The Prophet's(SAW)wives

S

SafiyahAmaaniUK

New Member
Asalaa'ulaikum everyone, i've just got some general questions about the wives(may Allah be pleased with them) of the Prophet Muhammed (SAW)...

1) How many wives did the Prophet(SAW) have all together?

2) What were their names?

3) When did the Prophet(SAW) marry them? i.e. what time period?

4) What age were they when they got married?

5) What were the Prophet's(SAW) reason for marrying each of them? i.e. Khadijah(may Allah be pleased with her) for love, Safiyah(may Allah be pleased with her) for political reasons etc. :hijabi:
 
Happy 2BA Muslim

Happy 2BA Muslim

Islamophilic
Wa alaikum Assalam,

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married the following women:

1 – Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid (may Allaah be pleased with her)

She was the first of his wives. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married her when he was twenty-five years old, and he did not take another wife until after she died. All his children were born from her, except Ibraaheem.

Al-Bukhaari entitled a chapter in his Saheeh: “The marriage of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to Khadeejah (may Allaah be pleased with her), and her virtues,” in which he narrated a hadeeth from ‘Aa’ishah who said:

“I never felt jealous of any of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as I did of Khadeejah, although she died before he married me, because of what I heard him say about her.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3815.

2 – Sawdah bint Zam’ah ibn Qays

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married her in the tenth year of his Prophethood. Tabaqaat Ibn Sa’d, narrating from al-Waaqidi, 8/52-53; Ibn Katheer in al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, 3/149

3 – ‘Aa’ishah bint Abi Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased with her)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married her in Shawwaal of the tenth year of the Prophethood. Ibn Sa’d, 8/58-59. She herself said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married me when I was six years old, and consummated the marriage with me when I was nine.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3894; Muslim, 1422. Al-Bukhaari (5077) also narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (S) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not marry any virgin apart form her.

4 – Hafsah bint ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with her)

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that Hafsah’s husband Khunays ibn Hudhaafah, who was one of the companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and had been present at Badr, died in Madeenah. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: I met ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan and offered Hafsah to him in marriage. I said: If you wish, I will marry Hafsah bint ‘Umar to you. He said: I will think about it. Several nights passed, then he said: I think that I do not want to get married at this time. ‘Umar said: Then I met Abu Bakr and I said: If you wish, I will marry Hafsah bint ‘Umar to you. Abu Bakr kept quiet and did not give me any response. I was more upset about him than about ‘Uthmaan. Several nights passed, then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) proposed to her and I married her to him. Then Abu Bakr met me and said: Perhaps you felt upset when you offered Hafsah in marriage to me and I did not reply? I said: Yes. He said: Nothing prevented me from responding to your offer but the fact that I knew that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had mentioned her, and I did not want to disclose the secret of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). If he had decided not to marry her, I would have accepted your offer.

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4005.

5 – Zaynab bint Khuzaymah (may Allaah be pleased with her)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married her in Ramadaan, thirty-one months after the Hijrah. Tabaqaat Ibn Sa’d, 8/115

6 – Umm Salamah bint Abi Umayyah (may Allaah be pleased with her)

Muslim (918) narrated that Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:

“There is no person who is faced with a calamity and says Inna Lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon, Allaahumma ujurni fi museebati w'ukhluf li khayran minha (Truly, to Allaah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return; O Allaah, reward me in this calamity and compensate me with something better than it) but Allaah will reward him in his calamity and will compensate him with something better than that.” She said: When Abu Salamah died, I said what the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had commanded me, and Allaah compensated me with someone better than him: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

According to another report: when Abu Salamah died, I said: Who is better than Abu Salamah, the companion of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? But Allaah decreed that I should say it. Then I got married to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

7 – Juwayriyah bint al-Haarith (may Allaah be pleased with her)

She fell prisoner to the Muslims during the battle of Banu’l-Mustalaq, and she came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to ask him to help her to manumit herself and buy her freedom. He offered to buy her freedom and marry her, and she accepted. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married her and made her manumission her dowry. When the people came to know of that, they set free their own prisoners, so as to honour the in-laws of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). No woman brought a greater blessing to her people than she did. Narrated by Ibn Ishaaq with a hasan isnaad. Seerat Ibn Hishaam, 3/408-409.

