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Wives of the Prophet ﷺ: The Mothers of the Believers
The wives of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ are called the Mothers of the Believers, a title given to them in the Quran (33:6). This page presents the eleven women he married, in the order most scholars give, together with his seven children, drawing on the Quran and the authentic hadith and noting where scholars differ.
Last reviewed 6 October 2026
Mothers of the Believers (11)
- Khadijah bint KhuwaylidThe Prophet's first wife, who believed in him when others doubted and was his closest support for about twenty-five years.
- Sawdah bint Zam'ahAn early Muslim and widow who married the Prophet ﷺ after Khadijah's death and later gave her day to Aisha to keep her place among his wives.
- Aisha bint Abi BakrThe daughter of Abu Bakr, the wife the Prophet ﷺ loved most, and one of the great scholars among the Companions.
- Hafsah bint UmarThe daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab, a widow of a Badr veteran whom the Prophet ﷺ married, and the keeper of the first written copy of the Quran.
- Zaynab bint KhuzaymahKnown as Umm al-Masakin, 'the mother of the poor', for her generosity; she was married to the Prophet ﷺ for only a short time.
- Umm Salamah (Hind bint Abi Umayyah)A widow with orphaned children whose patience and sound counsel won her a place among the wisest of the Prophet's wives.
- Zaynab bint JahshThe Prophet's cousin, whose marriage was ordained by Allah in the Quran to end the custom of treating adopted sons as real sons.
- Juwayriyyah bint al-HarithThe daughter of the chief of Banu al-Mustaliq, whose marriage led to the release of a hundred families of her people.
- Umm Habibah (Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan)The daughter of Abu Sufyan, who stayed firm in her faith in exile and was married to the Prophet ﷺ in Abyssinia.
- Safiyyah bint HuyayyA noblewoman of Banu al-Nadir, descended from the Prophet Aaron (peace be upon him), who was freed and married to the Prophet ﷺ after Khaybar.
- Maymunah bint al-HarithThe last wife the Prophet ﷺ married, according to most scholars, and the aunt of Ibn Abbas, the great scholar of the Companions.
Two other women are sometimes mentioned: Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah, the mother of Ibrahim, and Rayhanah bint Zayd of the Banu Qurayzah. Scholars differ on whether they were wives of the Prophet ﷺ or women whom he held as ma malakat aymanuhum, 'those whom his right hand possessed' (Quran 33:50; 33:52). Because of this difference they are not counted among the eleven Mothers of the Believers, whom all agree on. The sirah books record that Mariyah was sent as a gift from the ruler of Egypt and bore the Prophet ﷺ his son Ibrahim.
- Quran 33:50 (Al-Ahzab)
- Quran 33:52 (Al-Ahzab)
- Sirah books (early history)
His children
Al-Qasim
القاسم
Mother: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Al-Qasim was the first child born to Khadijah, in Makkah, before the revelation, and the Prophet ﷺ was known as Abu al-Qasim after him. He died in early childhood, at about two years of age according to most reports; the sirah books differ on whether this was before or after the first revelation.
- Sirah books (early history)
Zaynab
زينب
Mother: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Zaynab, the eldest daughter according to most scholars, married Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi'. When she emigrated to Madinah he stayed behind, and the Prophet ﷺ returned her to him on the basis of their first marriage, after six years in one report, two in another (Sunan Abi Dawud 2240; Jami at-Tirmidhi 1143). He praised him: 'He spoke to me and was truthful, and promised me and kept his promise' (Sahih al-Bukhari 3729). She died in 8 AH.
- Sunan Abi Dawud 2240
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 1143
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3729
- Sirah books (early history)
Ruqayyah
رقية
Mother: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Ruqayyah married Uthman ibn Affan, and the sirah books record that they emigrated together to Abyssinia and later to Madinah. A narration in Sahih al-Bukhari says that Uthman missed Badr because his wife, a daughter of the Prophet ﷺ, was ill, and the Prophet ﷺ told him he would have the reward and the share of one who attended Badr (Sahih al-Bukhari 3130). The sirah books identify her as Ruqayyah, who died in 2 AH.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3130
- Sirah books (early history)
Umm Kulthum
أم كلثوم
Mother: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
After Ruqayyah died, Uthman married her sister Umm Kulthum in about 3 AH, which is why he is known as Dhu al-Nurayn, 'the possessor of two lights'. She died in 9 AH. Anas reported attending the burial of a daughter of the Prophet ﷺ, who sat by the grave with his eyes shedding tears (Sahih al-Bukhari 1285); many scholars identify her as Umm Kulthum.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1285
- Sirah books (early history)
Fatimah
فاطمة
Mother: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Fatimah az-Zahra, the youngest of his daughters according to most scholars, married Ali ibn Abi Talib and was the mother of al-Hasan and al-Husayn. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Fatimah is a part of me; whoever angers her angers me' (Sahih al-Bukhari 3714). In his last illness he told her that she would be the first of his family to join him (Sahih al-Bukhari 3623). She lived six months after him, and Ali buried her (Sahih al-Bukhari 4240).
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3714
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3623
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4240
- Sirah books (early history)
Abdullah (al-Tayyib, al-Tahir)
عبد الله (الطيب والطاهر)
Mother: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Abdullah was born to Khadijah after the revelation began and died in infancy, according to the sirah books. He is known by the titles al-Tayyib and al-Tahir. Most scholars hold that these two titles belong to one son, while some count them as two sons. Like al-Qasim, he died in Makkah, and his death was one of the early losses the Prophet ﷺ bore with patience.
