Mohammad had married a woman who was older than him named Khadijah?

Question

And, he'd also married a 9 year old girl called Aisha?

I read these things here, itself.!?!?

How many women did he marry?

Is this why all these Muslims can have so many wives?

Because their Prophet went around marrying women of all ages and stuff like this?

I'm sure curious to know.

No disrespect intended, but this does sound ... different, to me?

Boy, now I'm getting more and more confused!? Poki Poki details 12 wives, so I guess I'll go with that.

But, can someone tell me if this means that Muslims can have 12 wives?

The reason I'm confused is that I'd heard tell that they can have 4 wives and that, itself, sounded like a handful!?

Sorry, but like I said before, no disrespect intended. It's just that it's so ... different.

Gotta agree with Sistani, though, the man was, obviously a Stud!?

He could "Service" all of them daily!?!???

Oh boy!?

Now, I'm getting even more confused!?

That guy says he was a Stud and the lady says he wasn't.

Though I'm inclined to go with the lady because she says it was merely a matter of politics and trying to protect someone in need; because he'd need to be one "big man" to do all of them.

But what the heck is is this dude krishna all about? Duhhh huhhh!?

Please let me understand the first thing first.

OH no! now what does ice storm mean by "not having girlfriends like you do"???

How does a Muslim marry a girl if he doesn't date her first? Don't tell me a Muslim girl will marry a guy she ain't seen or been a friend of? That doesn't sound possible.

I'd like to thank all of you for having taken the trouble to Answer my question.

I won't pretend that I'm totally wiser now; but I did learn a lot.

Islam sure does to seem to have a lot of contradictions; but, hey, so do all other "Religions"!?

I still don't know if Islam is Monogamist or Polygamist. What it seems to say is that Monogamy is advised, while Polygamy is OK. Thanks to the link that Muslim Rose left there, this part was clarified, somewhat.

Maybe we could conclude that Islam does not exactly smile upon Polygamy, shall we?

I'd like to particularly thank Poki Poki for his kindness in detailing all the 12 wives of Muhammad.

I would've chosen his Answer for the best, because of that detail.

However, I'm sure he'll agree that we need to give this honor to smunfifa because she, at least, clarified the nature of the "marriages" which I think is more important, in this case.

Thanks y'all for your kindness.

Answer 1

Okay. First of all you have to think in terms of the time period. In those days it was common to have several wives especially in the Arab tribes.

Muhammad's (pbuh) first wife was Khadijah and she was quite a bit older than him. She was the wealthy daughter of a merchant who saw his ambitions as an orphan who deserved a better way of life.

He was married to several wives and the number is actually unclear. But during this time there were great famines in the country as well as there were many women who had been abandoned as prisoners of war and had lost their former families and tribes. And so many of the men would marry the women and support them as a means of survival rather than making them lowly slaves to be bought or sold. It was also a custom that once a woman reaches puberty(past the age of 9) she can't exactly be adopted because it was considered improper. So as a respect to these women, they were married with honor. Many of the marriages were not even consummated but it was a rspect to them and they were given a respectable place in society.

However after a certain time period when the wars of the region had ended and prospered again, muslims adopted a new religious law that the men could only marry up to four wives. But the conditions to this law are very specific and legal. Firstly if a man in our modern day and age that is muslim in a muslim country and wishes to marry more than one wife must be extremely wealthy. He must be financially able to support each wife (and her children/future children) separately (they cannot reside together), and the first/second/third wife must agree to the additional union. So in other words its basically impossible for even a wealthy man to marry more than once because every person in the party must reach the same agreement. And in this day and age most men and women could not function in this way due to economical situations and cultural influences. But there are some rare cases of it occuring though usually it involves major political leaders or extremely wealthy and affluent men.

Muhammad (pbuh) at the time was wealthy and had a big influence. But his main reason behind marrying so many was to teach to other Arabs to be less cruel to women and to support and strengthen their broken communities. He also adopted several orphaned children and gave most of his wealth to the cause of his faith in one God alone. He was a miraculous teacher and brought the Islamic world to life with his recitation of the Qu'ran and now Islam is the major religion in the world next to Christianity which is similar in scripture and origin.

