Taaddud Zawjat al-Rasul
- Author died
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- Editions
- Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah bi-al-Madinah al-Munawwarah
Taaddud Zawjat al-Rasul (The Plurality of the Messenger's Wives) is an apologetic treatise by Dr. Malik Ghulam Murtada, head of the translation department at the Islamic University of Madinah, addressing modern polemics and misconceptions regarding the marriages of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The work was published in serial form in the periodical Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah bi-al-Madinah al-Munawwarah across successive issues, including issues 59 and 60.
Background and Objectives
The author frames the study around the contemporary resurgence of Islamic awareness and the perceived failure of human-made ideological systems in the West. He notes that Christian missionaries, orientalists, and critics in Europe and India published widespread polemical writings—such as the anti-Islamic tract Rangila Rasul—accusing the Prophet ﷺ of sensuality and worldly motives. In response, Murtada structured his study around four core inquiries: whether polygyny was unprecedented or practiced by earlier prophets; the historical circumstances behind each of the Prophet's eleven marriages; how any other individual would have acted under identical conditions; and the underlying educational, legislative, social, political, and personal wisdoms of these unions.
Comparative Scripture and Analysis
To counter the claims of Jewish and Christian critics, Murtada cites biblical books to demonstrate that multiple marriages were standard among the figures of the Hebrew Bible. He documents the three wives attributed to Abraham (Hagar, Sarah, and Keturah) in Genesis; the four wives of Jacob (Leah, Zilpah, Rachel, and Bilhah); the four wives associated with Moses in Exodus and Judges; the nine wives of David in Samuel; and the seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines of Solomon in Kings. Addressing Hindu criticisms, he notes that polygyny was likewise recorded among revered figures in ancient India, citing Raja Dasharatha, the father of Rama, who simultaneously had three wives (Kaushalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi).
The treatise examines the contextual reasons for the Prophet's marriages individually. In his treatment of Juwayriyyah bint al-Harith, the author relates that she was the daughter of the chief of the Banu al-Mustaliq and had fallen captive following the battle of al-Muraysi'; upon her contracted emancipation and subsequent marriage to the Prophet ﷺ, the Muslim companions freed approximately one hundred captive households from her tribe out of respect for the Prophet's new in-laws.
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