"But do you mean to tell me that the man who in the full flush of youthful vigour, a young man of four and twenty (24), married a woman much his senior, and remained faithful to her for six and twenty years (26), at fifty years of age when the passions are dying married for lust and sexual passion? Not thus are men's lives to be judged. And you look at the women whom he married, you will find that by every one of them an alliance was made for his people, or something was gained for his followers, or the woman was in sore need of protection." - Dr Annie Besant in 'The Life and Teachings of Mohammad,' Madras, 1932

The following information was primarily taken from the literature of Maulana Muhammad Ali - from his books Muhammad the Prophet, and his commentary to the Holy Qur'an; some information was taken from Bashir Ahmad's book as well: Life of Muhammad, unless otherwise specified.

Khadija:
 

Bashir Ahmad writes about the Prophet's marriage with Khadija (ra) in his book Life of Muhammad (saw), pages 6-7

"When the Prophet was about 25 years old, his reputation for integrity and fellow-feeling had spread over the whole of the town. People would point admiring fingers at him and say, here is a man who could be trusted. This reputation reached the ears of a rich widow who approached the Prophet's uncle, Abu Talib, to let his nephew lead a trading caravan of hers to Syria. Abu Talib mentioned this to the Prophet and the Prophet agreed. The expedition met with great success and brought unexpected profits.

The rich widow, Khadija, was convinced that the success of the caravan was due not only to the conditions of the market in Syria, but also to the integrity and efficiency of its leader. She interrogated her slave, Maisara, on this subject, and Maisara supported her view and told her that the honesty and sympathy with which this young leader of the caravan had managed her affairs would not be shown by many persons. Khadija was much impressed by this account. She was 40 years of age and had already been widowed twice. She sent a woman friend of hers to the Prophet to find out whether he would be persuaded to marry her. The woman went to the Prophet and asked why he had not been married. The Prophet replied he was not rich enough to do so. The visitor suggested whether he would agree, if a rich and respectable woman were found whom he could marry. The Prophet asked who this woman could be, and the visitor said she was Khadija. The Prophet apologized, saying that Khadija was too highly placed for him. The visitor undertook to deal with all difficulties. In that case, said the Prophet, there was nothing for him to say but agree. Khadija then sent a message to the Prophet's uncle. Marriage between the Prophet and Khadija was solemnized.

A poor man orphaned in childhood had his first peep into prosperity. He became rich. But the use he made of his riches is an object lesson to all mankind. After the marriage Khadija felt that she was rich and he was poor and this inequality between them would not make for happiness. So she proposed to make over her property and her slaves to the Prophet. The Prophet, making sure that Khadija was in earnest, declared that as soon as he had any of Khadija's slaves, he would set them free. And he did so. Moreover, the greater part of the property he received from Khadija he distributed among the poor."

Khadija died in 619. One month after her death, the Prophet had to sustain another shock in the death of Abu Talib, his uncle and guardian, and the bulwark of Islam. The death of these two friends - Khadija and Abu Talib - was the greatest shock that the Apostle of God had to endure in the fifty years of his life. The two lamps of his life were extinguished. He was overwhelmed with sorrow. He called the year of their death "the Year of Sorrow."

During the prime of his life, Prophet Muhammad remained married to one woman, Khadija. Muhammad married Khadija at the age of 25, and he took no other wife during the twenty-six years of their married life. During this period of his age he remained devoted to his wife and even after her death he remembered her with much love and compassion.

The others he married were mostly old maids or widows left destitute and without protection during the repeated wars of persecution. Others were marriages to the widows of his companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of protection. Prophet Muhammad's teachings and actions, as well as the Qur'anic message, improved the status of all women - wives, daughters, mothers, widows and orphans. The Muslims while defending their city and religion lost many men, which resulted in many widowed Muslim women and numerous orphaned children. In these circumstances, Prophet Muhammad (s) married several women during fifty-sixth year up to the sixtieth year of his life.

The Prophet’s marriages provided security to women who would have otherwise remained unmarried, unprotected, or felt humiliated. His marriages were also a means of transmitting important teachings of Islam. The Prophet's wives, called the "Mothers of the Believers," [Qur'an Surah 33, Verse 6 and the last part of Verse 53] showed themselves as examples of proper Muslim womanhood.

Maulana Muhammad Ali writes: "A'ishah was one who possessed exceptional qualities, and both Abu Bakr and the Holy Prophet saw in her a great woman of the future who was best suited to perform the duties of wife of a teacher whose words and deeds had to be preserved for the guidance of mankind"

A'ishah turned out to be one of the greatest woman scholars for Islam, thus setting an example for future generations. Aishah was said to be the most knowledgeable in Islam by her male companions, and was in fact one of the most learned. Companions had to come to her and seek the knowledge that only she knew; that only she was privy to, so this was perhaps a reason she was married to the Prophet pbuh was so she could pass on authentic knowledge for a long time to come in the future after his death."