8 – Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with her)

Concerning her Allaah revealed the words (interpretation of the meaning):

“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)”

[al-Ahzaab 33:37]

She used to boast about this to the other wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), saying: “Your families arranged your marriages but Allaah arranged my marriage from above the seven heavens.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7420.

9 – Umm Habeebah bint Abi Sufyaan (may Allaah be pleased with her):

Abu Dawood (2107) narrated from ‘Urwah from Umm Habeebah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that she was married to ‘Ubayd-Allaah ibn Jahsh, who died in Abyssinia. Then the Negus married her to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and gave her a mahr of four thousand on his behalf, and sent her to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with Shurahbeel ibn Hasanah. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.

10- Maymoonah bint al-Haarith (may Allaah be pleased with her)

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married Maymoonah when he was in ihraam. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1832; Muslim, 1410.

The words “when he was in ihraam” are a mistake. In fact the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married her after he exited ihraam following ‘Umrat al-Qada’.

See Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/113; Fath al-Baari, hadeeth no. 5114.

11 – Safiyyah bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab (may Allaah be pleased with her)

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) set her free and married her after the battle of Khaybar. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 371.

These are the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with whom he consummated marriage. Two of them died during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), namely Khadeejah and Zaynab bint Khuzaymah (may Allaah be pleased with them both). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) left behind nine wives when he died; there is no difference of scholarly opinion on this matter.

See Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/105-114

It was said that Rayhaanah bint ‘Amr al-Nadariyyah (or al-Quraziyyah) was also one of his wives. She was taken prisoner during the battle of Bani Qurayzah, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) chose her for himself and married her, then he divorced her then took her back. Tabaqaat Ibn Sa’d , narrating from al-Waaqidi, 8/130

And it was said that she was a concubine. This was regarded as more likely by Ibn al-Qayyim in Zaad al-Ma’aad.
 
S

SafiyahAmaaniUK

New Member
JazakAllah for the information

Who bore Ibraaheem to the Prophet(SAW)?

And why did the Prophet(SAW) marry Aisha(may Allah be pleased with her) at such a young age? I know their is alot of controversy on this issue in the non muslim world and coming from a non muslim family, i've never had the stories about the wives explained to me.

May Allah reward you for your patience :blackhijab:
 
Happy 2BA Muslim

Happy 2BA Muslim

Islamophilic
Number of sons and daughters of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)​

Question:
How many daughters did al rasool (salaa alaho alayhee wasalam) has? and from which of his wives (radeyaa alaahoo 3anhonaa jame3an) ?

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had both sons and daughters, the first of whom was al-Qaasim, from whom he took his kunya Abu’l-Qaasim. He died in childhood, and it was said that he lived until he was old enough to ride. Then came Zaynab, and it was said that she was older than al-Qaasim; then Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthoom and Faatimah. It was said concerning each of them that she was older than her two sisters. It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that Ruqayyah was the oldest of the three and that Umm Kulthoom was the youngest. Then ‘Abd-Allaah was born to him. There is some dispute as to whether he was born after his Prophethood began or before. Some scholars said that he was born after his Prophethood began. There is also some dispute as to whether he was al-Tayyib or al-Taahir, or whether they were other children; the correct view is that these were nicknames given to him; and Allaah knows best. These children were all born from Khadeejah and he had no children from any other wife. Then Ibraaheem was born to him from his concubine Maariyah al-Qibtiyyah in 8 AH. (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/103).

