What Makes Polygamous Marriage?

After Khadija’s death, the Prophet (PBUH) had numerous wives. Islam did not invent the system of polygamy; it existed long before the message of Islam came into the world. The pervious Prophets (PBUH) such as Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon practiced polygamous marriage. Islam improved polygamous marriage by having certain guidelines that made it more humane and equal to the rights of all wives. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had a polygamous marriage with many wives during the last 13 years of his life. The reason behind these marriages was not for love, it was either for political, social and religious reasons. He needed to build alliances through marriage, as it was customary in tribal affair to seal the treaties through marriage. For instance,
She was youngest of the Prophet’s (PBUH) wives. She was not married before the Prophet (PBUH), since she was betrothed at him at the age of six, while the Prophet (PBUH) was in his fifties. She married the Prophet (PBUH) at the age of nine . This shows the huge age gap between them and in terms of maturity. Even though Aisha never met Khadija, she was extremely jealous of her. As reported it was reported, Aisha said, “I never felt so jealous about any woman as I did for Khadija, although she had died three years before I married the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. That was because I heard him mentioning her so often and because his Lord has ordered him to give her glad tidings that she would have a palace in Paradise made of reeds; and also because the Prophet would slaughter a sheep and distribute its meat among her friends.” Even though she was in a polygamous marriage, no other women affected her as much as Khadija’s figure did. Khadija’s figure has haunted Aisha, as she was the Prophet’s (PBUH) most loved wife. He would always recount her merits during the day and night. Khadija were different than the Prophet’s (PBUH) other wives, as she did not share him with anyone. Moreover, the Prophet married her for love, while he married Aisha to build an alliance. Not only Khadija was the most loved wife, she was ranked in the four greatest women