Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum
Encyclopedia
Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum bint Ali occurred in , when Umar was 55 years old. The event is notable in that Shi'a and Sunni differ as to the identity of the person named Umm Kulthum.
. The identity of the other three was:
Whilst the Shia believes that all these was married to Umar , the sunnis disagree that Umm Kulthum bint Uqba was married to Umar.
As for the Umm Kulthum that Umar married in 17 AH, Sunni view that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali, while some Shi'a argue it was Umm Kulthum bint Abu Bakr.
"People have assumed that Umar married Umme Kalthum binte Fatima, rather he married Umme Kalthum binte Jarweela Khuzeema"
Tareekh al Qum Shaykh Saduq, by Muhammad Nishapur page 193, published in Tehran
.
These include
Also, the famous Shi'a website Al-Shia.com states following in a commentary to the hadith in Furu al-Kafi stating that she was a "woman" who was taken from us by force :
The shi'a scholar Abul Qasim al-Kufi (died 352 AH) also believed that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali who married Umar, but stated that "when Umar asked for the hand of Umm Kulthum, Ali thought to himself: “If I say no, that thing would come to pass which Rasul-Allah tried to prevent, and for which reason he asked me to exercise patience, which is that people will fall into apostasy.” Thus, it was better to hand over Umm Kulthum to him
also believed that Umm Kulthum bint Ali married Umar
. He wrote following in his book I‘lam al-Wara bi-A‘lam al-Huda:
Among the Shi'a scholars who believed that the marriage took place is also:
While the above scholars believed that the marriage took place, all of them held the opinion that Ali was forced to give away his daughter - not that he happily married her off, as claimed by the Ahl al-Sunnah
.
The view that Umm Kulthum bint Ali married Umar
is not held by the majority of the Shi'a. The common Shi'a view is as follows:
Then the Succession to Muhammad
in 10 AH happened, viewed by Shi'as a joint military coup by Umar
and Abu Bakr.
When she went to the house of Ali, her daughter Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
also went with her.
Umar asked to marry Umm Kulthum bint Ali, but Ali refused, arguing she was to little. Umar got furious, and `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib
helped to settle the issue.
So, in 17 AH, she asked Umar
(caliph at that time) to call Umm Kulthum bint Abu Bakr. Ali was not ready to send this girl but Abbas said "We must not fight on such minor issues". So Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
was sent to Umar.
Also, Shi'a point out that Fatima Zahra, the mother of Umm Kulthum bint Ali, refused to talk to Abu Bakr and Umar, and actually cursed them according to some sources, and willed that she be buried in secret, so that Umar and Abu Bakr would not be able to pray over her grave. Then, Shi'a argue that it is improbable that Ali would give Fatimah's daughter in marriage to the very same person four years later.
said that daughters of his household
could only marry those who were from Banū Hāshim
. Umar was of Banu Adi
.
But this argument does not seem to be correct as Prophet Muhammad
's eldet daughter Zainab bint Muhammad
was married to Abu al-Aas ibn al-Rabee who belonged to Banu Abd Shams
clan of the tribe Quraish. Prophet Muhammad
's 2nd daughter Ruqayyah bint Muhammad
and after her death 3rd daughter Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad
were married to Uthman bin Affan who belonged to Banu Umayya clan of the tribe Quraish. Shia Muslims hold this argument incorrect as they deny existence of any daughter of Mohammad other than Fatima bint Mohammad.
Overview
The person Umar ibn al-Khattab married in 17 AH was the fourth one having the name Umm KhulthumUmm Kulthum (name)
Umm Kulthum or Umme Kulsum is a female given name that means "Mother of Kulthum".People who had this name:*Umm Kulthum , famous Egyptian singer *Umm Kulthum bint Ali, a daughter of Ali...
. The identity of the other three was:
- Umm Kulthum bint AsimUmm Kulthum bint AsimUmm Kulthum Jamila bint Asim ibn Thabit was one of the wives of Umar, the second Sunni Caliph.Sources available to this article have not established if Asim ibn Thabit was her father, or if he just shared her fathers name and patronymic.-Biography:...
- Her actual name was Jamila. According to some sources, her kunyaKunya (Arabic)A kunya is a teknonym, the name of an adult derived from their child, especially their eldest son, in Arabic names.A kunya is expressed by the use of abū or umm in a genitive construction, i.e "father of" or "mother of" as a honorific in place of or alongside given names in the Arab world and the...
was Umm Asim, not Umm Kulthum. - Umm Kulthum bint Jarwila Khuzima - Her actual name was Maleeka. Umm Kulthum was her kunyaKunya (Arabic)A kunya is a teknonym, the name of an adult derived from their child, especially their eldest son, in Arabic names.A kunya is expressed by the use of abū or umm in a genitive construction, i.e "father of" or "mother of" as a honorific in place of or alongside given names in the Arab world and the...
