The Quran

يا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنّا أَحلَلنا لَكَ أَزواجَكَ اللّاتي آتَيتَ أُجورَهُنَّ وَما مَلَكَت يَمينُكَ مِمّا أَفاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيكَ وَبَناتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَناتِ عَمّاتِكَ وَبَناتِ خالِكَ وَبَناتِ خالاتِكَ اللّاتي هاجَرنَ مَعَكَ وَامرَأَةً مُؤمِنَةً إِن وَهَبَت نَفسَها لِلنَّبِيِّ إِن أَرادَ النَّبِيُّ أَن يَستَنكِحَها خالِصَةً لَكَ مِن دونِ المُؤمِنينَ ۗ قَد عَلِمنا ما فَرَضنا عَلَيهِم في أَزواجِهِم وَما مَلَكَت أَيمانُهُم لِكَيلا يَكونَ عَلَيكَ حَرَجٌ ۗ وَكانَ اللَّهُ غَفورًا رَحيمًا

Ali Unal

O (most illustrious) Prophet! We have made lawful for you your wives to whom you have already paid their bridal-due, as well as those whom your right hands possess from among the captives of war that God has granted you, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and maternal aunts, who have emigrated (to Madīnah) for God’s cause as you did; and any believing woman who offers herself to the Prophet (freely, without demanding any bridal-due), if the Prophet wants to marry her – a rule (of privilege) for you exclusively, not for the believers (in general)¹ – We have (already decreed and) made known what We have enjoined on them with regard to their wives and those whom their right hands possess.² (This exceptional privilege³ is) in order that there may not be any hindrance to you (in fulfilling your mission because of marriage relationships).⁴ God is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.

On the injunctions about the women whom Muslim men can lawfully marry, see sūrah 4: 22–25, notes 7–9.
On these injunctions, see: 2: 221; 4: 3–4, notes 2–3.
Because of his mission, there are some exceptional rules for the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. Unlike other believing men, he was allowed to marry a believing woman who would come to him without demanding any bridal due. While all other Muslim men could marry the daughters of their uncles and aunts, whether they had emigrated or not, the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, was allowed to marry any among them provided they had emigrated. There were other exceptions that were just pertinent to the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings: for example, the Tahajjud Prayer (in the last third or later part of the night) was prescribed for the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, until his death; this is only supererogatory for other Muslims. Like other Prophets, his inheritance could not be shared by his “heirs” but was used as alms for the Muslim Community. Eating of the Zakāh was forbidden to him and his family, while all other needy Muslims could partake of it. The permission for him to marry as many as nine women was also exceptional for him, while other Muslims can only have four women together in marriage. While all other Muslim men can marry until their death, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, was prohibited to marry after some point in his life, as stipulated in verse 52 of this surah.
These special conditions were not introduced due to a need for women, but rather merely because of the role women played in the fulfillment of the Messenger’s mission. Islam has specific rules for women, and many of those rules can only be learned from women teachers and could be put to the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, only by women who had close relationships with him. So the reasons behind the Messenger’s several marriages, while differing from case-to-case, all have to do with his role as the leader of the new Muslim community, and his responsibility to guide his followers toward the norms and values of Islam.
The Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, married his first wife, fifteen years older than him, when he was 25 years old, fifteen years before his Prophethood began. He lived with her for almost 25 years, and after her death, he lived for nearly six years without a wife. Given the cultural and moral climate in which he lived, not to mention his youth and other factors, he nevertheless enjoyed an impeccable reputation for chastity, integrity, and trustworthiness. As soon as he was called to the Prophethood, he acquired enemies who made all sorts of charges. However, not even his fiercest enemies attacked his reputation, for doing so would have caused them to be ridiculed and discredited immediately. It is important to realize that his life was founded upon chastity and self-discipline from the outset, and remained thus. All his other marriages began when he was 53 years old, an age when very little real interest and desire for marriage remains, especially in Arabia where people grow old relatively earlier, and when, especially in those days, people’s average life-expectancy was much lower.
Some marriages were contracted for specific reasons such as:
- The Prophet’s wives were young, middle-aged, and elderly. The accurate requirements and norms of Islamic family life for every age could be learnt within the Prophet’s household better, and then conveyed to other Muslims through his wives.
- Each wife was from a different clan or tribe, which allowed the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, to establish bonds of kinship and affinity throughout Arabia. This caused a profound attachment to him to spread Islam among the diverse peoples of the new Ummah, and also brought about and secured equality and brother/sisterhood among both in practical matters and in terms of religion.
- Both before and after the Prophet’s death, each wife proved to be of great benefit and service. They conveyed and interpreted Islam to their people in all its inner and outer experiences, as well as the qualities, manners, and faith of the man who was the living embodiment of the Qur’ān in every aspect of his life. In this way, all of their people learned the Qur’ān, the Traditions, tafsīr (Qur’ānic interpretation and commentary), and fiqh (understanding of the Qur’an and Sunnah as law). Thus, through his wives, these people became fully aware of Islam’s essence and spirit.
- These marriages allowed the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, to establish kinship ties throughout Arabia, and thus to move freely wherever he wished and to be accepted as a member in each family. In addition, everyone so connected to him felt that they could approach him personally for guidance on any issue. The entire tribe also benefited from this connection; they considered themselves fortunate and took pride in their new relationship. For example, such relationships were established for the Umayyads (through Umm Habībah), the Hashimites (through Zaynab bint Jahsh), and the Banū Makhzūm (through Umm Salamah).
- It is also a highly notable fact that all the Prophet’s wives (except ‘Ā’ishah and Māriyah) were divorcees or widows, thus underlying the importance and care that needs to be given to lone women in Islamic society, as against the then-prevalent norm of casting them off to a life of destitution.