What is the status of the divorcées of the Prophet?

Question

Allah () says in (33:6):

The Prophet is more worthy of the believers than themselves, and his wives are [in the position of] their mothers. ...

In relevance to my former question Whom did the Prophet divorce?:

What is or would be the status of an ex-wife or divorcées, wives which the Prophet () divorced, of the Prophet():

Would the ruling of honor and hurmah (being haram to marry by anybody else after him) etc. apply to her too?

Answer 1

There is difference on this and there exist at least three opinions on this matter:

• They are categorically forbidden for marriage. The verses:

  وما كان لكم أن تؤذوا رسول الله ولا أن تنكحوا أزواجه من بعده أبدا إن ذلكم كان عند الله عظيما

  And it is not for you to harm the Messenger of Allah or to marry his wives after him, ever. Indeed, that would be in the sight of Allah an enormity.

  ^{— Quran 33:53}

  وأزواجه أمهاتهم

  his wives are their mothers.

  ^{— Quran 33:6}

  Are interpreted to include every woman with whom the Prophet ﷺ performed the contract of marriage. Regardless of whether that marriage was consummated and regardless of whether divorce occurred later. This is because the prohibition of mothers remains even after divorce, and the prohibition of stepmothers remains even if divorce occurred without consummation of marriage.

• They are categorically permissible for marriage as they were no longer wives of the Prophet ﷺ and because the Prophet ﷺ gave his wives a choice to be divorced and to gain the pleasures of the worldly life:

  يا أيها النبي قل لأزواجك إن كنتن تردن الحياة الدنيا وزينتها فتعالين أمتعكن وأسرحكن سراحا جميلا وإن كنتن تردن الله ورسوله والدار الآخرة فإن الله أعد للمحسنات منكن أجرا عظيما

  O Prophet, say to your wives, "If you should desire the worldly life and its adornment, then come, I will provide for you and give you a gracious release. But if you should desire Allah and His Messenger and the home of the Hereafter - then indeed, Allah has prepared for the doers of good among you a great reward."

  ^{— Quran 33:28-29}

  And marriage and its subsequent financial benefit is part of the worldly life.

• Those with whom the Prophet ﷺ consummated marriage are haram to marry. However those whom he divorced before consummation are halal to marry. The permission of the latter is supported by the tradition that Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl or Ash'ath bin Qais married one of the divorcees during the Rashidun caliphate and the sahaba decided to accept it.

Ref: Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’, al-Bayaan fi Madhhab al-Imam ash-Shaafa‘i

Answer 2

The Holy Qur'an explicitly prescribes special instructions for the wives of the Prophet and has special strictness towards them. Islam wanted the "mother of the believers", who inevitably had a lot of respect among Muslims, not to abuse their respect and not to be "tools of selfish and adventurous elements in political and social issues." In our opinion, this is the secret that the wives of the Prophet were forbidden to marry another person after that; That is, the next husband abused his wife's fame and respect and created adventures. But how can a woman who is divorced from the Prophet be considered the mother of the believers while she is not the wife of the Prophet? She is divorced and can marry any other man. Therefore, a woman who is separated from the Prophet is no longer the mother of the believers, and the rulings and honors imposed on the wives of the Prophet do not apply to her. He wants a woman after divorce like other Muslim women.

https://www.islamquest.net/fa/archive/fa6644

https://makarem.ir/main.aspx?lid=0&typeinfo=44&catid=27347&pageindex=0&mid=400546