Her significant example of being highly regarded especially among the men plays an important role in removing beyond a shadow of a doubt any uncertainties regarding women to be inferior to men or false notions condemning women to be hindered from earning a high status in society, especially in terms of spiritual growth and morality. Compare this to the history of other major religions in which women were regarded to remain subordinate to men early especially in terms of spiritual development.

All his wives, especially A'ishah, transmitted many ahadith (sayings, deeds, and actions) from Prophet Muhammad pbuh. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the hadith reports relating to matters of the Shariah have been related by Aishah.

Dr Zahid Aziz writes: Tazkirat al-Auliya is a famous compilation of the lives of Muslim saints, written nearly 800 years ago by Farid-ud-Din Attar. It also includes the life of a woman saint, the famous Rabia of Basra. Attar writes at the start of the section dealing with her life:

"If anyone says, `Why have you included Rabia in the rank of men', my answer is that the Prophet himself said: `God does not regard your outward forms'. The root of the matter is not form, but intention, as the Prophet said: `Mankind will be raised up according to their intentions'. Moreover, if it is proper to derive two-thirds of our religion from Aishah (Holy Prophet's wife), surely it is permissible to take religious instruction from a handmaid of Aishah. When a woman becomes a `man' in the path of God, she is a man and one cannot any more call her a woman."

This was written nearly 800 years ago!

Taken from Maulana Muhammad Ali's book - Muhammad the Prophet

Saudah

The Holy Prophet married Saudah, a widow of advanced age, in the tenth year of the Call. She had emigrated, along with her husband, to Abyssinia. On their return, her husband died on the way, leaving her in a terrible state of destitution. Small as the Muslim brotherhood then was, where could she look for a respectable shelter? So she offered her hand to the Holy Prophet, who accepted it.

Hafash, Zainab
 

Hafsah, the daughter of Umar, was left widow at the battle of Badr, her husband, Khunais, having been slain in action. Umar approached Abu Bakr and then Uthman to take his daughter in marriage. This shows the dearth of marriageable males among the Muslims at the time. Both of them excused themselves, perhaps for the reason that Hafsah had a somewhat Harsh temper. At last the Holy Prophet took her in marriage in the year 3 A.H. The same year 'Abd Allah ibn Jahsh having fallen on the field of Uhud, his widow Zainab was also taken in marriage by the Holy Prophet.

Umm Salamah
 

A year later on the death of Abu Salamah, to his widow Umm Salamah was also extended the shelter of the Holy Prophet's household. The Prophet married Umm Salamah (ra) in 626 CE. Her husband had died of wounds inflicted in the Battle of Uhud (625 CE), leaving her behind with eight children.

Zainab, Zaid's divorced wife:
 

"And when thou saidst to him to whom Allah had shown favour and to whom thou hadst shown a favour: Keep thy wife to thyself and keep thy duty to Allah; and thou concealdest in thy heart what Allah would bring to light and thou feardst men, and Allah has a greater right that thou shouldst fear Him. So when Zaid dissolved her marriage-tie, We gave her to thee as a wife, so that there should be no difficulty for the believers about the wives of their adopted sons, when they have dissolved their marriage-tie. And Allah's command is ever performed." (Qur'an 33:37)

Bashir Ahmad writes in his book Life of Muhammad:

Among the slaves whom the Prophet set free was one Zaid. He appeared to be more intelligent and more alert than the others. He belonged to a respectable family, had been kidnapped as a child and sold from place to place until he reached Makkah. Young Zaid, newly freed, saw at once that it was better to sacrifice freedom for the sake of slavery to the Prophet. When the Prophet set the slaves free, Zaid refused to be freed and asked leave to continue to live with the Prophet. He did so, and as time went on his attachment to the Prophet grew. But in the meantime Zaid's father and his uncle were on his track and they ultimately heard he was in Makkah. In Makkah they traced  him in the house of the Prophet. Coming to the Prophet, they asked for the liberty of Zaid and offered to pay as much ransom as the Prophet should demand. The Prophet said Zaid was free and could go with him as he liked. He sent for Zaid and showed him his father and uncle. After the parties had met and dried their tears, Zaid's father told him that he had been freed by his kind Master and, as his mother was much afflicted by the separation, he had better return home. Zaid replied, "Father ! who does not love his parents? My heart is full of love for you and mother. But I love this man Muhammad so much that I cannot think of living elsewhere than with him. I have met you and I am glad.. But separation from Muhammad I cannot endure." Zaid's father and his uncle did their utmost to persuade Zaid to return home with them but Zaid did not agree. Upon this the Holy Prophet said, "Zaid was a freed man already, but from today he will be my son." Seeing this affection between Zaid and the Prophet, Zaid's father and uncle went back and Zaid remained with the Prophet (Hisham).