So the sons and daughters of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) were all born to him from his wife Umm al-Mu’mineen Khadeejah (may Allaah be pleased with her), apart from Ibraaheem, who was born from the Prophet’s concubine Maariyah (may Allaah be pleased with her), who was given to him as a gift by al-Muqawqis, the king of Alexandria and the leader of the Copts. According to the most correct opinion, he had seven children, three boys and four girls. The boys were:

1- al-Qaasim

2- ‘Abd-Allaah

3- Ibraaheem

And the girls were:

1- Zaynab

2- Ruqayyah

3- Umm Kulthoom

4- Faatimah

All of his children died during his lifetime, apart from Faatimah who died after him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Islam Q&A
 
Happy 2BA Muslim

Happy 2BA Muslim

Islamophilic
:salam2:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not marry Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah, rather she was a concubine who was given to him by al-Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt. That took place after the treaty of al-Hudaybiyah. Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah was a Christian, then she became Muslim (may Allaah be pleased with her).

Ibn Sa’d said:

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) lodged her – meaning Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah and her sister – with Umm Sulaym bint Milhaan, and the Messenger of Allaah (S) entered upon them and told them about Islam. He took Mariyah as a concubine and moved her to some property of his in al-‘Awaali… and she became a good Muslim.

Al-Tabaqaat al-Kubra, 1/134-135

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said:

Mariyah died during the caliphate of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, in Muharram of 16 AH. ‘Umar gathered the people himself to attend her funeral, and he led the funeral prayer for her. She was buried in al-Baqee’.

Al-Isti’aab, 4/ 1912

Mariyah (may Allaah be pleased with her) was one of the Prophet’s concubines, not one of his wives. The Mothers of the Believers are the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“The Prophet is closer to the believers than their ownselves, and his wives are their (believers’) mothers (as regards respect and marriage)”

[al-Ahzaab 33:6]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had four concubines, one of whom was Mariyah.

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

Abu ‘Ubaydah said: He had four (concubines): Mariyah, who was the mother of his son Ibraaheem; Rayhaanah; another beautiful slave woman whom he acquired as a prisoner of war; and a slave woman who was given to him by Zaynab bint Jahsh.

Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/114

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A
 
Happy 2BA Muslim

Happy 2BA Muslim

Islamophilic
Assalamu alaikum Sister,

There`s more on Mariya, the Copt, may Allah SWT be pleased with her, above. (I think you were reading my previous post when I posted this one)

Maariyah al-Qibtiyyah was the umm walad (a slave woman who bore her master a child) of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and she was the mother of Ibraaheem, the son of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), of whom he said, “Her son set her free.” Haajar, the mother of Isma’eel (peace be upon him), was the concubine of Ibraaheem the close friend (khaleel) of the Most Merciful (peace be upon him).

A slave woman with whom a man has intercourse is known as a sariyyah (concubine) from the word sirr, which means marriage.

This is indicated by the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and this was done by the Prophets. Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) took Haajar as a concubine and she bore him Ismaa’eel (may peace be upon them all).

Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also did that, as did the Sahaabah, the righteous and the scholars. The scholars are unanimously agreed on that and it is not permissible for anyone to regard it as haraam or to forbid it. Whoever regards that as haraam is a sinner who is going against the consensus of the scholars.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one or (slaves) that your right hands possess. That is nearer to prevent you from doing injustice”

[al-Nisa’ 4:3]

What is meant by “or (slaves) that your right hands possess” is slave women whom you own.
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O Prophet (Muhammad)! 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 Allaah has given to you, and the daughters of your ‘Amm (paternal uncles) and the daughters of your ‘Ammaat (paternal aunts) and the daughters of your Khaal (maternal uncles) and the daughters of your Khaalaat (maternal aunts) who migrated (from Makkah) with you, and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet, and the Prophet wishes to marry her a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers. Indeed We know what We have enjoined upon them about their wives and those (slaves) whom their right hands possess, in order that there should be no difficulty on you. And Allaah is Ever Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”

[al-Ahzaab 33:50]

“And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts from illegal sexual acts).

