An Analytical Study on the Reasons for the Multiple Wives of the Prophet (PBUHH)

Today, with the dominance of liberal thought in the contemporary world, many issues of Islamic history have been subjected to criticism, and many attacks have been launched against Islam and Muslims by enemies of the religion. The Prophet and his biography were the main targets of these attacks, and the issue of the Prophet’s multiple wives is something that many suspicions centre around and the Messenger is accused of lust.
This article investigated the above allegation, by briefly examining the biographies of the Prophet’s wives and their number. It concluded that polyandry was known in the lives of the Predecessor Prophets (peace be upon them) just as it was common in the era of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) when there was no limit to taking wives.
However, Islam has limited the number of wives to four and stipulated that the man must maintain justice between them. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his household) spent the most substantial part of his life and youth with one woman, and he did not marry during his adulthood except for political, emotional, cultural, moral, and religious reasons. The Prophet’s multiple marriages were not based on his sexual desire for women, but rather for the sake of advancing Islam, establishing affection between Muslims and other tribes, honoring women afflicted in war and Jihad, obeying God’s command, and so on. Therefore, such doubt and allegation are completely rejected.