Zaid remained throughout his life a most beloved and faithful disciple of the Holy Prophet and sealed his fidelity to Islam and the Prophet with his blood on the battle field of Muta. On account of his great attachment, Zaid was called the son of Muhammad, and he was one of the early converts to Islam. It is to these events that the opening words of the verse (33:37) refer, when they speak of Zaid as being one to whom Allah as well as the Prophet had shown favour.

Maulana Muhammad Ali writes in his commentary to the Holy Qur'an:

Zainab was the Holy Prophet's first cousin, being the daughter of his aunt, Umaimah, daughter of ‘Abd al-Muttalib. Zainab a full blooded Arab was intensely proud of her ancestry and exalted social status. Islam had envisaged and given to the world a civilization and culture in which there were no class divisions, no hereditary nobility, no vested interests. All men and women were to be free and equal in the sight of God. The Holy Prophet wanted to start with his own family carrying into actual effect of this noble ideal of Islam. Zainab was one of the early converts to Islam, and the Holy Prophet proposed to her brother that she should be given in marriage to Zaid.

The Prophet wished to marry Zainab to Zaid who in spite of having been liberated by the Prophet and called his son, unfortunately still carried the stigma of slavery in the minds of some people. It was exactly this invidious distinction between ‘free’ and ‘slave’ which the Holy Prophet sought to remove by Zainab’s marriage with Zaid. Both brother and sister were averse to this match and only yielded under pressure from the Holy Prophet.

It is related that they both desired that the Holy Prophet himself should marry Zainab. In fact when marriage was first proposed to Zainab, she gave her assent under the impression that the Prophet wanted her for himself, but the Prophet insisted that she should accept Zaid.

The marriage leveled to the ground of all class distinctions and divisions. It was a practical demonstration of Islam’s noble ideal. The marriage was however, not a happy one. The marriage however ended in failure not so much due to a difference in the social status of Zainab and Zaid as to the incompatibility of their dispositions and temperaments and also due to a feeling of inferiority from which Zaid suffered. Differences arose, and Zaid expressed a desire to the Holy Prophet of divorcing Zainab.

The news was grieving for the Prophet, for it was he who had insisted upon the marriage, and he therefore advised Zaid not to divorce her. He feared that people would object that a marriage which had been arranged by the Prophet was unsuccessful.

The failure of the marriage naturally grieved the Prophet but it also served as a very useful purpose. In pursuance of Divine command, the Prophet himself married Zainab, thus cutting at the very root of another obnoxious and deep seated Arab custom, that it was sacrilege to marry the wife of one’s adopted son. The custom of adoption was abolished and with it went also this foolish notion. Thus Zainab’s marriage with Zaid served one very noble object and its failure another highly successful purpose.

According to one interpretation, it is to this circumstance that the words refer, "and thou feardest men, and Allah has a greater right that thou shouldst fear Him.” According to this interpretation it is also to the same matter that the words ‘"and thou concealdest in thy heart what Allah would bring to light” refer, for the Prophet did not like that the disagreements between Zainab and Zaid should become generally known. The Prophet’s injunction to Zaid not to divorce his wife is contained in unmistakable terms in the Holy Qur’an. But it was all in vain, and Zaid at last divorced Zainab.

According to another interpretation, however, the words ‘and thou concealdest in thy heart to thou shouldst fear Him, are a continuation of the advice which the Prophet gave to Zaid not to divorce Zainab. This interpretation suits the context even better than the first interpretation, for as we further on told in verse 39, the Prophets fear none but God. "Those who deliver the messages of Allah and fear Him, and fear none but Allah. And Allah is Sufficient to take account" (Qur'an 33:39)

After Zainab was divorced the Holy Prophet took her in marriage, that being the wish of the lady and her relatives before her marriage with Zaid, and the Prophet was, now that the marriage arranged by him proved unsuccessful, morally bound to accept their wishes. Moreover, the Qur’an had declared against an adopted son being regarded as if he were a real son, and now there was an opportunity where the Holy Prophet could by his own example deal a death-blow to that custom. The reason is plainly given in the second part of the verse: “We gave her to thee as a wife, so that there should be no difficulty for the believers about the wives of their adopted sons.”

The divorced woman is generally looked down upon in popular estimation, and this was a case in which a freed slave divorced a lady of high birth. By also taking such a divorced woman as his wife, the false notion that divorce degraded women was removed as well.  Thus by this act, to which he was morally bound because the lady had been at first offered in marriage to him, he elevated the whole class of divorced women who would otherwise suffer life-long humiliation in society.

