COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ISLAM (PART
4 OF 7):
THE WISDOM BEHIND THE PROPHET’S
MARRYING MORE THAN FOUR WIVES?
ASSEMBLED BY MALLAM ABBA ABANA, KUBWA,
ABUJA, NIGERIA
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SUNDAY 23RD SAFAR 1439 AH-
12TH NOVEMBER 2017 CE
Bismillah
Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah. As-Salaam Alaikum
Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu.
Praise be to
Allaah; we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from
the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will
never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I
bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad
(Sallalhu alaihi Wasalam) is His slave and Messenger.
WHY DID THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH (PEACE BE UPON HIM) MARRY
A NUMBER OF WOMEN?
Fatwas of the
Permanent Committee Says:
With Allah is
the Perfect Wisdom. It is His Wisdom that He (Glorified be He) made it Mubah
(permissible) for men to marry more than one wife, whether in the previous
Shari`ahs (Divine laws) or in the Shari`ah (Islamic law) that was revealed to
our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Polygamy was
not thus peculiar to our Prophet (peace be upon him). Rather, Ya`qub (Jacob,
peace be upon him) had two wives. Also, Sulayman (Solomon, peace be upon him)
married ninety nine wives at the same time, and he had sexual intercourse with
all of them on the same night hoping that Allah would grant him a son from each
one of his wives that would fight for the cause of Allah.
Polygamy is not
a Bid`ah (innovation) in Din (religion). It is not against sound mind or the
requirements of Fitrah (natural disposition). Rather, permissibility of
polygamy is a manifestation of Allah’s Wisdom. The number of women is more than
that of men as statistics always show. Man may have the energy that requires
him to have more than one wife to satisfy his sexual appetite through the Halal
(lawful) means instead of committing something Haram (prohibited) or repressing
his needs.
A wife may fall
sick or have menstruation or postpartum that prevent sexual intercourse, a
husband then may need to have another wife to satisfy his sexual appetite
instead of repressing his desire or committing adultery. Since polygamy is
Mubah and acceptable by sound minds, Fitrah and Shari`ah; some of the previous
prophets practiced it, and necessity may require its practicing; so it is not
strange that our Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) practiced it. Scholars
mention some other wisdoms for which the Prophet married more than one wife at
the same time. Amongst these wisdoms was to strengthen the relations between
the Prophet (peace be upon him) and some tribes through marriage, hoping that
doing so would add to the power of Islam and help in its spread as it increases
friendliness and consolidates ties of love and brotherhood.
Another wisdom
was to support some widows and compensate them with that which is better than
what they lost, as a consolation for them to help them endure their
misfortunes, and legislating a Sunnah (a commendable act) for the Ummah
(nation) to do good to widows whose husbands are killed in Jihad (fighting in
the Cause of Allah) etc. Besides, scholars mention that amongst the wisdoms for
which the Prophet (peace be upon him) practiced polygamy was to increase his
offspring as to respond to the call of Fitrah, to increase the number of the
Ummah, and to reinforce the latter with those who may help it to support and
spread Din.
Finally,
increasing the number of female knowledgeable believers who would teach and
advise the Ummah according to what they learnt from the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) and knew about his personal character was one of the
wisdoms for which the Prophet (peace be upon him) married more than one wife.
The Prophet
(peace be upon him) did not marry more than one wife at the same time to
satisfy his sexual appetite, for it is narrated that the Prophet did not marry
a virgin or a young woman except `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her). The
rest of the Prophet’s wives were not virgins. Had the Prophet’s sexual appetite
been the reason for his practicing polygamy; he would have chosen only the young
virgins to satisfy his appetite. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not choose
to marry young virgins even though after migration many lands were opened,
(Part No. 19; Page No. 173)
Muslims started
to have their own state, became more powerful, their number increased, and
every family wished if they could have a relationship by marriage with the
Prophet. Nevertheless, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not marry such young
virgins but he only married for good purposes which are obvious for whoever
considers the circumstances of the Prophet’s marriage to each one of his wives.
Similarly, had the Prophet been lustful, this would have been known from his
biography during his youth and physical strength, but at that time, he (peace
be upon him) had no wives at all other than his honorable wife Khadijah bint
Khuwaylid who was older than him.