Except from their wives or the (women slaves) whom their right hands possess for (then) they are not blameworthy.

But whosoever seeks beyond that, then it is those who are trespassers”
[al-Ma’aarij 70:29-31]

Al-Tabari said:

Allaah says, “And those who guard their chastity” i.e., protect their private parts from doing everything that Allaah has forbidden, but they are not to blame if they do not guard their chastity from their wives or from the female slaves whom their rights hands possess.

Tafseer al-Tabari, 29/84

Ibn Katheer said:

Taking a concubine as well as a wife is permissible according to the law of Ibraaheem (peace be upon him). Ibraaheem did that with Haajar, when he took her as a concubine when he was married to Saarah.

Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/383

And Ibn Katheer also said:

The phrase “and those (slaves) whom your right hand possesses — whom Allaah has given to you” [al-Ahzaab 33:50] means, it is permissible for you take concubines from among those whom you seized as war booty. He took possession of Safiyyah and Juwayriyah and he freed them and married them; he took possession of Rayhaanah bint Sham’oon al-Nadariyyah and Maariyah al-Qibtiyyah, the mother of his son Ibraaheem (peace be upon them both), and they were among his concubines, may Allaah be pleased with them both.

Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/500

The scholars are unanimously agreed that it is permissible.

Ibn Qudaamah said:

There is no dispute (among the scholars) that it is permissible to take concubines and to have intercourse with one's slave woman, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts from illegal sexual acts).

Except from their wives or the (women slaves) whom their right hands possess for (then) they are not blameworthy.”

[al-Ma’aarij 70:29-30]

It should be clear that Islam does not encourage slavery. Islam is unique among the `religions' in its close attention to the peaceful removal of this practice. Before the advent of Islam, slavery was widespread all over the world. The Messenger of Islam taught us that freeing slaves was a great deed in the sight of Allah. From the Sunnah, specifically in the study of the Sunnah called Sahih Bukhari, we find:

[3:46:693] Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said,

"Whoever frees a Muslim slave, Allah will save all the parts of his body from the (Hell) Fire as he has freed the body-parts of the slave." Said bin Marjana said that he narrated that Hadith to `Ali bin Al-Husain and he freed his slave for whom `Abdullah bin Ja'far had offered him ten thousand Dirhams or one-thousand Dinars.

You can read more on that on this link:

http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10318&highlight=slavery

 
Happy 2BA Muslim

Happy 2BA Muslim

Islamophilic
Marriage to Khadija (may allah be pleased with her)

Marriage to Khadija (may allah be pleased with her)

The reports of the seerah (Prophet’s biography) indicate that Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid (may Allaah be pleased with her) was a determined and intelligent woman, and she was also rich and had several kinds of trade. The men of her people were keen to marry her. She did not engage directly in trade herself, rather she used to employ men to work on her behalf.

News reached Khadeejah of the honest and trustworthy Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); she heard a great deal about his honesty and trustworthiness, so she wanted to hire him to work for her and do trade on her behalf. She sent someone to him with an offer of work, and he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) agreed to that.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out to do trade with the money of Khadeejah (may Allaah be pleased with her), and there was with him a slave of Khadeejah’s whose name was Maysarah. Maysarah saw the signs that happened to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) whilst travelling, and that amazed him, so he started to tell his mistress Khadeejah about everything that he had seen.

For example, when the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to the city of Busra in Syria, he stopped in the shade of a tree, and one of the monks said to Maysarah, “No one ever stops under the shade of this tree but a Prophet.” And Maysarah used to see two angels shading the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when the heat of the sun grew too intense.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came back from that journey, and he had made far more money in trading for Khadeejah than anyone else ever had before. Khadeejah was impressed with the personality of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and she wanted to marry him. So she sent her friend Nafeesah bint Maniyyah to tell the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about that. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) agreed, and the marriage of Khadeejah (may Allaah be pleased with her) was arranged by her father Khuwaylid, according to the most sound reports, as mentioned by the scholars of seerah.
 
korgan

korgan

Slave of Rahman
imortant!

