Apostate prophet scrutinizes Muhammad; the prophet had more wives?

In answer to the video "Islamic Polygamy"

Sure he had more, because he had more responsibilities, as well as responsibilities to share.

The marital history of the Prophet reveals that all of the women he married were either divorced or widowed with the exception of Aisha. Although the prophet willfully chose this despite having had the full power and Quranic right to have much more women that were much younger, yet he did not necessarily push his followers to shoulder the same responsibilities and self-restraint.

For example when the prophet learned that his young companion Jabir, who had lost his father in battle, married a woman older than him, in addition previously married, he told him he could and should have chosen among the virgins, who would playfully interact with someone like minded and of similar age. Virgins tend to be young, especially in ancient societies where girls married early. Girls still lose their virginity young today, but for the wrong reasons as compared to older times. Also, for a young girl to be infertile is very uncommon, under normal circumstances. Jabir's purpose was to have someone care for his younger siblings, and thus thought that marrying an experienced woman would help him from that perspective. The prophet was a fatherly figure to the community and was here giving a common sense advise to a young man who should be looking for a more cheerful, playful female companion.

In having more than one wife, Muhammad was no different than previous prophets such as Ibrahim, Musa, Yaqub, Dawud, Solomon etc.

In a time where the average life expenctancy was 60, the multiple marriages of the Prophet started when he was 54-56, and 7 years before his death, after 2 years of celibacy, and in the middle of the fierce struggle to establish Islam. The calumny that he suddenly had the libido that only 11 women could satisfy is grotesque and not grounded in reality. In addition these marriages came at a time where he had to balance his extraordinary responsibilities as a spiritual leader and statesman, with his personal life, and the Quran relates how he had so little room for privacy as the believers would enter his home at all times to seek counseling. Sura Ahzab as shown above, extends the prophet's spiritual responsibilities to his wives who had to dedicate themselves to studying the Quran and help propagate it in words, thoughts and deeds. His extraordinary schedule and responsibilities, his regular lengthy night prayers, his amazing achievements in such a short time, all that precludes any notion of obsession with worldly pleasures as the critics and those who hate him try to portray.

By contracting most of these marriages, the prophet meant to eliminate the cast or class system, racial and national superiority, and religious prejudices that were all baseless and unjust factors preventing marriages. He married some of the humblest and poorest women and widows, most of them having attained and advanced age, as a way of paying back his due to some of the companions who had perished in battles leaving behind widows with children. He created bonds with conflicting tribes, helping them to settle their disputes, just as prophet Solomon did through his multiple marriages as depicted in the Bible. The Arabs had extreme respect for their son-in-laws and fighting them was considered a great shame therefore many tribes were at peace with others merely due to inter-tribal mariages.

So through these marriages, the prophet strengthened the bonds between muslims, made peace with his ennemies, released some women from slavery. From the pattern of the prophet's marriages, none can deny that social and reforming purposes were the priority, and physical attraction, although perfectly legitimate, was not the primary criteria. The restrictions regarding polygamy that were placed on Muslims in general had to be lifted for these goals to be achieved. The verse 33:50 says that this exception was to allow the tasks which he, the prophet and statesman shall encounter

"for you exclusively, not for the (rest of) believers; We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess in order that there should be no difficulty for you; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful".

Had the prophet been guided by his lusts, or primarily by physical attraction, when seeking marriage he could have had any captive he wanted from the different wars or any Muslim woman from among the most beautiful ones. He would at least have shown a pattern in his behavior, especially in his younger years where he had every opportunity to show which qualities were the ones he primarily sought in women.Given the ruling as regards right hand possessions, the prophet did not need to loosen up the restriction on the number of wives, thereby "exposing" himself as using revelation for personal "convenience".

Wars and persecution burdened the Muslims with many widows, orphans and divorcees. They had to be protected and maintained by the surviving Muslim men. It was his practice to help these women become resettled by marriage to his followers. They rejected some women and so some of those women sought his personal protection. Realizing fully their conditions and sacrifices for the cause of Islam, he had to do something to relieve them.

One course of relief was to take them as his own wives and accept the challenge of heavy liabilities. He had to take part in the rehabilitation of those widows, orphans and divorcees because he could not ask his companions to do things that he himself was not prepared to do or participate in. These women were trusts of the Muslims and they had to be looked after jointly. What he did, then, was his share of responsibility, and as always his share was the largest and heaviest. That is why he had more than one wife and more than any of his Companions, with all the restrictions and responsabilities on himself and his wives.

There were also many prisoners of war captured by the Muslims who were entitled to security and protection. They were not killed or denied their rights: human or physical. On the contrary, they were helped to settle down through legal marriages to Muslims instead of being taken as concubines and common mistresses. That also was another moral burden on the Muslims, which had to be shouldered jointly as a common responsibility.