Sallam alaikum, I wish to know more about the assumption in certain quarters that the prophet married four wives against the belief that he married one wife. Kindly shed more light on this issue.

Ma Sallam

Answer:

The wives of the Prophet were Khadijah bint Khuwailid, Aisha bint Abu Bak, Sawdah, and Hafsah bint Umar al Khattab

The reasons and wisdoms behind the Prophet’s marriages apart from starting a family, some were to cement his relationships with his close companions by marrying their daughters, some were widows of close companions; some were daughters of the leaders of tribes captured; the the need to form alliances within one tribe or the other; some because Allah specifically commanded him to do so among other reasons.

He was married to one woman until the age of 50, after which he is believed to have had multiple wives for the reasons explained above. With the exception of Aisha, The Prophet only married widows and divorced women. I have written on it in this colunm before that Aisha bint abu Bakr was married because of her intelligence and retentive memory which was exemplified the way most of the hadiths were related. His wives who knew his privacy related most of the hadiths giving us insight into his private lives. Aisha was the fourth biggest narrator of Hadith, with over 2000 narrations.

But suffice to say that before Allah revealed the verse restricting the believers to a maximum of four wives, the norm at that time  was that most of the believers had more than four wives;  but after the revelation, they had to comply with the command of Allah (SWT), they divorced a number of their wives and kept a maximum of four. These divorced women then married other believers, if they wished to do so.

Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzab verse 37.  Besides, as a Prophet, there were others that were bethroed on him.  These were because they were widows  who needed not only shelter but protection of the Prophet. They were not real wives as being touted by some people. Zainab binte Jahsh, Zainab Umm-al-Masaakeen, Juwairiyyah, Saffiyah, Ummu-Salamah, Ummu-Habibah, Maimunah

However, the whole life of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) is to be a perfect example for all mankind, until the end of time. Thus, his public and private life had to be made available for all the believers, so that they may follow him in all his deeds.

What Quran says about Confab

Muslims scholars take a look at the convocation of National conference barring their minds on the Islamic position and what Quran says about dialogue. Enjoy it.

Dialogue is ordained by Allah — Sheikh Abdullahi Akinbode, NASFAT Spiritual head

National conference is a step towards discussing issues of national interest among the citizens of a nation. Almighty Allah desires dialogue among humanity. Allah does not support unhealthy rivalry or war among humanity. Almighty Allah enjoins man to embrace dialogue to settle differences amicably. The teachings of Prophet Mohammed encourages human to create and live in a peaceful environment. When harmony is far from a country, crisis becomes the other of the day. It is a process of righteousness, harmony and peace among mankind.

National conference is also a method to militate against the views of some of the angels. When God was about creating man, he called his angels and they told God that the people he was about creating would be corrupt, mischievous and would shed blood and be unholy on the surface of the earth but God Almighty replied by his grace that he will give us wisdom to differentiate good from bad which is the essence of humanity.

Hence, it is not possible for everybody created by Allah to follow the same line, so there must be an avenue to rub minds together. Allah says: “obey me, obey the Prophets, and obey those who are charged with authority over you, and if there is need for any differences, meet together and refer it to Allah who is your creator and your Prophets because referring issues to God is referring issues to wisdom.”( Quran 4 verse 59).

There was also a time when Prophet Mohammed migrated from Mecca to Medina to form a new government. After settling in Mecca, the two countries had disputes and that was the first bilateral treaty at Hudabiyyah (where the prophet and the unbelievers met for a dialogue) and the dispute was settled for ten years.

Nobody should force a religion on others at the conference – Alhaji Soliudeen Olohungbebe, Imam of Lagos State Secretariat Mosque

Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w) in his second migration to Medina arranged a conference between the Muslims and Jews living with him in Medina. The prophet made effort to ensure a cordial relationship existed between both parties. He ensured the Muslim and Jews enjoyed equal right during his reign as the leader.

One other important thing we can learn from the Prophets’ stay at Medina was that he did not force his religion on anybody. So, the national conference should not be a medium to force religion on anyone. In fact, the national conference should be a medium to liberate the people of Nigeria from unruly laws denying them from their fundamental human right.

We must discuss religion at the conference —Moroof Adebesin

There is no gainsaying the fact that religion has been responsible for most conflicts in this country and as such the national conference should not lay emphasis on ethnicity alone. Everyone knows that ethnicity has no basis in our constitution; Nigeria is not structured on the basis of ethnic constituent. Any attempt to hold a national conference in this country without discussing religion will be an exercise in futility.

I’m also of the opinion that the injustice of the colonial masters against the Muslims must be discussed at the conference. The colonialists adopted a parochial method through which they virtually eliminated all vestiges of Islam which they met on ground. This they did by using sheer force, divide and rule, and so many other subterfuges.

The British bequeathed to us a legacy which was heavily tainted with their own perception of religion in all aspects of life: education, health, law. This injustice against Muslims must be addressed at the Conference if this government seeks genuine peace.

Christians and Muslims must enjoy equal rights in all ramification. That is why both religious groups must be invited to the conference to have a better Nigeria. I believe the National Conference remains is committed to the implementation of measures and policies that will further promote and enhance national peace, stability and progress.