Zaynab bint Jahsh was of noble birth and descent and a close relative of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. She was very pious, fasted a great deal, kept long vigils, and gave generously to the poor. When the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, asked that Zaynab be married to Zayd (his adopted African son), her family and Zaynab herself were at first unwilling, for they had hoped to marry their daughter to the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. Naturally, when they realized that he wanted Zaynab to marry Zayd, they consented out of deference to their love for the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, and his authority. The two were married.

Zayd had been captured as a child during a tribal war and sold as a slave. His master, Khadija, presented him to Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, when they were married. He immediately freed Zayd and shortly afterwards adopted him as his son. Through this marriage, the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, wanted to establish and fortify equality, to make this ideal a reality by ending the ancient Arab prejudice against a slave or even a freedman marrying a free-born woman. The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, therefore was starting this hard task with his own relatives.

The marriage was unhappy. The noble-born Zaynab was a good Muslim of a most pious and exceptional quality. The ex-slave Zayd was among the first to embrace Islam, and also was a good Muslim. Both loved and obeyed the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, but they were mutually incompatible. Zayd sought permission to end this marriage several times, but always was told to be patient and remain married to Zaynab.

Once when the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, was talking with someone, Gabriel revealed to him that he should marry Zaynab. [1] This new marriage was announced as a bond already contracted: We have married her to you (33:37). This command was one of the severest trials for the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, up to that time. Yet he had to marry Zaynab, and thereby violate a tribal taboo, because God had commanded it. 'A'isha later said: "Had the Messenger of God been inclined to suppress anything of what was revealed to him, he would surely have suppressed this verse." [2]

Zaynab proved herself a most worthy wife. She was always aware of her responsibilities as well as the courtesies expected of her, and fulfilled them to universal admiration.

Before Islam, an adopted son was regarded as a natural son, and his wife was therefore regarded as a natural son's wife. According to the Qur'an, those who have been wives of your sons proceeding from your loins (4:23) fall within the prohibited marriages. But this prohibition does not include adopted sons, with whom there is no real consanguinity. This deeprooted pagan taboo was ended by God's command that the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, marry Zaynab.

Juwayriya bint Harith daughter of Harith, chief of the defeated Banu Mustaliq clan, was captured and held alongside the common people of her clan. When taken to the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, she was in considerable distress due to the fact that her kinsmen had lost everything and because of her profound hatred and enmity toward Muslims. The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, understood her wounded pride, dignity, and suffering, as well as how to heal all of them. He agreed to pay her ransom and set her free, and then offered to marry her. How gladly Juwayriya accepted this offer can easily be imagined.

About 100 non-ransomed families were freed when the Ansar (the Helpers) and the Muhajirun (the Emigrants) learned that the Bani Mustaliq were related to the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. A tribe so honored could not be allowed to remain in slavery. [3] In this way, the hearts of Juwayriya and all her people were won.

Safiyya was the daughter of Huyayy, a chief of the Jewish Khaybar tribe. This tribe earlier had persuaded the Banu Qurayza tribe to break their treaty with the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. Since she was small, she had seen her family and relatives oppose the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. Her father, brother, and husband had fallen at the hands of Muslims, and eventually she was captured by them.

The attitudes and actions of her family and relatives might have nurtured in her a deep hatred of Muslims and a desire for revenge. But 3 days before the Prophet, upon him be peace, arrived at Khaybar and she was captured, she dreamed of a brilliant moon coming from Madina, moving toward Khaybar, and falling into her lap. She later said: "When I was captured, I began to hope my dream would come true." When she was brought before him, the Prophet generously set her free and offered her the choice between remaining a Jew and returning to her people or entering Islam and becoming his wife. "I chose God and his Messenger," she said. They were married shortly after that.

Elevated to the Prophet's household, she acquired the title "Mother of the Believers." The Companions honored and respected her accordingly, and so she witnessed at first hand the Muslims' refinement and true courtesy. Her attitude to her past experiences changed completely, and she came to appreciate the great honor of her new status. As a result of this marriage, many Jews changed their attitudes as they came to see and know the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, closely.

Sawda bint Zam'a was Sakran's widow. Both were among the first to embrace Islam. After being forced to emigrate to Abyssinia to escape persecution, Sakran died and left his wife utterly destitute. To help her, Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, although quite hard-pressed to meet his own daily needs, married her. This marriage took place some time after Khadija's death.

Hafsa was 'Umar ibn al-Khattab's daughter. She had lost her husband, who had emigrated to Abyssinia and then to Madina, where he died from wounds received during a battle. She remained a widow for a while. 'Umar also desired, like Abu Bakr, the honor and blessing of being close to the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, in this world and in the Hereafter. Thus, the Prophet, upon him be peace, wed Hafsa to protect and help the daughter of his faithful disciple.

These are some of the reasons for the Prophet's multiple marriages, upon him be peace and blessings. Instead of sensuality, he married to provide helpless or widowed women with dignified subsistence; console and honor enraged or estranged tribespeople; establish a degree of relationship and harmony between former enemies; gain certain uniquely gifted individuals for the cause of Islam, in particular some exceptionally talented women; establish new relationship norms among widely differing communities within the unifying bonds of faith in God; and honor with family bonds those men who would become his first two political successors.

These marriages were completely devoid of self-indulgence, personal desire, lust, and all other charges leveled by his detractors. With the exception of 'A'isha, all of these women had been widowed, and all of his marriages (after Khadija's death) were contracted when he was already old. If–God forbid such a thought!–he had married any woman for pure pleasure, he would have chosen virgin women. Far from being acts of self-indulgence, they were acts of self-discipline and self-sacrifice.

The number of the wives he was allowed was a special dispensation within the law of Islam and unique to his person. When the Revelation restricting polygamy came, he had contracted his marriages already. Thereafter, the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, also could not marry again.