Likewise, had
he (peace be upon him) been lustful; he would have been known for doing
injustice to his wives regarding dividing his time and care between them. They
were of different degrees of beauty and age but the Prophet was known for his
justice to them, for his perfect chastity, and protection of his private parts
when he was a young man and during his old age. This signifies that the Prophet
was on an exalted standard of character and acted righteously with regard to
all his affairs until he was renowned for this amongst his enemies. May Allah
grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his
family, and Companions. Source : alifta.net
WISDOM BEHIND PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S PRACTICE OF POLYGYNY
General
Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta Says:
The Messenger
of Allah (peace be upon him) married to several wives following his migration
to Al-Madinah. His practice of polygyny was not something novel, as polygyny
was widely practiced by all people and nations. Some societies allowed
unlimited number of wives until some men had more than seven hundred wives, not
including slave women.
Some Arabs were
reported to have taken in marriage more than ten wives. When Ghaylan ibn
Salamah Al-Thaqafy embraced Islam, he was married to ten wives. The Prophet
(peace be upon him) instructed him, saying: Choose four of them (and divorce
the rest).
Polygamy was
also practiced by the ancient Greeks in Athens, China, Babylonia, Assyria,
ancient Egypt, and the Jews were also polygamous. Prophet Sulayman (Solomon,
peace be upon him) had seven hundred free women as wives and three hundred
slave women.
Al-Bukhari
related in his Sahih (authentic) Book of Hadith: Sulayman (the son of) Dawud
(David) said, ‘Tonight I will go to a hundred women, each of whom will give
birth to a boy who will fight in the Cause of Allah.’ The Angel said to him,
‘Say: In sha’a-Allah (If it be the Will of Allah).’ But he did not say so, as he
forgot. He went to them but none of them gave birth, apart from one woman who
gave birth to half a child. The Prophet (peace be upon him) further said, ‘Had
he said: In sha’a-Allah, he would not have broken his oath and he would have
had more hope of fulfilling his wish.’ The Christian church also permitted
polygyny and did not object to it.
The Prophet’s
marriage to nine wives at the same time was merely an implementation of Divine
Instructions and Wisdom. Allah (Exalted be He) states:when Zaid 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 Allâh’s Command must be
fulfilled. There is no blame on the Prophet ((Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Salaam)) in
that which Allâh has made legal for him. That has been Allâh’s Way with those
who have passed away of (the Prophets of) old.
Stating the
fact that it is Allah Who made it lawful for His Messenger to marry several
wives, He revealed:
O Prophet
(Muhammad (Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Salaam))! 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 (slaves) whom your right hand
possesses – whom Allâh has given to you Allah then limited the number of the
Messenger’s wives to nine, all of whom he was forbidden to divorce. Allah (Glorified
and Exalted be He) states:
It is not
lawful for you (to marry other) women after this, nor to change them for other
wives even though their beauty attracts you
Therefore, the
marriages of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were all necessitated by Divine
Command. It is not permissible to compare other cases with that of the Prophet
(peace be upon him). This matter was restricted to the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) alone.
None among the
Muslim Ummah (nation) is permitted to marry beyond four women under the pretext
that the Prophet (peace be upon him) married nine women.
Those who
criticize the Prophet of Islam and brand Muslims as lustful are in manifest
error. Worse still, we find Muslims who level blasphemous charges at the
Prophet (peace be upon him) and take the subject of his marriages in jest. Had
true faith entered their hearts, they would not have allowed such thoughts to
occupy their minds. Had they carefully examined the circumstances that
surrounded each marriage, they would have thought otherwise. The Prophet (peace
be upon him) contracted marriages either to protect and support a widowed
woman, or bring comfort to the families whose hearts were broken by the death
of their beloved father, or to cement the bonds of love with the clan of his
wives, or to honor a free woman who fulfilled Allah’s Command and went against
the traditions of her society by marrying a slave rather than a master seeking
the Good Pleasure of Allah.
Had the Prophet
(peace be upon him) been lustful, he would have opted to marry when he was in
his prime youth, a period when desire for sexual gratification is at its peak.
However, he married several wives only after he had grown into old age, when
his desire for women had weakened. At the young age of twenty-five, he was
married to only one wife, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (may Allah be pleased with
her), who was fifteen years older than him. She was forty while he was only
twenty-five. He remained with her until she died.
It should also
be noted that all the women whom he (peace be upon him) married had been
married previously, except `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) The wives of
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) were:
1- SAWDAH BINT ZAM‘AH IBN QAYS
AL-QURASHIYYAH (MAY ALLAH BE PLEASED WITH HER): The Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) got married to her following the death of her husband,
Al-Sakran ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘Abd Shams. This took place after the death of his wife,
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, in Makkah and before his migration to Al-Madinah.
