Muhammad: Difference between revisions

Muhammad's life is traditionally defined into two periods: [[Muhammad in Mecca|pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca]] (from 570 to 622), and [[Muhammad in Medina|post-hijra in Medina]] (from 622 until 632). Muhammad is said to have had thirteennine wives or concubines (thereAs areMuhammad differinghad accountsofficially on the status of some ofmarried them as wife or concubine<ref>See for example Marco Schöller, ''it Banuis Qurayza'',unrespectful [[Encyclopediato ofhis thewifes Quran]]to mentioningrefer theto differingthem accountsas of the status of [[Rayhana]]</ref>concubines)<ref name="Barbara Freyer">Barbara Freyer Stowasser, ''Wives of the Prophet'', [[Encyclopedia of the Quran]]</ref> All but two of his marriages were contracted after the [[Hijra (Islam)|migration to Medina]].

At the age of 25, Muhammad married the wealthy [[Khadijah bint Khuwaylid]]. The marriage lasted for 25&nbsp;years and was a happy one.<ref name="Esp2">Esposito (1998), p. 18</ref> Muhammad relied upon Khadija in many ways and did not enter into marriage with another woman during this marriage.<ref name = "Bullough 1998 119">Bullough (1998), p. 119</ref><ref name="Reeves46">Reeves (2003), p. 46</ref> After the death of Khadija, it was suggested to Muhammad by Khawla bint Hakim that he should marry [[Sawda bint Zama]], a Muslim widow, or [[Aisha]], daughter of [[Um Ruman]] and [[Abu Bakr]] of [[Mecca]]. Muhammad is said to have asked her to arrange for him to marry both.<ref name="Watt-encyc-online">Watt, ''Aisha'', [[Encyclopedia of Islam]]</ref> Traditional sources dictate that Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad<ref name="Watt-encyc-online"/><ref name="Spellberg">[[Denise Spellberg|D. A. Spellberg]], ''Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: the Legacy of A'isha bint Abi Bakr'', [[Columbia University Press]], 1994, p. 40</ref><ref name="Armstrong">Karen Armstrong, ''Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet'', Harper San Francisco, 1992, p. 145.</ref> but Muslim extremists believe that the marriage was not [[consummate]]d until she was nine or ten years old.<ref name="Watt-encyc-online"/><ref name="Spellberg"/><ref>Barlas (2002), p.125-126</ref><ref>{{Hadith-usc|bukhari|5|58|234}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|5|58|236}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|7|62|64}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|7|62|65}}, {{Hadith-usc|bukhari|usc=yes|7|62|88}}, {{Hadith-usc|usc=yes|muslim|8|3309}}, {{Hadith-usc|muslim|8|3310}}, {{Hadith-usc|muslim|8|3311}}, {{Hadith-usc|abudawud|41|4915}}, {{Hadith-usc|abudawud|usc=yes|41|4917}}</ref><ref>Tabari, Volume 9, Page 131; Tabari, Volume 7, Page 7</ref> However, traditional sources such as the Qur'an in Hijazi script prove otherwise, Aisha was the only wife of Muhammad who remained a virgin throughout their married life, this being the main reason many believed that Aisha would succeed Muhammad, this is also where Aisha received the title of favorite wife, Muhammad treated Aisha like the child she was and played childish games with her allowing it to be believed that he favored her. Later, Muhammad married [[Muhammad's wives|additional wives]], nine of whom survived him.<ref name="Barbara Freyer"/> Aisha, who became known as Muhammad's favourite wife in Sunni tradition, survived him by many decades and was instrumental in helping to bring together the scattered sayings of Muhammad that would form the Hadith literature for the Sunni branch of Islam.<ref name="Watt-encyc-online"/>