Refuting the fabrications of the villains about the multiplicity of the Prophet's Wiv

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

Refuting the fabrications of the villains about the multiplicity of the Prophet's Wives

Ihab Kamal Ahmad



Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds [i.e., people]. And peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, the best of Allah's Creation, upon his family, his wives and his pure Companions. The enemies of Islam are trying to stir doubts in religion through attacking the Prophet's personality. Therefore, you see them humming a lot about the multiplicity of the Prophet's Wives claiming that it is in conflict with prophecy and with the ordinances of Islamic Shari`ah which allowed man to marry only four women at maximum.
To refute these claims, we say: First, The Prophet's action is connected with the revelation and legislation, so it is an explanation for the objectives meant by Allah because the Messenger (peace be upon him) is the most knowledgeable of Shari`ah which was revealed to him. Moreover, he is the only one who can convey the ordinances of Allah so religion is only taken from him as he only is the infallible in his words and actions which constitute part of the Shari`ah of Allah. So, no one can claim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) violated the Shari`ah otherwise the claimer would claim falsely they he is more knowledgeable than the Prophet (peace be upon him) or he has learned the religion from a way other than the revelation which is false by all means. Hence, it is quite obvious the falsity of these claims and impossibility that the Prophet would do so. Second, it is stated in the principles of the Shari`ah that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was given special rulings other than his nation,[1] of which: A- Tahajjud and Qiyamul-Layl (voluntary night worship) was obligatory on him. B- Taking from the money of charity and Zakah was forbidden to him and his family. C- Continuation of fasting was permissible for him. Of these rulings also: The permissibility of having more than four wives at the same time. Singling out the Prophet (peace be upon him) with some special rulings is not strange because the Prophet (peace be upon him) was not like any man, but he had status and rights that were not given to anyone else, but in the same time, he had obligations and charges that were not give to anyone else, so rulings and legislations should have been compatible with these different status and ranks. Third, the Prophet (peace be upon him) gathered between more than four wives because of the permissibility given to Him from Allah, and the proof to this is Allah's Saying: "O Prophet (Muhammad (peace be upon him))! Verily, We have made lawful to you your wives, to whom you have paid their Mahr (bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage), and those (captives or slaves) whom your right hand possesses- whom Allah has given to you." [Surat Al Ahzab: 50]. As long as marriage was lawful and Allah granted permissibility to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to do so, no one can ****** it or consider it a defect. Fourth, all the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) had satisfied and agreed these marriages, and no one of them was displeased with it or was forced to it, but they all were happy with the marriage despite the low-living standard. Furthermore, Allah (Glory be to Him) gave them choice to continue with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and bear the low-living standard or to be divorced, but all chose to live with him contently. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) came to me when Allah ordered him to give option to his wives. So Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) started with me, saying, "I am going to mention to you something but you should not hasten (to give your reply) unless you consult your parents.' He knew that my parents would not order me to leave him. Then he said: "Allah says: "O Prophet! Say to your wives..." [Surat Al Ahzab: 28-29] On that I said to him, "Then why should I consult my parents? Verily, I seek Allah, His Messenger (peace be upon him) and the Home of the Hereafter." [2] If this marriage was permitted by Allah (may He be Exalted) and was done by consent of all wives. If those marriages were lawful and done by the consent of all wives, so who can ****** to this?
Fifth, the Prophet (peace be upon him) observed interests in all his marriages, including common interests, but some marriages were singled out by special interests.


Of the common interests:
1- The Mothers of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with them) would take care of teaching women, particularly women's issues that are hidden from men.
2- The Mothers of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with them) would convey to people the Hadiths and rulings which are taking place in the Prophet's house as Allah (Glory be to Him) commanded them in Allah's Saying: "And remember (O you the members of the Prophets family, the Graces of your Lord), that which is recited in your houses of the Verses of Allah and Al Hikmah (i. e. Prophets Sunnah legal ways, etc. so give your thanks to Allah and glorify His Praises for this Quran and the Sunnah). Verily, Allah is Ever Most Courteous, Well-Acquainted with all things." [Surat Al Ahzab: 34].
3- Promoting the status of women in the society which lived in Pre-Islamic Period which humiliated women, despised them, and counted them as furniture that is inherited or a toy for sexual desires or one of the causes of poverty and shame.
As for the Prophet's wives, they have become mothers for the believers and teachers for the entire nation, men and women, and gained an honor and status of which every Muslim woman boast.


Of the general interests that special marriages were characterized by:
1- Attracting grand Arab tribes and their leaders to Islam by marriage because affinity and lineage from the effective matters in the psychology of Arab people. Many times tribal customs prevented some Arabs from embracing Islam, thus Islam had to deal with these diseases (tribal customs) by wisdom and mercy, accordingly these marriages were a key to these hearts which were sealed by ignorance.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) married Juwayriyah bint Al Harith (may Allah be pleased with her) who was of high rank at her people i.e., Banu Al Mustalaq, and that marriage was of great importance where many captives of Banu Al Mustalaq were released. Thereupon, `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) released by this marriage about one hundred families of Banu Al Mustalaq, so there is no woman more blessing for her people than her.
By the favor of Allah, that marriage was one of the reasons that caused Banu Al Mustalaq to embrace Islam willingly and leave out polytheism.[3]
2- Legislative wisdoms such as the prohibition of adoption and cancelling all subsequent impacts as happened in the marriage of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her).
Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "So, when Zayd had accomplished his desire from her (i. e., divorced her), We gave her to you in marriage, so that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of (the marriage of) the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them (i. e. they have divorced them). And Allah's Command must befulfilled." [Surat Al Ahzab: 37].
3- The Prophet's honor to his companions as he did with Abu Bakr As-Siddiq when he married his daughter `A'ishah, `Umar when he married his daughter Hafsah, `Uthman when he married his two daughters to `Uthman ibn `Affan, and his daughter Fatimah to `Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with them all).


