Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum

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Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum occured in 17 AH (637–638 CE), 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.

1 Overview
2 Hadith
3 Sunni view
4 Shi'a view
- 4.1 History
- 4.2 Sharia
5 See also
6 References
7 Externa links

[edit] Overview

The person Umar married in 17 AH was the fourth one having the name Umm Khulthum. The idendity of the other three was:

Umm Kulthum bint Asim - the mother of Asim ibn Umar, the grandfather of Umar II.
Umm Kulthum bint Jarwila Khuzima - Her actual name was Maleeka. She was the mother of Zaid ibn Umar.
Umm Kulthum binte Uqba - during the period of jahiliyya she was the wife of Amr ibn al-Aas. She left him and embraced Islam. Her relatives approached Muhammad and asked that she be returned. Muhammad replied 'Any woman that embraces Islam cannot be returned, Amr ibn al-Aas was a "pagan" at the time, she was not returned and Umar married her.
Umm Kulthum bint Rahab.

As for the last Umm Kulthum, Sunni view that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali, While Shi'a argue it was Umm Kulthum binte Abu Bakr.

Umm Kulthum binte Abu Bakr was born to Asma bint Umays, thus she was the sister of Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr. She was born in 12-13 ah (633-634), after the death of Abu Bakr. Asma, her mother, married Ali and the young Umme Kalthum joined her mother in the house of Ali.

Umm Kulthum bint Ali was the daughter of Ali, and she lived long, surviving the Battle of Karbala.

[edit] Hadith

A narration attributed to Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Hisham ibn Salim from Ja'far al-Sadiq reports:

When `Omer sought the hand of Umm Kultham for marriage, Ali (A.S.) said, `But she is only a child,’ `Omer said to al-`Abbas, ‘I sought the hand of the daughter of your nephew, and he turned me down. By Allah, I shall damage the well of Zamzam, and I shall leave nothing precious belonging to you except that I ruin it, and I shall get two witnesses to testify that he stole, and I shall cut off his right hand.’ Al-`Abbas came and informed Ali (A.S.) (of what `Omer had said), asking him to let him take care of that matter, which he did.

Shi'as tend to view this as Sahih and have included it in Usul al-Kafi ^[1]

A narration reports:

Umar ibn Adheena asked Imam Jafer Sadiq 'People claim that 'Ali married his daughter to such a person'. The Imam, who was until then sitting down, stood up and said angrily, "Whoever holds such a viewpoint is misled." Subhanallah! Was Imam 'Ali unable to free his daughter from their clutches? He could have stood between them and her to protect, they have fabricated a lie

Shi'as tend to view this as Sahih and have included it in Usul al-Kafi ^[2]

A narration reports:

Imam Jafer Sadiq said regarding the marriage of Umm Kulthoom: "That was a ‘woman’ who was taken from us by force."^[3]

A narration attributed to Humayd ibn Ziyad from Ibn Sama‘ah from Muhammad ibn Ziyad from ‘Abdullah ibn Sinan from Mu‘awiyah ibn ‘Ammar from Ja'far al-Sadiq reports:

[Mu‘awiyah ibn ‘Ammar says:] I asked him about a woman whose husband died: Should she spend her ‘iddah in her house, or where she wants to? He replied, "Where she wants to. When ‘Umar died, ‘Ali u came and took Umm Kulthoom to his house."^[4]

[edit] Sunni view

Most Sunni's view that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali that married Umar.

Those who do not do so include:

Mufti Ghulam Rasool Jamaati has writen a book named Hasab aur Nasab rejects that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali that married Umar.

Malik Daulath Abadi:

Asma binte Amees was initially the wife of Jafer bin Tayyar then she married Abu Bakr from this relationship two children were born a boy and a girl called Umme Kalthum. After that she married Hadhrath 'Ali and Umme Kalthum came into his house. This is the Umme Kalthum that Umar married… ^[5]

[edit] Shi'a view

[edit] History

The Shi'a view is as follows:

Asma bint Umays from the Banu Hashim was married to Ja'far ibn Abu Talib, also from Banu Hashim.
After martyrdom of Jafar in 8 AH, she was married to Abu Bakr, from the Banu Taim.

Then the Succession to Muhammad in 10 AH happened, viewed by Shi'as as a joint military coup by Umar and Abu Bakr.

After the death of Abu Bakr in 13 AH, she got married to Ali, from Banu Hashim.

When she went to the house of Ali, her daughter Umm Kulthum binte Abu Bakr also went with her.

Umar asked to marry Umm Kulthum binte Ali, but Ali refused, arguing she was to little. Umar got furious, and `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib helped to settle the issue.

Aisha, Abu Bakr's daugher, had special jealousy with Ali, so she could not bear it that one of her sister was in the house of Ali.

So, in 17 AH, she asked Umar (caliph at that time) to call Umm Kulthum binte Abu Bakr. Ali was not ready to send this girl but Abbas said "We must not fight on such minor issues". So Umm Kulthum binte Abu Bakr was sent to Umar.

Also, Shi'a point out that Fatima Zahra, the mother of Umm Kulthum binte Ali, refused to talk to Abu Bakr and Umar, and actually cursed them according to some sources, and willed that she be burried 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.

[edit] Sharia

Shi'a also bring a Sharia based Mahram argumentation:

Islamically its haraam 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 Mehram 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 mehram.) and your step mother's mother is also haraam to you to marry.. because she is mehram. also step mother's mother's mother is also haraam 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.