THE PROPHETIC HOUSEHOLD
1. Khadijah Bint Khuwailid: In Makkah — prior to Hijra — the Prophet’s household comprised him
(Peace be upon him) and his wife Khadijah bint Khuwailid. He was twenty-five and she was forty  when they got married. She was the first woman he married. She was the only wife he had till  she died. He had sons and daughters with her. None of their sons lived long. They all died. Their  daughters were Zainab, Ruqaiya, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah.
Zainab was married to her maternal cousin Abu Al-‘As bin Al-Rabi‘ and that was before Al-Hijra.
Ruqaiya and Umm Kulthum were both married to ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan (May Allah be pleased with  him) successively (i.e. he married one after the death of her sister). Fatimah was married to ‘Ali  bin Abi Talib; and that was in the period between Badr and Uhud battles. The sons and daughters  that Fatimah and ‘Ali had were Al-Hasan, Al-Husain, Zainab and Umm Kulthum.
It is well-known that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was exceptionally authorized to have  more than four wives for various reasons. The wives he married were thirteen. Nine of them  outlived him. Two died in his lifetime: Khadijah and the Mother of the poor (Umm Al-Masakeen)
— Zainab bint Khuzaima, besides two others with whom he did not consummate his marriage.
2. Sawdah bint Zam‘a: He married her in Shawwal, in the tenth year of Prophethood, a few days  after the death of Khadijah. Prior to that, she was married to a paternal cousin of hers called As-
Sakran bin ‘Amr.
3. ‘Aishah bint Abu Bakr: He married her in the eleventh year of Prophethood, a year after his  marriage to Sawdah, and two years and five months before Al-Hijra. She was six years old when  he married her. However, he did not consummate the marriage with her till Shawwal seven  months after Al-Hijra, and that was in Madinah. She was nine then. She was the only virgin he  married, and the most beloved creature to him. As a woman she was the most learnèd woman in  jurisprudence.
4. Hafsah bint ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab: She was Aiyim (i.e. husbandless). Her ex-husband was
Khunais bin Hudhafa As-Sahmi in the period between Badr and Uhud battles. The Messenger of
Allâh (Peace be upon him) married her in the third year of Al-Hijra.
5. Zainab bint Khuzaimah: She was from Bani Hilal bin ‘Amir bin Sa‘sa‘a. Was nicknamed Umm Al-
Masakeen, because of her kindness and care towards them. She used to be the wife of ‘Abdullah  bin Jahsh, who was martyred at Uhud, was married to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in the  fourth year of Al-Hijra, but she died two or three months after her marriage to the Messenger of
Allâh (Peace be upon him).
6. Umm Salamah Hind bint Abi Omaiyah: She used to be the wife of Abu Salamah, who died in
Jumada Al-Akhir, in the fourth year of Al-Hijra. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him)  married her in Shawwal of the same year.
7. Zainab bint Jahsh bin Riyab: She was from Bani Asad bin Khuzaimah and was the Messenger’s  paternal cousin. She was married to Zaid bin Haritha — who was then considered son of the
Prophet (Peace be upon him) . However, Zaid divorced her. Allâh sent down some Qur’ânic  verses with this respect:
“So when Zaid had accomplished his desire from her (i.e., divorced her), We gave her to you in  marriage.” 33:37
About her, Allâh has sent down some verses of Al-Ahzab Chapter that discussed the adoption of  children in detail — anyway we will discuss this later. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon  him) married her in Dhul-Qa‘dah, the fifth year of Al-Hijra.
8. Juwairiyah bint Al-Harith: Al-Harith was the head of Bani Al-Mustaliq of Khuza‘ah. Juwairiyah was  among the booty that fell to the Muslims from Bani Al-Mustaliq. She was a portion of Thabit bin
Qais bin Shammas’ share. He made her a covenant to set her free at a certain time. The
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) accomplished the covenant and married her in Sha‘ban  in the sixth year of Al-Hijra.
9. Umm Habibah: Ramlah, the daughter of Abu Sufyan. She was married to ‘Ubaidullah bin Jahsh.
She migrated with him to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). When ‘Ubaidullah apostatized and became a
Christian, she stoodfast to her religion and refused to convert. However ‘Ubaidullah died there in
Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) dispatched ‘Amr bin Omaiyah
Ad-Damri with a letter to Negus, the king, asking him for Umm Habibah’s hand — that was in
Muharram, in the seventh year of Al-Hijra. Negus agreed and sent her to the Prophet (Peace be  upon him) in the company of Sharhabeel
10. her after that conquest in the seventh year of Al-Hijra.
11. Maimunah bint Al-Harith: The daughter of Al-Harith, and the sister of Umm Al-Fadl Lubabah bint
Al-Harith. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) married her after the Compensatory ‘Umrah (Lesser