ASSALAMUN ALEYKUM.

İ WANT TO ANSWER FİFTH QUESTİON. BECAUSE I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT QUESTION.

Yes, he was such that from the age of f fifteen to forty when the blood is fiery and exuberant and the passions of the soul enf1amed, sufficed and was content with a single older woman like Khadija the Great (May God be pleased with her) with complete chastity and purity - as is agreed by friend and foe alike. His then having numerous wives after the age of forty, that is, when bodily heat subsides and the passions are quitened, is evidence proving decisively and self-evidently to those who are even a little fair-minded that such marriages were not to satisfy the carnal appetites, but were based on other important instances of wisdom.

One of those instances of wisdom is this: Like the Prophet’s words, his actions, states, conduct, and deeds are the sources of religion and the Shari’a, and the authority for its injunctions. Just as the Companions transmitted the outward, public things, the transmitters and narrators Of the private matters of religion and injunctions of the Shari’a which were manifested from his private conduct in the personal sphere, were his wives, and they carried out that duty in fact. Perhaps half of the private matters and injunctions of religion come from them. That is to say, numerous wives of differing temperament were required to perform this necessary duty.

ASSALAMUN ALEYKUM
 
Happy 2BA Muslim

Happy 2BA Muslim

Islamophilic
Marriage to Zaynab Bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her)

Marriage to Zaynab Bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her)​

As we shall see, the story of Zaynab is actually a good piece of evidence for the genuineness of the Prophet (peace be upon him), not for his insincerity like Orientalists and some Christian missionaries like to claim.

Zaynab bint Jahsh married the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in 5 AH, when she was thirty-five years old, but only after her previous marriage, which had been arranged by none other than the Prophet (peace be upon him), had ended in divorce. Zaynab bint Jahsh was the cousin of the Prophet (peace be upon him). She came from one of the noblest families of Quraysh and was expected to marry a man with the same high social status.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) knew that piety and not social status was the primary consideration in marriage. He wanted her to marry Zayd ibn Hârith, a former slave of Khadîjah who the Prophet (peace be upon him) had freed and adopted as a son at the age of eight.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had watched both Zayd and Zaynab grow up, and thought they would make a good couple and that their marriage would demonstrate that it was not who their ancestors were, but rather their religiousness that mattered. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked for her hand on behalf of Zayd, Zaynab’s family were shocked at the idea of her marrying a freed slave. Moreover, Zaynab had wanted to marry the Prophet (peace be upon him) and in fact her family had already offered to marry her to him.

At first Zaynab refused. Zayd also had reservations about the idea. However, when both he and Zaynab realized that there was no difference between what the Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted and what Allah wanted, they both agreed to the marriage. The Prophet provided a dowry for Zaynab on Zayd’s behalf, consisting of ten dinars, sixty dirhams, a veil, a cloak, a shirt, and a considerable amount of food and dates.

The marriage, alas, was not a success. Zaynab and Zayd proved to be incompatible for each other. After about a year, problems arose between them and Zayd complained about her to the Prophet (peace be upon him), who told him to stay with his wife and fear Allah.

Zayd asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) for permission to divorce Zaynab on more than one occasion, and although the Prophet (peace be upon him) advised Zayd not to divorce her, the divorce ultimately took place. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was then ordered by Allah to marry Zaynab, which he did in 5 AH.

The custom among the pagan Arabs was that an adopted son was like a person’s real son. He carried his adopted father’s name and inherited from him. Islam overturned that custom. Islam, we must understand, came to safeguard lineage. A man may adopt a child and take care of him, but that child cannot assume the lineage of his adopted father. He must retain his own family name.

