The eleven wives of the Prophet ﷺ: who they were, what they gave, and what they taught the ummah.
The wives of the Prophet ﷺ are called the Mothers of the Believers. Allah gave them this title in the Qur'an: "The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers" (al-Ahzab 33:6).
They were his family, his companions and the teachers of this ummah. Much of what we know about how the Prophet ﷺ lived at home, how he prayed at night, how he treated his family and how he made wudu and ghusl, we know because they told us.
1
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
His first wife · The first to believe
خَدِيجَةُ بِنْتُ خُوَيْلِد
Khadijah was his first wife and the only one he married while she was alive. They were married for about twenty-five years, and all his children except Ibrahim were from her.
When the first revelation came, she comforted him, believed in him first of all, and took him to her cousin Waraqah. She supported him with her wealth and her love through the hardest years in Makkah. Allah sent her salam through Jibril, with the good news of a house of pearl in Paradise (Sahih al-Bukhari 3820).
"By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you."
Khadijah, Sahih al-Bukhari 3
Belief and loyalty in hard times are never forgotten.
Sawdah was one of the early Muslims and had made the Hijrah to Abyssinia. After she was widowed, and after Khadijah passed away, the Prophet ﷺ married her in Makkah. She looked after his home and his young daughters.
She was known for her kindness and her sense of humour. When she grew older, she gave her day with the Prophet ﷺ to Aisha, wanting only to remain his wife (Sahih al-Bukhari 5212).
Sawdah gave her day to Aisha, and the Prophet ﷺ gave Aisha her day and Sawdah's day.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5212
Being generous with what we love is a sign of a big heart.
Aisha was the daughter of Abu Bakr. When asked who was the most beloved of people to him, the Prophet ﷺ said: "Aisha" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3662). Revelation came to him while he was with her, which did not happen with any of his other wives (Sahih al-Bukhari 3775), and Jibril sent her his salam (Sahih al-Bukhari 3768).
When she was falsely accused, Allah Himself declared her innocence in ayat of Surah an-Nur that are recited until the end of time (an-Nur 24:11-26).
She was one of the greatest scholars of Islam, and narrated more than two thousand hadith. The senior Companions would come to her with their questions. The Prophet ﷺ passed away in her house, resting against her, and he is buried there (Sahih al-Bukhari 4449).
"Aisha."
The Prophet ﷺ, when asked who was most beloved to him, Sahih al-Bukhari 3662
Seek knowledge and share it. A single person who learns and teaches can benefit the whole ummah.
Hafsah was the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab. Her first husband, Khunays, died after the battle of Badr (Sahih al-Bukhari 4005), and the Prophet ﷺ then married her.
She was known for her worship, her fasting and her prayer at night. After Abu Bakr had the Qur'an gathered into one collection, the pages were kept by Umar, and after him by Hafsah. It was from her copy that Uthman had the Qur'an written out and sent to the lands (Sahih al-Bukhari 4986).
The collected pages of the Qur'an remained with Hafsah bint Umar.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4986
Look after the Qur'an: read it, learn it and protect it.
Zaynab was so generous to the poor and needy that she became known as Umm al-Masakin, the mother of the poor.
Her husband was martyred at Uhud, and the Prophet ﷺ married her afterwards. She passed away only a few months later, and she was the second of his wives, after Khadijah, to die during his lifetime.
She was known as Umm al-Masakin, the mother of the poor.
From the books of seerah
Feeding the hungry is one of the most beloved deeds to Allah.
Umm Salamah, whose name was Hind, made the Hijrah to Abyssinia and then to Madinah with her husband, Abu Salamah. When he died, she said the dua the Prophet ﷺ had taught for times of loss, asking Allah to replace it with something better. She thought: who could be better than Abu Salamah? Then the Prophet ﷺ asked to marry her (Sahih Muslim 918).