When she grew
old, she gave up her day and night to ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her).
2- ‘AISHAH BINT AL-SIDDIQ (MAY ALLAH BE
PLEASED WITH HER): The Prophet (peace be upon him) contracted marriage
with her before Sawdah. However, he did not consummate marriage with her until
after its consummation with Sawdah. Among all his wives ‘Aishah was the only
virgin whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) married. His marriage to ‘Aishah
was meant to strengthen the bonds of kinship with Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, the first
man to embrace Islam and to support and believe in every word the Prophet
(peace be upon him) uttered. He also sacrificed all his wealth for the sake of
Allah.
3- HAFSAH BINT ‘UMAR IBN AL-KHATTAB (MAY
ALLAH BE PLEASED WITH HER): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
took her in marriage although she was a previously married woman who lacked
feminine charm. The Prophet (peace be upon him) married her because of the
close relationship he had with her father.
4- UM SALAMAH HIND BINT SUHAYL
AL-MAKHZUMIYYAH (MAY ALLAH BE PLEASED WITH HER): The Prophet (peace be
upon him) married her following the death of her husband, Abu Salamah ibn
‘Abdul-Asad. His intention was to support her children. When the Prophet (peace
be upon him) proposed to marry her, she said: “A woman like me is not suitable
for marriage. I have become a barren woman, and I am jealous and have
children.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) replied: I am older than
you; as for jealousy, Allah will remove it, and as for children Allah and His
Messenger are responsible for them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then
married her.
5- ZAYNAB BINT JAHSH (MAY ALLAH BE PLEASED
WITH HER): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) married her after
she was divorced by her husband Zayd ibn Harithah, the freed slave (and adopted
son) of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon
him) was rewarding her compliance with Allah’s Command. It was through this
marriage that Allah established the permissibility of marrying the wife of
one’s adopted son, a matter which was difficult for the community at that time
to undertake. Allah (Exalted be He) states:
So when Zaid
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 Allâh’s Command
must be fulfilled.
6- UM HABIBAH BINT ABU SUFYAN (MAY ALLAH BE
PLEASED WITH HER): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) married
her after her husband, `Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh, apostatized from Islam. She
stayed away from him until he died.
She was in her
thirties when the Prophet (peace be upon him) married her. He contracted the
marriage while she was in Abyssinia (Ethiopia), The Prophet (peace be upon him)
authorized Al-Najashy to conclude the marriage contract. Her authorizer was
Khalid ibn Sa‘id ibn Al-‘As. Al-Najashy gave her four hundred Dinars as Sadaq
(mandatory gift to a bride from the groom). This took place in the seventh year
of Hijrah (the Prophet’s migration to Madinah).
7- JUWAYRIYAH BINT AL-HARITH (MAY ALLAH BE
PLEASED WITH HER): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) married
her after her husband Musani‘ ibn Safwan was killed on the Battle of
Al-Muraysi‘. The Prophet (peace be upon him) intended to honor her people by
this marriage relationship with them, especially after they had been taken as
war captives in the Battle of Banu Al-Mustaliq.
8- SAFIYYAH BINT HUYAY IBN AKHTAB (MAY
ALLAH BE PLEASED WITH HER): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
married her to bring solace to her broken heart following the murder of her
father, paternal uncle and husband.
9- MAYMUNAH BINT AL-HARITH AL-HILALIYYAH
(MAY ALLAH BE PLEASED WITH HER): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon
him) married her following the death of her husband, Abu Rahm ibn `Abdul-`Uzza
Al-`Amiry. This marriage took place in the seventh year of Hijrah. She (may
Allah be pleased with her) was approaching forty by that time.
Source :
alifta.net
SOURCE:
https://thewayofsalafiyyah.wordpress.com/2017/02/12/why-did-the-messenger-of-allah-peace-be-upon-him-marry-a-number-of-women/
http://alifta.net/Default.aspx?languagename=en
https://islamqa.info/en/127066
http://www.salafiri.com/the-status-of-women-before-and-after-islam-shaikh-saleh-ibn-fawzan/
https://islamqa.info/en/2584
https://thewayofsalafiyyah.wordpress.com/2017/02/13/rights-of-women-in-islam/
