Wives and children of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Sons & daughters

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had 7 children: 3 sons and 4 daughters. With the exception of son Ibrahim, Khadijah (RAH) bore him all his children. He had no children with any of his other wives.

His first child is Al-Qasim, who was born at the age of jahiliya prior to his prophethood. It was said that Al-Qasim reached the age where he could at least ride the camel and then he passed away. So he was possibly 6 - 8 years old. That's all we know of him. No story has been preserved about him.

Afterward, Prophet had 4 daughters: Zainab, Ruqaiyah, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah. Then he had another son, and final child, with Khadijah: Abdullah. He was born after the prophethood. Some people say he also had At-Tahir and At-Taiyyib, so they add two more to make it 8 children. However, the strongest position is that Abdullah had two nicknames 'At-Tahir' and 'At-Taiyyib', both of which mean 'the pure one'. So it is likely that Prophet only had 6 children with Khadijah.

Son named Ibrahim bin Muhammad with his maidservant Maria al-Qibtiyya

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had son named Ibrahim with his maidservant Maria al-Qibtiyya. Muhammad (pbuh) had Ibrahim when he was around 59 - 60 years old. Ibrahim only lived a year-and-a-half or 18 months. Allah knew that the Prophet (pbuh) would not live long so he took Ibrahim's life also. The Prophet was greatly saddened by this and crying.

Had Ibrahim lived he would have been a prophet. But there is going to be no prophet after me. So Allah had to seal the prophecy.

Muhammad on his son Ibrahim's passing

It's not possible for the son of Muhammad (pbuh) not to be a prophet. Hence the reason why only the daughters survived. But the Muslim community elevated the daughter's children to such levels and formed multiple groups - the Shia branch is the perfect example of this. If such communal division were created so quickly due to the female lineage of the Prophet (pbuh), just imagine what would've happened if Muhammad (pbuh) left behind a male progeny. So Muslims view the death of Muhammad's sons as, to some extent, a mercy of Allah on the ummah (community).

All children, except Fatimah, die during his lifetime

Abdullah died in infancy as a Muslim. When he passed away, Abu Jahl - Prophet's worst enemy - ran through Makkah with excitement and joy that the Prophet's progeny or lineage has been cut-off. For the Arabs of that time, it was all about male children. They didn't care about daughters. So Allah revealed Surah Al-Kawthar (The Abundance) to provide Muhammad (pbuh) with support and assurance during this sad phase:

 

 

 

Surah 108 Al-Kawthar (The Abundance)

Indeed, We have granted you, [O Muhammad], al-Kawthar.
So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone].
Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.

All the four daughters grew to be adults, witnessed Islam, embraced it, and emigrated to Madinah. But sadly the three eldest (i.e. Zainab, Ruqaiyah, and Umm Kulthum) died during the time of the Prophet (pbuh). So the Prophet (pbuh) had the heartbreaking task of burying his own daughters in addition to his sons. Fatimah too died few months after the Prophet passed away.

But, even though Allah tested him, He didn't test Muhammad (pbuh) beyond his capacity. Allah blessed him with both sons and daughters and gave him taste of fatherhood and silenced those who mocked him. If he didn't have any children, his hater's could've invented a lot of nasty lies about him.

The Prophet (pbuh), as if he's facing the most traumatic problems after problems. Because the most traumatic thing to happen to a child is to lose a parent. And the most traumatic thing to happen to a parent is to lose a child. There is no musiba [affliction] on earth that is more painful than these two.

...Our Prophet (pbuh) is multiple time orphaned: father, mother, grandad, uncle. One after the other. And he's multiple time losing his children.

...It is as if Allah is giving him the most difficult tragedies imaginable. And in this there's great wisdom. It is as if Allah is telling him that your purpose in life is to be afflicted, that this life is nothing but suffering. That even the greatest human being is not going to live a comfortable life in this world. In fact, because he is the greatest, he'll suffer like no one else is suffering because it is through these trials so many things happen. First and foremost, one's relationship with Allah is established.

Also, living through these trials true servitude is reached. That you understand who you are and who is Allah. Living through these trials and afflictions you'll need patience. So he is inflicted with greatest calamities to bring about this patience. By these hardship your own heart becomes soft.

Sheikh Yasir Qadhi