Answer
The claim that Islam is a religion of lust is not true and this is an accusation that has always been raised by the enemies of Islam. According to the Qur’an, the Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ is a prophet of mercy and piety, and his behavior confirms this.
Numerous books and articles have been written about the marriages of the Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ.
Indeed, if the aim of the Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ was to satisfy his lustful wishes, then why he did not accept the offer of the infidels to marry the best and most beautiful daughters of the Quraysh in order to stop propagating Islam?!
In all civilized and non-civilized societies, in the past, there were numerous types of marriages without borders and Islam has adjusted it. The other thing is that if any one of these types got banned in any, only the name remained in the law and replaced by secret relations, prostitution, betrayal or, ultimately, absolute freedom of relationship.
According to the verses of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Imams, the result was that polygamy is only a matter of religious recommendation and not advisable for everyone, but a ruling for exceptional circumstances and salvation from crisis and deadlocks. According to a verse in the Qur’an, the principle in Islam is monogamy, and those who want to marry a second wife must constantly practice justice, and also permission from the first wife is necessary.
Therefore, the most obvious point is that the only person who can dare to comment on a man’s justice is his partner, his most confident intimate, and his constant companion, the man’s first spouse.
Throughout history, the enemies of Islam, from the people of the church to some ignorant orientalists and anyone who have some kind of obstinacy and stubbornness towards Islam, have raised the strongest accusations against him by raising the issue of polygamy and creating myths.
The aim was to tarnish the reputation and privacy of the purest, most ascetic and most perfect human beings by instilling such suspicion.
Each of the marriages of the Holy Prophet PBUH brought many stubborn tribes of Mecca and Medina to Islam and peace.
These marriages had different purposes than lust.
Marriage was the most important factor in the unity and connection of different tribes, especially in the environment and culture of pre-Islamic Arabia, so much so that in the land of Hejaz, where war, bloodshed, and looting were prevalent, this connection was a deterrent to wars and a factor of unity.
The Christian writer Georgio writes: Prophet Mohammad ᴾᴮᵁᴴ married Umme Habiba, the daughter of Abu Sufyan, in order to become the son-in-law of his main enemy and reduce the Quraysh’s enmity towards him. [1]
The Prophet’s numerous marriages with different tribes not only reduced hostilities, but also led to the fact that different tribes and clans wanted the Prophet to be related to them. So in some histories we read that the Prophet got married with many women and never had intercourse with them, in some cases, he even only proposed to some tribal women. They were just as happy and proud that a woman from their tribe was named after the Prophet’s spouse, this honor was achieved for them, and thus their social relationship with the Holy Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ spouse stronger and in defense of him. They became more determined.
On the other hand, at that time, the economic situation of the people in the land of Hejaz was very bad and deplorable. Deprivation of natural resources, on one hand, and the concentration of the region’s wealth in the hands of polytheists and Jews on the other hand, put the public, especially Muslims, in bad conditions.
In addition, the polytheists and the Jews were constantly waging large and small wars against the Muslims, which resulted in many men being killed and many orphans and widows being left behind. In such a situation, choosing a spouse from among the homeless and widowed was a kind of help to their family. One of the marriages in this regard is the marriage of the Prophet with Umme Salama, whose husband was martyred in the Battle of Uhud.
The Prophet’s marriages also led to the education of teachers for Muslim women. The Holy Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ needed intermediaries to communicate with women, so that they could convey the duties and instructions that God has given to women.
The Prophet’s wives:
1. Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
The first wife of the Prophet who married him 15 years before his prophetic mission at the age of 25 is Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.
Khadijah was a wealthy and prominent woman in Quraysh who had rejected the proposal of many of the wealthy and influential men of Quraysh. Her servant, Maysarah, told her amazing stories about Muhammad, the honest, in his journey to Shaam (Damascus) as well as what the monk had told about him, and she heard other stories about his greatness. All these reasons made Khadijah interested to marry him, and despite the fact that normally men propose to women and it was the same back then, she proposed to him.