Answer 2

Mohammed was the MAN. A real stud, He could service all 11 wives in one session when he was elderly, according to the Sunni scriptures:

Hadith of Buhkari, Volume 1, Book 5, Number 268:

Narrated Qatada:

Anas bin Malik said, "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night and they were eleven in number." I asked Anas, "Had the Prophet the strength for it?" Anas replied, "We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty (men)." And Sa'id said on the authority of Qatada that Anas had told him about nine wives only (not eleven).

Add-on - Matt, the apparent confusion is explicable. There are 2 major branches of Islam, Shia & Sunni. I am a Shia, but you will notice that I quoted a Sunni scripture. If I had quoted a Shia one, the Sunnis would just have said "that's not what we believe in, that's Shia". The hadith shows that all Muslims believe (or should believe) that the Prophet is without doubt the greatest stud since Solomon (who had 300 wives and 600 concubines). Where we differ is that Shia are proud of it, whereas Sunnis are ashamed of it and pretend that he was a virtually asexual being who only married women for non-carnal reasons. As far as the hindu gods are concerened, the comparison is ludicrous. Mohammed was unquestionably a real flesh and blood historical figure, and it does not matter how many million imaginary wives an imaginary god might have. If you have any further questions, please visit my web site www.sistani.org.

Answer 3

Islam allowed man to marry 4 women at same time if he want. Mohammed (peace be up on him) could treat his women fairly,but not all men can be like him.The age of the wife doesn't matter.The important thing is to get married with women not like having a girl friends as you do.

Answer 4

Muhammad remained with his old 1st wife for 15 years and till she dies, never married any other women beside her even though it was a common practice in Arabia . why then he didn't marry any other woman and he was in his 20s & 30s? (the best age for sexual urges is 20s and 30s).

some of his marriages were for: the purpose of protection (he was married to vey old women), purpose of unity (marry a woman from the enemy, or to unite tribes together, he married christiand and jewish as well). other for the purpose of assisting him at home.

the youngest wife was called Ayiesha. this woman is the first scholar woman in Islam. after Muhamamd death, she recoreded almost 25% of his words and teaching. Muhammad and his followers were old, there must be someone who is close to prophet Muhammad to carry his message to the next generation. Ayisha was one of those important people who help to carry Islam to the next generation. plus Muhammad was a shy man, he coudn't answer women questions, so he used to give them to Ayisha. this woman played very important role in Islam, and she was very intelegent, wise and very knowledge in Islam.

and Not everything is about sex. and the main reason why we believed in Islam is because our God is only one, and we submit & worship Him alone.

Answer 5

Everybody talks about Mohammad's 11 wives , but nobody ever talks about hindu god krishna . Not only did he had multiply wives, he had over 3000 concubines(known as gopis). now 11 is nothing compared to 3000. krishna had sex with more than 3000 women, what does it tell u about the man's character. But nobody talks about hindu krishna and everbody wants to defame Mohammed. Why is the discrimination?. Is it cos of lack of knowledge or will?

Answer 6

It must be but I think that a "PHrophet" who marries a 9 year old girl is a wolf in sheep's clothes, If that is so. A 9 year old is a baby still.

Answer 7

seems like u r getting a lot of ans from muslims ,it;s time u got ans from a christian too ,check this out Matt http://bibleprobe.com/muhammed.htm

Answer 8

hi matt, sorry for the confusion ,
i prefered to give u the answers from scholars , so i hope this answer satisfies u,

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-AAbout_Islam/AskAboutIslamE/AskAboutIslamE&cid=1123996016508

good luck.

Answer 9

1.

KHADIJAH: She was 40 years old when she proposed to marry the Prophet when he was 25 years old. After 15years of their marriage he became a prophet. She had been married twice before she married Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Her first husband was Aby Haleh Al Tamemy and her second husband was Oteaq Almakzomy. They had both died leaving Khadijah a widower. Khadijah died in 621A.D. This was the same year the Prophet ascended into heaven (Meraj).
2.

