At a young age, the most important event in the life of the Prophet Muhammad (SW) was his marriage to Khadija (RA). Khadija was a famous woman from Makkah, a middle-aged woman from a rich family. She had been married before. How did she get to know the Prophet? The Prophet went to Sham (Syria) with Khadija’s business caravan. During this journey, Khadija understood the honesty and qualifications of the Holy Prophet and was amazed. But before that, there was another incident. The incident happened when the Holy Prophet was a shepherd.
He used to tend other people’s animals and earn money from them. One day, Khadija’s elder sister appointed Prophet Muhammad (SW) to take her camels outside Makkah for herding. She also appointed another person to do the same. Both of them herded the camels outside of Makkah. When it was time to get paid, Prophet Muhammad (SW) told the other person, “You go alone and ask them for my money.” So that person went to Khadija’s sister to collect the money for the job. Khadija’s sister asked, “Where is Muhammad?” The man replied, “Actually, he is ashamed to come to you and ask for money. That’s why he sent me.” Hearing this, Khadija’s sister said, “I have never seen such a humble, honourable, and respected person in my life.”
This incident happened in front of Khadija, and through this, she was able to learn something about Prophet Muhammad (SW) for the first time. The praise of Prophet Muhammad (SW) possibly created a positive impression of him in her mind.
The second incident happened when Khadija sent her caravan to Sham. Khadija had her own business. She got a lot of money from her husband who had passed away. This money was from her second husband. She had no children from her second husband, so she inherited his wealth. However, at that time, women did not have the right to own their husband’s property. There was common trading business in Arabia. She used to invest money in the business to buy goods and sell them in Makkah, Syria, and Yemen.
She used to appoint people for her business and normally didn’t go out for it herself. Those appointed were given a percentage of the profit. In this way, business deals were made. As we already know, the Quraysh used to travel in winter and summer every two years, once to Yemen and once to Sham. Allah Almighty describes the situation at that time in Surah Quraysh.
The truthfulness of the Prophet’s words spread all over Makkah at that time. Khadija already knew something about him. Although he didn’t have much business experience at that time, because of his truthfulness and trustworthiness, Khadija sent a business proposal to the Prophet. After receiving the proposal from Khadija, the Prophet asked his uncle Abu Talib for advice. “Uncle, Khadija has sent me an offer for a business. What should I do?” Abu Talib replied, “She is a very rich lady. I think Allah has given you an opportunity. You should not say no to her proposal.” Then the Prophet agreed to Khadija’s business proposal. The profit from this business was 50-50, so they would share the profit equally.
After that, Rasulullah went to the city of Bajra in Sham with Khadija’s caravan. This is not the city of Bosra in Iraq, but the city of Basra in Syria. The city is about 100 km away from Damascus. It was the economic centre of that time, with a huge market where Yemenis and Egyptians all went to trade. Rasulullah went there, traded, and came back to Makkah with much more profit than others. Why did he make more profit than others? There are two reasons: 1. He was completely honest in his business, and 2. In whatever work he did, Allah gave his blessings.
When the Prophet went on the journey to Sham, his servant was Khadija’s servant, Maisara. A person can be truly known when we travel with them. Maisara was with Rasulullah on the whole journey and observed him all the time. She was greatly amazed by the character and work of Rasulullah. She also praised him highly to Khadija, telling her that the truthfulness and credibility of this man were indeed amazing. The more Khadija heard about his praise, the more interested she became in him.
There is nothing wrong with feeling attracted to someone or having a positive impression of them. The wrong is in any kind of relationship outside marriage without reason and getting together. Islam does not judge a person’s state of mind; rather, it judges their actions. The character of the Prophet was such that everyone was interested in him. Khadija, a rich and reputed lady, became interested in the extraordinary character of the Prophet. She decided to send him a marriage proposal. Khadija did not give Rasulullah the marriage proposal directly. She sent her friend Nafisa. Nafisa came to Rasulullah and said, “Muhammad, why don’t you get married?” Rasulullah said, “Who will marry me? I am an orphan.” Nafisa then hinted indirectly and asked, “What if Khadija wants to marry you?” Rasulullah also answered indirectly, “Why would a person like Khadija marry me?” In this response, Nafisa sensed a positive vibe. If he didn’t agree, he would have said no, but he didn’t. In this way, the matter of marriage progressed to the next stage.