. - Umm Kulthum bint UqbaUmm Kulthum binte UqbaUmm Kulthum bint Uqba was the daughter of Uqba ibn Abu Mu'ayt and sister of Walid ibn Uqba.At the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah , Umm Kulthum bint Uqba, daughter of Muhammad's enemy Uqbah bin Abu Mu'ayt, sought asylum with the Muslims when she learned that a revelation had said that women seeking the...
Whilst the Shia believes that all these was married to Umar , the sunnis disagree that Umm Kulthum bint Uqba was married to Umar.
As for the Umm Kulthum that Umar married in 17 AH, Sunni view that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali, while some Shi'a argue it was Umm Kulthum bint Abu Bakr.
- Umm Kulthum bint Abu Bakr was born to Asma bint UmaysAsma bint UmaysAsma bint Umais from the Banu Hashim tribe was a Sahabiyyah . Her grave can be found in Baab Sagheer cemetery, Damascus, Syria.-Family:...
, thus she was the sister of Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr. She was born in 12-13 ah (633-634), after the death of Abu BakrAbu BakrAbu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
. Asma, her mother, married AliAli' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
and the young Umm Kulthum joined her mother in the house of Ali.
- Umm Kulthum bint Ali was the daughter of Ali and his wife Fatima al-ZahraFatimahFatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
, thus she was the sister of Al-HasanHasan ibn AliAl-Hasan ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib is an important figure in Islam, the son of Fatimah the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. Hasan is a member of the Ahl al-Bayt and Ahl al-Kisa...
and Al-HusaynHusayn ibn AliHussein ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib was the son of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Fātimah Zahrā...
. According to the Shi'a, she was present at the Battle of KarbalaBattle of KarbalaThe Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 of the Islamic calendar in Karbala, in present day Iraq. On one side of the highly uneven battle were a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson Husain ibn Ali, and on the other was a large military detachment...
and eventually survived it . This is, however, denied by the Sunnis .
Hadith
Several narrations recorded in both Sunni and Shi'a sources mentions Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum.Shi'a narrations
Shi'as tend to view this as Sahih and have included it in Furu al-Kafi }}"People have assumed that Umar married Umme Kalthum binte Fatima, rather he married Umme Kalthum binte Jarweela Khuzeema"
Tareekh al Qum Shaykh Saduq, by Muhammad Nishapur page 193, published in Tehran
Sunni narrations
The Shias have argued against this Hadith by saying that the real Arabic text of this narration does not mention "the daughter of Ali" and that is in reality an addition by the translator, Dr. Muhsin Khan. The Sunnis, however, argued that this is a blatant lie and the actual narration does mention her to be "the daughter of Ali." The Shias also argued that this narration is unauthentic because one of its narrators is Thalabah ibn Abi Malik and he is a completely unknown personality. But the Sunnis showed that this is a lie as well.Recognizing the marriage
Most Sunni's believe that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali that married Umar, as stated by several Shi'i and Shia narrations mentioned above. This view is, among many others, held by following prominent Sunni scholars:- al-Ya'qubi
- Ibn Shabba
- al-BukhariMuhammad al-BukhariMuhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhari , popularly known as Bukhari or Imam Bukhari, , was a Sunni Islamic scholar of Persia...
- Ibn Qutayba
- Imam al-Bayhaqi
- al-DhahabiAl-DhahabiMuhammad ibn Ahmad ibn `Uthman ibn Qaymaz ibn `Abd Allah, Shams al-Din Abu `Abd Allah al-Turkmani al-Diyarbakri al-Fariqi al-Dimashqi al-Dhahabi al-Shafi`i , known as Al-Dhahabi , a Shafi'i Muhaddith and historian of Islam.-Biography:...
- al-Nawawi
- al-SuyutiAl-SuyutiJalaluddin Al-Suyuti also known as Ibn al-Kutub was an Egyptian writer, religious scholar, juristic expert and teacher whose works deal with a wide variety of subjects in Islamic theology. He was precocious and was already a teacher in 1462. In 1486, he was appointed to a chair in the mosque of...
- Ibn KathirIbn KathirIsmail ibn Kathir was a Muslim muhaddith, Faqih, historian, and commentator.-Biography:His full name was Abu Al-Fida, 'Imad Ad-Din, Isma'il bin 'Umar bin Kathir, Al-Qurashi, Al-Busrawi...
