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List of Muhammad's Wives and Concubines

According to Anas ibn Malik, the Prophet Muhammad used to visit all eleven of his wives in one night; but he could manage this, as he had the sexual prowess of thirty men.[1] The historian AlTabari calculated that Muhammad married a total of fifteen women, though only ever eleven at one time; and two of these marriages were never consummated.[2] This tally of fifteen does not include at least four concubines. According to Merriam-Webster, a concubine is a woman with whom a man cohabits without being married, and has a social status in a household below that of a wife.[3] All of Muhammads concubines were his slaves. Al-Tabari also excludes from the fifteen several other women with whom Muhammad had some kind of marriage contract but who, due to legal technicalities, never became full wives. It is fairly certain, however, that none of these unions was ever consummated. They were the cultural equivalent of a broken engagement. Finally, there were several other women whom Muhammad wished to marry, or whom he was invited to marry, but for various reasons he did not.

Lists
The following lists of women in Muhammads life are based on the Islamic sources. Because there were so many women, some of whom had only a very brief association with him, it is possible that this number still falls short of the real total.
Wives and Concubines No. Name Status Date Details She was a wealthy merchant from Mecca who employed the 24-yearold Muhammad and then proposed marriage. She was the mother of six of his children and a key character in the earliest development of Islam. She was Muhammad's only wife as long as she lived. She died in April 620. She was a tanner who had been an early convert to Islam. Muhammad married her at a time when he was unpopular and bankrupt. He considered divorcing her when, as the oldest and plainest of his wives (described as "fat and very slow"), she no longer Notable Early Sources

Khadijah bint Married Khuwaylid

July 595.

Ibn Ishaq[4] Ibn Hisham[5] Al-Tabari[6] Ibn Sa'd[7]

Sawda bint Zam'a

Married, though with May 620. limited rights.

Bukhari[8] Ibn Ishaq[9] Ibn Hisham[10] Al-Tabari[11] Ibn Sa'd[12]

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attracted him, but she persuaded him to keep her in the house in exchange for never sleeping with her again (she gave up her turn to Aisha). She was the daughter of Muhammad's best friend and head evangelist Abu Bakr. Muhammad selected the six-yearContracted May old Aisha in preference to her 620 but first teenaged sister, and she remained consummated in his favourite wife. She contributed April or May a major body of information to 623. Islamic law and history. The paedophilic aspect of this relationship has institutionalised such marriages within Islam. She was the daughter of Muhammad's wealthy friend Umar. Hafsa was the custodian of the autograph-text of the Qur'an, which was actually somewhat different from the standard Qur'an of today. She was a middle-class widow known as "Mother of the Poor" because of her commitment to charity work. She died in October 625. An attractive widow with four young children, Hind had been rejected by her aristocratic family in Mecca because they were so hostile to Islam. Her tact and practical wisdom sometimes mitigated Muhammad's cruelties. She was a notable teacher of

Aisha bint Abi Bakr

Married

Ibn Ishaq[13] Ibn Hisham[14] Al-Tabari[15] Ibn Sa'd[16]

Hafsa bint Umar

Married

January or February 625.

Ibn Ishaq[17] Ibn Hisham[18] Al-Tabari[19] Ibn Sa'd[20]

Zaynab bint 5 Married Khuzayma

February or March 625.

Ibn Hisham[21] Al-Tabari[22] Ibn Sa'd[23]

Hind (Umm 6 Salama) bint Married Abi Umayya

April 626.

Ibn Ishaq[24] Ibn Hisham[25] Al-Tabari[26] Ibn Sa'd[27]

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Islamic law and a partisan of Ali. An early convert to Islam, Zaynab was the wife of Muhammad's adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah. She was also the Prophet's biological cousin. When Muhammad became infatuated with Zaynab, Zayd was pressured into a divorce. To justify marrying her, Muhammad announced new revelations that (1) an adopted son did not count as a real son, so Zaynab was not his daughter-inlaw, and (2) as a prophet, he was allowed more than the standard four wives. Zaynab excelled at leather-crafts. Her first husband was one of the 600-900 Qurayza men whom Muhammad beheaded in April 627. He enslaved all the women and selected Rayhana for himself because she was the most beautiful. When she refused to marry him, he kept her as a concubine instead. She died shortly before Muhammad in 632. The daughter of an Arab chief, she was taken prisoner when Muhammad attacked her tribe. Muhammad did not make a habit of marrying his war-captives, but Aisha claimed that Juwayriyah was so beautiful that men always fell in love with her at first sight. She was a daughter of Abu Sufyan, the Meccan chief who led the resistance against Muhammad,

Zaynab bint Married Jahsh

March 627.

