Who are the Mothers of the Believers? You might have heard the expression Ummahat al-Mumineen˳ This translates into English as the ‘Mothers of the Believers’ and this is a title that refers to the wives of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)˳ They were his wives in this dunya and will be his wives in the akhirah˳
1- Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (b˳556 – d˳619 CE)
Mary, the daughter of Imran, was the best among the women (of the world of her time) and Khadijah is the best amongst the women (of this nation)˳ (Al-Bukhari)
Khadijah was the first wife of Prophet Muhammad, whom she met as a widow of a wealthy merchant but had become prosperous in her own right˳ She hired Muhammad as a business agent but soon came to see him as a suitable husband˳
According to most sources she was about 40 and Muhammad about 25 when they married˳
Khadijah bore him six children, including two sons who died in infancy˳ She gave Muhammad support and encouragement when he received his first revelations and remained loyal to him when many prominent Makkans began to oppose him˳ While she lived, Muhammad took no other wives˳ He loved, missed and remembered Khadijah for the rest of his life˳
2- Sawdah bint Zam’a (b˳unknown – d˳674 CE)
After a marriage of twenty-five years the Prophet’s first wife, Khadijah passed away˳ He was left alone to raise a small family and found that he could not devote enough time to calling the people to Islam so he decided to marry again˳ He chose a widow named Sawdah bint Zam’a˳
Sawdah and her first husband were amongst the very early converts to Islam who immigrated to Abyssinia˳ Her husband passed away in exile and she was left a poor widow with small children˳
Prophet Muhammad sought approval for their marriage from Sawdah’s non-Muslim parents˳ The parents agreed and then directed him to seek approval from Sawdah herself˳
With this union, Sawdah’s and the Prophet’s households merged and the Prophet had more time to carry out the prophetic mission˳ They were married for three years before Prophet took another wife˳
Sawdah had the great honor of being an immigrant for the sake of Islam on two occasions, to Abyssinia and then to Medina˳ She was the first of a number of widows the Prophet married˳ Sawdah had a reputation for being a kind, charitable and jovial woman˳
3- Aishah bint Abu Bakr (b˳612 – d˳678 CE)
Aishah was the daughter of Abu Bakr, one of Prophet Muhammad’s closest friends and supporters˳ Her betrothal to him at a young age fortified that relationship˳ Aishah was raised as a Muslim while most of the close companions were converts to Islam˳
After marriage she and the Prophet became extremely close and many ahadith attest to this fact˳ She was his beloved wife and an extremely intelligent scholar of Islam˳ She is credited with narrating more than 2000 ahadith and became noted for her sharp intelligence, love of learning and impeccable judgment˳
Aishah was one of only three of Prophet Muhammad’s wives who memorized the entire Quran˳ Among her notable attainments were that she was the only wife that was with the Prophet when he received revelation and it was in Aishah’s arms that the Prophet died˳
Aishah was widowed at the age of 18 or 19 years old and went on to teach and play a significant role in the dissemination of Islam for more than 40 years˳
4- Hafsah bint Umar ibn Al-Khattab (b˳605 – d˳665 CE)
Prophet Muhammad’s fourth wife was Hafsah, the daughter of one of Prophet Muhammad’s closest confidantes, Umar ibn Al-Khattab˳ Their marriage was an astute political alliance˳ Hafsah had been married at a young age and participated in the migrations to both Abyssinia and Medina˳ Sadly she was widowed when only eighteen years old but she then had the honor of marrying Prophet Muhammad and linking the Al-Khattab family with the Prophet’s family˳
Hafsah and Aishah were the youngest of Prophet Muhammad’s wives and both had similar personalities; they were strong, determined women and for the most part seemed to get on well˳
Hafsah was able to both read and write and, like Aishah, memorized the entire Quran˳ She was both pious and intelligent and would spend hours pondering over the verses of the Quran˳
It was Hafsah who had the great honor of being the custodian of the first Mushaf which came into her possession after the death of her father˳ Hafsah was married to the Prophet for eight years, and after his death she lived for another thirty four years˳
5- Zaynab bint Khuzaymah (b˳595 – d˳624)
Zaynab was the first of Prophet Muhammad’s wives that did not come from the tribe of Quraish˳ She died less than one year after her marriage and as a consequence very little is known about her˳ Before this marriage she had earned the title of Mother of the Poor due to her work with the poor and her generosity to them˳
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