Muhammad (570-632 C.E.) was the founder of the religion of Islam; he unified the tribes and city states of Arabia. Muslims regard him as the last and greatest of the prophets.

His life falls into two epochs: his residence in Mecca, a city in northern Arabia, from 570 to 622 C.E., and his residence in Medina, a nearby city, from 622 until his death in 632. All but two of his marriages were contracted after his Hegira, or flight to Medina.

Problems with the historical sources

Most of what we know about Muhammad's life is derived from sources written down from 120 to 200 years after his death. These stories, passed down through chains of narrators until recorded, sometimes contradict each other. It is difficult to tell which stories to trust. Hence the frequent references to "some say". See sira and hadith for further discussion.

List of Muhammad's wives

• Khadija married in 595 C.E.; widow; died 619
• Sawada bint Zama married soon after 619; widow; died after Muhammad
• Aisha married in 622; virgin, political; died after Muhammad
• Hafsa bint Umar married circa 624-625; widow, political; died after Muhammad
• Zaynab bint Khuzayma married circa 626-627; widow; died soon afterwards
• Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya married in 626; widow; died after Muhammad
• Zaynab bint Jahsh married circa 625-627; widow and divorcee; died after Muhammad
• Juwayriya bint al-Harith married circa 627-628; widow, possibly political; died after Muhammad
• Umm Habibah Ramla married 629; widow, political; died after Muhammad
• Safiyya bint Huyayy married 629; widow, captured in battle; died after Muhammad
• Maymuna bint al-Harith married 629; widow; died after Muhammad
• Maria al-Qibtiyya; Ethiopian (name translates to "Maria the Copt"); some say she was a slave, some say Muhammad freed her and married her; circa 628-629; the mother of Muhammad's short-lived son Ibrahim in 630; died after Muhammad

After each wife's name is listed the date of the marriage, if known, whether she was a virgin, widow, or divorcee, whether there could have been a political reason for the marriage, and whether or not she survived Muhammad.

Khadijah

His first marriage, to Khadijah, was long, happy, and fruitful. Muslim traditions say that she was a 40-year-old rich widow, 15 years older than Muhammad, when she noted his pleasing character and competence as her employee. They had four children, of whom three survived. Khadijah was the first to accept Muhammad as a prophet and stood staunchly behind him through many years of persecution and turmoil in Mecca. While she lived, he married no other wife.

Accounts differ as to his next marriage. Most say that it was to Sawada bint Zama; some say it was to Aisha.

Sawada was also an older widow, and a Muslim convert. Muhammad is said to have married her in Mecca.

Aisha

It was also at this time that he was betrothed to Aisha, the daughter of his friend Abu Bakr, later the first Caliph. Most Muslims believe that she was only 6 years old at the time of the betrothal, based on oral traditions, or hadith reported by Bukhari. However, there are other traditions, including Ibn Ishaq's biography of Muhammad, that would indicate she was older. See Aisha.

Muhammad married Aisha after the Hegira, when she may have been anywhere from 9 to 17 years old. The marriage to Aisha may have been politically motivated initially, in that Abu Bakr was one of Muhammad's strongest supporters, and the marriage strengthened the ties between them. However, there are many stories indicating that Muhammad was extremely fond of Aisha, and that most people considered her his favorite wife. He defended her when she was accused of adultery.

Aisha became separated from the rest of the party while on a trip, and was brought back by one of Muhammad's companions, Shafwan ibn Muatthal. Since she had been alone with another man, people gossiped and said that she must be having an affair. Muhammad refused to repudiate her, then received a revelation that four eyewitnesses were necessary to prove adultery.

During his last illness, he sought her company and died with his head in her lap.

Aisha in her turn grew attached to Muhammad, and was noted for her jealousy of his other wives. She even resented the prophet's fond memories of the deceased Khadija.

Many wives of Medina

Soon after settling in Medina, Muhammad married the widowed daughter of another close companion, Hafsa the daughter of Umar. He was thus linked by marriage to two of his companions -- Abu Bakr, who was to lead the Muslims after Muhammad's death, and Umar, who became caliph after Abu Bakr.

The marriage to Hafsa was the first of a spate of marriages in the years 624-629, when the Muslims were engaged in constant warfare.

Muhammad married widows of Muslims killed in battle:

• Zaynab bint Khuzayma
• Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya
• Maymuna bint al-Harith

He married captives widowed when their cities were taken:

• Safiyya bint Huyayy (said to have married her to save her from slavery)
• Juwayriya bint al-Harith (possibly political -- after the marriage her tribe was treated as an ally)

He married for political reasons:

• Umm Habibah Ramla (cemented a treaty with Mecca)

He either married or took as a concubine a slave girl sent to him by the ruler of Egypt:

• Maria al-Qibtiyya (Maria the Copt)

Maria was the mother of Ibrahim, a short-lived son by Muhammad. The prophet is said to have briefly ignored his other wives for the sake of Maria, which caused great resentment and upset.

Accusations of libertinism

Christian critics tend to paint Muhammad as a libertine. See, for example, Muhammad and His Wives

Muslims retort that there is nothing wrong with polygamy nor with enjoying sex. Celibacy, as practiced by Jesus and Buddha, is not an Islamic ideal; it is discouraged (a well-known hadith states that "Marriage is half of faith") and sometimes considered psychologically unhealthy. Muslims also add that he was a man of his time, in a time when most political relationships were sealed with a marriage. Great rulers had dozens of wives, or more. (As did David and Solomon, according to the Jewish and Christian scriptures.) Moreover, the traditions show Muhammed as a kind husband, treating his wives with respect and fairness. See:

• The Prophet's Multiple Marriages: Why?
• Wisdom Behind Prophet Muhammad’s Plural Marriages

Accusation that Muhammad flouted laws his followers obeyed

Many of Muhammad's detractors have criticized his conduct in having more wives than his followers. During the Medina period, he received a new revelation telling Muslim men to marry no more than four wives, and that only if they could treat them all equally. A flurry of divorces followed, as Muslim men gave the extra wives their liberty. Muhammad, however, kept all his wives. He had nine or ten wives at his death. Is this unfair? Did Muhammad selfishly exempt himself from rules imposed on others?

However, Muslim scholars note that the Qur'an exempts Muhammad from the general decree.

• O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers. (Al-Ahzab 33: 50)

They explain this as a kind concession to Muhammad's wives. If he were to divorce them, no one else could marry them, and they would be left alone until their deaths. The prophet's wives were revered as "Umm ul Mo'mayneen" or Mothers of the Believers; it would be tantamount to incest for a believer to marry one of Muhammad's widows. So the Qur'an commands:

• Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy God's Apostle, or that ye should marry his widows after him at any time. Truly such a thing is in God's sight an enormity. (Al-Ahzab 33: 53)

If Muhammad is to be criticized for breaking the Qur'anic rules, he is exempted by those same rules.

Those who regard him as the inventor of these Qur'anic rules see this as a case of a leader enjoying privileges he denied to his followers. However, it may be noted that other traditions show him as content with a humble, almost ascetic lifestyle. In most things he lived as simply as the poorest of his followers.