On the other hand, since the Prophet was poor and Khadijah was wealthy and high-class, the marriage motivation is not material issues. The marriage that happened 15 years before the prophetic mission, became different after that: Khadijah was the first woman who believed in his mission and spent all her wealth to promote the Heavenly message of Islam. Their marriage last 25 years, until 10 years after the prophetic mission, and Lady Fatimah, the greatest woman of the world, was the fruit of this blessed marriage.
The Prophet didn’t marry anyone else until Khadijah was alive, until he was 50. Khadijah died three years before the Migration. The Prophet named the year in which Khadijah and Abu Talib died the year of sorrow (Aam al-Huzn). He remembered Khadijah respectfully after her departure to the last day of his life and always told his wives about her dignity and values so much that they were jealous of her despite the fact that she wasn’t alive.
2. Sawda bint Zamʿa
After the death of Khadija, the Holy Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ married Sawda, who was a widow and was older than he was. Sawda’s husband was one of those who migrated to Abyssinia where he converted to Christianity and died. So his wife had been left alone and without a guardian, and if she returned to her family and relatives, she would be forced to blasphemy or be persecuted, and therefore the Holy Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ accepted her guardianship and married her in order to honor and respect her firmness of belief and the truth of faith.
In the first two marriages that we mentioned, there can be no lustful intentions because Khadija was older than the age of the Messenger of God and the marriage proposal was from Khadija. Moreover, Sawda was a widow in addition to her old age.
3. Aishah bint Abi Bakr
Lady Aishah was the daughter of Abu Bakr, the first caliph, and of the Tim tribe. There are various things narrated about her age at the time of marriage. The claim that she was nine years old at the time of her marriage is refuted by lots of strong and solid evidences. the fact is that she was much older than that.
The nine-year-old narration will certainly be refuted and rejected based on the comparison of Lady Aishah’s age with her sister Asma.
The doubt that Lady Aishah was 9 years old has been answered in another article.
The Prophet was engaged in this marriage for political purposes. Therefore, the proposal to marry and be related to the Tim tribe was from the Prophet. However, when His Honour came to Medina, the main goal had already been achieved and there was no rush to marry Aishah. That is why he delayed it so much that, according to their historians, Abu Bakr asked the Prophet to take Aishah home and commence their marital life. [2]
One of the issues that biased people consider as an example of lust is the issue of being a virgin or this lady’s being unmarried before.
Before the Prophet, Aishah was married to a person named Jubayr Ibn Mut’am and divorced him later. [3]
Some have said that it was not just marriage and divorce, but also that she was not a virgin. Because the Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ stayed in the house of a virgin woman for seven days and a non-virgin woman for three days, and since he stayed with Aishah for three days, it turns out that she was a non-virgin. [4]
4. Hafsa bint Umar ibn al-Khattab
One of the Prophet’s marriages was with Hafsa, the daughter of Umar, which took place in the third or fourth year of the Hijrah. Like Sawda, Hafsa was a widow. She had previously married Khanis ibn Khodana, who was an ally of Khattab dynasty. Khanis was one of the early Muslims and emigrated to Abyssinia with the emigrants. After the emigration of the Messenger of God to Medina, he came to Medina with his wife and participated in the Battle of Badr. Moreover, in the battle of Uhud, which took place in the third year after Hijrah or the Prophet’s emigration to Medina, Khanis was wounded and martyred as a result of this wound. [5]
In addition to supporting a widow, the Prophet’s marriage to Hafsa led the Prophet to join the Banu Adi (Adi family), which played an important political role in the advancement of Islam and the removal of obstacles.
According to some sources, after the martyrdom of Hafsa’s husband and the completion of iddah of Hafsa, Omar proposed to Abu Bakr and then to Uthman, but the two did not accept the offer. Omar came to the Prophet as a complaint. To keep Omar calm and attract his family the Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ said, a person better than Uthman will marry Hafsa. He then ordered that Hafsa be proposed. Therefore, the marriage with Hafsa had a political, emotional, and supportive aspect and it was done at the request of Omar himself. [6]
5. Umm Salamah bint Abi Umayya
One of the marriages of the Prophet was to marry Umm Salma. Umm Salma was a widow like Sawda and Hafsa.
