Hafsa_bint_Umar

Hafsa bint Umar

Hafsa bint Umar

Muhammad's fourth wife (c. 605–665)


Hafsa bint Umar (Arabic: حفصة بنت عمر, romanized: Ḥafṣa bint ʿUmar; c. 605–665) was the fourth wife of Muhammad and a daughter of the second caliph Umar (r.634–644). In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" (Arabic: أمّ المؤمنين, romanized: ʾumm al-muʾminīn).

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Early life

Hafsa was the daughter and eldest child of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and Zaynab bint Maz'un. She was born "when Quraysh were building the House Kaʿbah, five years before the Prophet was sent," i.e., in 605.[1]

Marriage

She was married to Khunays ibn Hudhafa but became a widow in August 624.[2]

As soon as Hafsa had completed her waiting period, her father Umar offered her hand to Uthman ibn 'Affan, and thereafter to Abu Bakr; but they both refused her. When Umar went to Muhammad to complain about this, Muhammad replied, "Hafsa will marry one better than Uthman and Uthman will marry one better than Hafsa."[3]

Muhammad married Hafsa in Sha'ban AH 3 (late January or early February 625).[4] This marriage "gave the Prophet the chance of allying himself with this faithful follower,"[5] i.e., Umar, who now became his father-in-law.

Notable work

Uthman, when he became Caliph, used Hafsa's copy when he standardized the text of Qur'an.[6] She is also said to have narrated sixty hadiths from Muhammad.[7]

Death

She died in Sha'ban AH 45, i.e., in October or November 665. She is buried in Al-Baqi Cemetery next to the other Mothers of the Faithful.[8][9]

Contrasting Views

Sunni View

Hafsa is seen as scholarly and inquisitive by the Sunnis. She is also respected as a Mother of The Believers.

Shi'a View

Due to certain actions of disobedience to the Prophet,[10][11] Shi'as have a negative view of Hafsa.

See also


References

  1. Muhammad ibn Saad, Tabaqat vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina p. 56. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
  2. Muhammad ibn Saad, Tabaqat vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). The Companions of Badr, p. 307. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
  3. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 pp. 56-58. The story is told in five separate traditions.
  4. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 58.
  5. Margoliouth, D. S. (1905). Mohammed and the Rise of Islam, p. 307. New York & London: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
  6. Bukhari 6:60:201.
  7. Siddiqi, M. Z. (2006). Hadith Literature: Its Origin, Development, Special Features and Criticism, p. 25. Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust.
  8. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 60.
  9. Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Sayyari (2009). Kohlberg, Etan; Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (eds.). "Revelation and Falsification: The Kitab al-qira'at of Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Sayyari: Critical Edition with an Introduction and Notes by Etan Kohlberg and Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi". Texts and studies on the Qurʼān. 4. BRILL: 103. ISSN 1567-2808.

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