Although there is a limitation in the Quran about marrying stating that a man can marry at most four women, why did the Prophet (pbuh) marry more women?

Although there is a limitation in the Quran about marrying stating that a man can marry at most four women, why did the Prophet (pbuh) marry more women?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The Prophet (pbuh) had more than four wives. All of his marriages took place before being married to more than four women at the same time was prohibited. The verse in the chapter of an-Nur prohibiting marriage to more than four women was sent down three years before the death of the Prophet. The Prophet did not marry anybody else after this verse was sent down. 

As for the Prophet being married to more than four women at the same time:

1. As it is known, it was haram for the wives of the Prophet to marry someone else even if they got divorced from the Prophet according to a verse of the Quran. Therefore, if the Prophet had divorced his wives after the verse limiting marriage to at most four women was sent down, they would not have been able to marry anybody else and they would have been wronged.

2. There are some properties that are peculiar to our Prophet (pbuh). Some of these properties are haram for his ummah. Being married to more than four women are among the properties that are peculiar to our Prophet (pbuh). Therefore, nobody can imitate the Prophet (pbuh) regarding this issue.    

The Prophet (pbuh) was married to more than four women at the same time. It is not permissible for a man to be married to more than four women at the same time. However, the Prophet (pbuh) is an exception. As a matter of fact, there are some issues that are haram for the Prophet (pbuh) but halal for his ummah. For instance, zakah (alms) cannot be given to the Prophet (pbuh) and his family. Besides, the Prophet (pbuh) did not leave any inheritance. Tahajjud prayer is fard for the Prophet (pbuh) but it is sunnah for his ummah.     

"The Prophet is closer to the Believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers." (al-Ahzab, 33/6)

The wives of the Prophet (pbuh) were declared as the mothers of believers and it was forbidden to marry them. Therefore, when the number of the women a man can be married to was limited as four, the wives of the Companions that they divorced could marry others. However, there was no permission for the wives of the Prophet (pbuh). They were not allowed to marry anybody else. In that case, Hz. Prophet (pbuh) was allowed to remain married to his wives.

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