Ibn Ishaq[28] Ibn Hisham[29] Al-Tabari[30] Ibn Sa'd[31]

Rayhana bint Sexual 8 Zayd ibn Amr slavery

May 627.

Ibn Ishaq[32] Al-Tabari[33] Ibn Sa'd[34]

Juwayriyah 9 bint AlHarith

Married

January 628.

Ibn Ishaq[35] Ibn Hisham[36] Al-Tabari[37] Ibn Sa'd[38]

Ramlah Married 10 (Umm Habiba) bint

July 628 (following a proxy wedding

Ibn Ishaq[39] Ibn Hisham[40] Al-Tabari[41]

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Page 4 of 11 Ibn Sa'd[42]

Abi Sufyan

earlier in the year)

but she had been a teenaged convert to Islam. This marriage offset some of Muhammad's political humiliation in the Treaty of Hudaybiya by demonstrating that he could command the loyalty of his adversary's own daughter. Ramlah was devoted to Muhammad and quick to pick quarrels with people who were not. She was the beautiful daughter of a Jewish chief, Huyayy ibn Akhtab. Muhammad married her on the day he defeated the last Jewish tribe in Arabia, only hours after he had supervised the slaying of Kinana her second husband. His earlier victims had included her father, brother, first husband, three uncles and several cousins. This marriage was of no benefit to Safiyah's defeated tribe, who were banished from Arabia a few years later; its real political significance was that Safiyah's presence in Muhammad's household was an open demonstration that he had defeated the Jews. She was a middle-class widow from Mecca who proposed marriage to Muhammad. A placid woman who kept a very tidy house, Maymunah was completely obsessed with rules and rituals. She was one of several slaves whom the Governor of Egypt sent as a present to Muhammad. He kept her as a concubine despite

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Safiyah bint Married Huyayy

July 628.

Ibn Ishaq[43] Ibn Hisham[44] Al-Tabari[45] Ibn Sa'd[46]

Maymunah 12 bint AlHarith

Married

February 629.

Ibn Ishaq[47] Ibn Hisham[48] Al-Tabari[49] Ibn Sa'd[50]

Mariyah bint Sexual 13 Shamoon alslavery Quptiya

c. June 629.

Ibn Ishaq[51] Al-Tabari[52] Ibn Sa'd[53]

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the objections of his official wives, who feared her beauty. Mariyah bore Muhammad a son, Ibrahim. Her family resisted the Muslim invasion of Mecca. Needing to appease the conqueror, they gave him the beautiful Mulayka as a bride. When she realised that Muhammad's army had killed her father, she demanded a divorce, which he granted her. She died a few weeks later. She was the daughter of a minor chief who had converted to Islam. Muhammad divorced her after only a few weeks "because she peeked at men in the mosque courtyard." Fatima had to work for the rest of her life as a dungcollector, and she outlived all Muhammad's widows.

14

Mulayka bint Divorced January 630. Kaab

Al-Tabari[54] Ibn Sa'd[55]

Fatima alAliya bint 15 Zabyan alDahhak

Divorced

February or March 630.

Al-Tabari[56] Ibn Sa'd[57]

She was a princess from Yemen whose family hoped the marriage alliance would ward off a military invasion from Medina. But Asma bint Al16 Divorced June or July 630. Muhammad divorced her before Numan consummation after Aisha tricked her into reciting the divorce formula. Asma later married a brother of Umm Salama. She was a domestic slave belonging to Zaynab bint Jahsh, who made Muhammad a present of her. She seems to have been an "unofficial" concubine who did not have a regular turn on his roster.

Ibn Hisham[58] Al-Tabari[59] Ibn Sa'd[60]

17 Al-Jariya

Sexual slavery

After 627.

Ibn alQayyim[61]

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Amra bint Yazid

Divorced c. 631.

She was a Bedouin of no political importance. Muhammad divorced her before consummation when he saw she had symptoms of leprosy. She was a member of the defeated Qurayza tribe whom Muhammad selected as one of his personal slaves. She appears to have been another "unofficial" concubine without a regular turn on the roster. After Muhammad's death, she married Abbas.

Ibn Ishaq[62] Ibn Hisham[63] Al-Tabari[64] Ibn Sa'd[65]

Tukana al19 Quraziya

Sexual slavery

Unknown, but probably in the last months of Muhammad's life.

