{ The Prophet is nearer to the believers than their own selves; and his wives are their mothers } Al-ahzab 6

They disagreed regarding whether or not they were the mothers of the believing women. It is said: They were the mothers of both the believing men and the believing women. But it is also said: They were the mothers of the believing men, not the women. Al-Sha’bi narrates from Masruq that a certain women said to ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): Oh mother! But she said: I am not a mother to you; rather I am the mother of your men. And so by this the meaning of the motherhood is clear, this being the prohibition against marital relations with them.