The life of the Holy Prophet of Islam — Page 13
the first successor after the demise of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). She was about nine years old when her parents requested to perform her Nikah, and that was according to the Arab customs. But she was married to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when she was 12 years of age and well matured. That was the time when people used to arrange marriages for their girls at a very young age. Because of the hot environment of that land the girls reach to the age of puberty in a very young age. As in America a good percentage of girls reaches to the age of puberty just at nine. And that is the natural phenomenon of maturity of age, or the age of marriage by nature. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had a very successful and happy married life. It was a personal sacrifice on the part of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to have contracted the marriage, and especially with the women older in age to him. The ladies who married the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did so of their own preference. None of them was forced into marriage. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was extremely kind and fair towards his wives. He established an excellent example in respect of dealing with wives of different age groups having different temperaments and social status. Hadrat Khadija was his first wife, and she had made great sacrifices in his cause. She was much older than the Prophet. After her death he married younger women but he always remembered her. Whenever any of Hadrat Khadija’s friends visited him he would stand up to receive her. If he chanced to see any article that had belonged to or had been connected with Hadrat Khadija, he was always overcome by emotion. He often praised Hadrat Khadija to his other wives and stressed her virtues and admired the sacrifices that she had made in the cause of Islam. On one such occasion, Hadrat ‘Aisha was irritated and said, “O Messenger of Allah, why go on talking of the old lady? God has bestowed better, younger and more attractive wives upon you. ” The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was overcome by emotion at hearing this and said: “O no, Aisha! You have no idea how good Khadija was to me. ” The similar love and affection he had for the other wives. He was very cooperative to his wives in his day-to-day life. He not only helped them in their household activities, but also he always tried to do his personal works with his own hands. In this regard Hadrat ‘Aisha says: ‘He would patch his garments and sole his sandals. ’ She was once asked, ‘How was he with his family?’ She responded, ‘He was in the service of his family until it was time for Prayer, at which time he would go and pray. ’ The Messenger of Allah never denigrated any type of food, if he liked it he ate it, and if he disliked it he left it alone. (Bukhari and Muslim) There is another similar statement of Hadrat ‘Aisha, the wife of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to patch his sandals, sew his garment and conduct himself at home as anyone of you does in his house. He was a human being, milking his sheep, and doing his own household tasks. (Tirmidhi). Polygamy and the Prophet of Islam Long before the appearance of the prophet of Islam polygamy was being practiced by the Biblical prophets. Abraham had three wives, David one hundred, and Solomon over seven hundred. That was a very common practice of the society to marry more than one wife, and there was not any limit for that. And polygamy was not only in Arabia rather it was being practiced in the entire world.