Genealogy of Khadijah's Daughters
Encyclopedia
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
, the first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad
, had six children. Some Shia dispute
whether all of the children were born in her marriage to Muhammad, or if three of the four daughters were born to a previous marriage.
and Ruqayyah
. Shias believe Fatima
was the only daughter of Khadija whereas Ruqayya and Umm-e-Kulthum were the daughters of Khadija's sister, Hala, who had strained relations with her husband and the two girls were brought up by Khadija after the death of Hala. It is notable that Muhammad also had an adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah
.
This debate becomes significant and contentious since two of the children, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were consecutively married to Uthman, one after the death of the other. Due to marrying two of the Prophet's daughter, Uthman was called 'Dhul Nureyni' (or Keeper/Owner of Two Lights). Uthman became the third Rightly Guided Caliph and first Banu Umayyad Caliph.
Sunni believe that Ruqayyah was born three years after the birth of Zainab, when Muhammad was 33 . Many Sunnis hold that the claim that Fatima is the only biological daughter is pushed by the Shia in order to strengthen the legitimacy of the Shia Imams. If there were other biological sisters who had children, then they would have as much a right to claim the caliphate as Fatima's descendants. Sunni's also reject the claim because of the Quranic verse 33:59.
“O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers that they let down upon them their over-garments; this will be more proper, that they may be known, and thus they will not be given trouble; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”
Quran uses the plural word for daughters, not the singular form. The Arabic term used is “banaatuka” which means “your daughters.” If it was one daughter only, it would be “bintuka.”
was Muhammad's only biological daughter and the only one who married a Caliph, i.e., Ali
. They argue it improbable for Khadija to have given birth to so many children at such an advanced age, while at the same time having abstained from having children in both her previous marriages. A third version also exists which views the two daughters as being the children of Khadijah's deceased sister .
One source states:
states:
Shi'a argue that there is a lack of narrations from Muhammad regarding his other daughters, and they use it to argue that if they held the same position in Muhammads eye, this would not be the case:
The Shi'a website Answering-Ansar states:
Some individuals have said that Khadija had no previous husbands.
Shia also reject the Sunni claim based on Quranic verse 33:59 by citing similar contradiction in context of event of Mubahila for which Quranic verse 3:61 was revealed, though the verse calls for (in 'Arabic) at least 3 "sons", at least 3 "women", and at 3 least "selves" from each side in the Mubahila, only Imam Hasan ibn 'Ali and Imam Husain ibn 'Ali represented the "sons" of the Prophet, only Fatima al-Zahra represented the "women", and only 'Ali ibn Abi Talib represented as the "self" or "soul" of the Prophet.,
For Shi'a sources that mention other daughters of Muhammad, see:
For views from Western scholarship see:
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Khadījah bint Khuwaylid or Khadījah al-Kubra was the first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. She was the daughter of Khuwaylid ibn Asad and Fatimah bint Za'idah and belonged to the clan of Banu Asad. She is important in Islam as Muhammad's first wife, and one of the "mothers of the believers"...
, the first wife of the Islamic 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...
, had six children. Some Shia dispute
Disputes over Islamic historical dates
There are a number of uncertainties and disputed issues in the early Islamic history.-Introduction:Most of these disputes can be traced to Shi'a-Sunni disagreements. Shi'a often argue that history has been distorted to further a Banu Umayyad agenda...
whether all of the children were born in her marriage to Muhammad, or if three of the four daughters were born to a previous marriage.
Introduction
The dispute extends to Umm KulthumUmm 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...
and Ruqayyah
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...
. Shias believe Fatima
Fatimah
Fatimah 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...
was the only daughter of Khadija whereas Ruqayya and Umm-e-Kulthum were the daughters of Khadija's sister, Hala, who had strained relations with her husband and the two girls were brought up by Khadija after the death of Hala. It is notable that Muhammad also had an adopted son, Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah
Zayd ibn Harithah or Zayd mawla Muhammad was a prominent figure in the early Islamic community and the only one of sahaba whose name is spelled directly in the Qur'an. As he was the adopted son of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, before Islam abolished adoption in exchange of Kafala. He was an...
.
This debate becomes significant and contentious since two of the children, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum were consecutively married to Uthman, one after the death of the other. Due to marrying two of the Prophet's daughter, Uthman was called 'Dhul Nureyni' (or Keeper/Owner of Two Lights). Uthman became the third Rightly Guided Caliph and first Banu Umayyad Caliph.
