Section on [the Prophet’s wives from whom he separated]

As for the women whom he is reported to have married and subsequently separated from, according to reports that do not reach the level of mass transmission, they numbered seven. This accords with what Alī ibn al-Mu‘ammar related from Abū Ubaydah Ma‘mar ibn al-Muthannā, who said: “The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, married eighteen women in all.” It is also said that those from whom he separated numbered more than seven.

Among them was Fātimah bint al-Dahhāk ibn Sufyān al-Kilābī. It is said that her father, al-Dahhāk, offered her in marriage to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying that she had never suffered a headache. He replied, “I have no need of her.” It is also said that he married her after the death of his daughter Zaynab, and that when the verse offering his wives a choice was revealed, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave her that choice. She chose the life of this world, so he separated from her. Thereafter, she would gather animal droppings and say, “I am the wretched woman who chose the life of this world.”

This is not authentic, for it has been stated that when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, offered his wives the choice, he had only nine wives—the same women who survived him. A number of scholars have said that the woman who used to say, “I am the wretched woman,” was the one who had sought refuge from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. There is considerable disagreement over the identity of the woman who sought refuge from him.

Among them was Asmā’ bint al-Nu‘mān, of Banū al-Jawn, a branch of Kindah. There is no disagreement that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, married her, but accounts differ as to how they separated. One account states: “When she came into his presence, he called her over, but she said, ‘You come to me,’ and refused to come. Another account states that she said, ‘I seek refuge in Allah from you.’ He replied, ‘You have indeed sought refuge with the One in whom refuge is sought, and Allah has granted you refuge from me,’ and divorced her.”

It is also said that the woman who sought refuge from him was a beautiful woman of Banū Sulaym whom the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had married. His wives feared that she would win his affection over them, so they told her, “He likes you to say to him, ‘I seek refuge in Allah from you.’” She said this when she was brought into his presence and he called her over, so he divorced her. Another account, however, states that the Prophet’s wives, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said this to Asmā’ bint al-Nu‘mān al-Kindī because she