After that, Khadija married Rasulullah. This marriage took place three months after coming back from Basra. This marriage was officiated by Rasulullah’s uncle Abu Talib. During this marriage, Prophet Muhammad (SW) was 25 and Khadija was 40. However, there are many different opinions about Khadija’s age at the time of marriage. Many scholars have said that Khadija was 28 years old at that time. Regardless, Khadija was a little older than Rasulullah, and the age difference did not cause any trouble in their marital life. Until Khadija was alive, the Prophet did not marry anyone else. All their living children were from Khadija. They had six children: Qasim ibn Muhammad, Abdullah ibn Muhammad, Zainab bint Muhammad, Ruqayya bint Muhammad, Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad, and Fatima bint Muhammad. Except for Fatima, all of them died during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (SW).
From Fatima and Ali, the Prophet’s generation continues. The Prophet loved Khadija very much. His relationship with Khadija, built on trust and support, remained strong even after her death. He remembered her all the time and spoke about her, which made his other wives jealous of Khadija, even after her death. He always talked about Khadija because he always found her by his side. When everyone opposed him, Khadija always gave him hope and mental support. After Khadija’s death, Aisha was his most beloved wife, but she was also jealous of Khadija. In the Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim Sharif, Aisha said, “I was never so jealous of his other wives as I was of Khadija. But the strangest thing is that I have never seen her, yet I feel the most jealous of her.” The reason for this was the boundless love of the Prophet for Khadija. Sometimes, he used to slaughter sheep and say, “Send this meat to Khadija’s friend.” It was not only that the Prophet mentioned Khadija’s name again and again; even after Khadija died, he kept a close relationship with her friends. He did this out of his love for Khadija.
Aisha recounted another incident. One day, Rasulullah was very angry with her. She was very jealous of Khadija, so one day she spoke angrily about her. Then he said, “By Allah, He has created this much love for Khadija in my heart. It was not in the hand of Prophet Muhammad (SW). It was completely from Allah’s side. Allah has created a special place for Khadija within him.” Imam Ahmad has a famous hadith from Tirmidhi in which Aisha says, “It has been so many days that the Prophet did not leave the house without praising Khadija. One day he was praising Khadija like this. I couldn’t help but say, ‘What was she like? She was just an old woman. Didn’t Allah give you a better wife after her?’ As soon as he heard that, he got angry. He said, ‘No, for God’s sake, He didn’t bring anyone better than Khadija into my life. When everyone insulted me, she trusted me. When everyone called me a liar, she trusted me. And when everyone left me, she gave me everything and relieved me. Allah has given me mercy through her. He has given me a child from her.’ Whoever said anything against Khadija, he used to get angry.”
One thing that can be understood from this perspective of Prophet Muhammad’s character is that he always gave a special place to his loved ones. Even many years after the death of Khadija, he always remembered her. He always remembered his close ones like Hamza (RA), Musab Ibn Umair, and Khadija. Just before his death, he did one thing. He went to the graves of the martyrs of Uhud. His 70 companions were martyred in that battle. So, when the Prophet understood that he didn’t have much time left, he went there and prayed for all of them. And he said in the middle of the prayer, “We will meet soon.” The Prophet used to love them so much. He used to feel them around himself. So he prayed to Allah that Allah would unite them in heaven. He never forgot his companions. He always remembered them forever. Thus, he kept remembering his wife Khadija, who was with him during his bad times. He used to pray regularly for Khadija. He used to turn around and talk about her. Khadija was actually a special person. While she was alive, once Jibrail came to the Prophet and said, “Now Khadija will come to you. She is bringing your food. When she comes, you will tell her that Allah has given her salaam and also tell her I also give her salaam, SubhanAllah!” Khadija’s dignity was such that even Allah sent Jibrail to give her salaam. And Jibrail also gave salaam to her from his side. Then Jibrail said, “Give her the good news about her house in Jannah.”
