- Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum
Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum occurred in AH|17|637|+, 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.
Overview
The person Umar married in
17 AH was the fourth one having the name Umm Khulthum. The identity of the other three was:#
Umm Kulthum bint Asim - Her actual name was Jamila. According to some sources, her kunya was Umm Asim, not Umm Kulthum.
#Umm Kulthum bint Jarwila Khuzima - Her actual name was Maleeka. Umm Kulthum was her kunya.
#Umm Kulthum bint UqbaWhilst the Shia believes that all these was married to Umar [ [http://www.answering-ansar.org///answers/umme_kulthum/en/chap5.php Answering-Ansar.org - Nikah of Lady Umm Kulthum (as)] ] , the sunnis disagree that
Umm Kulthum bint Uqba was married to Umar. [ [http://www.ahlelbayt.com/mistaken-identity AhlelBayt.com - A Different Umm Kulthum?] ]As for the Umm Kulthum that Umar married in
17 AH , Sunni view that it wasUmm Kulthum bint Ali , while some Shi'a argue it wasUmm Kulthum bint Abu Bakr .*
Umm Kulthum bint Abu Bakr was born toAsma bint Umays , thus she was the sister ofMuhammad ibn Abu Bakr . She was born in 12-13 ah (633-634), after the death ofAbu Bakr . Asma, her mother, marriedAli 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-Zahra, thus she was the sister of Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn. According to theShi'a , she was present at theBattle of Karbala and eventually survived it [Sharh al-Akhbar fi Fada'il al-A'immat al-Athar, vol3 p198] . This is, however, denied by theSunni s [Siyar Aalam al-Nubalaa byal-Dhahabi (Fikr edition) vol.4 p.418] .Hadith
Several narrations recorded in both Sunni and
Shi'a sources mentions Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum.hi'a narrations
QuoteHadith|Ali ibn Ibrahim|from his father Ibrahim ibn Hashim, from Ibn Abi Umayr, from Hisham ibn Salim and Hammad, from Zurarah|matn=Abu Abdullah (Imam Jaafar) said regarding the marriage of Umm Kulthoom: "That was a "woman" who was taken from us by force."
Arabic: علي بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، عن ابن أبي عمير، عن هشام بن سالم، وحماد، عن زرارة، عن أبي عبدالله (ع) في تزويج أم كلثوم فقال: إن ذلك فرج غصبناه
Shi'as tend to view this asSahih [
*Ahadith from Ali ibn Ibrahim was rated Sahih byAyatollah Khomeini in his work Al-Hukumatu al-Islamiya p. 133.
*Ali ibn Ibrahim is also considered reliable in Jami' ar-Ruwât, vol.1, p.545
*One of the narrators, Ibn Abi Umayr, was considered very reliable by Abu Jaafar al-Tusi in Al-Fihrist p.169] and have included it inFuru al-Kafi Furu al-Kafi , [http://www.al-shia.com/html/ara/books/al-kafi-5/213.html vol. 5 p. 347] , Dar al-Adwa,Beirut 1992 ]QuoteHadith|Imam Baqir|matn=Umm Kulthum bint Ali ibn Abi Talib died at the same time as her son Zayd ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab [
*al-Dhari`a, by Agha Burzug al-Tahrani vol. 5 pp.184)
*al-Mujdi fi Ansab al-Talibiyyin, by Ali ibn Muhammad al-`Alawi (p. 17)
*Kashf al-Litham, by Al-Fadil al-Hindi (2:312)
*Wasa’il al-Shi`a Al al-Bayt, by Al-Hurr Al-'Amily (15:19, 17:594, 21:263, 26:314)
*al-Munammaq fi Akhbar Quraysh, by Muhammad ibn Habib al-Baghdadi (p. 301)]unni narrations
QuoteHadith|Anas ibn Iyad al-Laythi|from
Ja'far al-Sadiq from his fatherMuhammad al-Baqir |matn=Umar ibn al-Khattab asked Ali ibn Abi Talib for the hand of Umm Kulthoom in marriage. Ali said, "I had kept my daughters for the sons of Jafar." Umar said, "Marry her to me, O Abul Hasan, for by Allah, there is no man on the face of the earth who seeks to achieve through her good companionship that which I seek to achieve." Ali said, "I have done so."Then Umar came to the Muhajirun between the grave (of Rasool-Allah) and the pulpit. They — Ali, Uthman, Zubayr, Talhah and Abd ar-Rahman — used to sit there, and whenever a matter used to arrive from the frontiers, Umar used to come to them there and consult with them. He came to them and said, "Congratulate me". They congratulated him, and asked, "With whom are we congratulating you, O Amir al-Mu’minin?" He replied, "With the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib". [al-Tabaqat al-Kubra vol.8 p.338 by Ibn Sa'ad (ed. Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah, Beirut 1990)]
TheIsnad of this narration is also consideredSahih among the Shia [Jami‘ ar-Ruwat, vol. 1 p. 109, Dar al-Adwa, Beirut 1983]QuoteHadith|matn='Umar bin Al-Khattab distributed some garments amongst the women of Medina. One good garment remained, and one of those present with him said, "O chief of the believers! Give this garment to your wife, the (grand) daughter of Allah's Apostle." They meant Um Kalthum, the daughter of 'Ali. 'Umar said, Um Salit has more right (to have it)." Um Salit was amongst those Ansari women who had given the pledge of allegiance to Allah's Apostle.' 'Umar said, "She (i.e. Um Salit) used to carry the water skins for us on the day of Uhud."