This simple story is made the basis of a mean attack on the Holy Prophet. It is stated that the Holy Prophet, having seen Zainab by chance through a half-open door, was fascinated by her beauty, and that Zaid, having come to know of this divorced her, and then she became the Prophet's wife. That Muir and Arnold, not to mention more prejudiced writers accept this, only shows how far religious prejudice may carry "criticism." It is admitted Zainab was the daughter of the Prophet's real aunt; it is admitted that she was one of the early believers in Islam who fled to Madinah; it is admitted that the Prophet himself had arranged the marriage between Zaid and Zainab; and finally it is admitted Zainab desired, as did also her brother, before she was married to Zaid, that she should be taken in marriage by the Holy Prophet.

What was it then which prevented the Prophet from marrying her when she was a virgin and when she herself ardently desired to get married to him? Had he not seen her before? He was so closely related to her that on the face of it such a supposition is absurd. Then there was no seclusion before Zainab’s marriage with the Prophet, a fact the truth of which is attested by Muir himself. Having not only seen her when she was a virgin, but knowing her fully well on account of her close relationship to him and her early belief in Islam, while both she and her relatives were desirous that the Prophet should take her for a wife, what hindered the Prophet from marrying her? The story is so absurd that any man possessing ordinary common sense would unhesitatingly reject it.

If he had any desire for self-gratification or if he had any passion for the lady, he would not have refused her when she was offered to him as a virgin. Refusal of her hand in the first instance, and take her in marriage when being divorced she was lowered in general estimation, shows conclusively that his motive in this marriage was anything but self-gratification.

The good and noble Rev. Bosworth Smith finds nothing in this marriage to cavil at. He says “It should be remembered, however, that most of Muhammad’s marriages may be explained, at least, as much by his pity for the forlorn condition of the persons concerned, as by other motives. They were almost all of them widows who were not remarkable for their beauty of their wealth, but quite the reverse. May not this fact, and his undoubted faithfulness to Khadija till her dying day, and till he himself was fifty years of age, give us additional ground to hope that calumny or misconception has been at work in the story of Zainab" (Muhammad and Muhammadanism)

At the battle of Bani Mustaliq, a large number of prisoners, male as well as female, fell into the Muslims hands. Among them was one Juwairiyah, the daughter of an Arab chief, Harith. Coming to the Holy Prophet to ransom his daughter, he embraced Islam along with his two sons. Juwairiyah's husband had already died, so Harith consented to the marriage with the Holy Prophet. As a consequence of this marriage, the prisoners of Bani Mustaliq, about a hundred families, were all released by the Muslims. The tribe which was so honoured by the Holy Prophet's relationship, they said, should not remain in captivity.

Among the emigrants to Abyssinia was also the daughter of Abu Sufyan, Umm Habibah. Her husband, Ubaid Allah, turned Christian there. On his death, while Umm Habibah was yet in Abyssinia, the Holy Prophet married her. She came to Medina in 7. A.H.

Safiyya, Mary and Maimunah
 

At the battle of Khaibar in 7 A.H., Safiyya, the daughter of a Jewish chief, was one of the prisoners taken. Her husband had already fallen in action. The Jews had been a ceaseless source of trouble to the Muslims. The Holy Prophet thought a matrimonial alliance with them might once and for all put a stop to their mischief. Thus Safiyya joined the Holy Prophet's wives. In this very year Mary, the Copt, who was sent to the Holy Prophet by Muqauqis, also joined the Holy Prophet's household. The same year another widow, Maumunah, offered her hand to the Holy Prophet, and it was accepted.

Bashir Ahmad writes in regards to Maimunah's death: On the eve of her death at 80, when the delights of flesh are forgotten, when things only of lasting value and virtue move the heart, she asked to be buried at one day’s journey from Makkah, at the very spot where the Prophet had camped on his return to Madinah, and where after his marriage she had first met him. The world knows of many stories of love both real and imaginary, but not of many which are more moving than this.

