The Makkan Period, Part 5: Khadījah, the Later Marriages and the Kaʿbah Rebuilt
Section 6 of 16 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Makkan Period
The Two Marriages Under Attack
The two most controversial marriages of Muhammad (peace be upon him) are his marriage to ʿĀʾishah and his marriage to Zaynab bint Jaḥsh. These are the most targeted marriages of Muhammad (peace be upon him). There is little complaint about his marriage to Umm Salamah or Umm Ḥabībah or Sawdah, but there's a lot of attack directed at his marriage to ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) and Zaynab bint Jaḥsh. ʿĀʾishah was married at the age of six, and the marriage was consummated at the age of nine. And the attack against Zaynab bint Jaḥsh is because he was married to his adopted son, and then Muhammad (peace be upon him) married her later on. So these are the two marriages where a lot of controversy exists.
These two particular cases deserve closer attention. Subḥāna Allāh, it so happens that the two particular marriages that are targeted are the only two marriages of Muhammad (peace be upon him) that were divinely instructed. None of the other marriages of Muhammad (peace be upon him) were instructed by Allah except these two. His marriage to Zaynab was instructed in the Qur'an, in Sūrat al-Aḥzāb.
وَإِذْ تَقُولُ لِلَّذِىٓ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْسِكْ عَلَيْكَ زَوْجَكَ وَٱتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ وَتُخْفِى فِى نَفْسِكَ مَا ٱللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى ٱلنَّاسَ وَٱللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَن تَخْشَىٰهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا قَضَىٰ زَيْدٌ مِّنْهَا وَطَرًا زَوَّجْنَـٰكَهَا لِكَىْ لَا يَكُونَ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَرَجٌ فِىٓ أَزْوَٰجِ أَدْعِيَآئِهِمْ إِذَا قَضَوْا۟ مِنْهُنَّ وَطَرًا ۚ وَكَانَ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ مَفْعُولًا
“(Remember) when you (O Prophet,) were saying to the one who was favored by Allah and favored by you, “Keep your wife to your self, and fear Allah.” And you were concealing in your heart what Allah was going to reveal, and you were fearing people, while Allah is more entitled to be feared by you. So, when Zaid finished his desire for her, We gave her into your marriage, so that there may not be a problem for the believers in marrying wives of their adopted sons, when they finish their desire for them; and Allah’s decree had to be enforced.” (33:37)
And Allah's command was: when Zayd left her, Allah commanded Muhammad (peace be upon him) to marry her. So it's in the Qur'an. And the marriage of Muhammad (peace be upon him) to ʿĀʾishah was divinely inspired through the dream which Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw, and this dream is mentioned in Bukhārī. Muhammad (peace be upon him) says, "Jibrīl came to me, and I saw you, ʿĀʾishah, covered behind a silk curtain," or "you were wearing a silk dress. And when I would uncover you"—this is in the dream, before Muhammad (peace be upon him) married her—"when I uncovered you, I saw you, and Jibrīl told me, 'This is your wife.'" So Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw a woman, and when he took a look at her, it was ʿĀʾishah. And then Jibrīl told him, "This is your wife in dunyā and in ākhirah." And Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw this dream twice. And the dreams of the anbiyāʾ are revelation; Muhammad (peace be upon him) says that the dreams of the anbiyāʾ are revelation. So the marriage of Muhammad (peace be upon him) to ʿĀʾishah is instructed by Allah, and the marriage of Muhammad (peace be upon him) to Zaynab was instructed by Allah.