Sunnis tend to view this asSahih and have included it inSahih Bukhari [Sahih Bukhari , Volume 4, Book 52, Number 132]unni view
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 [Tarikh al-Yaqubi vol. 2 pp.260]
*Ibn Shabba [Tarikh al-Madina vol 2 p654]
*al-Bukhari [Tarikh al-Saghir vol. 1 p. 102]
*Ibn Qutayba [Ma'arif p. 107]
*Imam al-Bayhaqi [Sunan al-Kubra vol. 4 p. 33]
*al-Dhahabi [Siyar Aalam al-Nubalaa 5:22-24]
*al-Nawawi [Tahdhib al-Asmaa wa al-Lughat 2:267 #1219]
*al-Suyuti [al-Hawi lil Fatawa 2:179]
*Ibn Kathir [Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah vol. 8 p. 14]
*Ibn Asakir [Tarikh al Dimashq 42:555]
*Hakim al-Nishaburi [Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain , by al-Hakim al-Nishaburi, 3/142]
*Ibn Abd al-Barr [al-Istiab fi ma'rifat al-Ashab vol 4 p 509]Denying the marriage
A minority of Sunni scholars rejects that it was
Umm Kulthum bint Ali that marriedUmar .These include
*The Pakistani scholarMufti Ghulam Rasool Jamaati , who has written a book namedHasab aur Nasab rejecting that it wasUmm Kulthum bint Ali that married Umar.
*The Pakistani scholarMalik Daulath Abadi , who wrote in his book Hidayaath al Saud:hi'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 [http://www.al-shia.com/ 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" : cquote|bgcolor=#F0FFF0|"Translated from arabic": [Regarding] Umm Khulthum, who is the daughter of Ameer al-Mu’mineen Ali, Umar proposed to Ali for her hand in marriage during his [Umar’s] caliphate, and at first Ali refused him. So then Umar said what he said, and did what he did [http://www.al-shia.com/html/ara/books/al-kafi-5/213.html]
The originalArabic text is:ام كلثوم هذه هى بنت امير المؤمنين عليه السلام قد خطبها اليه عمر في زمن خلافته فرده اولا فقال عمر ماقال وفعل مافعلThe shi'a scholar Abul Qasim al-Kufi (died 352 AH) also believed that it was Umm Kulthoum binte Ali who married Umar, but stated that "when Umar asked for the hand of Umm Kulthoom, Ali thought to himself: “"If I say no, that thing would come to pass which Rasool-Allah tried to prevent, and for which reason he asked me to exercise patience, which is that people will fall into apostacy".” Thus, it was better to hand over Umm Kulthoom to him [al-Istighathah fi Bida' ath-Thalathah”, p.90]
PresentScholar|Shaykh Tabarsi|12th|Shi'a also believed that
Umm Kulthoum binte Ali marriedUmar . 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-Dhari'ah 5:184]
*Al-Hurr Al-'Amily [Wasa'il al-Shi'a aal al-Bayt 15:19, 17:594, 21:263, 26:314]
*Al-Muhaqqiq al-Ardabili [Majmaa al-Fa’ida vol.11 p.530]
*Sheikh Abu Jaafar al-Tusi [al-Mabsut vol.4 p.272]
*Fadil al-Hindi [Kashf al-Litham vol 2 pp.312]
*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.Denying the marriage
The view that
Umm Kulthum bint Ali marriedUmar is not held by the majority of the Shi'a. The common Shi'a view is as follows:
*Asma bint Umays from theBanu Hashim was married toJa'far ibn Abu Talib , also from Banu Hashim.
*After martyrdom of Jafar in8 AH , she was married to Abu Bakr, from theBanu Taim .Then the
Succession to Muhammad in10 AH happened, viewed by Shi'as as a joint military coup byUmar and Abu Bakr.*After the death of Abu Bakr in
13 AH , she got married to Ali, fromBanu Hashim .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 askedUmar (caliph at that time) to callUmm Kulthum bint Abu Bakr . Ali was not ready to send this girl but Abbas said "We must not fight on such minor issues". SoUmm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr was sent to Umar.Also, Shi'a point out that
Fatima Zahra , the mother ofUmm 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.
The Shi'a that denies that Umar maried Ali's daughter also bring a Sharia basedMahram argumentation:cquote|Islamically its haram to marry your Mahram. In the Quran you cannot marry your step mother's mother.. (who is mother in law to your father) she is your Mahram to you. even if there is no blood relations. your step mother's mother does not have to observe hijab from you.. because she is mahram.) and your step mother's mother is also haram to you to marry.. because she is mahram. also step mother's mother's mother is also haram to you to marry. because she is also mehram.
Same with Ali's daughter's umm kulthum. Umm kulthum's grandfather is Muhammad. He married
Hafsa bint Umar . that makes Hafsa umm kulthum's step grand mother, that makes umar; umm kulthum's step great grand father. This mariage relation is invalid in Islam. A step father cannot marry his step daughter, nor his step father's father, nor father's father can marry his great step grand daughter. in this case even thou there is no blood relation.Several other Shi'a scholars denies this marriage. Amongst those is:
*Sheikh Mufid [´Adah rasa'il 227-229]
*Muhammad Nishapuri [Tareekh al Qum Shaykh Saduq, by Muhammad Nishapur page 193, published in Tehran]ee also
*
Disputed issues in the early Islamic history References
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.
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