Khadija is the queen of heaven. One of the four dignified women in the world is Khadija. The Prophet said, “There were four great women in the world: Maryam bint Imran, Khadija bint Khwailid, Fatima bint Muhammad, and Asiya bint Muzahim. Among these four, Maryam is the best amongst them.” Allah said in the Quran
“And ˹remember˺ when the angels said, ‘O Maryam! Surely Allah has selected you, purified you, and chosen you over all women of the world.’ (Quran 3:42)”
Then Khadija is in the second position, then Fatima, and after that Asiya. Each of these four women had some connection with a prophet. Two of them were the mothers of a prophet, Maryam and Asiya. Maryam was the mother of Prophet Jesus and Asiya raised and took care of Prophet Moses. Khadija was the wife of a prophet and Fatima was the daughter of a prophet. Among these four women, there are some common characteristics. 1. Their pure faith. Their faith was powerful. Their hearts were full of faith. Their faith in Allah was so strong that nothing could cause any doubt in their hearts. No one had the strength to break their faith in Allah. Their faith was based on belief. They had more faith in the unseen world than in the seen world. The unseen world they had never seen or heard of was their most favourite. For example, the wife of Pharaoh, Asiya. What didn’t she have? She had everything a woman could want in the world: wealth, power, a rich husband, and many slaves, but she was willing to leave all this for Allah. Allah has given her the most miraculous place in the world and the chance of being in the state of a queen. But she said that she does not want any of this. All she wants is a house in heaven. Allah said in the Quran,
“And Allah sets forth an example for the believers: the wife of Pharaoh, who prayed, ‘My Lord! Build me a house in Paradise near You, deliver me from Pharaoh and his evil-doing, and save me from the wrongdoing people.’ (Quran 66:11)”
Asiya didn’t want all these worldly advantages. She wanted to be relieved from Pharaoh and all his wrong deeds. This shows how strong and deep her faith was. Even though she was living with one of the most corrupt people in society, she kept herself pure from all this and attached her heart to Allah. We can say the same things for the other three women. 2. The second thing that can be mentioned among all of them is that each of them was a good wife or a good mother. Feminists could not see this with a good eye. These four women did not perform well due to their career, social work, movement, or knowledge. Asiya and Maryam had two great prophets in their house, Moses and Jesus, raised in their house. Khadija was the best because she was beside her husband whenever needed and comforted and supported him. She was a good businesswoman truly, but she was successful because she was always beside her husband whenever he needed help. Undoubtedly, the mother of Khadija was a miraculous woman. Fatima Radiyallahu Anhu was also an exceptional wife. Once, Ali Radiyallahu Anhu heard that Rasulullah had some servants. He and his wife thought that they would need a servant from the Prophet. They went to Rasulullah, but they could not find him at home. They let Aisha know about that and came back home. The Prophet came back home and heard everything. He went to the house of Ali and Fatima. This hadith was narrated by Ali ibn Abu Talib in his own words. He said, “The Prophet came to our house. We were sleeping at that time. Just by seeing him, we got up from our bed and stood. The Prophet said, ‘Stay as you were.’ He came and sat between Fatima and me. Both of us were lying down on the bed closely. The Prophet loved his daughter Fatima so much that he once said, ‘Fatima is a part of me. If someone makes her suffer, I also suffer. If someone makes her happy, I also become happy.’ Among all the children of the Prophet, Fatima was the only one who was alive. And he loved her very much. He wanted the best for his daughter. If he wanted, he could have given a slave to them. But he didn’t do it. He said, ‘I have something better than a slave for you. Before sleeping at night, read 33 times Subhanallah, 33 times Alhamdulillah, and 34 times Allahu Akbar. This is much better for you than keeping slaves at home.'”
