Marriages of the Prophet ﷺ

Contents

a) Some women offered themselves to the Prophet ﷺ for Nikah, but he would say he was not in need of women.
b) Kuffar offered him the most beautiful women and suggested he marry ten, but he ﷺ declined.
c) He ﷺ performed various marriages only between the ages of 55 and 59.
d) All the marriages were by Allah’s command, and only Aisha RadhiAllahanha was a virgin.
e) The reason behind his marriage to Aisha RadhiAllahanha, the only virgin.
f) Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani on the marriages of the Prophet ﷺ and their wisdom.
g) Conclusion

a) Women presenting themselves for Nikah

Some women offered themselves to the Prophet ﷺ for marriage, but he said he was not in need of women:

1. A lady came to the Prophet ﷺ and declared that she had decided to offer herself to Allah and His Messenger. The Prophet ﷺ said, “I am not in need of women.”
   (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5029)

2. Narrated Thabit Al-Banani:

I was with Anas while his daughter was present. Anas said, “A woman came to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and presented herself for marriage. Thereupon Anas’s daughter said, ‘What a shameless lady!’ Anas replied, ‘She was better than you; she had a liking for the Prophet ﷺ and presented herself for marriage.’”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, 5120)

b) Kuffar offering him marriages

1. Ibn Abi Shayba narrated from Jabir (RA) that Utba, a staunch enemy of Islam, said to the Prophet ﷺ:

أيها الرجل ، إن كان إنما بك الباءة فاختر أي نساء قريش ونزوجك عشرا ، وإن كان إنما بك الحاجة جمعنا لك حتى تكون أغنى قريش رجلا واحدا ،

“O man, if you wish to marry, you may choose any woman from Quraysh. We will marry you to ten women, and if you need anything, we will provide for you so that you become the richest man in Quraysh.”

The Prophet ﷺ replied by reciting Qur’an (Surah Fusilat, verse

Utba stopped him:

فقال عتبة : حسبك حسبك ما عندك غير هذا ؟ قال : لا

Stop, stop, do you have any other thing than this?  the Prophet ﷺ said, “No.”
(Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba, vol. 11, Kitab al-Siyar; authenticated by Shaykh al-Albani in Saheeh Seerah al-Nabawiyah, p. 160)

C) He ﷺ performed various marriages only from the age of 55 to 59

Qadi Sulaiman Mansurpuri explained:

The Prophet ﷺ cohabited for 25 years (ages 25–50) with a woman fifteen years his senior. She had been married twice before and had children. Despite the age difference and her marital history, he ﷺ cherished her deeply, and his love remained constant throughout their time together. Even after her passing, he continued to honor her memory.

During the life of the Prophet ﷺ, the period between ages 55 and 59 saw his marriages to the Mothers of the Believers (Ummuhaat al-Mumineen). Qadi Sulaiman elaborated on the wisdom of these marriages, explaining the reasons behind them and the benefits derived from each union.
(Seerah Azwaj Mutahharaat, Dr. Tafzeel Ahmad, pp. 20 onward)

D) All marriages were by Allah’s command, and only Aisha RadhiAllahanha was a virgin

Narrated Aisha RA:

I said, “O Allah’s Messenger ﷺ! Suppose you reached a valley with a tree that has been grazed, and other trees that have not. Which tree would you let your camel graze?” He ﷺ replied, “(I will let it graze) on the tree of which nothing has been eaten before.”
(The sub-narrator added: Aisha meant that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ had not married a virgin besides herself.)
[Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 5077]

Tofiq ul Bari explains that the Prophet’s words, “the one of which nothing has been eaten before,” indicate that all his marriages were by Allah’s command or for other wisdom. Had he had the choice, he would have married virgins.
(Tofiq al-Bari, vol. 8, p. 164)

E) The reason behind his marriage to Aisha RadhiAllahanha

Allama Sanaullah Amritsari, citing scholars like Ibraheem Sialkoti, explains:

When Aisha RadhiAllahanha came to the Prophet ﷺ, she initially helped with household work. Intimacy occurred only when she reached maturity. This was because, after Khadijah RA’s death, Sawdah RA managed the household but could not do so properly due to her age.

Aisha RA later became a top scholar of Islam; even senior companions consulted her about the Prophet’s ﷺ daily life. She loved the Prophet ﷺ deeply, and he ﷺ treated her with the utmost respect and kindness.

No one at that time not even non-Muslims objected to this marriage. In contrast, some idol worshipers today criticize it, despite indulging in extramarital affairs themselves.
(Muqaddas Rasool ﷺ, p. 73)

f) Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani on the Marriages of the Prophet ﷺ and their Reasons

Ibn Hajar commented:

وكان مع كونه أخشى الناس لله وأعلمهم به يكثر التزويج لمصلحة تبليغ الأحكام التي لا يطلع عليها الرجال

The reason for many marriages of the Prophet ﷺ was tablīgh of the aḥkām (religious rulings) that men of the Ummah would not otherwise know.
(Fath al-Bari, under Hadith 5069)

Ibn Hajar then mentioned several reasons why the Prophet ﷺ married his wives. Some of them are:

1. أن يكثر من يشاهد أحواله الباطنة فينتفي عنه ما يظن به المشركون من أنه ساحر أو غير ذلك

   To refute the claims of the Mushrikeen—that he ﷺ was a sāḥir (sorcerer). By marrying, his personal life was observed and known, proving he was not involved in any magical practices.

2. لتتشرف به قبائل العرب بمصاهرته فيهم

   Through these marriages, the Arab tribes were honored by becoming relatives of the Prophet ﷺ.

3. نقل الأحكام الشرعية التي لا يطلع عليها الرجال، لأن أكثر ما يقع مع الزوجة مما شأنه أن يختفي مثله

   To transmit religious rulings that men could not easily observe, as many matters only occurred within the household.

4. الاطلاع على محاسن أخلاقه الباطنة، فقد تزوج أم حبيبة وأبوها إذ ذاك يعاديه، وصفية بعد قتل أبيها وعمها وزوجها، فلو لم يكن أكمل الخلق في خلقه لنفرن منه، بل الذي وقع أنه كان أحب إليهن من جميع أهلهن

   This shows he ﷺ was the best to his wives. For example, he married Umm Habiba RA when her father, Abu Sufyan RA, was one of Islam’s fiercest enemies, and he married Safiya RA after her father, uncle, and husband were killed. Had he not been the best in character, they would not have loved him; instead, they loved him more than any of their relatives.

5. من تحصينهن والقيام بحقوقهن

   Even with many wives, he ﷺ fully protected and fulfilled their rights.

[Fath al-Bari]

g) Conclusion

The Prophet ﷺ did not marry until the age of 25, and that first marriage was to a woman who had been married twice before and was older than him. After that, he married Sawdah RadhiAllahanha, an elderly woman. When she could no longer manage household chores, he ﷺ married the young and intellectual Aisha RadhiAllahanha, who became a leading scholar of Islam and knew the Prophet’s ﷺ household practices so well that even senior Ṣahabah consulted her.

All of his marriages were by Allah’s command. Otherwise, he ﷺ had been offered the most beautiful women by kuffar but rejected them all. Women sometimes offered themselves for Nikah, but he ﷺ would simply say, “I am not in need.”

He ﷺ did not marry during the peak of his youth; his various marriages occurred between ages 55 and 59, each serving specific wisdom and benefits.

Lastly, prophets and messengers before him also had multiple wives, which was the norm. No one objected to his marriages at the time, whereas today, those who freely indulge in extramarital affairs criticize Islam, despite using women as objects and showing them no respect. Yet they object to the Prophet ﷺ’s marriages.