 

Mr. Naseer Ahmad Faruqui writes about Mary the Copt: Mary the Copt: It is commonly, but quite wrongly, assumed about this lady that the Holy Prophet took her into his household without marrying her, as she was (i) a bestowed slave girl, and (ii) not a Muslim. What an awful assumption! The facts, on the contrary, are that: (a) She was not a slave, but a lady from a noble family, sent as a present by King Maququs of Egypt as a token of his regard and esteem for the Holy Prophet. Maulana Shibli, in his famous Sirat-un-Nabi ('Life of the Holy Prophet'), has quoted on pages 305-306 of the first volume the letter which King Maququs of Egypt wrote to the Holy Prophet in reply to the latter's invitation to him to accept Islam. In that letter, the King, after saying that he was expecting such a prophet to appear, etc., goes on to say: 'I have given due honour to your emissary, and I send you as a gift two girls who are held in high esteem and honour among the Copts (residents of Egypt)' Maulana Shibli goes on to say in his footnote that the expression 'they are held in great honour and esteem,' used for Mary the Copt and her sister (sent to keep her company in the new country) could never have been used for slave girls, but only for women from a noble family. Mary's sister was given by the Holy Prophet to one of his Companions in marriage. (b) The assumption that liberties could have been taken with Mary because she was Christian is also wrong from all points of view. It is true that Mary was a Christian when she left Egypt. But during the long journey by camel to Arabia, the two sisters were much impressed by the religious observances (such as prayers five times a day, even Tahajjud prayers, and recitation of the Holy Qur'an of the Holy Prophet's emissary and his companions, and their model behaviour. And the two ladies became Muslims before reaching Madina. On grounds (a) and (b) above, Maulana Shibli concludes that Mary the Copt could not but have been married by the Holy Prophet. But let us proceed with other evidence on the point. (c) There is a clear Hadith on the point that the Holy Prophet did not on his death leave behind any slave -male or female (Bukhari, 55: 1). Now Mary survived the Holy Prophet for years. Had she been a female slave she would have been mentioned as such. (d) There is further evidence that, on the Holy Prophet's death, the Caliphs fixed a maintenance allowance for his wives. The allowance given to Mary was the same as to other wives. This would not have been so, had she not been a married wife, but only a female slave. (e) She took the veil like other wives of the Holy Prophet and of other Muslims, unlike slave girls, who did not take it when going out. (f) When she died in the time of the second Caliph Hazrat Umar, he called the Muslims and himself led the funeral prayers, an honour shown only to the wives of the Holy Prophet (Al-Zarqani, Vol. 3, p. 272, Egyptian edition). (g) Some people argue that there is no evidence of the Nikah (marriage) ceremony of the Holy Prophet with Mary. So what? Reports of the Nikah ceremony do not exist for all the wives, and yet they are treated as wives and not 'those whom your right hands possess.' I will show later that there is such evidence. (h) In any case, no Muslim can dare to believe that the Holy Prophet himself could possibly have violated the injunctions of the Holy Qur'an, quoted already, that no sexual relationship can be had between man and woman except by regular marriage (4:25). The Holy Qur'an testifies that the Holy Prophet was the first to act on Divine Commands, and that is as it should have been. That is why Hazrat Ayesha, wife of the Holy Prophet, called him 'the personification of the Holy Qur'an.' (j) Some people say that in verse 33:50 of the Holy Qur'an, talking about the wives of the Holy Prophet being taken under Divine dispensation, mention has been made of those 'whom your right hands possess.' As already shown, some of the wives of the Holy Prophet had come as prisoners of war, and were freed and married (such as Hazrats Safiyya, Juwairiyya and Maimuna), and the quoted expression refers to them for the reason already given in the last chapter under the subtitle Concubinage. But the word fay, also used in that verse, has been taken advantage of to argue that it implies, not a prisoner of war, but a woman received as a gift. As will be shown in the next paragraph, she was married by the Holy Prophet as a regular wife and not kept as a slave girl. So the argument is baseless. (k) And now for the clear and conclusive evidence of the following Hadith: 'Hazrat Abdullah Al-Zubeiri reports: The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then took in marriage Mary, daughter of Shamoon (after Nikah). It is the same Mary who was bestowed upon him by Maququs the Ruler of Egypt' (Sahih Al-Mustadrak Hakim, Book 4, 'Information about the Companions of the Holy Prophet: Mary the Copt,' page 38). The doubts and unwarranted assumptions about this case should now be laid to rest for ever. May Allah forgive those who have held them so far. I have discussed this case in detail as it was a great slur on the Holy Prophet to hold the view that he had, Allah forbid, violated the clear Divine Command in 4:25 (Holy Qur'an), and even many Muslims were involved in such thinking through ignorance. (l) Incidentally, the following historians, in addition to Maulana Shibli, already quoted, support the view that the Holy Prophet had married Mary the Copt, like his other wives: i. Hitti's History of the Arabs ii. Ameer Ali's The Spirit of Islam iii. Haykal's The Life of Muhammad iv. Bahjuzi's Muhammad and the Cause of IsIam v. Namoos-e-Rasool by Hafiz Muhammad Sarwar of England.