The Prophet knew that his daughter was one of the four noblest ladies. He knew that Fatima’s hands got rough while doing so much work. He knew that her hands’ skin got dry. Still, he gave her Tasbih (Dua), not slaves. Ali bin Abi Talib said Fatima was working very hard. Due to hard work, her hands would get dry and rough. By lifting water from the well, her neck got marked. While cleaning the house, her clothes would get dirty. This was the condition of the best person’s daughter on earth.
And because of this, she was one of the four best women. In terms of knowledge and talent, Aisha (RA) was different from Khadija (RA) and Fatima, but she didn’t get the same dignity as Fatima and Khadija. However, the Prophet first married at the age of 25. Living in an ignorant society, he was known as true and pious for 25 years. There was nothing women-related to complain about in his life even before his prophethood. But the anti-Islamists have made various claims in the name of the Prophet. They have tried to question the marriage of the Prophet. He married Aisha at a young age and kept 12 women. With all this, they gave various accusations to the Prophet, labelling him a womanizer. Therefore, it is very important to have a clear understanding of the life of the Prophet.
First of all, during the life of Prophet Muhammad, the situation in Mecca was very dangerous. The relationship between men and women and the intercourse were daily matters. It is known from a well-known hadith from Aisha (RA) that at that time, there were four types of relationships between men and women. One was marriage like the one we have now. The second type was prostitution. The people of Mecca had special signs on some houses, which were houses of prostitution. The third type was where a woman would have physical relations with ten men one by one. If she got pregnant, she would indicate to one of them that she wanted him to bear all the expenses of the child, and that person would have to take all the responsibilities of the child. The fourth type of relationship was such that a man would send his wife to have a physical relationship with some wealthy men so that their children would become high class.
Despite living in this kind of society, the Prophet did not have any relationship with women. For 25 years, he was untouched by women. Secondly, at the age of 25, he got married. He married a woman who was 15 years older than him. Not only that, she was a widow or a divorced woman. Prophet Muhammad was the son of a noble family. He was from the Hashimi tribe. If he wanted, he could marry any woman he wanted. If he wanted, he could marry any young lady younger than his age. But he did not. He married a woman who was 15 years older than him.
Thirdly, he married Khadija and lived with her until the age of 50. A man is normally attracted to women from a young age to 50 years old. At this age, men have the most demand for women. But the Prophet, till the age of 50, married only one woman. As long as Khadija was alive, he didn’t marry anyone else, and he was very happy with Khadija. In other words, calling Prophet Muhammad a bad man or a womanizer is not only a clueless word but also a false accusation.
Fourthly, two or three years after Khadija’s death, the Prophet lived alone. After that, he married another widow named Sauda (RA). Sauda’s husband had died, and she was very old. At one point, Sauda (RA) gave her husband permission to spend her night with Aisha because of her old age. After this, Rasulullah (SAW) married a few more women. In the last 10 years of his life, he married most of them. When he died, he left 9 widows. His wives were Khadija bint Khuwailid, Sauda bint Jam’a, Aisha bint Abu Bakr, Hafsa bint Umar, Zainab bint Khuzayma, Umme Salama bint Abi Umayyah, Zainab bint Jahash, Juwayriya bint Al-Harith, Ramla bint Abu Sufyan, Safiya bint Huyai, and Maimunah bint Al-Harith. It is also known that their names are Rayhana bint Zayed and Marya al-Kibtiya.
Now, the question arises: why did the Prophet marry so many women at the end of his life? When he married only one widow at a young age and lived a happy life, why did he marry so many women later? First reason is to strength the relationships with various groups. The mission of the Prophet’s life was to proclaim Islam, to spread and expand Islam. Whatever he did, including his marital life, he only thought about the good of Islam. He did not do anything just for his own pleasure or desire. He married many women so that other distant and non-Muslim group would be attracted to Islam. For example, all the followers of Banu Mustalik accepted Islam when he married Juwayriya. She was a daughter of the leader of Banu Mustalik
Secondly, to take care of the companions. For example, he married Sauda (RA). Sauda was a widow. The same thing can be said about Zainab bint Khuzayma. She was the wife of Abdullah ibn Jahash. When Abdullah ibn Jahash was martyred in the battle of Uhud, Prophet Muhammad married Zainab. The main purpose behind these marriages was social help. Rasulullah and his companions showed us a real example of taking care of the wives of martyrs.
