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Why were the wives of Holy Prophet (PBUH) not allowed to remarry after his demise?

Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR

Certain polemics try to make an issue of the Quranic verse the declares that no one is allowed to marry the wives of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) after his demise. The verse goes as:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا….وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَنْ تَنْكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا إِنَّ ذَلِكُمْ كَانَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمً

“O ye who believe! …Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy Allah’s Messenger, or that ye should marry his widows after him at any time. Truly such a thing is in Allah’s sight an enormity.” (Quran 33:53)

Such polemics try arguing that it was unjust to the wives to be forbidden to remarry. But such an argument shows total ignorance of the details of the issue and status of the wives of the Prophet (pbuh) in the House of Islam.

Wives of the Prophet (pbuh) are Mothers of the Believers:

In very clear terms Quran calls the Wives of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) as the Mothers of the Believers. Allah says in the Holy Quran:

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ

“The Prophet is closer to the Believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers.” (Quran 33:6)

This shows the strong spiritual relation between the Holy Prophet’s wives and the Believers and obviously the command under discussion goes very much in consonance with their status mentioned here. None with even the slightest sense of morality will ever take an exception to it.

They will remain the wives of the Prophet (pbuh) even in the Hereafter:

Further we read in Hadith a prayer of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) regarding his wives. It is stated:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : سألت ربي عز وجل أن لا أزوج أحدا من أمتي ، ولا أتزوج إلا كان معي في الجنة فأعطاني

Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said: ‘I asked Allah that I marry none of my people but she be with me in the Heaven and I was granted.’ (Mustadrik Al-Hakim, Hadith 4650. Hakim termed it as Sahih)

And as they were to be the wives of the Prophet (pbuh) both here and hereafter so the wives of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) were not allowed to marry any other person. Following narration makes it absolutely clear:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : المرأة لآخر أزواجها

Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said: ‘[In the Paradise,] a woman will be with her last husband.’ (Tabaqaat Abu Shaikh p.270. Albani classified it as Sahih in Silsala Sahiha H. 1281)

قال حذيفة لامرأته إن أردت أن تكوني زوجتي في الجنة فلا تزوجي بعدي فإن المرأة لآخر أزواجها ، ولذلك حرم الله تعالى على أزواج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يتزوجن بعده
Huzaifa (Prophet’s Companion) said to his wife, ‘If you wish to be my wife in the Heaven do not marry anyone after me for a woman will be with last of his husbands and for this reason Allah forbade it for the wives of the Messenger (pbuh) to remarry after him.’ (Mushkil Al-Athaar 2/147 Hadith 552)

His wives never showed any will to remarry after him:

And above all, never did anyone of his wives show any desire to remarry after him. Infact there are many of their statements which show that they understood and made claim to their motherly right over the Believers. Moreover those who had been the wives of the Best of Humankind must have willed to enjoy the same status in eternity and thus no idea of remarriage would have ever hit them (Recall above narrations).

So when they never had any problem with the Quranic Law why on earth should someone talk of that?

INDEED ALLAH KNOWS THE BEST!

…by Waqar Akbar Cheema