One day the Prophet came to Umm Salma’s house as a condolence to her and her children and he comforted her and prayed for her as follows: O God, remove Umm Salma’s sorrow and change her misery to better.
When Umm Salma’s iddah ended, some people proposed to her and she refused. Until the Messenger of God ᴾᴮᵁᴴ proposed to her. She replied: I am an old woman and I have several orphans …..
The Prophet PBUH said, do not worry about the orphans; I will take care of them.
Finally, Umm Salma married the Prophet and became the wife of the Prophet.[7]
Therefore, the marriage of the Prophet with Umm Salma had an emotional aspect, guardianship, and preservation of dignity and personality.
Is marrying a woman of nearly sixty years with several orphans an example of lust?
6. Umm Habiba bint Abi Sufyan
One of the marriages of the Prophet PBUH was to marry Umm Habiba, the daughter of Abu Sufyan. Like Soodeh, Hafsa, and Umm Salma, she was a widow.
Umm Habiba, whose name was Ramla, was the daughter of Abu Sufyan and the sister of Mu’awiyah, however she converted to Islam in the very first years of Revelation. With her husband Abdullah, who had also converted to Islam, she emigrated to Abyssinia with a group due to the pressure and persecution of the polytheists, and took refuge from the king of Abyssinia, Najashi. Her husband later converted to Christianity and eventually died in Abyssinia.
Umm Habiba was left without a guardian. The Prophet became aware of his sufferings and wrote a letter to Najashi asking him to propose to her.
This just king respected the request of the Prophet and proposed to Umm Habiba for the Prophet. Umm Habiba willingly answered in the affirmative, and Khalid ibn Sa’id asked one of the Muslims to represent the Prophet in marriage to Umm Habiba. The marriage was executed and Najashi gave the Muslims a feast. These cases are narrated in the Sira of Ibn Hisham, the marriage of Umm Habiba, and many historical books.
Umm Habiba was so fascinated by Islam and the Prophet PBUH that when her father Abu Sufyan came to Medina to extend the peace treaty of Hudaybiyyah, she stopped her father from sitting on the Prophet’s mattress and said that you are a polytheist and you cannot sit in this position because this position is the place of the purest people. [8]
This marriage brought many blessings and at least it reduced the persecution and sabotage by the Abu Sufyan family towards Islam.
7. Juwayriyah bint al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar
One of the Prophet’s marriages was with Juwayriyah. Among the captives was a woman named Juwayriyah, whose husband had been killed in the battle of Bani Mustalaq, and became a slave maidservant of Thabit bin Qais. Sabet corresponded with Jurieh about a contract in which they take a sum of money in instalments from the captive to release her.
Juwayriyah paid some of the money but was unable to pay the rest. She came to the Prophet and asked him for help to complete freedom. The Prophet promised to help her to be free and promised to marry her after her release so that she would not be without a guardian. Juwayriyah was pleased and the offer was granted.
When the Muslims saw that Juwayriyah had become the wife of the Prophet, everyone released his quota from the captives of her tribe to the honour of the Prophet. As a result, one hundred members of the Bani Mustalaq tribe were released. Juwayriyah ‘s father also converted to Islam and became a Muslim and due to him and his daughter, the Bani Mustalaq tribe became Muslims as well. So this marriage brought blessings for the Muslims and Bani Mustalaq tribe. This marriage led to a collective inclination towards Islam and the elimination of insurgencies against Islam. Therefore, this marriage also had a political, emotional, and peaceful aspect. [9]
8. Maria Qubtiyya bint Shamun
One of the Prophet’s marriages was with Maria Qubtiyya. In the seventh year of AH, the Holy Prophet wrote a letter to kings and heads of states inviting them to Islam. He wrote one of these letters to the Muqawqis, Coptic ruler who was a Christian living in Alexandria, Egypt. He respected the letter of the Prophet, but in order to preserve his kingship, he did not accept Islam and instead sent gifts to the Prophet, including his three maidservants, one of whom was Maria Qubtiyya.
The Prophet freed Maria who had converted to Islam with her brother and he married her and so she was raised from the position of a maidservant to being the spouse for the Messenger of Allah. The reason for this marriage was that although the Prophet had set her free, she had no refuge in Medina.
