Muhammad's wives
Muhammad was monogamous for 25 years. After his first wife Khadija bint Khuwaylid died, he proceeded to marry the wives listed below, and most of them were widows. Muhammad's life is traditionally delineated as two epochs: pre-hijra (emigration) in Mecca, a city in western Arabia, from the year 570 to 622, and post-hijra in Medina, from 622 until his death in 632. All but two of his marriages were contracted after the Hijra (migration to Medina). Of Muhammad's thirteen wives, at least two, Rayhana bint Zayd and Maria al-Qibtiyya, were referred to simply as concubines; however, there is debate among Muslims as to whether these two officially became his wives. Of his thirteen wives, only two bore him children, a fact which has been described as "curious" by Cornell University Professor of Near Eastern Studies David S. Powers.
Criticism of Muhammad
Muslims have often pointed out that Muhammad married Khadija (a widow whose age is estimated to have been 40), when he was 25 years old, and remained monogamous to her for more than 24 years until she died. Norman Geisler frames Muhammad's marriages as a question of moral inconsistency, since Muhammad was unwilling to abide by the revealed limit of four wives that he enjoined on other men. The Quran states that the limit of four wives does not apply to Muhammad. Muslims have generally responded that the marriages of Muhammad were not conducted to satisfy worldly desires or lusts, but rather they were done for a higher purpose and due to God's command. Medieval Sufi, Ibn Arabi, sees Muhammad's relationships with his wives as a proof of his superiority amongst men. John Esposito states that polygamy served multiple purposes, including solidifying political alliances among Arab chiefs and marrying widows of companions who died in combat that needed protection.