Views
The Quran refers to Muhammad's daughters as "banatika" , the plural for "daughters". This is the argument against the view of that the sisters of Fatimah were not the biological daughters of the prophet Muhammad as according to the universally accepted islamic creed that the Qur'an will remain unaltered till it is lifted totally. Shia discard this logic based on a similar contradiction found in context of event of Mubahila for which Quranic verse 3:61 was revealed, though the verse calls for (in 'Arabic) at least 3 "sons", at least 3 "women", and at 3 least "selves" from each side in the Mubahila, only Imam Hasan ibn 'Ali and Imam Husain ibn 'Ali represented the "sons" of the Prophet, only Fatima al-Zahra represented the "women", and only 'Ali ibn Abi Talib represented as the "self" or "soul" of the Prophet.,Muslim view
Regardless of which marriage they were born in, both Shi'a and Sunni view all the children with the high respect.Sunni view
Sunni outright reject any notion of them being born anywhere but in Muhammad's marriage. Sunni honour Uthman as "possessor of the two lights", in reference to him being married to two of Muhammad's biological children.Sunni believe that Ruqayyah was born three years after the birth of Zainab, when Muhammad was 33 . Many Sunnis hold that the claim that Fatima is the only biological daughter is pushed by the Shia in order to strengthen the legitimacy of the Shia Imams. If there were other biological sisters who had children, then they would have as much a right to claim the caliphate as Fatima's descendants. Sunni's also reject the claim because of the Quranic verse 33:59.
“O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers that they let down upon them their over-garments; this will be more proper, that they may be known, and thus they will not be given trouble; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”
Quran uses the plural word for daughters, not the singular form. The Arabic term used is “banaatuka” which means “your daughters.” If it was one daughter only, it would be “bintuka.”
Shi'a view
Shia scholars view them as adopted children , and that this fact is obscured in order to give greater merit to the first Banu Umayyad Caliph. Those Shi'as view is that FatimahFatimah
Fatimah 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...
was Muhammad's only biological daughter and the only one who married a Caliph, i.e., Ali
Ali
' |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...
. They argue it improbable for Khadija to have given birth to so many children at such an advanced age, while at the same time having abstained from having children in both her previous marriages. A third version also exists which views the two daughters as being the children of Khadijah's deceased sister .
One source states:
states:
Shi'a argue that there is a lack of narrations from Muhammad regarding his other daughters, and they use it to argue that if they held the same position in Muhammads eye, this would not be the case:
The Shi'a website Answering-Ansar states:
Some individuals have said that Khadija had no previous husbands.
Shia also reject the Sunni claim based on Quranic verse 33:59 by citing similar contradiction in context of event of Mubahila for which Quranic verse 3:61 was revealed, though the verse calls for (in 'Arabic) at least 3 "sons", at least 3 "women", and at 3 least "selves" from each side in the Mubahila, only Imam Hasan ibn 'Ali and Imam Husain ibn 'Ali represented the "sons" of the Prophet, only Fatima al-Zahra represented the "women", and only 'Ali ibn Abi Talib represented as the "self" or "soul" of the Prophet.,
See also
- Disputed issues in the early Islamic history
- Descendants of Ali ibn Abi TalibDescendants of Ali ibn Abi TalibAli was the first Imam of Shia Islam. He was a cousin of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, as well as Muhammad's son-in-law. He had several children by Fatima, Muhammad's daughter, as well as children by other wives...
- Family tree of AliFamily tree of AliAli was an early Islamic leader. He is revered by Sunni Muslims as the last of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs and as a foremost religious authority on the Qur'an and Fiqh . Shi'a Muslims consider him the First Imam appointed by the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the first rightful caliph...
- Family tree of MuhammadFamily tree of Muhammad-Family tree:* Note that direct lineage is marked in bold.* * indicates that the marriage order is disputed-Genealogy:Wathilah ibn al-Asqa narrated the Prophet Muhammad said;-Muhammad to Adnan:...
Further reading
For Sunni view see:- Ibn HishamIbn HishamAbu Muhammad 'Abd al-Malik bin Hisham , or Ibn Hisham edited the biography of Muhammad written by Ibn Ishaq. Ibn Ishaq's work is lost and is now only known in the recensions of Ibn Hisham and al-Tabari. Ibn Hisham grew up in Basra, Iraq, but moved afterwards to Egypt, where he gained a name...
's Sira, Vol. 1, p. 122 - TabariMuhammad ibn Jarir al-TabariAbu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
's History of Prophets and Kings, Vol. 2, p. 35 - 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...
's Al-Bidayah Wa An-Nihaya, Vo. 2, p. 359
For Shi'a sources that mention other daughters of Muhammad, see:
- TusiShaykh TusiShaykh Tusi , full name: Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hassan Tusi , known as Shaykh al-Taʾifah was a prominent Persian scholar of the Shi'a Twelver Islamic belief.-Birth:...
's Tahthibul Ahkam, Vol. 8, p. 258 - Shaikh Saduq's Khisal, p. 404
- Kulayni's Al-Kafi, Vol. 5, p. 555
- Shaykh Mufid's Al-Muqanna'ah, p. 332
- Himyari's Qurb Al-Isnad, p. 9
- Papyrus scroll of Ibn Lahi'ah, referenced by G. Levi Della Vida-[R.G. Khoury]. b.ʿAffān. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online. 3 April 2007
For views from Western scholarship see:
- G. Levi Della Vida-[R.G. Khoury]. b.ʿAffān. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online. 3 April 2007
- Veccia Vaglieri, L. Fāṭima. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online. 3 April 2007
- Watt, W. Montgomery. K̲H̲adīd̲j̲a. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2007. Brill Online. 3 April 2007