The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not marry merely to enjoy that which Allah had made permissible for him
Question

                Did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) marry for two reasons: (i) in the interests of da‘wah (calling people to Islam) and (ii) going along with the natural inclination to enjoy what Allah had made permissible for him?
Praise be to Allah.
      It is well-known that the Prophet (blessings and peace of 
      Allah be upon him) was human. Allah, may He be exalted, honoured him with 
      Prophethood and sent him to all of mankind, and the fact that he possessed 
      all the attributes dictated by human nature, such as the need to eat, 
      drink, sleep, urinate, defecate, protect himself from cold and heat and 
      from enemies, and that he also enjoyed intimate relations, good food and 
      drink, and other things dictated by human nature, does not detract from 
      his Prophethood or undermine his message. Rather Allah said to him 
      (interpretation of the meaning): “Say 
      (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)): ‘I don’t tell you 
      that with me are the treasures of Allah, nor (that) I know the unseen” 
      [al-An‘aam 6:50]. And 
      he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said concerning himself: “I 
      am only human, like you; I forget as you forget.” 

    Not having knowledge of the unseen and forgetting things that 
    one knows may be shortcomings in knowledge per se, but because that is part 
    of the nature of the human being, whom Allah has created weak in all his 
    affairs, this cannot be regarded as detracting from or undermining the 
    status of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). 

    Undoubtedly the desire for intimate relations is part of 
    human nature, and for a person to have a perfect desire for that is a sign 
    of his perfect makeup; the strength thereof is indicative of sound health 
    and wellbeing. Hence it is proven in Saheeh al-Bukhaari, in the 
    hadith of Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him), that he said: We 
    used to say that he – i.e., the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him) – had been given the strength of thirty men. 

    That is, in terms of intimate relationships with women. That 
    – and Allah knows best – so that he might be able to marry the women whom 
    Allah permitted to him, regardless of their number, and fulfil their rights, 
    and so that by means of the large number of his wives he might be able to 
    attain great things both in their interests and the interests of the entire 
    ummah. Were it not for the strength that Allah gave him, he would not have 
    been able to marry this number or fulfil their rights of being intimate with 
    them and maintaining their chastity. 

    If we assume that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah 
    be upon him) had married a woman merely to fulfil his physical desires and 
    to go along with his natural inclinations, that not have detracted from his 
    Prophethood and would not have been a shortcoming on his part (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him). How could it have been, when he (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) said: 
    “Women may be married for four 
    things: their wealth, their lineage, their beauty and their religious 
    commitment. Choose the one who is religiously-committed, may your hands be 
    rubbed with dust (i.e., may you prosper)”? 
    In fact, Allah said to him (interpretation of the meaning): 
    “It is 
    not lawful for you (to marry other) women after this, nor to change them for 
    other wives even though their beauty attracts you” 
    [al-Ahzaab 33:52]. But 
    up till now we do not know that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace 
    of Allah be upon him) ever married a woman merely to satisfy his desires; if 
    that had been the case, he would have chosen young virgins of dazzling 
    beauty, as he said to Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him), when he told 
    him that he had married a previously-married woman: “Why not a virgin, so 
    you could play with her and she could play with you?” And according to other 
    reports he said: “So you could joke with her and she could joke with you” or 
    “What about virgins and playing with them?” Narrated by al-Bukhaari. Rather 
    the marriages of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) were 
    for the purposes of either softening hearts (of the woman’s tribe), by way 
    of honouring (the woman and her family), by way of consoling and helping the 
    woman, by way of rewarding (the woman or her family), or other important 
    purposes which were summed up in Fath al-Baari (9/115) where the 
    author said: 

    What may be summed up from the words of the scholars 
    concerning the wisdom behind the Prophet’s taking many wives is ten points:

    1.So that there 
    would be many people who could see how he was in his private life, so as to 
    dispel what the mushrikeen thought about him being a practitioner of 
    witchcraft and the like.

    2.So as to honour 
    thereby the Arab tribes by making them his in-laws.

    3.So as to soften 
    their hearts more.

    4.To increase his 
    duties, as he was instructed that his love for his wives should not distract 
    him from his duty of conveying the message of Allah. 

    5.To increase his 
    family connections through his wives so that he would have more people to 
    help him against those who fought him.

    6.To convey Islamic 
    rulings that men would not be able to find out about, because most of that 
    which happens with one’s wife is matters that are usually hidden.

    7.To give insight 
    into the beautiful of his hidden characteristics. He married Umm Habeebah at 
    the time when her father was opposed to him, and he married Safiyyah after 
    her father, paternal uncle and husband were killed. Were it not for his 
    perfect characteristics they would have resented him, but what happened was 
    that he became dearer to them than their entire families.

    8.We have referred 
    above to the fact that he had extraordinary strength for intimate relations 
    despite the fact that he ate and drank little, and he fasted a great deal 
    and often fasted continuously (for several days and nights in a row), and he 
    instructed those who could not afford to get married to fast, and indicated 
    that fasting a great deal would dampen desire. So his case it was 
    extraordinary that fasting did not have any impact on his desire (blessings 
    and peace of Allah be upon him).

    9.And 10. We have 
    mentioned above, quoting from the author of ash-Shifa’, that he 
    maintained their chastity and fulfilled their rights. End quote.

    I (Ibn ‘Uthaymeen) said: The eighth point was because Allah 
    gave him the strength of thirty men, as stated above. 

    11.There is also an 
    eleventh point, which was to manifest his complete fairness and justice in 
    dealing with his wives, so that his ummah could follow his example.

    12.To spread Islamic 
    rulings and regulations further, because they could be spread further 
    through many than through one.