Thirdly, to strengthen the relationship with the most powerful and close companions. The relationship between the Prophet and the companions was like a brotherhood. He was strengthening the relationship with Islam by establishing a family bond. Because of this, he married the daughters of his two closest companions, Abu Bakr and Umar (RA). He gave his daughters in marriage to Uthman. When one daughter died, he gave another daughter to him. At that time, the Prophet said, “If I had 99 daughters, then I would have married them to Uthman one after the other.” Ali ibn Abi Talib married Fatima. Thus, the family relationship of the Prophet was established with the four most loyal companions.
Fourth, the Prophet had to marry more than one to fulfil the teachings of Islam. To know and follow the Prophet’s Sunnah is the duty of Muslims. We have to follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad in every aspect, such as governing a country, teaching, leading the army, and family duties. There were hundreds of companions to tell us how he was as a leader during war, and as a teacher or Imam. But there were only a few companions who could tell us about the marriage and family life of the Prophet. Even all his children died except one. The Prophet’s family life can be briefly known only from his wives.
Fifthly, Umme Habibah was another wife of the Prophet. She migrated to Abyssinia in the early period of Islam. But her husband converted from Islam to Christianity. As a result, she had to overcome many difficulties and hardships. She was the daughter of Abu Sufyan. Later, when her husband died, Rasulullah sent a letter to Najjashi (the king of Abyssinia) through Amar bin Umayyah al-Damari. It was written in this letter that Najjashi should arrange for Umme Habibah’s marriage with the Prophet. Umme Habibah was married to Rasulullah out of his sympathy. Because of this, even though she was thousands of miles away, the Prophet accepted her as a wife. He took all her burdens on his shoulders. Another reason for that marriage was to bring another biggest enemy of Islam, Abu Sufyan, closer to Islam. The amazing thing was that even though he was the biggest enemy of Islam, Abu Sufyan was happy to hear about his daughter’s marriage with the Prophet. He said, “Who is better than him?” This was because of the Prophet’s lineage. His daughter was married to a member of the Banu Hashim group, so he was very happy. His animosity with the Prophet was an ideological animosity, against his religion. But the lineage of Muhammad was far better than Abu Sufyan’s. That’s why when he married a lady who was like him, that makes Abu Sufyan softer.
The same thing happened with Umme Salama. She also immigrated to Abyssinia and then to Medina. After her husband Abu Salama died, the Prophet married Umme Salama. In this way, the Prophet used to take care of the wives of the martyrs by marrying them. All these companions were old women, but still, the Prophet married them. Muhammad was the father of the Muslim Ummah. He was the founder of the Muslim Ummah. He didn’t have any blood relation with them, but still, he was the most closest to them.
He was their best friend. He was always beside them during their struggles, hunger, bad times, and when they were at their lowest. Now another related question arises. What is the wisdom behind the Prophet having more than one wife? If he had only one wife, there would be many problems. There are many advantages because he had more than one wife. First of all, it is very hard for one person to remember all the small things, but if he has more than one wife, then if one forgets something, the others will be able to remember it. Apart from this, if only one person explains something, her words can be easily refuted because only one person is saying these words, with no other proof. If only one person is not able to prove her words, then all these hadiths can be refuted. In that case, it would be almost impossible to know about his family life. The Kafirs always want to hurt Islam. They attacked Abu Huraira many times to prove that he is wrong because if they can prove him wrong, then they can easily refute his 5000 hadiths. With the presence of more than one wife, the hadiths from them became stronger.
