Muhammad's wives

Muhammad's wives or Wives of Muhammad were the thirteen women married to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslims refer to them as Mothers of the Believers (Arabic: أمهات المؤمنين Ummahāt al-Muʾminīn). Muslims use the term prominently before or after referring to them as a sign of respect. The term is derived from Quran 33:6:

The Prophet is closer to the believers than their selves, and his wives are (as) their mothers.

Muhammad's life is traditionally delineated as two epochs: pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca, a city in western Arabia, from the year 570 to 622, and post-hijra in Medina, from 622 until his death in 632. All but two of his marriages were contracted after the Hijra (migration to Medina).

In Arabian culture, marriage was contracted in accordance with the larger needs of the tribe and was based on the need to form alliances within the tribe and with other tribes. Virginity at the time of marriage was emphasized as a tribal honor.Watt states that all of Muhammad's marriages had the political aspect of strengthening friendly relationships and were based on the Arabian custom.Esposito points out that some of Muhammad's marriages were aimed at providing a livelihood for widows. He noted that remarriage was difficult for widows in a society that emphasized virgin marriages.Francis Edwards Peters says that it is hard to make generalizations about Muhammad's marriages: many of them were political, some compassionate, and some perhaps affairs of the heart. Muhammad's first marriage lasted 25 years.

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