Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum

Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum occurred in , 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:

  1. Umm Kulthum bint Asim - Her actual name was Jamila. According to some sources, her kunya was Umm Asim, not Umm Kulthum.
  2. Umm Kulthum bint Jarwila Khuzima - Her actual name was Maleeka. Umm Kulthum was her kunya.
  3. Umm Kulthum bint Uqba

Whilst the Shia believes that all these was married to Umar , the sunnis disagree that Umm Kulthum bint Uqba was married to Umar.

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

  • Umm Kulthum bint 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 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 the Shi'a, she was present at the Battle of Karbala and eventually survived it . This is, however, denied by the Sunnis .

Hadith

Several narrations recorded in both Sunni and Shi'a sources mentions Umar's marriage to Umm Kulthum.

Shi'a narrations

Sunni narrations

Sunni 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
  • Ibn Shabba
  • al-Bukhari
  • Ibn Qutayba
  • Imam al-Bayhaqi
  • al-Dhahabi
  • al-Nawawi
  • al-Suyuti
  • Ibn Kathir
  • Ibn Asakir
  • Hakim al-Nishaburi
  • Ibn Abd al-Barr

Denying the marriage

A minority of Sunni scholars rejects that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali that married Umar.

These include

  • The Pakistani scholar Mufti Ghulam Rasool Jamaati, who has written a book named Hasab aur Nasab rejecting that it was Umm Kulthum bint Ali that married Umar.
  • The Pakistani scholar Malik Daulath Abadi, who wrote in his book Hidayaath al Saud:

Shi'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 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 :

The 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

also believed that Umm Kulthoum binte Ali married Umar. 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-Hurr Al-'Amily
  • Al-Muhaqqiq al-Ardabili
  • Sheikh Abu Jaafar al-Tusi
  • Fadil al-Hindi
  • Mohamad Soleiman-Peneh 1

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 married Umar is not held by the majority of the Shi'a. The common 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 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.

Aisha, Abu Bakr's daughter, 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 bint Abu Bakr. Ali was not ready to send this girl but Abbas said "We must not fight on such minor issues". So Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr was sent to Umar.

Also, Shi'a point out that Fatima Zahra, the mother of Umm 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 based Mahram argumentation:

Several other Shi'a scholars denies this marriage. Amongst those is:

  • Sheikh Mufid
  • Muhammad Nishapuri

See also

  • Disputed issues in the early Islamic history

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