The
Holy Persons of Good Birth
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Let us take a brief look into the family tree
of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him). The purpose of talking on this topic is that
by the end of this discussion we should be able to know / identify the close
family members of Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him),
without going in to details about them. Detailed discussion about personality
traits of each of them may be dealt with at some other time, Insha’Allah, taking each individual at a
time.
A.
Parents of Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
Prophet’s father was Abdullah, who was the son of Abdul Muttalib. Prophet’s
mother was Aamena, daughter of Wahb Ibn Abd Manāf. His father
died before he was born. He was suckled by Halimah
As-Sa’diyyah.
Prophet’s mother died when he was six years old. After that his grandfather
took care of him. But he too died when the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) was eight years old. After that his uncle, Abu
Tālib,
maintained him, took care of him in the best possible way and supported him
greatly when he was enlightened with Prophethood. However, Abu Tālib remained a
polytheist till death.
B.
Wives of Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him)
Prophet Muhammad (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) had more than one wife. Along with talking about his wives, we
shall throw some light on the rationale behind each of his marriages.
B.1.
Khadija bint Khuwailid (ر ضی اللہ))
She was the first of the Prophet’s wives. The
Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) was twenty five years of age when he married
Khadija (RA) who was forty by then. She was a widow when he married her and
they lived twenty five years together. She is one of the greatest women known
to the mankind. The Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) loved her a lot and he did not marry any
other woman during her life. She died one year and a half before the emigration
to Madinah.
The
reason behind Prophet’s marriage to Khadija was only that he wanted a pure and
a chaste woman as his life partner.
B.2.
Sawdah bint Zam’ah (RA)
Shortly after Khadija’s death, Prophet’s uncle
Abu Talib died. The Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) became alone at the loss of two of his close companions. On the
other hand, when Sawdah’s husband, As-Sakran, died, she feared to return to her
family lest they may torture her and force her to convert. Being informed about
her case, the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) offered to marry her in order to defend her.
Moreover, he wanted to honour her and her husband for their strong faith and
their immigration in the cause of Allaah. She was fifty five years at the time
the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) married her. She died during the last days of
Umar’s Caliphate.
The
Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him)
married this solitary and poor widow to be an example before all people to put
before their eyes the noble goals behind marriage(s).
B.3.
Aishah bint Abu Bakr (RA)
She was the only virgin woman whom the Prophet
(grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) married. She was daughter of Abu Bakr (RA) and was nine years old
when the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) married her. He abolished the Pre-Islamic
system of brotherhood, where the people were accustomed to befriending one
another to such an extent that they could not marry daughters of their friends
whom they took as their brothers.
Aishah (RA) went on to become the most
knowledgeable of Muslim women in sacred law, religion etc., having married the
Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) in the second year after Hijrah,
becoming one of the dearest wives of the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him). She related more than two thousand hadiths of the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him), and after his death, leading figures of the companions of the
Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) would come and ask her for legal opinions. What
a great rationale behind such a marriage!
B.4.
Hafsa bint Umar (RA)
Hafsa (RA) was widow of Khanis Ibn Hudhaifah,
who died in Madinah due to wounds he received during the Battle
of Uhud. Umar (RA) offered Uthman Ibn Affan (RA) to marry his
daughter, but he apologized. Then Umar (RA) approached Abu Bakr (RA) to marry
his daughter; he too didn’t answer him. Umar (RA) was very upset at their
refusal. This has been reported in Hadith
No. 5122, Sahih
Bukhari, Vol. 7 in the Book
of Nikah,
and the narrator is Abdullah Ibn Umar (RA). Then the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him)
married Hafsa (RA) to give equal honours to both of his friends, having married
daughters of both.
Hafsa (RA) is the only wife whom Prophet
Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) divorced, however he revoked the divorce and
took her back later.
B.5.
Umm Salamah (RA)
Her name was Hind bint Abu Umayyah (from
Quraish). She was the first Muslim woman to immigrate to Abyssinia. She had
been married to Abdullah Ibn Abd-Al-Asad who was martyred in the Battle
of Uhud. When he died, she was sixty five years old. She had two
boys and two girls. There was no one who could suffice her after the death of
her husband. Therefore, the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
offered to marry her. She first apologized to the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) due to her old age, her orphans and the jealousy she had. But the
Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) said, “I am older than you and as for
jealousy, I will supplicate Allaah to remove it from you, and the orphans will
be to Allaah and His Messenger (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him).” Thus the wisdom behind this marriage
was to look after the widow and her orphan kids. Narrators say that she died during the
Caliphate of Yazid Ibn Muawiyah.
B.6.
Zaynab bint Jahsh (RA)
She was Prophet’s cousin. The Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) married her to his adopted son Zaid Ibn Harith (RA). During those
times the adopted sons were treated as real sons, with all rights of
inheritance etc. Zaid’s marriage with Zaynab (RA) did not turn out happy, due
to incompatibility among the two. The result was a divorce. Then Muhammad (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) married Zaynab (RA). She was the only wife whose Waliyy was Allaah, as narrated in following
Aayah of Qur’an:
“And remember when you said to him (Zaid bin
Harith, RA) on whom Allaah bestowed Grace and you have done favour: ‘Keep your
wife to yourself & fear Allaah.’ But you did hide in yourself that which
Allaah will make manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allaah had a better
right that you should fear Him. So when Zaid had accomplished his desire from
her, We gave her to you in marriage, so that (in future) there may be no
difficulty to the believers in respect of the wives of their adopted sons when
the latter have no desire to keep them. And Allaah’s Command must be
fulfilled.”
(Aayah
No. 37, Surah Al-Ahzab, Chapter No. 33, Holy Qur’an).
Subhan-Allah,
the pagan superstition and the taboo about adopted sons had to be destroyed as
Allaah willed and this marriage took place as an example.
B.7.
Juwairiya bint Al-Harith (RA)
She was married to one of the severest
opponents of Islam who was killed during the Battle of Banu Al-Mustalaq.
Juwairiya (RA) was taken as a prisoner-of-war. She was under Thabit Ibn Qays,
who wrote a contract for her emancipation. She went to the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) for help. Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
offered to marry her, and she said ‘yes’. So, he married her. No sooner did the
Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) declared his marriage to Juwairiya (RA) the
companions of the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) came with her tribe and set them free saying,
“these prisoners are Prophet’s relatives by marriage.” Then all her people (of
her tribe) accepted Islam willingly. Aishah (RA) used to say that there is no
other woman who blessed her tribe more than Juwairiya (RA). That
was the rationale behind this marriage: to disseminate the word of Allaah all
over the world and to multiply the Muslims and the helpers of Islam.
B.8.
Umm Habiba bint Abu Sufyan (RA)
She was the widow of Ubaidallaah Ibn Jahsh
with whom she escaped to Abyssinia to escape torture. There her husband
converted to Christianity and died soon after. She was left alone. Then Prophet
Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) sent to Negus, the King of Abyssinia, to give
him Umm Habiba (RA) in marriage. She agreed in overwhelming happiness.
Therefore,
this marriage took place to honour the patient woman, to protect her from
trials in religion and to please the hearts of her family.
B.9.
Safiyya bint Huyay (RA)
She was daughter of leader of Banu
Quraidah (or Banu
Nadir). She was taken as a prisoner-of-war after the murder of her
husband in the Battle of Khaybar. When
she was brought to Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him),
he said to her, “Your father
was a great Jewish enemy to me until Allaah slayed him.” She
replied, “Allaah says in
Qur’an:
“Say: ‘Shall I seek a lord better other than
Allaah, while He is the Lord of all things? No person earns any (sin) except
against himself (only), and no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another.
Then unto your Lord is your return, so He will tell you that wherein you have
been differing.”
(Aayah
No. 164, Surah Al-An’am, Chapter No. 6, Holy Qur’an).
Then the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) gave her choice of either to be his wife or to return to her
family, as two conditions of setting her free. She said, “O Prophet Muhammad (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him)! I liked Islam and believed you before you invited me. Moreover,
I have nothing in Judaism, no father or brother; you have given me a choice
between Disbelief and Islam. Allaah and His Messenger (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) are more beloved to me than return to my tribe.” Then the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) married her. Her emancipation was her Mahr.
B.10.
Maymuna bint Al-Harith (RA)
She was the widow of Abu Ruham Ibn Abdel Uzza.
She was the last wife of the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him). The
motivation behind this marriage was that the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him)
wanted to attract the people’s hearts to Islam. Maymuna (RA) had many relatives and kin in Banu
Hashim and Banu
Makhzum. It is said that Prophet Muhammad (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) married Maymuna (RA) while in state of Ihram. However, other
narrations tell us that he was not in state of Ihram at the time of marriage
and consummation of marriage.
Having talked about Umm-ul-Mu’mineen (RA), let
us summarize the goals which were aimed at behind these marriages of our
beloved Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him).
a).
Spreading education among women: the situation required that some women should
take charge of guiding and teaching other women, specially in feminine matters
which they may feel shy to ask the prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him),
such as marriage affairs, menstruation, child-birth, purification etc.
b).
Perfection of legislation: Prophet’s wives narrated more than three thousand hadiths, and
this explains it all.
c).
Social solidarity: The Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) consolidated the bonds of friendship with his
companions by marriages.
d).
Political aims: The Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) gained support of leaders of different tribes
from whom he married. Furthermore, they willingly embraced Islam.
e).