- Ibn AsakirIbn Asakir-Name:His full name was Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Hibat Allah ibn `Abd Allah, Thiqat al-Din, Abu al-Qasim, known as Ibn `Asakir al-Dimashqi al-Shafi`i al-Ash`ari.-Works:...
- Hakim al-NishaburiHakim al-NishaburiAbu Abd-Allah Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah al-Hakim al-Nishaburi , and also known as Ibn Al-Baiyi.) was a Sunni scholar and the leading traditionist of his age, frequently referred to as the "Imam of the Muhaddithin" or the "Muhaddith of Khorasan."-Biography:Al-Hakim, who hailed from Nishapur, had vast...
- Ibn Abd al-Barr
Denying the marriage
A minority of Sunni scholars rejects that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali that married UmarUmar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
.
These include
- The Pakistani scholar Mufti Ghulam Rasool JamaatiMufti Ghulam Rasool Jamaati-Biography:Shaykh-ul-Hadith Mufti Ghulam Rasool was born in 1923 in the city of Gujrāt, Pakistan. Sadly, he died on 8 October 2010 . He received the major part of his Islamic education from the “Teacher of the Teachers” `Allāmah Sultān Ahmad d...
, who has written a book named Hasab aur Nasab rejecting that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali that married Umar. - The Pakistani scholar Malik Daulath Abadi, who wrote in his book Hidayaat al Saud:
Shi'a view
Like among the Sunni's, there is also a dispute among Shia's at this point. While the majority of Sunni's acknowledge Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum bint Ali, this view is disputed among Shia scholars today.Recognizing the marriage
The shi'i authors Muhammad Al-Hassun and Umm 'Ali Mashkur stated in their book A'lam al-Nisaa al-Mu'minat:Also, the famous Shi'a website Al-Shia.com states following in a commentary to the hadith in Furu al-Kafi stating that she was a "woman" who was taken from us by force :
The shi'a scholar Abul Qasim al-Kufi (died 352 AH) also believed that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali who married Umar, but stated that "when Umar asked for the hand of Umm Kulthum, Ali thought to himself: “If I say no, that thing would come to pass which Rasul-Allah tried to prevent, and for which reason he asked me to exercise patience, which is that people will fall into apostasy.” Thus, it was better to hand over Umm Kulthum to him
also believed that Umm Kulthum bint Ali married Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
. He wrote following in his book I‘lam al-Wara bi-A‘lam al-Huda:
Among the Shi'a scholars who believed that the marriage took place is also:
- Agha al-Tahrani
- Al-Hurr Al-'Amily
- Al-Muhaqqiq al-Ardabili
- Sheikh Abu Jaafar al-TusiTusiAl-Tusi or Tusi is the title of several Iranian scholars who were born in the town of Tous in Khorasan. Some of the scholars with the al-Tusi title include:*Ferdowsi Tusi , Persian poet...
- Fadil al-Hindi
- Mohamad Soleiman-Peneh http://www.al-islam.org/Organizations/Aalimnetwork/msg00166.html
While the above scholars believed that the marriage took place, all of them held the opinion that Ali was forced to give away his daughter - not that he happily married her off, as claimed by the Ahl al-Sunnah
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
.
Denying the marriage
Several Shi'a scholars deny this marriage, including:- Sheikh MufidAl-MufidAbu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid and Ibn al-Mu'allim for his expertise in philosophical theology was an eminent Twelver Shi'a theologian.- Biography :...
- Muhammad Nishapuri
The view that Umm Kulthum bint Ali married Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
is not held by the majority of the Shi'a. The common Shi'a view is as follows:
- Asma bint UmaysAsma bint UmaysAsma bint Umais from the Banu Hashim tribe was a Sahabiyyah . Her grave can be found in Baab Sagheer cemetery, Damascus, Syria.-Family:...
from the Banu HashimBanu HashimBanū Hāshim was a clan in the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to by the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, or Huseini or Hasani...
was married to Ja'far ibn Abu Talib, also from Banu Hashim. - After martyrdom of Jafar in 8 AH, she was married to Abu Bakr, from the Banu TaimBanu TaimBanu Tamim or Banu Taim is a sub-clan to the Quraish tribe.They come from Taym ibn Murrah.-Shi'a view: writes:...
.
Then the Succession to Muhammad
Succession to Muhammad
The Succession to Muhammad concerns the various aspects of successorship of Muhammad after his death, comprising who might be considered as his successor to lead the Muslims, how that person should be elected, the conditions of legitimacy, and the role of successor...
in 10 AH happened, viewed by Shi'as a joint military coup by Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
and Abu Bakr.
