The wisdom behind the Prophet’s marrying more than four wives
Question

                Why did the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) marry a number of women?
Praise be to Allah.
      Allah’s wisdom is great, and part of His wisdom is that He 
      has permitted men, in previous divine laws and in the sharee‘ah of our 
      Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), to marry more 
      than one wife. Plural marriage was not something done only by our Prophet 
      Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Ya‘qoob (peace be 
      upon him) had two wives. Sulaymaan ibn Dawood (peace be upon him) had one 
      hundred less one wives; he went around to all of them in a single night, 
      hoping that Allah would bless each one of them with a boy who would fight 
      for the sake of Allah. 

    This is not something that is limited to Islam and it is not 
    contrary to reason or the natural inclinations of man; rather it is what 
    wisdom dictates. Women are more numerous than men, according to what is 
    indicated by ongoing statistics, and a man may have the strength that 
    prompts him to marry more than one woman so as to fulfil his desires in 
    permissible ways, instead of fulfilling them in haraam ways or suppressing 
    them. A woman may fall ill or there may be reasons that prevent her from 
    engaging in intercourse, such as menses and nifaas (post-partum bleeding); 
    this prevents a man from fulfilling his desire with her, so he needs to have 
    another wife with whom he can fulfil his desires instead of suppressing them 
    or committing immoral actions. So plural marriage is permissible and is 
    justifiable in terms of reason, natural human inclinations and laws. It is 
    something that was done by the earlier Prophets and in some cases it may be 
    dictated by necessity or need. So it should come as no surprise that this 
    was done by our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). 
    And there are other reasons for his having several wives, which have been 
    discussed by the scholars. These include the following: 

    ·Strengthening the ties between 
    him and some tribes, in the hope that this would make Islam stronger and 
    help to spread it, because ties of marriage increase the bonds of 
    friendship, love and brotherhood.

    ·Taking care of some widows and 
    compensating them with something better than what they had lost, because 
    this would bring peace of mind and consolation at times of calamity. It also 
    set a precedent for the ummah of how to show kindness to those whose 
    husbands were killed in jihad and so on.

    ·Hoping to increase the numbers 
    of offspring, which is in accordance with human inclinations, increasing the 
    numbers of the ummah and supporting it with those who it is hoped will 
    support and spread the religion.

    ·Increasing the number of female 
    teachers who would convey to the ummah what they had learned from the 
    Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and what they 
    knew of his private life.

    The motive for him having more than one wife was not mere 
    desire, because it is proven that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah 
    be upon him) did not marry any virgin or young woman apart from ‘Aa’ishah 
    (may Allah be pleased with her). The rest of his wives were previously 
    married women. If he had been controlled by his desires and that is what had 
    motivated him to have many wives, he would have chosen young virgins in 
    order to fulfil his desires, especially after he migrated and began to 
    engage in jihad, and the Islamic state was established and the Muslims grew 
    stronger and more numerous, in addition to the fact that every family would 
    have welcomed ties through marriage with him. But he did not do that; rather 
    he married for noble and sublime reasons, which are clear to anyone who 
    studies the circumstances of his marriage to each of his wives. 

    Moreover, if he had been a man driven by desires, that would 
    have been known from his life during the days when he was young and strong, 
    at which time he had only one wife, Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, who was older 
    than him. (If he had been a man driven by desires), he would also have been 
    known to show favouritism and be unfair in dividing his time among his 
    wives, who varied in their ages and degree of beauty. But he is known only 
    to have been completely chaste and honourable in his conduct, both in his 
    youth and when he grew older, which is indicative of his complete decency 
    and sublime character, and his upright nature in all his affairs. In fact he 
    was well-known for that even among his enemies. 

    And Allah is the source of strength. May Allah send blessings 
    and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. End 
    quote. 

    Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas 

    Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq 
    ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Qa‘ood, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan