Fakhitah bint Abi Talib

This is a Sahaba of Muhammad.

Fakhitah bint Abi Talib (also known as Hind) was a cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Early Life

She was the eldest daughter of Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib and Fatima bint Asad,^[1][2] hence a sister of Ali.

Before 595 the young Muhammad asked Abu Talib's permission to marry Fakhitah, but Abu Talib accepted an alternative proposal from Hubayra ibn Abi Wahb, a member of the wealthy Makhzum clan. Muhammad asked: "Uncle, why have you married her off to Hubayra and ignored me?" Abu Talib replied: "Nephew, they are our in-laws, and the noble is an equal for the noble."^[3] This cryptic reply might have meant that Abu Talib owed a favour to the Makhzum clan; but the more likely meaning was that Muhammad had no money.^[4]

Marriage

Hubayra is described as "wise and influential",^[5] and he was a poet.^[6] He and Fakhitah had at least four sons: Hani (from whom she took her kunya Umm Hani), Yusuf, Umar and Jaada.^[7] Bukhari also mentions a son named Fulan;^[8] it is not clear whether this was a fifth son or an alternative name for one of the first four; and it is not clear whether they also had daughters.

Muhammad was a guest in Fakhitah's house one night in 621. The next morning he told her that he had miraculously travelled to Jerusalem and then to Heaven during the night. She urged him not to tell anyone, as the Quraysh would only laugh at him, and tried to restrain him physically. Muhammad ignored this advice.^[9]

Conversion to Islam

Fakhitah became a Muslim when Muhammad conquered Mecca in January 630.^[10][11] Hubayra did not want to convert, so he fled from Mecca and took refuge in the Christian city of Najran.^[12][13] This caused an automatic divorce.^[14] Muhammad proposed to Fakhita again, but she refused him, saying that she would not be able to do justice to both young children and a new husband. Muhammad responded: "The Quraysh are the best women on camel-back! They are so kind to their children and so careful of their husbands' property!"^[15][16][17]

Later Fakhitah told Muhammad that her children had grown up and she was now ready to marry him. He told her that she was too late, since a new revelation had forbidden him to marry any first cousin who had not emigrated to Medina before the Conquest.^[18][19][20]

Death

Her date of death is unknown; however, she outlived her brother Ali,^[21] who was killed in 661.^[22]

References

1. Muhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina, pp. 35, 109. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
2. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rasul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Landau Tasseron, E. (1998). Volume 39: Biographies of the Prophet’s Companions and Their Successors, p. 196. Albany: State University of New York University Press.
3. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 109.
4. Lings, M. (1983). Muhammad: his life based on the earliest sources, p. 33. Islamic Texts Society.
5. Muhammad ibn Ishaq. Sirat Rasul Allah. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). The Life of Muhammad, p. 356. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
6. Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume pp. 404, 557.
7. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 110.
8. Bukhari 1:8:353. Bukhari 4:53:396.
9. Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume p. 184.
10. Muhammad ibn Umar al-Waqidi. Kitab al-Maghazi. Translated by Faizer, R. (2011). The Life of Muhammad, p. 417. London & New York: Routledge.
11. Tabari/Landau-Tasseron vol. 39 p. 197.
12. Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume p. 557.
13. Waqidi/Faizer pp. 417-418.
14. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 109.
15. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 pp. 109-110.
16. Muslim 31:6139, 6140, 6141.
17. Tabari/Landau-Tasseron vol. 39 p. 197.
18. Qur'an 33:50.
19. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 110.
20. Tabari/Landau-Tasseron vol. 39 p. 197.
21. Tirmidhi 3:23:1841.
22. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Hawting, G. R. (1996). Volume 17: The First Civil War: From the Battle of Siffeen to the Death of ‘Ali, pp. 213-216, 226-227. Albany: State University of New York Press.