Secondly, the family life of Rasulullah is very important for Sunnahs (Hadith), which are very important for everyone. Everyone is part of some family, so it is important to know how the Prophet dealt with his family in different situations. And it is only possible to know this from his wives. This huge amount of knowledge has been obtained from their wives and It is only possible to know about his personal life from their experience. How he ate, how he walked, how he sat, how he spent the night with them, how he behaved with them, how he dealt with his servants—many hadiths about this can be learned through Ummul Mu’minin (the wives of the Prophet). Allah Almighty has inspired Prophet Muhammad as a proof of the life of the Qur’an, as a real experiment of the teachings of Islam. Therefore, it is very important for his Sunnah to reach everyone. Because of this, he was given extra rules beyond the normal ones, such as having more than four wives. All of this is a part of Allah’s plan. In this way, Allah has protected His religion, and all the Sunnah of the Prophet has reached all the people.
Today’s topic is a very important one: the marriages of Prophet Muhammad that most of the enemies of Islam criticize. The sad thing is that because Muslims don’t have enough knowledge and didn’t learn well about that, they feel uncomfortable because of these incidents. The two marriages that are most criticized are the marriages of Aisha and Zainab bint Jahash. People mostly raise their finger about these two marriages because when the Prophet married Aisha, Aisha was only 6 years old. This marriage was completed when Aisha was 9 years old. Moreover, the reason why people raise their finger about the marriage of Zainab with Prophet Muhammad is because she was the ex-wife of the Prophet’s adopted child, Zaid. She was divorced from Zaid.
Surprisingly, the marriages that caused so many questions and objections in people’s minds were ordered by Allah directly. Other marriages of the Prophet were not ordered by revelation; only these two were exceptions. In Surah Al-Ahzab, Allah Almighty ordered the Prophet to marry Zainab. “So when Zaid totally lost interest in ˹keeping˺ his wife, We gave her to you in marriage, so that there would be no blame on the believers for marrying the ex-wives of their adopted sons after their divorce. And Allah’s command is totally binding.” (Quran 33:37)
The indication to marry Aisha also came from the revelation of Allah. The Prophet received this instruction in his dream. In Sahih Bukhari, this dream is mentioned. Prophet Muhammad said to Aisha “You were shown to me twice (in my dream) before I married you. I saw an angel carrying you in a silken piece of cloth, and I said to him, ‘Uncover (her),’ and behold, it was you. Jibraeel said, ‘This is your wife in this world and in the hereafter.'” (Sahih al-Bukhari 7012)
We know that the dream of Prophet Muhammad was also from Allah. In other words, this is how Allah indicated for the Prophet to marry Aisha. Today, two types of people attack Prophet Muhammad’s marriages: 1) Muslims of weak Iman (faith) and 2) non-Muslims. The answer to the question of Muslims of weak Iman is that they are shocked to see how the Prophet could do such a thing. The simple answer is that this was the will of Allah. Whatever Allah orders, the Prophet has to follow to be considered a Muslim. If you have any doubt about Allah’s will, then you won’t be able to be a Muslim. The Prophet’s marriage with Aisha is an exception to the normal rules. This is not for all people, but for Prophet Muhammad, it was an order from Allah. Therefore, a Muslim does not have the right to question Allah’s will.
Now comes the answer to the question of Orientalists or anti-Islamists. All the non-Muslims who talk about the Prophet’s character today do not actually have a problem with his marriage to Aisha. Their problem is that they do not believe Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. The marriage with Aisha is just an excuse. Even if the Prophet did not marry Aisha, these anti-Muslims would still attack him for any reason because they do not consider the Prophet as Allah’s messenger. That is why they are against him. It is meaningless to get involved in arguments about the Prophet’s marriage life with non-Muslims. When the Quraish of Makkah attacked the Prophet in many ways, Allah revealed some verses:
“We know that what they say grieves you. Indeed, they do not deny you, but the wrongdoers deny the signs of Allah.” (Quran 6:33)
The reason for their aggressive behaviour towards the Prophet was that he was preaching Islam.