Allah says:

“Nor has He made your adopted sons your sons. Such is only your (manner of) speech by your mouths. But Allah tells you the Truth, and He shows the right way that is correct. Call them by the names of their fathers: that is more just with Allah. But if ye know not their father’s names, (then they are) your brothers in faith, or your wards.” [Sûrah al-Ahzâb: 4-5]

By marrying Zaynab, the Prophet (peace be upon him) demonstrated in the clearest possible way that in Islam an adopted son is not the same as a natural son and that the guardian of an adopted son is permitted to marry a woman who was once married to that adopted son.

As for the verse itself, Allah says:

“And (remember) when you said to him on whom Allah has bestowed grace and you have done a favor: ‘Keep your wife to yourself, and have fear of Allah.’ But you did hide in yourself that which Allah will make manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him. So, when Zayd had completed his aim with her, We gave her to you in marriage, so that there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them. And Allah's command must be fulfilled.” [Sûrah al-Ahzâb: 37]

Ibn Jarîr narrated that Aishah said: “If Muhammad were to have concealed anything that was revealed to him of the Book of Allah, he would have concealed the verse: ‘But you did hide in yourself that which Allah will make manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him’.”

Allah had already revealed to him that Zaynab bint Jahsh was going to be one of his wives. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not speak about this matter. Then Allah revealed this verse.

This verse is clearly not the statement of a false Prophet making up verses trying to justify his desires. If the Prophet (peace be upon him) had ulterior motives, he could have gone about the matter in a much more subtle way and gotten what he wanted. Instead, he was put on the spot to do something he otherwise would not have wanted to do. The last way we would describe the situation of the Prophet (peace be upon him) here is to call it “convenient”.

This, however, was from Allah’s wisdom. If the Prophet (peace be upon him) had only said to the people that since adopted sons are not true sons, therefore men may marry the ex-wives of their adopted sons, it would not have had the same effect. Cultural practices and taboos are quite strong. For instance, as Muslims we all know that race and ethnicity are not important. However, we can see the problems that almost invariably arise when a Muslim girl wants to marry a Muslim boy from a different ethnic background. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was commanded to marry her by way of example.

In the very next verse, Allah continues:

“There can be no difficulty upon the Prophet in what Allah has obliged him to do. That was Allah's way with respect to those who have gone before. And the command of Allah is a decree determined.” [Sûrah al-Ahzâb: 38]

There is a story that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw Zaynab not fully dressed and became full of desire for her and said something indicating his desire to marry her. Then when Zayd divorced her, the verse was revealed “…you did hide in yourself that which Allah will make manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allah had a better right that you should fear Him…” According to the story, the thing that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was concealing in his heart was his desire to marry Zaynab.

This story is a favorite of the Orientalists and is patently false. Please understand that many people concocted false stories and false hadîth for various reasons. That is the reason why the science of hadîth came about. Hadîth are graded as authentic (sahîh), good (hasan), weak (da`îf), rejected (munkar), and fabricated (mawdû`). This grading is not arbitrary and not according to anyone’s desires. A hadîth is graded based on a study of the chain of transmission by way of which it reached us. If a chain of transmission has gaps in it or contradictions or contains people who were known liars, then the hadîth is not acceptable.

This story is baseless. It does not come to us with any chain of transmission worth mentioning. If we wish to believe this story, we might as well believe anything that people tell us.

This story is found in some books like al-Tabarî’s Tafsîr, but he relates it without any chain of transmission and starts by saying: “It was said that…”

For this reason, Ibn Kathîr does not mention it at all in his commentary of the Qur’ân. In his monumental work on history, al-Bidâyah wa al-Nihâyah, Ibn Kathîr discusses the marriage of Zaynab bint Jahsh and mentions that there were some strange stories circulated by the early scholars, but many of them were dubious and should be abandoned.

Of course, Orientalists and other enemies of Islam gleefully reproduce this story so they can have some dirt to throw on the Prophet (peace be upon him). They fail to mention that the story is baseless and has no claim to authenticity. They just pass it on as fact.

Fatwa Department Research Committee - chaired by Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî
Islamtoday

 
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