She was wise and calm. At Hudaybiyah, when the Companions were upset and did not obey the order to end their ihram, she advised the Prophet ﷺ to go out without saying anything, sacrifice his animal and shave his head. He did, and they all followed him (Sahih al-Bukhari 2731).
Zaynab was the Prophet's ﷺ cousin. Her marriage to him was ordered by Allah in the Qur'an (al-Ahzab 33:37), and she would say to the other wives: "Your families married you off, but Allah married me from above the seven heavens" (Sahih al-Bukhari 7420).
She worked with her hands and gave what she earned in charity. The Prophet ﷺ once said that the first of his wives to join him would be the one with the longest hand. They measured their hands, but it was Zaynab who passed away first, and they understood that "longest hand" meant the most charity (Sahih Muslim 2452).
"The quickest of you to join me will be the one with the longest hand."
Sahih Muslim 2452
Charity done quietly with your own hands has a special place with Allah.
Juwayriyah was the daughter of the chief of Banu al-Mustaliq, and she was taken captive after a battle. The Prophet ﷺ freed her and married her. When the Companions heard, they freed all the captives of her tribe, saying they were now the Prophet's ﷺ relatives. Aisha said she knew of no woman who was a greater blessing to her people (Sunan Abi Dawud 3931).
She spent long hours in dhikr. One morning the Prophet ﷺ left her sitting in her prayer place after Fajr and came back in the late morning to find her still there. He taught her a few words that outweigh everything she had said (Sahih Muslim 2726).
"Glory and praise be to Allah, as many times as the number of His creation, as much as pleases Him, as heavy as His Throne, and as much as the ink of His words." Say it three times.
Sahih Muslim 2726
A few words of dhikr said with understanding can weigh more than hours of distraction.
Umm Habibah, whose name was Ramlah, was the daughter of Abu Sufyan, the leader of Quraysh who fought against Islam for many years. She accepted Islam early and made the Hijrah to Abyssinia, where she stayed firm in her faith even when her husband left Islam.
The Prophet ﷺ married her while she was still in Abyssinia, and the Negus, the king, gave her mahr on his behalf (Sunan Abi Dawud 2107). She narrated the hadith that whoever prays twelve voluntary rak'ah every day and night, Allah builds for them a house in Paradise (Sahih Muslim 728).
"Whoever prays twelve rak'ah in a day and night, a house will be built for him in Paradise."
Sahih Muslim 728
Stay firm in your faith even when those around you leave it.
Safiyyah was the daughter of the chief of the Jewish tribe of Banu an-Nadir, from the family of the prophet Harun. She was taken captive at Khaybar. The Prophet ﷺ freed her and married her, and her freedom was her mahr (Sahih al-Bukhari 371).
Once, when she was upset because someone had spoken about her background, the Prophet ﷺ told her to answer: "My father is Harun, my uncle is Musa, and my husband is Muhammad" (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3892). When she visited him while he was in i'tikaf, he walked her back to her house himself (Sahih al-Bukhari 2035).
"My father is Harun, my uncle is Musa, and my husband is Muhammad."
Jami at-Tirmidhi 3892
Never look down on anyone for where they come from. Honour comes from taqwa.
Maymunah was the last woman the Prophet ﷺ married. The marriage took place at a place called Sarif, near Makkah, after the Umrah of 7 AH (Sahih Muslim 1411). She was the aunt of Abdullah ibn Abbas, who learned much from her.
She narrated many details of the Prophet's ﷺ life at home, including how he did ghusl (Sahih al-Bukhari 249). She passed away years later at Sarif, the same place where she had married him.
Maymunah described the Prophet's ﷺ ghusl step by step, so the ummah could learn it.
Sahih al-Bukhari 249
Small details matter. Passing on the sunnah, even in everyday things, is a great good.
Told from the Qur'an and authentic hadith, with references. A few details come from the books of seerah and are marked as such. The pictures show places and things, never people. May Allah be pleased with them all.