Of the special benefits of his marriages is observing the special circumstances of some of his wives (peace be upon him) such as:
1- The Prophet's marriage to Sawdah ibn Zam`ah who migrated to Abyssinian and her husband was As-Sakran ibn `Amr who embraced Islam and migrated with her, but he passed away there. Her people were unbelievers, so if she had gone back to them, they would have tortured her, so the Prophet's marriage to her was a pity for her and a rescue to her from oppression and persecution.
2- The Prophet's marriage to Um Salamah Hind bint Abu Umayyah who was an aged women who supported young children then her husband passed away. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) married her out of pity and showing mercy to her orphans.
Sixth, the Prophet's marriages never subjected to a desire or lust where those marriages came to fulfill general and private interests.


Of the proofs that those marriages were not for a lust are:
1- The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) started his marriage in the age of 25 to the lady Khadijah who was 40 years old and married twice before the Prophet (peace be upon him). Their marriage lasted for 25 years during which the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not marry another until she died when he was 50 years old.


2- The Prophet (peace be upon him) married one virgin only out of 11 wives where all his wives married before except `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with them all).


3- He married most of his wives after he reached 57 years old as follows:
The Mother of the Believer
The year of marriage
The Prophet's age at marriage
1- Khadijah
15
Before prophethood 25 years old.
2- Sawdah
10
After prophethood 50 years.
3- `A'ishah
11
After prophethood 51 years.
4- Hafsah
3 AH
56 Years.
5- Zaynab bint Khuzaymah
4 AH
57 years.
6- Um Salamah
4 AH
57 years.
7- Zaynab bint Jahsh
5 AH
58 years.
8- Juwayriyah
6 AH
59 years.
9- Um Habibah
7 AH
60 years.
10- Safiyyah bint Huyay
7 AH
60 years.
11- Maymunah bint Al Harith
7 AH
60 years.
We wonder, would a person be blamed for marriage or that he gets rid of his lust by lawful means (i.e., marriage)?
Any natural man was created with desires and lusts, but if he gets rid of his lust by unlawful means, he shall be blamed and rebuked, but if he gets rid of it by lawful means which Allah destined, what is the defect?
Seventh, it is strange to see some Jews and Christians stirring doubts about the Prophet's polygyny claiming that it defames the status of prophethood despite the fact that they believe in a book in which it was reported that Prophet Solomon had 1000 wives as was reported in 1 Kings 11:3: "He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart."
And even odder is that distorted book in which they believe accuses the Prophets falsely and accuses them of adultery without seeing that defaming the status of prophethood.
For instance, 2 Samuel 11:2-5: "It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Muriah the Hittite?" So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, "I am pregnant.""May Allah kill them for these false allegations.
The most grievous is that they attribute to the Prophets the meanest kind of adultery which is incest as we find in the story of Lot (peace be upon him) in Genesis, 19:30-36: "Now Lot went up out of Zoar and Mlived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father." So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose. The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father." So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father."
May Allah curse them for these false allegations!
How could they consider the lawful marriage which Allah permitted a reason for attacking the Prophets although they do not consider adultery in the meanest image defaming the prophethood of any Prophet to whom they attributed these lies?
Eigth, the Prophet's polygyny did not stop him from his mission which Allah charged him with. On the contrary, he led an honorable life as a caller, a teacher, a leader, and a Mujahid (fighter) in the cause of Allah until Islam spread its dominance on the Arabian Peninsula. Then Islam emerged from the Arabian Peninsula to the entire world, so Allah guided with it after falsehood, enlightened with it after blindness, and opened deaf ears and sealed hearts. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not die but after completing the religion by the testimony of Allah who says: "This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion. But as for him who is forced by severe hunger, with no inclination to sin (such can eat these above mentioned meats), then surely, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."[Surat Al Ma'idah: 3].


Then by the testimony of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) when the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked them during the Farewell Sermon: I have left among you the Book of Allah, and if you hold fast to it, you would never go astray. And you would be asked about me (on the Day of Resurrection), (now tell me) what would you say? They (the audience) said: We will bear witness that you have conveyed (the message), discharged (the ministry of Prophethood) and given wise (sincere) counsel. [4]
This blessed marriage was one of the matters which helped the spread of this religion where the Mothers of the Believers conveyed parts from the Sunnah, the news, and the biography of the Prophet to the entire nation and contributed in teaching men and women the guidance of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and were a model to follow; may Allah reward them the best.
We ask Allah to grant us the following of the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), to combine us with his Companions, and to make us drink from his hand and not to feel thirsty again.
O Allah, reward him the best for us as you reward the Prophets for their nations, grant him the Wasilah and Fadilah, and grant him the highest position in Paradise which You promised.
May Allah send peace and blessings upon His Servant and Messenger Muhammad, the best of all creatures, upon his family, wives, Companions, and those who follow them righteously until the Day of Recompense.

[1] See: Ahkam Al Qur'an of Al Qady Ibn Al `Araby (3/598).

[2] Al Bukhari (4412) and Muslim (2696).

[3] Zad Al Ma`ad (3/258) and Sirat Ibn Hisham (2/295).

[4] Muslim (2137).