- After the death of Abu Bakr in 13 AH, she got married to Ali, from Banu HashimBanu HashimBanū Hāshim was a clan in the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to by the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, or Huseini or Hasani...
.
When she went to the house of Ali, her daughter Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr , born 13 H.E. , was a successor and a narrator of Hadith from her sister 'Aisha of which some were collected by al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan al-Nisa'i, Sunan Ibn Majah, respectively.A daughter of Abu Bakr and Habiba...
also went with her.
Umar asked to marry Umm Kulthum bint Ali, but Ali refused, arguing she was to little. Umar got furious, and `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib
`Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib
‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib was a paternal uncle and Sahabi of Muhammad, just a few years older than his nephew. A wealthy merchant, during the early years of Islam he protected Muhammad while he was in Mecca, but only became a convert after the Battle of Badr in 624 CE...
helped to settle the issue.
So, in 17 AH, she asked Umar
Umar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
(caliph at that time) to call Umm Kulthum bint Abu Bakr. Ali was not ready to send this girl but Abbas said "We must not fight on such minor issues". So Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr
Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr , born 13 H.E. , was a successor and a narrator of Hadith from her sister 'Aisha of which some were collected by al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan al-Nisa'i, Sunan Ibn Majah, respectively.A daughter of Abu Bakr and Habiba...
was sent to Umar.
Also, Shi'a point out that Fatima Zahra, the mother of Umm Kulthum bint Ali, refused to talk to Abu Bakr and Umar, and actually cursed them according to some sources, and willed that she be buried in secret, so that Umar and Abu Bakr would not be able to pray over her grave. Then, Shi'a argue that it is improbable that Ali would give Fatimah's daughter in marriage to the very same person four years later.
Marriage rules
Based on narrations found even in Sunnī sources, MuhammadMuhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
said that daughters of his household
Ahl al-Kisa
Ahl al-Kisā refers to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatimah, his cousin and son-in-law Ali, and his two grandsons Hasan and Husayn. They are also referred to as Āl al-‘Abā or Panj-tan-e Āl-e Abā or simply Panj tan...
could only marry those who were from Banū Hāshim
Banu Hashim
Banū Hāshim was a clan in the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to by the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, or Huseini or Hasani...
. Umar was of Banu Adi
Banu Adi
Banu Adi is a clan of the Quraish tribe.Banu Adi were with the Meccans as part of the escort that preceded the Battle of Badr, they did not join Quraish further.-list:Among the clan members can be found:*Khattab ibn Nufayl. Father of Caliph Omar...
.
But this argument does not seem to be correct as Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's eldet daughter Zainab bint Muhammad
Zainab bint Muhammad
Zainab bint Muhammad was the eldest daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his first wife Khadijah. She was born in the fifth year of his marriage to Khadijah, when he was thirty. She died in 8 AH.-Marriage & children:...
was married to Abu al-Aas ibn al-Rabee who belonged to Banu Abd Shams
Banu Abd Shams
Banu Abd Shams refers to a clan within the Meccan tribe of Quraish. The clan names itself from Abd Shams ibn Abd Manaf, the son of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai and brother of Hashim, the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.-Connection with the Umayyads:...
clan of the tribe Quraish. Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's 2nd daughter Ruqayyah bint Muhammad
Ruqayyah bint Muhammad
Ruqayyah bint Muhammad was the second daughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and his first wife Khadija. She was amongst the earliest converts to Islam. She had married Utbah ibn Abu Lahab, but he divorced her after her conversion to Islam, after which she married Uthman bin Affan...
and after her death 3rd daughter Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad
Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad
Umm Kulthum was the third daughter of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid.- Marriage and children :She was first married to Utaybah bin Abu Lahab...
were married to Uthman bin Affan who belonged to Banu Umayya clan of the tribe Quraish. Shia Muslims hold this argument incorrect as they deny existence of any daughter of Mohammad other than Fatima bint Mohammad.
External links
- http://www.ansar.org/english/marriage.htm - Sunni arguments by Ansar.org
- http://www.answering-ansar.org/answers/umme_kulthum/en/chap5.php Shia counter-argument by Answering-Ansar.org
- http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/sahabah/rebuttal Sunni Response to Answering-Ansar.org's article by AhlelBayt.com
- http://www.al-islam.org/Organizations/Aalimnetwork/msg00166.html Shi'a scholar on al-Islam.org who views that it was Ali's daughter.