- Sirah books (early history)
Ibrahim
إبراهيم
Mother: Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah
Ibrahim was born in 8 AH to Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah, the only one of the Prophet's children not born to Khadijah. As he lay dying, the Prophet's eyes shed tears and he said: 'The eye weeps and the heart grieves, and we say only what pleases our Lord. O Ibrahim, we are grieved at your parting' (Sahih al-Bukhari 1303). The sun eclipsed the day he died, and the Prophet ﷺ taught that no eclipse is for anyone's death (Sahih al-Bukhari 1060).
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1303
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1060
- Sirah books (early history)
Why did the Prophet ﷺ marry more than once?
This question is often asked, and it helps to look at the whole of his life. According to the sirah books he married Khadijah when he was about twenty-five, and she remained his only wife for roughly twenty-five years, until her death when he was about fifty. His other marriages came later: Sawdah soon after Khadijah's death, and the rest in Madinah, in the last decade of his life, in the years of migration, war and the building of a new community.
Scholars mention several reasons, and the stories of the individual wives bear them out. One was compassion for widows and the vulnerable: Sawdah, Hafsah, Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, Umm Salamah and Umm Habibah had all lost their husbands, in battle or in exile for their faith. Another was to build bonds of kinship and alliance: with the daughters of Abu Bakr and Umar, with Juwayriyyah, whose marriage led to the freeing of a hundred households of her people (Sunan Abi Dawud 3931), with Umm Habibah, the daughter of Abu Sufyan, and with Safiyyah, who was freed and honoured.
A third reason was legal: to abolish the custom of treating adopted sons as real sons. The Prophet's marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh, after she had been divorced by his adopted son Zayd, was commanded by Allah so that there would be no blame on the believers regarding the wives of their adopted sons (Quran 33:37; see also Quran 33:4-5 and 33:40).
A fourth was teaching. The wives lived in the Prophet's homes and saw his private life, and they were told: 'Remember what is recited in your homes of the verses of Allah and the wisdom' (Quran 33:34). Through them, above all Aisha and Umm Salamah, the community learned matters of the religion, such as purification, family life and the night prayer, which were not as easy to learn from men.
Their position was distinctive and demanding. They are the Mothers of the Believers (Quran 33:6); they were told that they were not like any other women (Quran 33:32); and they were given the choice between worldly life and Allah, His Messenger and the Hereafter (Quran 33:28-29). Aisha reported that the Prophet ﷺ gave her the choice first, and that all his wives then did as she did (Sahih al-Bukhari 4786). The Quran also closed the door to further marriages (Quran 33:52), though scholars differ on the exact scope of that verse, and it forbade the believers to marry his wives after him (Quran 33:53).
Finally, his household shows his character as a husband. He said: 'The best of you is the best to his family, and I am the best of you to my family' (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3895). Asked what the Prophet ﷺ did at home, Aisha said that he used to help with the work of his family, and that when the time of prayer came he went out to pray (Sahih al-Bukhari 676). The Muslims have always taken his married life as a model.
- Quran 33:28-29 (Al-Ahzab)
- Quran 33:37 (Al-Ahzab)
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 3895
- Sahih al-Bukhari 676
- Sirah books (early history)
How the sources are used
Hadith numbers follow the hadith library on this site, and each source opens its hadith there. Details that are not in the hadith collections are marked as coming from the sirah books.
General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.
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Common questions
How many wives did the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ have?
Most scholars count eleven women whom he married, all listed on this page. Khadijah and Zaynab bint Khuzaymah died during his lifetime, so nine were alive when he passed away. Anas ibn Malik, describing how the Prophet ﷺ would visit his wives in turn, mentions nine in one report and eleven in another (Sahih al-Bukhari 268). Mariyah and Rayhanah are not counted among them, as explained in the note above.
Who was the Prophet's first wife and who was the last?
His first wife was Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, and she remained his only wife until her death, for about twenty-five years. According to most scholars, the last woman he married was Maymunah bint al-Harith, in about 7 AH.
Which of his wives was a virgin when he married her?
Aisha was the only one who had not been married before, as she herself reported (Sahih al-Bukhari 5077). The others had been widowed or divorced: for example Hafsah and Umm Salamah were widows, and Zaynab bint Jahsh was divorced from Zayd ibn Harithah.
How old was Aisha when she married the Prophet ﷺ?
Aisha herself reported that the Prophet ﷺ married her when she was six years old, and that she was brought to his house when she was nine (Sahih al-Bukhari 3894; Sahih Muslim 1422b). In another report she says that she stayed with him for nine years (Sahih al-Bukhari 5133). She later became one of the foremost scholars of the community.
Which of the Prophet's wives died first after him, and which last?
The Prophet ﷺ told his wives that the first to join him would be the longest of them in hand, and Aisha explained that this was Zaynab bint Jahsh, because she worked with her hands and gave in charity (Sahih Muslim 2452). She died in 20 AH. Most scholars hold that Umm Salamah was the last of them to die, around 60 AH.
Did the Prophet ﷺ divorce any of his wives?
It is reported that he divorced Hafsah once and then took her back (Sunan Abi Dawud 2283). Sawdah feared that he would part from her and gave her day to Aisha, and he kept her (Sunan Abi Dawud 2135). When the Quran gave his wives the choice between worldly life and Allah and His Messenger, they all chose Allah, His Messenger and the Hereafter (Sahih al-Bukhari 4786).
Where are the Prophet's wives buried?
According to the sirah books, most of them, including Aisha, Hafsah, Umm Salamah and Zaynab bint Jahsh, are buried in al-Baqi' in Madinah. Khadijah was buried in al-Hajun in Makkah, and Maymunah was buried near Sarif, where she died (Sahih al-Bukhari 4258).
Why are the Prophet's wives called the Mothers of the Believers?
Because the Quran says: 'The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers' (Quran 33:6). They are mothers in respect and in the prohibition of marrying them after him (Quran 33:53), not in every ruling of motherhood, such as inheritance.