Wives of the Holy Prophet Muhammad

Wives of the holy Prophet
Prophet Muhammad (sal) had 12 wives. His wives are known as “Ummhat-ul-muminin” which means “Mothers of the faithful”
The duties, responsibilities of his wives differ from other women
Hazrat Khadija
At the age of 25, Muhammad wed a wealthy, twice widowed, 45 year old lady, named Khadija. His first wife, being his wealthy employer for 15 years was very impressed by Muhammad’s honest nature before their marriage. She had 2 sons; hala and hind and 1 daughter: hinda from her previous marriages. She was the first woman to accept Islam. She always comforted and supported Muhammad and bore him 4 daughters and 2 sons. She died at the age of 65. It is said that “the noblest women in the world are Hazrat Khadija and mariam”.
Hazrat Aisha
The prophet’s 3rd wife, being a 10 year old girl named Aisha, was the daughter of Abu Bakr, the close companion of the prophet and the first khalifa of Islam. Hazrat Aisha was a very god-fearing lady, who had an excellent memory and good judgment, and has narrated 2210 traditions. She was 25 years old at the time of the prophet’s death and spent the remaining 48 years of her life alone. She died at the age of 73 and was buried in jannat-ul-baqi, Medina. Hazrat Hafsa
Being born 5 years before prophet hood, Hafsa was the daughter of umar bin Khattab and the wife of Khunais who migrated with her to Medina but widowed her after being martyred in a battle. After a period of Iddat, the Prophet proposed her to bond with Umar and his tribe. She narrated 60 traditions and was also the custodian of the original copy of the holy Quran. She died in the year 45 A.H. and her property, according to her will was distributed to the poor and needy. She was buried in jannat-ul-baqi.
Hazrat Zainab bint Khuzaimah The widow of a Uhud battle martyr, Zainab, daughter of Khuzaimah bin Abdullah, got many proposes which she rejected, but agreed to marry the prophet. They were wed in the month of Ramadan, but she died 3 months later at the age of 33 and was buried in Jannat-ul-baqi. She was the first wife to have her funeral prayed by the prophet himself. She was given the title “Umm-ul-Masakin” which means “The mother of the poor” as no poor person returned empty from her house.

Hazrat Umm-e-Salmah
Umm-e-Salmah, was the name given to hind, daughter of Ali umayya, the leader of his tribe, when she bore a son named Salmah from her husband, Abdullah bin Asad, who died leaving her a widow after severe injuries from the battle of Uhud. After Iddat she married to the prophet and lived a simple and pious life, after being brought up in great luxury. She was also the first woman to migrate to medina. She narrated 378 hadiths and was very modest, generous and also an impressive Quran reader.

Hazrat Jawairiyah
Jawairiyah originally named barra was daughter of Haris, the chief of Bani Mustaliq tribe, became a captive among many other people from her tribe by the Muslims after her tribe lost the war with the Muslims. She requested to pay the ransom of her freedom to Sabit, to whom she was given to. She approached to the prophet for help to raise the money. Not only did he pay the ransom but also proposed her, which she accepted. She is to be a very fortunate lady who not only married the prophet, but had 600 people of her tribe released as a result of her marriage. She was said to be very religious minded and a great learning woman. She died at the age of 65 and was buried in jannat-ul-baqi.
Hazrat Safiyah
Her name was Zainab. She was born to the Jewish tribe of Banu Nasir, which was expelled from madinah, her birth place. Her tribe settled in the Khyber, where she got married to Kinana bin Rabi, shortly before the Muslims attacked them. She was Captivated among many other people of her tribe. Muhammad said he had decided to marry her. After their marriage the prophet named her Safiyah. She was sober, generous, open handed and patient by nature. She was known as the storehouse of knowledge. People in search of knowledge would go to her. She died at the age of 60 and was buried in jannat-ul-baqi.