Sawdah bit Zam’a
Muhammad’s second marriage was considerably less successful than his marriage to Khadija. It ended in a platonic relationship, without divorce. The marriage may have been concluded hastily. Sawdah also grew up in pre-Islamic Mecca and the marriage was also solemnized in that city. Both spouses must have been around 50 when they married and had lost their previous partners.
Sawdah was already Muslim at the time, the other members of her family were vehemently anti-Islam. Mecca was unsafe for the first Muslims. Muhammad therefore advised her and her then husband to leave Mecca and Sawdah emigrated with her husband to Abyssinia, which is now Ethiopia in the horn of Africa. Her husband died there and Sawdah decided to return to Mecca.
It is quite possible that Muhammad took her under his wing through this marriage. Women were often vulnerable when widowed. But these marriages of convenience are also fully-fledged marriages. Husbands were entitled to affection and sexual gratification. However, Muhammad soon began to neglect her and filed for divorce while they were living in Medina. She begged him to remain her husband without sexual intercourse. She wished to be taken into heaven (Janna) as the wife of the prophet. She gave up ‘her night’ to Aisha, the prophet’s third wife. They were legally separated. The Quran confirms this in chapter 4 verse 128: “and if a woman fears aversion from her husband, then there is no sin for them if they reconcile between themselves.” As often, the Koran stood up for Muhammad. Sawdah died 30 years after the death of Muhammad in Medina. Aisha was especially fond of her. Sawdah was generous and demanded little for himself.
2. The wifes of the prophet: Sawdah