“O Prophet, why dost thou forbid (thyself) that which Allah has made lawful for thee? Seekest thou to please thy wives? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (Qur’an 66:1)

Maulana Muhammad Ali writes in his commentary to the Holy Qur'an:

This verse is said to contain a reference to the Prophet's conjugal relations with Mary, the Coptic lady, which, it is alleged, being discovered by his wife Hafsah, the Prophet swore not to have anything more to do with her. This alleged incident of Mary, the Copt being too foolish and fantastic a concoction of Christian writers and lacking all reliable historical evidence, does not merit serious notice, but will be dealt with. Mary wast the Holy Prophet's wedded consort and the respected mother of the Faithful.

How far this story is worthy of credit may be gathered from the fact that Mary did enjoy the honour of standing in the same relation to the Prophet as his other wives, and that she gave birth to Ibrahim, a son of the Holy Prophet, who died in infancy. Why then should the Prophet's conjugal relations with her be regarded with a suspicious eye? Mary was not an Arab lady, and therefore socially her status may not have been the same as that of the other wives, but so far as her relation with the Holy Prophet was concerned, there was nothing in it of a clandestine nature, and as a son's mother (Ar. umm walad) she is ranked equally with the Holy Prophet's wives. It is a fact that the Prophet never kept a slave. The case of Safiyya illustrates this. She was a prisoner of war and might have been treated as a slave, but from the first she enjoyed the honour of being a wife, and no distinct or separate treatment was ever accorded to her.  Nor does it appear that Mary was ever treated otherwise than as a son's mother.

The story therefore that Hafsah's discovery of the Prophet having conjugal relations with her upset the Prophet to such a degree that he swore not to have anything more to do with her is a pure invention, and  the known facts not only nullify the calumny, but brand it as another of those fables invented by Christian writers who seek to vilify Islam.

Some commentator's version is that the Holy Prophet had gone in to Mary when he ought to have been in Hafsah's house, but IJ holds that the reference may as well be to the Prophet's forbidding himself the company of his wives for a month, or to his having forbidden himself the use of honey in deference to the wishes of one of his wives; other commentators are also of the opinion that the reference may be to one of these latter incidents. One of the Christian critics calls the latter incident a " ludicrous  story ",  while Noeldeke says that it was probably invented by 'A'ishah, the reason given being that she was chiefly concerned in this quarrel.  Strange to say, the reason given is just the opposite of what is held by Noeldeke himself to be true. It was Hafsah that was chiefly concerned in the quarrel, if the story credited by Sale, Muir, and others is to be taken as correct.  Again, we do not see what blame rested on either Hafsah or 'A'ishah, if that story is correct, whereas the incident of the honey casts the blame upon both of them.

Why should 'A'ishah herself have invented a story which cast a blame (slight though it be) on her ?  According to the story of the Christian critics she was blameless.  Not only had she no motive in inventing the story, but she should have been the first person to repudiate the incident of the honey, if it  were  false.   In fact, it  is  a  proof  of  the  great  trustworthiness  of  the  reports relating to the Holy Prophet that 'A'ishah herself is found circulating a report which cast blame on her.  It shows how scrupulous, how conscientious, and how true were the companions in reporting sayings and incidents relating to the life of the Holy Prophet.  For the incident is thus narrated by 'A'ishah:  " The Holy Prophet (peace and the blessings of Allah be on him !) used to take honey at Zainab's house, and Hafsah and I agreed to tell the Prophet that he smelled as if  he had  taken  Maghafir,"  which being done, the  Holy  Prophet, accepting their word, solemnly promised that he would take honey no more.

The reference here, however, is to the well-known temporary separation regarding which the Holy Prophet made a vow, and which is actually spoken of as being referred to in these verses by no less an authority than 'Umar.  Bukhari relates the following report of l'Ab in his commentary on this chapter.  l'Ab was long doubtful as to the two women spoken of in this chapter, and, finding himself alone with 'Umar on a certain day, questioned him about it.  l'Ab tells us that before he had finished the question, 'Umar told him that these were 'A'ishah and Hafsah, and then went on to tell him a long story. 'Umar told l'Ab that they did not customarily give women any status in  the days of ignorance, until Allah revealed concerning them what He revealed in the Holy Qur'an.