It is better for the Western Orientalists to look at their own society. They have so many ridiculous laws, and their women are so backward. Age is everything to them; they do not consider mental maturity. Our mother Aisha started her marriage at the age of nine. But at the age of 9, the amount of education and knowledge she had would surpass that of many 19-year-olds today. Urwa ibn Zubair said, “I have never seen anyone as educated as Ayesha in Fiqh, medicine, and poetry, even though she was a teenager.” Today, if you look at the United States, you will see that they have not even agreed on the minimum age for marriage. Each state has its own rules: some say 14, some 16, some 18. It’s not just that. They have all these ridiculous rules. Even if they obstruct getting married outside the minimum age, they have no problem with physical intercourse at that age. It is not wrong for a 13-year-old girl to have a physical relationship with a 14-year-old boy, but it is wrong to have a social relationship. Just a few days ago, in 2008, the minimum age of marriage in Canada was increased from 14 to 18. Our question is, why did you think that the age of marriage at 14 was wrong? And suddenly, how did you declare in 2008 that the age of marriage should be 18? Look at the inequality of their law and where it has gone in terms of values. And now these people criticize our Prophet? Before answering them, we should close their mouths by criticizing their laws and the policies of their meaningless, ridiculous, useless, and devalued laws. In the state of Virginia, a 13-year-old girl can officially marry in court. Even a 12-year-old girl in Norway can officially marry. All these rules are still in place. If you do a little research on the internet, you will see the proof of all this. Even our grandmothers and grandfathers got married at the ages of 7, 9, and 11. At that time, no one raised any concern due to this age. That was not a problem. Recently, we are hearing so much about this. That is actually not about the age but about the ideology. Even during his time, you will not find a single enemy of his who complained about that.
The marriage of Aisha with the Prophet is a very important incident. To tell the truth, Allah Almighty has given many blessings to the Muslims through the marriage of Aisha with the Prophet. Those who question the marriage of Aisha at a young age cannot understand what harm would have been done to the Muslim Ummah if this marriage had not happened. Aisha (RA) was an Alimah (Islamic Scholar), very intelligent with a good mind. Aisha said that all the companions of the Prophet used to listen to him and follow him straight away, but I used to question him about everything. As Aisha was very young, she was close to Prophet Muhammad like a friend, so she could ask all the questions to the Prophet. Other companions could not ask questions to the Prophet out of respect. There was a need for such a person who could ask the Prophet all kinds of questions. Therefore, it was necessary for Aisha to be his wife.
A famous companion of the Prophet, Amr ibn al-Aas, said,
“I have been with the Prophet for years. But if you ask me how the Prophet looked like, I will not be able to tell you because I never stared at him out of great love and respect for him.”
While the companions of the Prophet did not get the chance to stare at him, Aisha (RA) used to question the Prophet all the time.
Aisha was the only young girl that our Prophet married. Other than her, all the other wives of the Prophet were widows or divorced. All of them were older. The marriage with Aisha was an exceptional marriage. The other two marriages of the Prophet Muhammad that people criticized most were the marriage of Zainab bint Jahash and Safiyah bint Huwai ibn Akhtab. These two marriages will be discussed whenever we discuss their marriages in the Seerah
The Prophet’s youngest son was Ibrahim ibn Muhammad. He was the son born from Rasulullah’s concubine (female slave) Maryam. After birth, Ibrahim lived until he was 18 months old. That was after the battle of Tabuk. On the day of Ibrahim’s death, there was a solar eclipse. So Muslims said, “This is definitely a miracle.” But Rasulullah said, “The sun and the moon are just creations of Allah. There is no connection between death and a solar eclipse.” Islamic scholars said about this Hadith that this statement of Rasulullah proves he is not a liar. If he was a liar, it was a good opportunity for him because he could tell the people, “Look! This solar eclipse is due to my son’s death.” A false prophet would never leave the opportunity to get praise from his people. But the Messenger of Allah told the truth. There is no relation between birth or death and the sun or moon eclipse.
