Maimuna bint al-Harits, born Barrah
Maimuna was Muhammad’s last wife. After her, only two more concubines would follow: Rayhana and Mariah. Muhammad gave her the name Maimuna which means good news.
This had to do with the truce that the Prophet had concluded with Mecca, which allowed him to perform the short pilgrimage to Mecca. This pilgrimage was his first visit to Mecca since he fled to Medina. Medina and Mecca had fought many battles. Finally in 628 they agreed on a truce to allow Muslims to visit Mecca.
The pilgrimage lasted three days. That was the agreed maximum. The people of Mecca retreated and camped in the foothills of the mountains surrounding their city. The Muslims laid down their weapons before entering Mecca, although different sources present different versions of this. The Muslim direction of prayer now switched from Jerusalem to Mecca.
During the pilgrimage, Muhammad’s uncle approached him with a marriage proposal. His sister-in-law Barrah had just become a widow and his proposal to Muhammad was that he should marry her sight unseen.
Barrah married Muhammad in Medina in the year 629 when she was thirty years old. She was the half-sister of Muhammad’s wife Zaynab. According to Aisha, Barrah was not only the most pious among the women but also the most devoted to the family. The marriage lasted three years until Muhammad’s death in 632. Rabbah was the last surviving wife of the prophet and died in Medina aged 81.
11. The wifes of Muhammad: Maimuna