One day," said 'Umar, "my wife said to me that I should take such and such a course in such and such an affair ". "It is no concern of yours," was the curt reply. "Your daughter (Hafsah) returns the Prophet answer for answer until he becomes displeased, and  yet  you do not like me to speak  to you  in  an  affair" was the rejoinder.  'Umar at once repaired to Hafsah, and warned her against altercations with  the  Prophet.  " 'A'ishah  should  not  mislead  you  in  this  matter,"  was the father's counsel to the daughter. Then he went to Umm Salamah, who was equally curt, and told 'Umar that he had no business to interfere in matters between the Holy Prophet and his wives.  Soon afterwards the Prophet separated himself temporarily from all of his wives, swearing not to go to the house of any one of them for a month.  News of this being brought to 'Umar, he immediately went to  the  Holy  Prophet  and  related  what  had  passed  between  Hafsah  and  Umm Salamah and himself, at which the Holy Prophet smiled (B. 46:25)

This incident shows clearly that 'Umar understood this verse to refer to this temporary separation, and the incident being a very well-known one, of which the truth cannot be doubted, seems to be the real incident referred to in verse 1. A report in IJ further corroborates the view:  'A'ishah says that the Messenger of Allah swore not to go to his wives, so he prohibited himself from having conjugal relations with them.  So as regards the oath, he was commanded to expiate it, and as regards the prohibition, it was said to him, " 0 Prophet, why dost thou forbid thyself that which Allah has made lawful to thee" (IJ).  This report makes it clear that 'A'ishah also looked upon the opening words of verse 1 as referring to the Prophet's temporary separation from his wives.  It should be further borne in mind that the word tahrim (inf. n. of tuharrimu, the word used here), which generally means prohibiting a thing or making it unlawful is applied in particular to the prohibition of conjugal relations, as we done in ila’ (LA).

Four Periods of the Prophet's life
 

Maulana Muhammad Ali writes:

The life of the Holy Prophet may be divided into 4 periods so far as his domestic life is concerned. Up to 25 he led a celibate life, from 25 - 54 years, he lived in a married state with one wife; from 54 - 60, he contracted several marriages; and lastly from 60 till his death he did not contract any new marriage.

First Period (0-25)

The most important period to determine whether the Holy Prophet was a slave to his passions is the period of celibacy. If he had not been a complete master of his passions, he could not have led, up the age of twenty-five, the exceptionally chaste and pure life, which won him the tile of al-Amin, in a hot country like Arabia where development must necessarily take place early and passions are generally stronger. His worst enemies could not point to a single blot on his character when challenged later (10:16). Even according to Muir, a hostile critic of Islam, all authorities agree "in ascribing to the youth of Mahomet a modesty of deportment and purity of manners rare among the people of Mecca." Now youth is the time when passions run riot, and the man who is able to control his passions in youth, and that in celibacy, cannot possibly be conceived as falling a prey to lust in old age. Thus, the first period of his life, his celibacy up to the age of twenty-five years of age, is conclusive proof that he could never fall a prey to his passions. It should be noted in this connection that in Arab society at the time there was no moral sanction against an immoral life, so it cannot be said that he kept back from an evil course by the moral force of society. Profligacy was the order of the day; and it was among people who prided on loose sexual relations that the Holy Prophet Muhammad led a life of transcendent purity, and therefore all the more credit is due to his purity of character.

Second Period (25-54)

Take now the second period, the period of a monogamous married life. When twenty-five years of age, he married a widow Khadija, fifteen years his senior, and led a life of utmost devotion with her till she died, when he was fifty years of age. Now polygamy was the rule in Arabia at the time; and the wife had no cause for complaint, nor did she ever grumble, if the husband brought in a second or third wife. Marriage with Khadija had enriched him, though polygamy in Arabia was not limited to the rich; the poor as well resorted to it. And even then, the greater part of the property he received from Khadija he distributed among the poor.

The Holy Prophet belonged to the noblest family of the Quraish and he had chosen to marry another wife it would have been quite easy for him. But he led a monogamous life of the utmost devotion to his wife during all this period. The main part of his life, from twenty-five to fifty, was thus an example for his followers that monogamy was the rule in married life.

Third Period (Ages 54-60)

Now comes the third period. In the second year of the Flight began a series of battles with the Quraish and the other Arab tribes, which appreciably reduced the number of males, the bread-winners of the family. These battles continued up to the eight year of the Flight and it was during this time hat the Holy Prophet contracted all the marriages appear objectionable to the modern mind but which neither friend nor foe looked upon with disapprobation at the time. And how could they do so, for they perceived them as acts of compassion and not of indulgence of the passions. Even a Christian writer admits when he says: "It should be remembered, however, that most of Muhammad's marriages may be explained, at least, as much for his pity for the forlorn condition of the persons concerned, as by other motives. They were almost all of them widows who were not remarkable either for their beauty or their wealth, but quite the reverse" - Bosworth, Smith. ...

