Umm Kulthum bint Ali

Umm Kulthum bint Ali "the Elder" (Arabic: أم كلثوم بنت علي) (630 - before 680) was a companion and granddaughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the daughter of Caliph Ali.

Family

She was born in Medina on 8 July 630 (Gregorian) (Wednesday 18 Rabi'ul-Awwal 9 AH), the fourth child of Ali and of Muhammad’s daughter Fatimah. Her siblings were Hasan, Husayn and Zaynab.[1]

First Marriage

Ali wanted his daughters to marry his brother Ja'far's sons, but Umm Kulthum's hand in marriage was requested by the Caliph Umar, who promised, "No man on the face of the earth will treat her better than I will." Ali protested that she had not yet reached puberty, but Umar commanded that she be presented to him. Ali gave his daughter a striped garment and instructed her: "Take this to the Commander of the Faithful and tell him: 'My father says, "If you like this garment, keep it; if you don’t like it, return it."'" When Umm Kulthum brought this message to Umar, she reported, "He did not undo the garment nor look at anything except at me." He told her that he was pleased, and so Ali consented to the marriage.[2]

Umar gave his bride a dower of 40,000 dirhams,[3] and the marriage was consummated in November or December 638 (Dhu'l-Qaada 17 AH).[4] They had two children, Zayd and Ruqayya.[5][6]

One story from their married life tells how Umm Kulthum sent a gift of perfume to the Empress of Byzantium. The Empress sent back a "superb" necklace for Umm Kulthum. Umar believed that his wife should not have conducted a private correspondence at the expense of the state postal service, so he reimbursed her for the cost of the perfume and placed the Empress’s necklace in the state treasury.[7] Nevertheless, it was said that Umar treated Umm Kulthum "with extreme honour and respect" because she was Muhammad's granddaughter.[8]

Subsequent Marriages

After Umar’s death in 644, Umm Kulthum married her cousin, Ja'far's son Awn.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] After Awn’s death, she married his brother Muhammad.[21] After the deaths of her husband Muhammad and her sister Zaynab, Umm Kulthum married Muhammad's brother Abdullah.[22][23][24] She remarked: "I was not shy with [my mother-in-law] Asma bint Umays. Two of her sons died while married to me, but I did not fear this for the third."[25]

Umm Kulthum had no children by any of her three latter marriages.[26]

Death

Umm Kulthum and her son Zayd died at the same time, in Abdullah’s lifetime. Eighty people attended their funeral, where either Abdullah ibn Umar or Sa'id ibn al-'As conducted the prayers.[27]

Umm Kulthum is buried in Baab Sagheer cemetery in Damascus, Syria. The Mausoleum of Umm-Kulthum is located in Arrawiya village in Damascus.

Fatimid believes that she is also known as younger Zainab and buried at Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque, Damascus whereas senior Zainab bint Ali had lived his end of life in Cairo[28] and, buried at Zaynab Mosque, Cairo.

References

  1. ↑ Muhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina, p. 18. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
  2. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 pp. 299-300.
  3. ↑ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Smith, G. R. (1994). Volume 14: The Conquest of Iran, p. 101. Albany: State University of New York Press.
  4. ↑ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Juynboll, G. H. A. (1989). Volume 13: The Conquest of Iraq, Southwestern Persia, and Egypt, pp. 109-110. Albany: State University of New York Press.
  5. ↑ Muhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). The Companions of Badr, p. 204. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
  6. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 299.
  7. ↑ Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Humphreys, R. S. (1990). Volume 15: The Crisis of the Early Caliphate, p. 28. Albany: State University of New York Press
  8. ↑ Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Kathir. Al-Sira al-Nabawiya. Translated by Le Gassick, T. (2000). The Life of the Prophet Muhammad vol. 4 p. 438. Reading, UK: Garnet Publishing.
  9. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 299.
  10. ↑ Shustari, Qazi Nurullah. Majalis ul-Mo’mineen. pp. 85–89.
  11. ↑ al-Murtaza, Sharif. Al-Shaafi. p. 116.
  12. ↑ Al-Hadid, Hibatullah. Sharh Nahj ul-Balagha 3. p. 124.
  13. ↑ Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir. Bihar al-Anwar. p. 621.
  14. ↑ Ardabili, Muqaddas. Hadiqat al-Shi’a. p. 277.
  15. ↑ Shustari, Qazi Nurullah. Masa'ib un-Nawasib. p. 170.
  16. ↑ Al-Amili, Zayn al-Din al-Juna'i. "Lawahiq-al-‘Aqd". Masalik al-Ifham fi Sharh Shara-il-Islam 1.
  17. ↑ Qumi, Abbas. Muntahi al-Aamal 1. p. 186.
  18. ↑ Shahidi, Sayyed Ja'far. Life of Fatemeh Zahra(SA). pp. 263–265.
  19. ↑ Baqir, Muhammad. Mir'at ul-Uqool 21. p. 199.
  20. ↑ Al-Tusi, Nasir Al-Din. Al-Mabsoot 4. p. 272.
  21. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 299.
  22. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 299.
  23. ↑ Al-Tusi, Nasir Al-Din. Al-Mabsoot. pp. Volume 4, pg 272.
  24. ↑ Baqir, Muhammad. Mir'at ul-Uqool. pp. Volume 21, pg 199.
  25. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 299.
  26. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 299.
  27. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 pp. 299, 300.
  28. ↑ "Balaghatun Nisa", by Abul Fazl Ahmad bin Abi Tahir

See also

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