When a person asked the Holy Prophet
for overcoming the hardness of his heart, he replied:
Place your hand (of affection) on the head of an orphan, and feed
the needy (‘Miskeen’).” (Ahmad-Mishkat:4781)
It has been reported that when Jafar (elder brother of Ali) was martyred in the Battle of Mota, the Holy Prophet came down to his house, and wept on seeing his little children. (Ibn Hashsham)
Note: The Holy Prophet greatly emphasized looking after the widows and orphans, such as mentioned in the above two Hadith. It may be noted that most of the wives of the Holy Prophet were widows. Let us now study the marriage aspect of the Holy Prophet in some detail ahead. This is important also in view of the next Verses of Al- Baqarah, which deal particularly with marriage and family matters.
Respectable Wives of the Holy Prophet
(Mothers of the Believers)
The following facts have been mostly drawn from the ‘Encyclopedia of Seerah, Zia-ul-Quran, Zia-un-Nabi, Tafheem-ul-Quran, Seerat-un-Nabi by Ibn Hashsham etc. with regard to the excellent qualities of the wives of the Holy Prophet and the circumstances under which their marriage took place:
1. One of the reasons of the many marriages of the Holy Prophet and his Companions was to provide protection to the innumerable widows and and their children. By his single command, their husbands and sons gave their precious lives in the Way of Allah. The Holy Prophet, therefore, considered his duty to maintain, adjust and establish them in the Islamic State.
Khadijah (Rathiyallaho anha')
2. It may be noted that Khadijah daughter of Khuwailid bin Asad, the very first wife of the Holy Prophet, was a widow. She belonged to a very noble family, and was the richest lady of Arabia at that time. After being greatly impressed by the honesty, intelligence, gentleness, and business capability of the Holy Prophet, she herself sent a message to him to marry her, which was accepted by him on getting the consent of his uncles. At that time, the Holy Prophet was 25 years old, and she was forty.
