps you’d like to research a bit to find their beautiful stories, so here are their names: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Sawdah bint Zam’ah, `A’ishah bint Abi Bakr, Hafsah bint `Umar ibn Al-Khattab, Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, Umm Salama, Zaynab bint Jahsh, Juwayriah bint Al-Harith, Umm Habibah, Safiyah bint Huyay ibn Akhtab, Maymunah bint Al-Harith, Maria the Copt.
Can We Consider His Marriage to `A’ishah a Case of Child Molestation?

To answer your speculation, let’s continue our objective trip into the past. Obviously, when traveling back in time 1400 years to examine a lifestyle we never witnessed, it is unfair to apply our present day standards, so let’s listen to the experts. Authentic historical records prove that the social traditions of the time and place—regardless of religion—considered Arab females as women as soon as their menstrual cycles began. The custom was to give daughters in marriage at that age. This was practiced by all dwellers in Arabia before Islam: pagans, disbelievers, Jews, and others. It’s a fact that female menstruation in hot climates starts much earlier than in cold climates, so females in Arabia matured as early as 8 or 9; they also aged earlier than other women.

It’s a neglected fact that before she was married to Muhammad, `A’ishah had been engaged to an infidel, Jubair ibn Mus’ab ibn Ady. Her fiancé broke the engagement on the basis of religious difference. So her father, Abu Bakr, agreed to give her hand in marriage to the Prophet.

The Great Wisdom in Selecting `A’ishah in Particular as a Young Wife

`A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) came from a house famous for learning and memorizing great quantities of knowledge; her father was a live encyclopedia of Arab tribal pedigrees and poetry. She inherited his ability, and in her young, intelligent, receptive mind, she preserved a precious portion of Islam she learned during seven years of marriage, for 47 years after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and she taught thousands of men worldwide their religion as she had learned it firsthand from the Prophet. To our present day, she is considered among the most prominent Islamic scholars, and she holds extremely high esteem in the hearts of all Muslims as such and as “the beloved of the Prophet,” who often mentioned her as the human he loved the most on the face of this earth. With her, he built a model Muslim home for Muslims to strive to imitate forever. For More details Click the following Links :

Why Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him Married Aysha?

Was Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him a PEDOPHILE? Naudibillah!
Was Maria the Copt a Slave, a Concubine, or a Wife of the Prophet?

Slavery already existed long before Islam. It was a system whereby a human captured in wars or kidnapped could be sold as a “possession.” That term applied to both sexes, not to women only. In some cultures slaves were considered subhuman and treated brutally. In Europe, for example, Romans threw Christian slaves to the lions while the public cheered; female slaves were thought to have no souls and were tortured mercilessly; slaves lived in degrading conditions; both sexes were forced to offer sexual favors to their masters; and as “possessions” they had no choice, no will, and no rights.

Islam recognized the human rights of slaves and encouraged Muslims to set slaves free. Islam prohibited adultery and homosexuality, and prevented forcing female slaves into sexual acts against their will. Islam encouraged educating them, setting them free, then legally marrying them and giving them their moral and financial rights. The reward for this—as mentioned in Prophetic Hadith—is eternal residence in Paradise.

Maria (may Allah be pleased with her) was not a concubine; she was a slave owned by Egypt’s Christian governor, who offered her and her sister Serine—among other presents—as a “gift of good will” to the Prophet in reply to his envoys inviting him to Islam. On her way from Egypt to Madinah, she was curious to learn about “her new master” and listened to his Companions talk about him. As a result, she became Muslim before meeting Muhammad. Scholars’ opinions vary of her status afterwards; here is the opinion I support:
One of the prominent Al-Azhar scholars, Sheikh Abdul Majid Subh, states:
“Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), instead of taking concubines, entered into lawful marriages based on reason and wisdom. Maria the Copt was given to him as a present, but rather than taking her as a concubine, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married her, thus elevating her status by marriage.”
Women’s Rights in Islam Surpass Modern Systems

If women in the Muslim World today don’t have their rights, it is not because Islam didn’t give them rights. Alien traditions have overshadowed the teachings of Islam, either through ignorance or the impact of colonialism. Most of the so-called modern reforms in the status of women appeared after the West abandoned religion for secularism. Those in the West who claim to follow the Judeo-Christian tradition really follow the values of Western liberalism.

