Praise be to Allah.
The Highest Number Mentioned in Authentic Hadiths
The highest number of wives of Sulayman (peace be upon him) that is mentioned in the authentic Hadiths is one hundred, as was narrated by Al-Bukhari (5242) from Abu Hurayrah who said: “Sulayman ibn Dawud (peace be upon them both) said: ‘Tonight I will go around to one hundred women, each of whom will give birth to a boy who will fight for the sake of Allah.’ The angel said to him, ‘Say in sha Allah (if Allah wills).’ But he did not say it, as he forgot. He went around to them but none of them gave birth, apart from one woman who gave birth to half a child. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘If he had said in sha Allah, he would not have broken his oath and he would have had more hope of fulfilling his wish.’”
Another Narration Suggests a Lower Number
According to another narrated by Muslim (1654), he said: ninety women. According to a Mu`allaq report narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih, in the Chapter on seeking a son for Jihad (Man talaba Al-walad lil-Jihad), he said ninety-nine women.
Historical Narrations Mention a Much Higher Number
Perhaps the one who said one hundred was rounding up the figure, and the one who said ninety was rounding it down, as was suggested by Al-Hafidh ibn Hajar in his commentary on this Hadith.
But Al-Hafidh ibn Hajar narrated in his story of Sulayman (peace be upon him) in Al-Bidayah wanl-Nihayah, vol. 2, from many of the Salaf, that the number of Sulayman’s wives was one thousand. Al-Hafidh ibn Hajar said likewise in Fat-h Al-Bari, in his commentary on Hadith no. 3424.
The Role of Israelite Narrations in This Discussion
This number was narrated from the Children of Israel [i.e., the Jews], so we neither believe it nor disbelieve it. There is nothing in the Hadiths quoted above to either prove or disprove that.
Allah’s Unique Blessings on Prophet Sulayman
With regard to the reason for that, Allah gives to those whom He wills among His slaves whatever He wills of worldly power and enjoyment. This is according to His great wisdom and grace. He is not to be questioned about what He does, may He be glorified and praised. He gave to Sulayman exclusively great power which He did not give to anyone after him.
So it is not far-fetched to suggest that He also gave him this great strength which enabled him to marry this number of women.
It should not cross the mind of any Muslim that this matter implies any form of belittlement towards this Prophet, rather it is a reflection of his perfect power, virtue and manhood, and thus he hoped that Allah would bless him, in a single night, with one hundred sons, all of whom would go out as knights, fighting for the sake of Allah. But first and last, we must believe that Allah creates whatever He wills and chooses, and none can overturn His ruling or ward off His decree.
Check these answers for more context: 194742, 230200, 263863, 183573, 89814.
And Allah knows best.
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