[44] The Prophet’s marital life is classified into four stages: He was single until the age of 25. He was married only to Khadijah from the age of 25 to 50. He had no wife after Khadijah’s death from the age of 50 to 52. Finally, he had a total of ten wives from the age of 53 until his death at the age of 63. Most of these marriages were to widows, and in some cases to foster ties with some of his companions and neighboring tribes. ‘Ā’ishah was the only virgin among all his wives.