Circumstances in which the Holy Prophet lived

And more importantly what were the circumstances in which he lived at Madinah during these years in which he contracted most of his marriages? It was not a life of ease and luxury that he was leading at the time; it was a life of hardness, because it was at this very time that he had to carry on a life and death struggle with the enemies of Islam. Huge Armies came to crush him and the small band of Muslims at Madinah. The whole of Arabia was aflame against him. He was not secure for a minute. Battles had to be fought in quick succession. Expeditions had to be arranged and sent. "Prophet of God! we are tired of being in arms day and night." his companions would say to him; and he had to console them by telling them that time would come when a traveler would be able to go from one end of the country to the other without having any arms. Jews and Christians were his enemies along with idolators. His best friends were falling sometimes in battles and sometimes in treachery. Is it possible for a man to lead a life of easy and luxury under such circumstances? Even if a man had a mind to lead a life of self-indulgence, which the Holy Prophet according to all available evidence had not, this was not opportune time for it. Under such circumstances of warfare, with enemies within Medinah and enemies all around it, with the number of Muslims being insignificantly small in comparison with the enemy, even a profligate's life would be changed, to say nothing of a man of admitted purity of character, which no temptation could shake, turning into a profligate.

[The Holy Prophet contracted marriages either for the protection of the females whose husbands had died for the cause of Islam or for cementing the bonds of love with those who could by their position and influence be of service to Islam or for the benefit of humanity at large. In every single case it was a personal sacrifice on the part of Muhammad pbuh to have contracted the marriage, or circumstances obliged him to do so whilst there was as yet no law limiting the number of wives. The ladies who married the Prophet pbuh did so of their own volition. None of them was forced into marriage.

The Holy Prophet lived a simple and modest life. Being the Head of State, the Chief Justice, the Commander-in-Chief, the instructor etc., he was the most busiest man of his time, still he spent considerable part of his nights in prayers and meditation. His furniture was simple (i.e. mats, jugs, blankets etc.). His life was so simple that his wives did not have worldly comforts. Could this be a life of a lustful and passionate man? At the advent of Islam in Arabia the practice of polygamy was common and deeply rooted in the social life."  He contracted various marriages in accordance with the custom of the country.]

How he passed the nights

There is the clearest evidence on record in the Qur’an as well as the Hadith that he passed half the night, and sometimes even more than that, in praying to God and in reciting the Holy Qur’an while standing in prayer. He would stand so long that his feet would become swollen.

“O thou covering thyself up! Rise to pray by night except a little, Half of it, or lessen it a little, Or add to it, and recite the Quran in a leisurely manner.” (Qur’an 73:1-4)

 "Lo ! thy Lord Knoweth how thou keepest vigil sometimes nearly two-thirds of the night or (sometimes) half or a third thereof, as do a party of those with thee…" (Qur'an 73:20)

Could such a man be said to be taking wives for self-indulgence when the minutest details of his life as available to us show conclusively that it was a strenuous life farthest away from indulgence of every kind?
 

Fourth Period (60-63)

We now come to the fourth period. With the conquest of Makkah in the year 8 A.H., internal warfare came practically to an end. Disturbances there were, but on the whole peace had been established in the country and normal conditions were restored. And it from the 8th year of the Flight to the end of his life that we find that the Holy Prophet did not contract any new marriage. What is the evidence of facts then? It is clearly this that the Holy Prophet added to the number of his wives only during the time that he had to live in a state of warfare when the number of males was reduced so that many women would have been left without protection and without a home if the difficulty had not been solved by permitting a limited polygamy. Before the Holy Prophet had to enter on a defensive warfare, he lived in the company of single wife, and after was ended, he contracted no new marriage, and this sets all doubts at rest to the motives of the Holy Prophet. In all the marriages which he contracted during the war, there was some hidden moral end in view. There arose situations in his life under which he could not, consistent with the moral and religious mission of his life, help taking more wives than one. In that, he only showed compassion to the weaker sex.

Limitation - Taken from Arfaque Malik's article

The limitation of the number of wives was fixed at the end of the eighth year of Hijrah and the Holy Prophet pbuh had married all his wives before that period. He was commanded by Allah to keep those whom he had already married but was forbidden to marry any more. The Qur'anic verse, "It is not allowed to take wives after this, (33:52) implies that the Holy Prophet, like all his other acts contracted those marriages perfectly in accordance with the will of the Lord. There was a divine purpose behind them and when it was achieved a restriction was placed upon him.

Ask yourself:

Why did he start his first marriage at the age of 25 years after having had no association with any female?

Why did he choose a twice-widowed older lady who was 15 years senior to him?

Why did he remain with her until her death when he was over fifty?

Why did he accept all those helpless widows and divorcees who possessed no particular appealing qualities?

Why did he lead such an austere and hard life, when he could have had an easy and comfortable course?

Why did he con-contract most of his marriages in the busiest five years of his life when his mission and career were at stake?

How could he manage to be what he was, if the harem life or passions overtook him?