SAWDA BINT ZAM'A: Her first husband was Al Sakran Ibn Omro Ibn Abed Shamz. He died within a few days after his return from Ethiopia. She was 65 years old, poor, and had no one to care for her. This was why Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) married her.
3.

AISHA SIDDIQA: A woman named Kholeah Bint Hakeem suggested that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) marry Aishah, the daughter of Aby Bakr, to form a close relationship with Aby Bakr's family. She was already engaged to Jober Ibn Al Moteam Ibn Oday. At this time Jober was not yet a Muslim. The people of Makkah did not object to Aishah becoming married because although she was young, she was mature enough to understand the responsibility of marriage. Prophet Muhammad (bpuh) was engaged to Aishah for 2 years before he married her. Aby Bakr was the first leader after Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) death.
4.

HAFSAH BINT U'MAR: She was the daughter of Omar, the second Calipha. Omar asked Othman to marry Hafsah. Othman refused because his wife had recently died and Othman did not want to remarry. Omar then went to Aby Bakr but he also refused to marry Hafsah. Aby Bakr knew that the Prophet had already considered marrying Hafsah. Omar then went to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and complained that Othman and Aby Bakr did not want to marry his daughter. The Prophet told Omar that his daughter will marry and Othman will also remarry. Othman married the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Om Kolthoom, and Hafsah married the Prophet. This made Omar and Othman both happy.
5.

ZAYNAB BINT KHUZAYMA: Her husband died in the battle of Uhud, leaving her poor and with several children. She was old when Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) married her. She died 3 months after she married the Prophet 625 A.D.
6.

SALAMA BINT UMAYYA: Her husband, Abud Allah Abud Al Assad Ibn Al Mogherah, died leaving Hend poor and with many children. Hend was at least 65 years old at the time. Aby Bakr and several others asked her to marry them, but because she loved her husband very much, she refused the marriage's offers. But finally she accepted Prophet mohammad's offer to marry her and take care of her children.
7.

ZAYNAB BINT JAHSH: She was the daughter of Prophet Muhammad's aunt, Omameh Bint Abud Almutaleb. The Prophet arranged for Zaynab to marry Zayed Ibn Hareathah Al Kalby. This marriage did not last and the Prophet received a verse in the Quran which stated that if they became divorced, then the Prophet must marry Zaynab (Sura 33:37).
8.

JUWAYRIYA BINT AL-HARITH: Her first husband's name was Masafeah Ibn Safuan. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) wanted Juayreah's tribe (Beni Al Mostalag)to convert to Islam. Juayreah became a prisoner after the Muslims won the Battle of Al Mostalaq. Juayreah's father came to the Prophet and offered a payment for her return. The Prophet asked her father to give her a choice. When she was given a choice she said she accepted Islam and Prophet Muhammad as the last God's Messenger. The Prophet then married her. Her tribe of Beni Almostalag accepted Islam.
9.

SAFIYYA BINT HUYAYY: She was from the tribe of Beni Nadir, who were from the children of Levi (Israel). She was married twice before, then she married Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Her first husband Salam Ibn Moshkem, and her second husband was Kenanah Ibn Al Rabeeah.
10.

UMMU HABIBA BINT SUFYAN: Her first husband was Aubed Allah Jahish. He was the son of the aunt of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Aubed Allah died in Ethiopia. The king of Ethiopia arranged the marriage of Ramelah to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
11.

MAYAMUNA BINT AL-HARITH: She was 26years old when she married Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Her first husband was Abu Rahma Ibn Abed Alzey. When the Prophet opened Makkah in 630 AD , she came to the Prophet, accepted Islam and proposed to marry him. Her actions encouraged Many Makkahans to accept Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
12.

MARIA AL-QABTIYYA: She was sent to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a hand maid servant from the king of Egypt. Maria had a son from the Prophet. His name was Ibrahim.