In England and America less than fifty years ago, a woman could not buy a house or car without the co-signature of a male “guardian”! In Contrast, Islamic Law guaranteed rights to women over 1400 years ago that were unheard of in the West until the 1900s.

Numerous verses of the Qur’an state that men and women are equal in the site of Allah; the only thing that distinguishes people in His site is their level of God-consciousness.

Islam teaches that a woman is a full person under the law, and is the spiritual equal of a male. Women have the right to own property, to operate a business, and to receive equal pay for equal work. Women are allowed total control of their wealth. They cannot be married against their will, and they are allowed to keep their own name when married. They have the right to inherit property and to have their marriage dissolved in the case of neglect or mistreatment. Islam does not consider woman an “evil temptress,” and thus does not blame woman for Original Sin (a doctrine that Islam rejects). Women in Islam participate in all forms of worship that men participate in.

Prophet Muhammad’s mission stopped many of the horrible practices against women that were present in the society of his time. He actually harnessed the unrestricted polygamy of the Arabs of the time, and put many laws in place to protect the well-being of women. In his Farewell Sermon just weeks before his death, he summarized the teachings of Islam to the believers in a final farewell. His last words were “Be kind to women!”

http://islamgreatreligion.wordpress.com ... any-wives/

[marduk]

Great, so Muhammad was no better than a common Jew. He was more concerned with physical pleasures than with Allah, just like them. Too bad the Arabs were unable to come up with any actual holy people, just another horny, greedy killer and thief. What a great role model. I guess we should all just spend our time in bed with women. Who needs to waste time on things like praying and doing good deeds. For that matter, maybe we should all declare ourselves prophets of God. Seems to be a nice job. All kinds of perks, frequent sex, with the willing or the widows of the men we have killed in front of them. I'm sure they won't mind having sex with us, like they did with Muhammad. Muhammad was just another piece of crap, like the Jewish prophets before him. None of them were anything other than ordinary people. None of them were in contact with any divine beings. All of them were only concerned with misleading their people with bizarre fantasies. Since when is it wise to follow the craziest person in the tribe?

[rehmatullah]

Mr Marduk...Surprisingly ur name tells ur character...if we just remove a single last letter in ur name 'k' and add 'd' 100% it ll become ur real name...Mardud...Well Mr Mardud...Let me naked u...I just dnt know whats ur relegious belief (may be nothing) but if u r a jew and follow the Zaboor and even if u r a chritian and follow the Bible, both of these books telling (if available in their original format) the coming and praise of Muhammad PBUH. But u disbelievers...u have not kept ur books in their original format (the whole world knows) how can u be a believer in Quran.? U and whole the east is highly indulged in sex so u cant even think any out of it. The all XXX websites are full of videos showing the sex between son and mother, father and daughter, brother and sister etc etc...and all of them alhamadolillah are from the eastern world. Even no website from India shows such kind of sex..It is legal now for a man to marry a man and a woman to marry a woman, same as was done by people of loot and they all were destroyed in seconds. So its the wastage of words and energy to give u hidaya as told by Almighty in Sura Albaqr.. So dnt waste ur time for these people..we have sealed their hearts and their eyes and their ears so they cant understand, see or hear..hence Muhammad..ur job is to convey my message that u do...whom to give hidaya is my job and i know v well how to do it...Is that enough for you Mr Mardud???

[sum]

Hello rehmatullah

I understand that Muhammad is Islam`s perfect example for mankind to emulate. If this is the case, do we follow exactly what is in your copy/paste relating to Muhammad? If there are parts that we are not to copy please tell us what they are so that we are left with what we are to emulate.

sum

[tejpat]

Its better to behave like a pig and have sex with many women than emulating sick oL perv muhhamad who had sex with 9 year old baby, thighing little aisha from 6-9 or having sex with one's own daughter-in-law eventhough she was been married to his son and was alive.