Majlisi[66] Ibn alQayyim.[67]

Engagements and Broken Contracts No. Name Date Details She was a poor widow with dependent children. She sent Muhammad a proposal of marriage, and he agreed to the contract. However, when he met her in person, he saw that, although attractive, she was "old", and he divorced her immediately. She never remarried. She was a princess from the powerful Christian Taghlib tribe in northern Arabia. Her uncle arranged the marriage, which was expected to be politically advantageous on both sides. Muhammad signed the contract, but Khawla died on her journey to Medina, before they met in person. She was an aunt of Khawla bint Hudhayl (above). After Khawla's death, the family tried to substitute Sharaf. In one tradition, Sharaf also died before consummation. In another tradition, Muhammad changed his mind and broke off the contract. One of the first converts in Medina, Layla asked Muhammad to marry her so that her clan, the Notable early sources

Ghaziya (Umm 1 Early 627. Sharik) bint Jabir

Ibn Hisham[68] Al-Tabari[69] Ibn Sa'd[70]

Probably Khawla bint mid- or 2 Hudhayl late-627.

Al-Tabari[71] Ibn Sa'd[72]

Sharaf bint 3 Khalifa

Probably mid- or late-627.

Al-Tabari[73] Ibn Sa'd[74]

4 Layla bint al- After 627.

Al-Tabari[75]

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Khutaym

Zafar, would be the most closely allied to the Prophet. He agreed. However, Layla's family warned her that she was too "jealous and whiptongued" to adapt well to polygamy, which would cause political problems for the whole community. Under this pressure, Layla broke off the engagement.

She was Muhammad's cousin. He saw her as a Umm Habib baby crawling around and remarked, "If I am alive After when she grows up, I will marry her." He changed 5 bint AlMarch 630. his mind when he found out that her father had Abbas been his foster-brother and died soon afterwards. She was the daughter of a Muslim warrior who Sana alhoped to advance his career by becoming Nashat bint 6 c. April 630. Muhammad's father-in-law. Muhammad signed Rifaa (Asma) the contract, but Sana died before the marriage ibn As-Salt could be consummated. She was the sister of Sana (above). After Sana died, their father tried to interest Muhammad in c. May 630. Umra. At first he agreed, but he later changed his mind, ostensibly because Rifaa boasted that Umra "has never known a day's illness in her life."

Ibn Ishaq.[77] Al-Tabari.[78] Ibn Sa'd.[79]

Al-Tabari[80] Ibn Sa'd[81]

Umra bint Rifaa

Ibn Sa'd[82]

Bint Jundub Nothing is known about this woman except that 8 ibn Damra Unknown. Muhammad contracted marriage with her but of Jandaa divorced her before consummation. She proposed marriage to Muhammad, and he accepted. Her father informed him that she suffered from a serious disease, whereupon Muhammad broke off the engagement. According to the Muslim chroniclers, her father arrived home only to find that she really had been afflicted with leprosy. She was from a Bedouin tribe who appeared friendly to Muhammad but who had also been friends of the Qurayza tribe. Al-Shanba insulted Muhammad on the first day by implying that he

Ibn Sa'd[83]

Jamra bint Al-Harith

c. 631

Al-Tabari[84]

Al-Shanba 10 bint Amr

January 632.

Al-Tabari[85]

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was not a true prophet, and he divorced her immediately. She was a cousin of Asma bint Al-Numan, and the Yemenites sent her to Muhammad as a substitute bride. He signed the marriage contract but he died before Qutayla arrived in Medina. As soon as she heard that he was dead, she apostated from Islam. Soon afterwards she married an Arab chief who was a leader in the Apostasy Wars. Muhammad said that Allah had wedded him in Heaven to the Virgin Mary, who was one of the four perfect women. The Qur'an refers several times to Mary, praising her chastity and affirming the virgin birth of Jesus. Muhammad said she lived in a beautiful jewelled palace in Paradise next to Khadijah's. Muhammad said that Allah had wedded him in Heaven to Queen Asiya, who was one of the four perfect women. The Qur'an tells how Asiya rescued the infant Moses from the evil Pharaoh, and how Pharaoh later tortured his wife to death for her monotheism. Muhammad said that Asiya's palace in Heaven was on the other side of Khadijah's. Muhammad originally believed that Maryam the sister of Moses and Maryam the mother of Jesus were one and the same. When he realised his mistake, he apparently over-corrected by deciding that Moses' sister was not even named Maryam. He renamed her Kulthum ("Chubby Cheeks") and said that Allah had wedded her to him in Heaven. He did not say that she was a perfect woman or that she lived next to Khadijah.