We naturally have a question in our minds: Why did none of the Messenger of Allah’s children survive? The answer is, this was a great wisdom of Allah. Ibrahim was alive for almost 18 months, a very adorable age. We all enjoy this age of our children very much. Allah gave him a child of that age, but He took him back. In the death of Ibrahim, he cried a lot. In ibn Majah it is said,
“If Ibrahim was alive, he would be a prophet.”
That means it is not possible that the son of the Prophet would not be a prophet. But he was the last prophet. While Ibrahim was alive, a verse was revealed in Surah Al-Ahzab where it is said,
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the seal of the Prophets” (Quran 33:40).”
This verse explains that no son or child of Rasulullah will be alive. And the Prophet also knew that Ibrahim might not live. This was a part of Allah’s plan. We can see some ignorant people of the ummah cross their limits about his grandson “Hasan and Hussain Ra”. If any of his children were alive, we can imagine how much trouble they would cause about his son. They would either make him a prophet or put him in the place of God. The fact that there is no son or child of the Holy Prophet is a blessing from Allah for us.
Finally, we will know about the adopted son of the Holy Prophet. He is Zaid ibn Haritha. Zaid ibn Haritha was a Yemeni child. As fate would have it, he was sold as a slave by another man due to one battle. Someone took him and sold him as a slave. Khadija bought Zaid as a slave. After Khadija’s marriage, she gave Zaid as a gift to Rasulullah. This was a long time before prophet hood. Zaid started to grow up with Rasulullah. Many years later, Zaid’s father found out that Zaid is in Makkah. He came to Makkah with his brother in a rush. He found Prophet Muhammad and requested him to give Zaid to them. He would give anything he wanted. In his mind The Prophet did not want to return Zaid because he had a wonderful and very close relationship with Zaid. On the other hand, it’s not fair to keep someone else’s child forcefully. The Prophet did not want anything in exchange. He left the whole matter up to Zaid’s wish. Hearing this, Zaid’s father and uncle were very happy. When Zaid came, He recognized his father and uncle. The Prophet asked Zaid who he wanted to be with. But surprisingly, Zaid said to Rasulullah, “I like to be with you more than my father and uncle.” Zaid’s father was very upset. How can a child not come back to his father? Zaid’s father said, “Zaid, have you gone mad? Will you stay here as a slave instead of going back to your father?”
It is not possible for a human being to praise someone else over his father. But Muhammad was the Messenger of Allah, and he cared for his people even more than a father. Even if Muhammad was not the Messenger of Allah at that time, the kindness with which he had blessed Zaid is only possible for a prophet. However, Zaid’s father was very upset. At that time, Prophet Muhammad stood up and announced Zaid as his own child and set him free from slavery. Zaid ibn Haritha became Zaid ibn Muhammad, a free man in Makkah. Perhaps the Messenger of Allah wanted Zaid’s father to feel better, thinking that his son was not a slave anymore, he was free. Zaid’s father was very upset at first, but later, seeing this scene, he was relieved and returned.
Zaid was a great admirer of the Messenger of Allah. Zaid loved the Messenger of Allah so much that he loved staying with the Prophet more than staying with his father. The Messenger of Allah also cared for him like his own son. Zaid never thought of himself as a servant. He was like a member of the family of the Messenger of Allah. All of this happened before his prophet hood. Zaid’s son, Usama, was growing up in the Messenger of Allah’s house. Zaid was not just a caring son of the Messenger of Allah. He was a trustworthy person. Zaid was one of the pioneer Muslims. He accepted Islam in the beginning. He did not miss a single battle, like Badr, Uhud, Khandaq and all the important battles. He migrated very early. He also helped bring the family of Rasulullah and Abu Bakr’s family from Makkah to Madinah. He also served as the military commander for more than one battle. The name of Zaid is now Zaid ibn Muhammad. At that time, people didn’t differentiate between son and adopted son. It was like a real son. But later, Islam changed this rule. So Zaid ibn Muhammad returned to his old name, Zaid ibn Haritha. Zaid is the only companion whose name Allah mentioned in the Holy Quran.
