The Marriages of Muhammad: A violation of the Quran

From WikiIslam

Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, had several wives to the extent that scholars vary on how many wives he actually had. What is known for certain is that Muhammad had 9 wives at a time which was almost close to his death.^[1]

[edit] List of Muhammad's wives

The following is rough list of Muhammad’s wives, according to various Islamic sources^[2]. It is possible that this number may still fall short of the actual number of wives he had.

Khadija/Khadijah^[3]
Sauda/Sawda bint Zam'a/Zam’ah ^[4]
'A’isha ^[5]
1. A’isha’s Slaves ^[6]
‘Umm Salama ^[7]
Hafsa/Hafsah ^[8]
Zainab/Zaynab bint Jahsh ^[9]
Juwairiya/yya/yah ^[10]
Omm/Umm Habiba ^[11]
Safiya/Safiyya/Saffiya ^[12]
Maimuna/Maymuna bint Harith ^[13]
Fatima/Fatema/Fatimah ^[14]
Hend/Hind ^[15]
Sana bint Asma’ / al-Nashat ^[16]
Zainab/Zaynab bint Khozayma/Khuzaima ^[17]
Habla ^[18]
Divorced Asma’ bint Noman ^[19]
Mary/Mariya the Copt/Christian ^[20]
Rayhana/Raihana/Rayhanah bint Zaid/Zayd ^[21]
Divorced Omm/Umm Sharik / Ghaziyyah bint Jabir ^[22]
Maymuna / Maimuna ^[23]
Zainab ^[24]
Khawla / Khawlah bint al-Hudayl ^[25]
Divorced Mulaykah bint Dawud ^[26]
Divorced al-Shanba’ bint ‘Amr ^[27]
Divorced al-‘Aliyyah ^[28]
Divorced ‘Amrah bint Yazid ^[29]
Divorced an Unnamed Woman ^[30]
Qutaylah bint Qays ^[31]
Sana bint Sufyan ^[32]
Sharaf bint Khalifah ^[33]

[edit] The Violation

This being the case, the Quran allows a man to have only four wives at a time, as seen by the following verse:

And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice (between them), then (marry) only one or what your right hands possess; this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course. ^[34]

Qur'an 4:3

One must have already noted that Muhammad had 9 wives at a time as a direct violation of the Quran.

Many muslims and non-muslims alike, tend to become zealous and cite the following verse of the Quran to imply that Muhammad was exempted from this restriction:

O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you; and a believing woman if she gave herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to marry her -- specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers; We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess in order that no blame may attach to you; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.^[35]

Qur'an 33:50

No where in the above verse is it mentioned that Muhammad could have more than 4 wives. If one reads the verse, it is obvious that the only privilege in this case is that Muhammad could have any woman who willingly offered herself i.e. without Mahr (dowry)^[36], that seems to be the possible reason for this translation:

(Rashid Kalifha): O prophet, we made lawful for you your wives to whom you have paid their due dowry, or what you already have, as granted to you by GOD. Also lawful for you in marriage are the daughters of your father's brothers, the daughters of your father's sisters, the daughters of your mother's brothers, the daughters of your mother's sisters, who have emigrated with you. Also, if a believing woman gave herself to the prophet - by forfeiting the dowry - the prophet may marry her without a dowry, if he so wishes. However, her forfeiting of the dowry applies only to the prophet, and not to the other believers. We have already decreed their rights in regard to their spouses or what they already have. This is to spare you any embarrassment. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful. ^[37]

Qur'an 33:50

Even the hadiths related to this verse do not mention Muhammad of getting any privilege of having more than four wives. They only relate to women offering themselves to Muhammad, such as is demonstrated from the following hadith:

Narrated Aisha: I used to look down upon those ladies who had given themselves to Allah’s Apostle and I used to say, "Can a lady give herself (to a man)?" But when Allah revealed: "You (O Muhammad) can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them (your wives), and you may receive any of them whom you will; and there is no blame on you if you invite one whose turn you have set aside (temporarily)." (33.51) I said (to the Prophet), "I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires."

Sahih Bukhari 6:60:311, See Also Sahih Muslim 8:3453

Thus it is clear that Muhammad violated the Quran by marrying more than 4 wives at a time.

Note: More information about Muhammad’s wives and his relationship with them will be constantly updated in the due course of time.