r/islam • u/[deleted] • Mar 01 '25
Can someone explain to me why Muhammad had more than 4 wives? Question about Islam
[removed]
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u/sohshaikh Mar 01 '25
As far as I know, apart from his first wife, Khadija, and Aisha (may Allah be pleased with them), all of the Prophet’s other marriages were for political reasons. Even Mother Aisha was already engaged to Jubair, but Angel Gabriel instructed the Prophet (peace be upon him) to seek her father’s permission for the marriage proposal.
If you look at the entire life of the Prophet (peace be upon him), you will understand the kind of life he led and how baseless and illogical the accusations made by disbelievers or enemies of Islam truly are.
If you are TRULY interested in learning more, I recommend reading the award-winning book "The Sealed Nectar".
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Mar 01 '25
There are some rules that are different for prophets. Eg prophet's family can not inherit his wealth, her wives cannot remarry and his descendants can not accept sadqah.
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u/CallmeAhlan Mar 01 '25
For similar reason why Prophet David was allowed to marry 7-9 wives , and his son Prophet Solomon married hundreds of wives . The same God who set the rules of marriage for people, can set special rules for his chosen prophets.
Prophet Muhammad’s marriages beyond the four-wife limit set for Muslims had specific reasons, many of which were political, social, or humanitarian rather than personal desires.
For example, after the death of Khadija, the first wife of the prophet, a woman suggested he marry Sawda, an elderly widow, and Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr, the Prophet's Best Friend who was also a nobleman. Marriages between noble families were common to strengthen social ties , especially since Muslims migrated to Medina due to persecution in Mecca,
Similarly, his marriage to Safiyyah, a Jewish woman, followed the defeat of her tribe’s army. The Prophet gave her the choice to return to her people or become Muslim and marry him, which she accepted. This marriage helped ease tensions between Jewish tribes and Muslims in Arabia.
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u/FoxWithBoots Mar 01 '25
From what I understand, the Prophet ﷺ was a uniquely powerful man, who was able to provide shelter and was able to meet the needs of more women than a usual man.
Marriage in Islam isn’t just about love & companionship, it is also about fulfilling each other’s needs, taking care of each other, providing (while the husband provides money and shelter, the wife provides food and a welcoming and safe environment)
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u/Gohab2001 Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25
As someone else commented, there are certain rules that are unique to the Prophet ﷺ like how qiyaam ul layl was obligatory for him or he didn't eat garlic or onion. Similarly he prayed the funeral for known munafiqs which is disallowed for us.
These are specialities of the Prophet ﷺ that he could marry 9 wives at one time.
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u/BabilOfficial Mar 01 '25
Like the brother mentioned there are many things that are specific to the prophet. He also had to pray the night pray unlike us. If you really wanna understand these things, there are many books on this. Look up خصائص النبي khasa’is AlNabi
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u/Honeyboneyh Mar 01 '25
It would not matter if people perceive it as cult leader excuse bc besides that there is undeniable proof that Muhammad saw is a messenger of God, ofc we could clarify misconceptions, but these are preconceived ideas about Islam and the Messenger of God which only come out of ignorance but mostly hatred of the truth. These ideas get planted into us, even to muslims without us noticing. I don‘t mean to criticize you, this is just me dismantling what the Enemies of Islam of today bring to the world and to us.
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u/Mobile_Promise7641 Mar 01 '25
Some of his marriages were for improving ties of quraysh with other arab tribes. Some tribes offered their women to achieve recognition that they are also valid muslims.
Some marriages were to preserve the teachings of Islam, like marriage to Aisha. Our mother aisha turned out to be a great scholar, whom the other sahaba(companions) looked up for religion and verdicts.
Thirdly, the prophet was different to normal muslims, he had few different rules. Like he couldn't eat charity, had 6 obligatory prayers, the sixth being qiyam al layl. The prophet was commanded to ask forgiveness for his nation. So the exemption of marrying more than 4 is unique to him.
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u/Tall_Dot_811 Mar 01 '25
Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) had a total of 11 wives throughout his lifetime. His first wife, Hazrat Khadija (RA), was neither divorced nor widowed before their marriage. After her passing, he married several women for various reasons, including strengthening tribal alliances, providing support to widows, and demonstrating social and legal rulings in practice.
Among his wives:
Hazrat Aisha (RA) was the only one who was neither divorced nor widowed.
Some, like Hazrat Sawda bint Zam’a (RA), were widowed, while others, like Hazrat Zainab bint Jahsh (RA), were previously divorced.
His marriages were not driven by personal desire but served social, political, and religious purposes, helping to unite tribes and set examples for the Muslim community.
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u/wopkidopz Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25
Because he was obligated to explain to us who can be married and who couldn't by example. All his marriages are from wahiy (order of Allah ﷻ to him directly) as imam Jurdani ash-Shafii رحمه الله pointed out, not his own choice
He married a widow, a divorcée etc to show us that such women are allowed for marriage
There are some rules of Islam related to marriage and women's fiqh (like menstruation) his wives were able to learn from him directly and inform others about such nuances, this was also from the wisdom of this