Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a towering figure in contemporary Islamic scholarship and former head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, led a prolific life dedicated to religious discourse and advocacy. While his public persona was largely defined by his scholarly work and fatwas, his personal life included several marriages that shaped his family and were, at times, subjects of public discussion. His romantic history, unlike that of a typical celebrity, revolved around the institution of marriage and family, reflecting the norms of his cultural and religious background.
Al-Qaradawi's first and most enduring marriage was to Esad Abdel-Gawad (also known as Um Muhammad), an Egyptian woman whom he married in December 1958. This union was foundational to his family life, and they had seven children together: three sons, Muhammad, Abdel-Rahman, and Osama, and four daughters, Ilham, Seham, Ola, and Asmaa. Esad Abdel-Gawad remained his wife for many years, and she was the mother of all his children, establishing the core of his family.
Years later, al-Qaradawi entered into a second marriage with Asmaa Benkada, an Algerian academic and television producer. This relationship became publicly known through his memoirs published in 2008, where he detailed their connection. Benkada was significantly younger than him and reportedly met him in the mid-1980s while she was a university student in Algeria. Their marriage attracted some attention due to the age difference and Benkada's public profile as a media professional.
The marriage to Asmaa Benkada, however, was not without its challenges and eventually concluded. While the exact timeline of their separation is not always clear in public records, reports indicate that their relationship, though documented in his memoirs, ultimately ended. Al-Qaradawi did not have children with Asmaa Benkada, with his offspring exclusively coming from his first marriage.
His third known marriage was to Aisha Lemfennen, a Moroccan woman. This marriage was reported in 2012, with sources indicating that Lemfennen was 37 years his junior and had worked in the public sector in Morocco. The news of this marriage, occurring when al-Qaradawi was in his mid-80s, garnered media attention, particularly in Arab and North African outlets.
Aisha Lemfennen, like Asmaa Benkada, did not have children with al-Qaradawi. His family structure remained centered around the children he had with his first wife, Esad Abdel-Gawad. The later marriages, while part of his personal life, did not expand his direct lineage but rather reflected different phases and personal choices in his long life.
Throughout his life, al-Qaradawi's relationships were largely private affairs, with public information primarily emerging through his own writings or media reports on significant life events like marriages. His focus remained on his religious duties and scholarly contributions. The details of his romantic history, therefore, are understood within the context of a prominent religious scholar, where marriage is a sacred institution and family life is often kept from extensive public scrutiny, unless specific events draw attention. His marriages, particularly the later ones, were noted for their public announcement rather than ongoing public engagement or celebrity-style romantic narratives.