[rehmatullah]

Let me reply Mr Sum first...I hate to reply to people ugly enough like tejput...Mr Sum...I hope u r a christian and a literate christian as is obvious out of ur speaking...Here the point is not to discuss how has been the life of Muhammad PBUH...I had been always trying to focus on the point what kind of lifestyle is favorite to Almighty God.The question is how can v come 2 know? The answer should be in any of four books...The word of God...Torat,Zaboor,Injeel,and Quran. A wise man will love to find the answer in some of these books which is the most reliable. U decide ur self which book is the most reliable among all these four. To me it is the Holy Quran and above i have mention about the verse the God sent to let the people come to know which lifestyle z favorite to Him.Mr Sum...Its the decision of that Almighty. Who can challenge it? Can U? At least i cant...

[rehmatullah]

Tejput...the ugly creature...God has made u admitt and u said urself...It is better to behave like a pig...So continue man to live like a pig since the people like u are pigs and will remain pigs until the day of judgement when the will be taken out of their graves with faces of pigs...Make it very clear that, ur dirty thoughts do nothing in any context to my Lovely, neat and clean (Pak)prophet Muhammad PBUH...

[sum]

Hello rehmatullah

You say that you want to be sure that you find the correct way of life to please your Allah. When you said, according to Koran 33:52, Muhammad was not to take any more wives(he was 60yrs old at this time) you forgot to mention that he was still permitted to have sex with his right hand possessions - captive women - with no maximum limit stated. The Koran states that muslims can have sex with right hand possessions which means that captive women are now the property of muslims, ie sex slaves. I find this totally abhorrent and is just one of many reasons why I find Islam a blight on humanity and a clear and sick hoax when seen through the eyes of a person whose mind has not been indoctrinated.

Do you support the concept of right hand possessions?

sum

[tejpat]

Tejput...the ugly creature...God has made u admitt and u said urself...It is better to behave like a pig...So continue man to live like a pig since the people like u are pigs and will remain pigs until the day of judgement when the will be taken out of their graves with faces of pigs...Make it very clear that, ur dirty thoughts do nothing in any context to my Lovely, neat and clean (Pak)prophet Muhammad PBUH...

Thankz for your opinion about me though I was civilized enough not to say anything about you unlike you who is puking all over here.

and about Pig, I was implying to behave like one but thankz. a pig can behave in more civilized way than muhhamad because pigs are not mass murderer or pedophiles. pigs have sex with same age of their kinds.

[rehmatullah]

Great Tejpat...U admitted that U like pigs whatever the reason..my religious belief makes me learn not even to utter the word "PIG"...And U r the one who likes and loves pigs...BULL sh!t ...AAAKH THUUU...I spit on people like u.This is my last reply to u ...Mr Pig...

[sum]

Hello rehmatullah

Will you be responding to my post?

sum

[Yohan]

--------Prophet Muhammad’s mission stopped many of the horrible practices against women that were present in the society of his time. ---

An independent wealthy business woman Kathija married Mohammed on her initiative, before he started receiving godly messages of Islam. Actually Mohammed was living of her. How was that possible, if women were treated horribly before Islam?

One more question! How did a 54 years old Mohammed have sex with 9 years Aisha? How did he do it?

[tejpat]

Great Tejpat...U admitted that U like pigs whatever the reason..my religious belief makes me learn not even to utter the word "PIG"...And U r the one who likes and loves pigs...BULL sh!t ...AAAKH THUUU...I spit on people like u.This is my last reply to u ...Mr Pig...

your words towards me shows your character and teachings of your "religion".

If Pig was so useless, evil than why your god created it in first place ?