Qutayla 11 (Habla) bint May 632. Qays

Al-Tabari[86] Ibn Sa'd[87]

Mary, 12 mother of Jesus

The Afterlife.

Qur'an[88] Bukhari[89] Muslim[90] Majlisi[91]

13

Queen Asiya The of Egypt Afterlife.

Qur'an[92] Muslim[93] Ibn Kathir[94] Majlisi[95]

Kulthum The 14 bint Amram Afterlife.

Qur'an[96] Muslim[97] Majlisi[98]

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Refused Proposals No. Name Date Details Muhammad proposed to his cousin Fakhita, but her father married her off to a wealthy Makhzumite poet. Notable early sources

before 595; conquered Mecca, Fakhita's husband fled Fakhita (Umm 1 Hani) bint Abi January 630; Talib

Nearly forty years later, after Muhammad rather than convert to Islam, causing an automatic divorce. Muhammad proposed to Fakhita again, but she refused, saying she could not be equally fair to a new husband and her young children. Later still, Fakhita came to Muhammad, saying her children had grown up and she was finally ready to marry him; but he said she was too late.

Ibn Ishaq[99] Al-Tabari[100] Ibn Sa'd[101]

c. 631

The chiefs of Mecca offered Muhammad "as many wives as you want in marriage," As Many together with wealth, political power and the 2 Wives as You c.618-619. services of a competent exorcist, if only he would stop insulting their gods. Muhammad Want refused this offer, which was made while Khadijah was still alive. Habiba was a prominent member of the Najjar clan in Medina. When the chief died with no obvious heir, Muhammad proposed to Habiba. His companions warned him that the women of Medina were not used to polygamy and that the men were very jealous for the happiness of their daughters; if this marriage turned out badly, key citizens might withdraw their support from Islam. Muhammad retracted his proposal, but the Najjar clan made him their chief anyway. This unnamed woman proposed to Muhammad in Hafsa's presence. Hafsa

Al-Tabari[102]

Habiba bint Sahl

c. 623.

Ibn Ishaq[103] Ibn Sa'd[104] Abu Dawud[105] Muwatta[106]

4 Al-Ansariya

After 625.

Majlisi[107]

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decried the shame of a woman who would throw herself at a man, but Muhammad retorted, "She is better than you because she wanted me while you only find fault." He refused the proposal, but promised the woman a reward in Paradise for asking.

In fact several ansar women are said to have proposed to Muhammad; while this example is anonymous, it clearly refers to a woman who is distinct from Layla bint Khutaym.
This is the same Khawla bint Hakim who arranged Muhammad's marriages to Aisha and Sawda. Her first husband was Hafsa's uncle, and their elder son fought at Badr. After being widowed, Khawla asked Muhammad to marry her, but he refused without giving a reason. However, he found her a new husband the same day. Dubaa was a wealthy noblewoman to whom Muhammad sent a marriage proposal when he heard about her beautiful long hair that filled a whole room when she sat down. But by the time she accepted him, he had been advised that she was elderly (her grown-up son had been born from her third marriage) so he retracted his proposal before he had even met her. She was the sister of Muhammads wife Ramlah. Ramlah proposed Izza as a bride, "since, as I cannot be your only wife, I would like to share my good fortune with my sister." But Muhammad said he could not marry two sisters concurrently. She was the daughter of Muhammad's wife Hind. Another wife, Ramlah, noticed that Muhammad admired Durrah and asked if he intended to marry her. He replied that he

Khawla bint Hakim

After 627.

Ibn Ishaq[108] Bukhari[109] Ibn Sa'd[110] Ibn Kathir[111]

Dubaa bint Amir

After 627.

Al-Tabari[112] Ibn Sa'd[113]

Izza bint Abi Sufyan

After July 628.

Muslim[114]

Durrah bint 8 Abi Salama

After July 628.

Muslim[115]

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could not marry his stepdaughter; and besides, her father had been his fosterbrother. On the day Muhammad died, Durrah was only six years old. She was Muhammad's cousin and said to be the prettiest girl in the family. Ali proposed her as a bride while she was still a child, but After Muhammad said that he could not marry her March 630. because her father had been his fosterbrother. She later married his stepson, Salama ibn Abi Salama. She was a war-captive from Mesopotamia. Muhammad asked her to marry him, but when she said she wanted to return to her husband, September he allowed her family to ransom her. It is said 630. that her family cursed her for placing her personal happiness above the political needs of the tribe.

Umama bint Hamza

Ibn Sa'd[116]

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Safiyah bint Bashshama

Al-Tabari[117] Ibn Sa'd[118]

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