Her father replied, “She is afflicted with a defect,”—though she was not—and so the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, withdrew. Later she was stricken with leukoderma. She is the mother of Shabīb ibn al-Barṣāʾ, the poet; so related Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūbah from Qatādah.

He also reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sought the hand of Umm Ḥabībah, the daughter of al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, but discovered that her father was his brother through nursing, for both of them had been suckled by Thuwaybah, the freedwoman of Abū Lahab.

These, then, are the women connected to him, and they fall into three categories:

1. Those with whom he consummated the marriage and who survived him. They are the nine wives mentioned first, and they are forever forbidden to the rest of mankind after his death—by a firmly established, unanimous consensus that is necessarily known in the religion. Their waiting period lasts for the remainder of their lives. Allah the Exalted says: “It is not lawful for you to hurt the Messenger of Allah, nor to marry his wives after him, ever. Indeed, that would be an enormity in the sight of Allah.” (al-Aḥzāb 33:53)

2. Those with whom he consummated marriage and whom he divorced during his lifetime. May anyone marry one of them after her waiting period has elapsed? Scholars hold two opinions:
   • The first: No, in view of the general wording of the verse just cited.
   • The second: Yes, citing the “verse of choice”: “O Prophet, say to your wives: ‘If you desire the life of this world and its adornment, then come, I will provide for you and release you with a gracious release. But if you desire Allah, His Messenger, and the Abode of the Hereafter, then Allah has prepared for those of you who excel an immense reward.’” (al-Aḥzāb 33:28–29) They argue that, had separation from him not rendered a woman lawful to someone else, offering her a choice between this world and the Hereafter would serve no purpose; for if leaving him did not permit her to remarry, the choice would bring her no benefit. This reasoning is strong, and Allah knows best.

3. A woman whom he married and divorced before consummation. Such a woman is lawful for others to marry, and I know of no dispute on this point.

As for a woman to whom he merely proposed without concluding the marriage contract, she is even more entitled to marry someone else. A detailed discussion of this will appear in the Book of Khaṣāʾiṣ, Allah willing.

Section: His bondwomen (concubines)

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, had two bondwomen. One of them was Māriyah bint Shamʿūn the Copt, whom a ruler presented to him.