    13.To console those 
    who had lost their status, as in the case of Safiyyah bint Huyayy and 
    Juwayriyah bint al-Haarith, the daughter of the chief of Banu’l-Mustaliq.

    14.To confirm the 
    shar‘i ruling and correct the corrupt belief which was deeply rooted in 
    people’s hearts, as they thought it was prohibited to marry the ex-wife of 
    an adopted son, as in the story of Zaynab, because convincing people by 
    means of actions is more effective than convincing them by means of words. 
    We also see how the people were convinced when the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) shaved his head at al-Hudaybiyah and they 
    hastened to do that when he shaved his head, after they had been slow to 
    shave their heads despite the fact that he had instructed them to do that.

    15.Softening hearts 
    and strengthening ties, as in the case of ‘Aa’ishah and Hafsah. The Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) strengthened his ties with his 
    four successors through marriage, even though he had especially close ties 
    with some of them. So he married the daughters of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, and he 
    gave his three daughters in marriage to ‘Uthmaan and ‘Ali (may Allah be 
    pleased with them all). Glory be to the One Who granted His Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) this wisdom and enabled him to 
    live accordingly, by means of what He granted him of physical strength and 
    by means of what He permitted for him. So He gave him the strength of thirty 
    men, and permitted to him whatever he wanted of women, for He, may He be 
    glorified, is Most Wise, All-Knowing.

    With regard to the fact that he did not marry the one who 
    offered herself to him in marriage, this does not indicate that he married 
    others on the basis of mere desire and fulfilling physical urges. 

    With regard to the daughter of al-Jawn, he did not refuse to 
    marry her; rather he entered upon her and was alone with her, but she sought 
    refuge with Allah from him, so the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him) left her and said: “You have sought refuge with One Who is 
    Almighty; so go back to your family.” But did the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) marry her only for her beauty and to fulfil his 
    desire, or was it for some other reason? If it was for some other reason, 
    then there is no grounds for quoting this story as evidence to prove that 
    the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) got married only for 
    the purpose of fulfilling his desire. If it was for the purpose of 
    fulfilling his desire, then by the wisdom of Allah, may He be exalted, he 
    was prevented from doing so with this woman, because she sought refuge with 
    Allah from him. 

    With regard to Sawdah (may Allah be pleased with her), she 
    was afraid that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would 
    divorce her because she had grown old, so she gave her day to ‘Aa’ishah, but 
    the fact that she was afraid of that does not necessarily mean that he had 
    thought of doing that. With regard to the report which says that he did 
    actually divorce her, it is da‘eef (weak) because it is mursal. 

    With regard to the marriage of the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) to Zaynab, it was not because of her beauty; 
    rather it was in order to dispel a belief that was prevalent among the 
    Arabs, which was that it was not allowed for a man to marry the ex-wife of 
    one whom he had adopted as a son. So Allah abolished adoption and abolished 
    the rulings that were connected to it among the Arabs. Because that belief 
    was so prevalent and deeply rooted in the minds and hearts of the Arabs, the 
    effect of words in uprooting it was too slow, and the effect of actions 
    would be faster. So in His great wisdom, Allah, may He be glorified, decree 
    that this should happen with the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him) in his marriage to the ex-wife of his freed slave Zayd ibn 
    Haarithah, whom he had previously adopted, so as to put the Muslims’ minds 
    at rest with regard to this divine ruling, and so that there would be no 
    reservations in their hearts concerning that. Allah, may He be exalted, 
    referred to this wisdom in the verse in which He said (interpretation of the 
    meaning):

    “So when Zayd 
    had accomplished his desire from her (i.e. divorced her), We gave her to you 
    in marriage, so that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the believers 
    in respect of (the marriage of) the wives of their adopted sons when the 
    latter have no desire to keep them (i.e. they have divorced them). And 
    Allah’s Command must be fulfilled”

    [al-Ahzaab 33:37].

    Think about what Allah says here: “We 
    gave her to you in marriage” 
    – this conveys the idea that her marriage to him was not the result of his 
    asking for that or hoping for it; rather it was a decree from Allah to 
    confirm the shar‘i ruling so that it would be instilled in people’s hearts 
    and minds and there would be no reservations concerning it. Thus it is known 
    that the report is false which suggests that the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) came to Zayd one day for some reason and saw 
    Zaynab, and was smitten by her beauty and said: “Glory be to Allah, the 
    Controller of the hearts”; Zaynab told Zayd about that and he realised what 
    was being hinted at, so he took a dislike to her and divorced her after 
    consulting the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who said 
    to him, “Keep your wife and fear Allah.” This report is false and is 
    contrary to what Allah mentioned of the wisdom behind His giving her to him 
    in marriage. It was rejected by Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) 
    who did not quote it, and he said: We wanted to ignore the reports which 
    were narrated from some of the early generation because they are not sound, 
    so we did not narrate them. The fact that this report is false is indicated 
    by the fact that it is not befitting to the status of the Prophets, let 
    alone the best of them and the one who most feared Allah, may He be 
    glorified and exalted. This story is more akin to the fabricated story about 
    Dawood (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and the tricks he 
    allegedly used in order to marry the wife of one who had only one wife, 
    according to what is mentioned in some of the books of tafseer in the 
    commentary on the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): “And 
    has the news of the litigants reached you?...” 
    [Saad 38:21]. The one 
    who understands the status of the Prophets and how far removed they were 
    from injustice, transgression, plotting and treachery will realise that this 
    story is a lie against the Prophet of Allah Dawood (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him). 

    To sum up:

    Even though it was permissible for the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) to marry merely in order to fulfil his desire 
    and because of attraction to beautiful women, and that would not have 
    detracted from his status, we know of no case in which the Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) married a woman for such a 
    purpose and she settled and remained with him. And Allah knows best. End 
    quote.