9. Maymunah bint al-Harith al-Hilaliyah
One of the Prophet’s marriages was to marry Maymunah. She was a widow like others. Abbas, the Prophet’s uncle, was the husband of Maymunah’s sister. After the peace treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet came to Mecca for three days to perform the Hajj rituals, and Maymunah through her sister, mediated Abbas to bestow herself to the Holy Prophet, that is, to marry but without a dowry. According to a verse of the Qur’an, Whenever a woman of faith bestows herself to the Prophet and does not want dowry, she can marry him if the Prophet wants, but such a marriage is permissible only for you, the Prophet, and not for any other one of believers.
If you have noticed, the marriage was proposed by Maymunah and not at the request of the Prophet PBUH.
10. Safiyya bint Huyayy ibn Akhtab
Safiyya was the daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab, the headman of the Jews of Bani Nadir, who was killed in the battle of Bani Qurayzah in the fifth year of AH, and her husband was killed in the battle of Khyber in the seventh year of AH, and she herself was taken prisoner. The Messenger of Allah ᴾᴮᵁᴴ freed her, and then, after accepting Safiyya’s marriage proposal, he married her in order to free her from captivity and also to prevent further seditions by the Jews, which plan worked in reality. This marriage became the basis for many Jews to convert to Islam eagerly.
11. Zaynab bint Jahsh
One of the Prophet’s marriages was with Zaynab bint Jahsh. She was the Prophet’s aunt’s daughter who had been ordered by the Prophet to marry Zayd ibn Haritha, the second Muslim man, before marrying the Prophet himself.
Zayd was a slave who was freed and adopted by the Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ. When the Prophet proposed to Zaynab for Zayd, Zainab objected and expected the Prophet to be the suitor himself. Finally, because of the position of the Prophet, he respected his request and married Zayd. Zayd and Zaynab could not continue living together due to personal and tribal reasons, and Zayd divorced Zaynab after thirteen or seventeen years of living together. When Zaynab ‘s iddah ended, the Prophet married Zaynab by the command of God.
Some people do not notice at all that Zaynab was the cousin of the Prophet, she had a very rich family, and the Prophet could have proposed to her from the beginning. With this marriage, the Prophet wanted to show that there is no difference between someone like Zayd, who used to be a slave, and a rich person.
After all, the Prophet personally proposed Zaynab to marry Zayd. If he had a problem with this marriage, he would not have mediated, and this was while Zaynab had no desire to marry Zayd, and history proves that she had been under the impression that the Phrophet would propose to marry her himself.
In addition, when Zayd turned to the Prophet for divorce, he repeatedly advised and prevented him.
Every fair-minded person, by examining history, comes to the conclusion that the marriages of the Holy Prophet ᴾᴮᵁᴴ were based on political, social and cultural interests. Moreover, these marriages with this quality cannot be a sign of lust. Otherwise, like the kings of the world, he could have chosen charming and beautiful girls instead of old and widowed women. As it was provided to him with a hint, even before coming to power, it was suggested by the infidels and polytheists.
Grudges like of Abu Jahl’s have always been and they have composed myths against the Prophet PBUH. However, the enemies of Islam should know that the more their stubbornness flares up, the more the light of the existence of the Prophet in the world becomes brighter, and the love of that noble man depens most in the hearts of the people.
Source:
Qom seminary information base
[1] Virgil Georgio, p.181
[2] Usd al-ghabah by ibn al-Athir, Vol. 5, p. 501; Al-Isti’ab, Vol.4, 1815, 1881 and …
[3] Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, Vol. 8, p. 59, Al-Isabah, Vol. 8, p. 17
[4] Sunan Abu Dawood, kitab al-nikah (marriage), number 2124
[5] Ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, p. 274
[6] Usd al-ghabah Vol.5, p.25; Al-Isabah, vol. 4, 264
[7] Usd al-ghabah, Vol. 5, 589
[8] Usd al-ghabah,Vol. 5, p. 420
[9] Sira Ibn Hisham, Vol. 2, 294, Tabari, Vol. 2, 260
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