[marduk]

Mr Marduk...Surprisingly ur name tells ur character...if we just remove a single last letter in ur name 'k' and add 'd' 100% it ll become ur real name...Mardud...Well Mr Mardud...Let me naked u...I just dnt know whats ur relegious belief (may be nothing) but if u r a jew and follow the Zaboor and even if u r a chritian and follow the Bible, both of these books telling (if available in their original format) the coming and praise of Muhammad PBUH. But u disbelievers...u have not kept ur books in their original format (the whole world knows) how can u be a believer in Quran.? U and whole the east is highly indulged in sex so u cant even think any out of it. The all XXX websites are full of videos showing the sex between son and mother, father and daughter, brother and sister etc etc...and all of them alhamadolillah are from the eastern world. Even no website from India shows such kind of sex..It is legal now for a man to marry a man and a woman to marry a woman, same as was done by people of loot and they all were destroyed in seconds. So its the wastage of words and energy to give u hidaya as told by Almighty in Sura Albaqr.. So dnt waste ur time for these people..we have sealed their hearts and their eyes and their ears so they cant understand, see or hear..hence Muhammad..ur job is to convey my message that u do...whom to give hidaya is my job and i know v well how to do it...Is that enough for you Mr Mardud???

I will not let you naked me. And my name is not Mardud. Muhammad was not predicted by any scriptures. That was Mani, the Seal of the Prophets, founder of the final perfect religion for all mankind, Manichaeism. He fulfilled the prophesies centuries before Mo was born, so how could Mo then fulfill them again? There is only one final prophet and Mani was already it. There is no final final prophet.

[piscohot]

Between ages 53 and 60 he married all his other wives for many noble reasons detailed below. It’s unimaginable for a man to suddenly turn lustful at this age, especially as he was constantly traveling, with bloodthirsty enemies on his heels.

Muslims are great at making up excuses and lies for their profit Muhammad.

How unimaginable is it for a man between 53 and 60 to be lustful?

Whenever Muhammad was travelling, it was never because of bloodthirsty enemies at his heels, it was for destroying anyone who refused to accept Isam and for collecting booties.
Muhammad was famous for collecting the prettiest girls from the tribes he destroyed.
Now, that's lust. Unless of course if muslims want to claim that it was the 'lifestyle' at that time for leaders to marry the most beautiful girls.

As for the poor excuse of Muhammad having sex with Aisha when she was 9 and he at 53 because of 'lifestyle', it would be an admission that Islam allow sex with children as 'Allah' certainly did not object at that time.

[marduk]

POOHBEAR was a sex maniac. Case closed. That's why "PBUH" is Arabic for "pubes".

[darth]

Kindly stop repeating idiot Zakir Naik's idiotic theories. A woman who does not have a husband is not "public property". Maybe your mother is public property , but our (non muslim) women are not. We happen to respect our women, not own them as "property". (BTW, your prophet's wives did not remarry after his death. So as per you Aisha, safiya, hafsa, sauda and the rest were all "public property". )
Secondly, no "prophet" or "person of god" has any business in doing any activity for "political reasons". Their realm is the spiritual and they ought to be helping people become better human beings, not in making wealth or playing politics. Also, your prophet married for lust. Verse 33.37 proves that. (How I don't know how you muslims can read 33.37 and think it could have been from god rather than a conman )
Thirdly, by claiming mo married for political reasons you are admitting that mo merely used women as pawns in his political games. How do muslim women feel knowing that they are merely goods like camels and sheep to be exchanged in political games. Basically, mo lowered the status of a woman from human being to a commodity. Do you feel good about it?

[sum]

Hello rehmatullah

Muhammad was obsessed with sex. He either chose children to have intercourse with - Aisha - or the youngest and prettiest of the captured women. Sauda is often mentioned but she was much younger than Muhammad when he married her. Do not forget that he had unlimited access to "right hand possessions". Even the term "right hand possessions" is obscene as it has reduced people to objects and dehumanised them. Do you support this or was Muhammad evil in participating in this?

sum

[piscohot]

Muhammad and the problems he caused by having so many wives:

http://www.islamreview.com/articles/ALLAH_FROWNS.shtml

[Jimi]

Let me take a few of these on. Hammie was best friends with Bakr. Why would he have to cement relations by marring aisha?