Humanitarian purposes: Prophet’s marriages were also a mercy to those old women who could
not find any care or shelter for themselves and their orphans after the loss of
their husbands.
f).
Setting up an example for Muslim men and women: Prophet’s behaviour with his wives and in turn
the behaviour of Umm-ul-Mu’mineen (RA) with the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) and with each other, are examples for us. Muslim men should learn
a lesson from our beloved Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
if they come across a situation where they have to marry more than once.
Similarly, Muslim women should learn from Umm-ul-Mu’mineen (RA) about how to
live with their husbands along with their other wives happily in harmony.
g).
Removal of superstitions and things of the Period of Ignorance: Some marriages of the Prophet (grace, glory,
blessings and peace be upon Him)
were supported by verses of Qur’an, thereby removing some of the traditions of
Pre-Islamic period of Ignorance.
C. Surriyyahs of Prophet Muhammad (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him)
Surriyyah means a favoured female slave taken mainly for
copulation (and she may or may not be emancipated). Prophet Muhammad (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) had two Surriyyahs:
C.1.
Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah
She was sent to the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) as a gift from Al-Muqawqis, the ruler of Alexandria and Egypt.
C.2.
Rayhanah bint Amr
The Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
chose her for himself from Banu Quraidah. Narrators
differ in saying that whether he married her or he emancipated her and she
returned back to her people.
D.
Children of Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
The Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
had seven children: four
daughters and three
sons. Six children were from his first wife, Khadija
(RA); one son was from Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah. All three of his sons died at young age. And except Fatima (RA), all children of the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) died before him.
(RA); one son was from Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah. All three of his sons died at young age. And except Fatima (RA), all children of the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) died before him.
D.1.
Children from Khadija (RA)
D.1.1.
Al-Qasim
Al-Qasim was Prophet’s eldest son and because
of him the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) was also called Abul-Qasim.
D.1.2.
Zaynab (RA)
She was born ten years before the Prophet-hood
of Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him). She was the eldest daughter of the Prophet
(PBUH). She got married to Abu Al-As, her cousin from maternal side, who did
not accept Islam at first but became a Muslim later on.
D.1.3.
Ruqayyah (RA)
She was born after Zaynab. She was married to
Abu Lahab’s son. Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) was not a Messenger by then; he accepted the
proposal for her daughter’s marriage. After the call for Islam came from Prophet
Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him), Abu Lahab asked his son to divorce
Muhammad’s daughter. And the divorce took place. She was then married to Uthman
Ibn Affan (RA).
D.1.4.
Umm Kulthum (RA)
She was born shortly after Ruqayyah.
Therefore, they were brought up together like twins. On similar lines, she too
was married to another son of Abu Lahab and was divorced later on when the call
for Islam came from Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him).
When her sister, Ruqayyah, wife of Uthman Ibn Affan died, Prophet Muhammad gave
Umm Kulthum to Uthman (RA) in marriage. From that time onwards, Uthman Ibn
Affan (RA) was called Zu-Nurayn i.e. the possessor of two lights
(because he married two daughters of the Prophet, (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him).
D.1.5.
Fatima Az-Zahra (RA)
She was the fourth daughter of the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him), born to Khadija five years before the Prophet-hood of her
father. Fatima (RA) is one of the best women known to the mankind. Along with
Maryam (Mary) (mother of Prophet Jesus (peace be uponHim), Khadija (Prophet
Muhammad’s first wife) & Asiyah (Pharaoh’s wife who took care of Prophet Moses
(peace be upon Him), Fatima (RA) is the purest and the best of women kind.
Many great companions of Prophet Muhammad (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him), including Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar bin Khattab (RA), asked for her
hand in marriage, but the Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
kindly apologized. Then came Ali Ibn Abu Talib (RA) and Prophet Muhammad (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) gave her to Ali (RA) in marriage when she was eighteen years old.
She is the Chief of the Women in Paradise and was the first among the Prophet’s
family to die after him. She died very soon after her father’s death, at the
age of twenty seven.
D.1.6.
Abdullaah
Abdullah was born after the Prophet-hood of
Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him). He was also called At-Tayyib or At-Tahir,
because he was born in Islam.
D.2.
Son from Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah
Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah gave birth to Ibrahim, the son of Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him). He was born in Madinah and he died when he was one year and ten
months old.
E.
Adopted son of Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
Zaid Ibn Harith (RA) was adopted by Prophet
Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) as a son. As soon as Muhammad (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) was shouldered with the responsibility of Prophet-hood, Zaid
submitted himself to Islam. He was probably the second man to embrace Islam
(first being Abu Bakr Siddiq, RA). He was one of the most beloved to the Prophet
and the companions of Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
used to call him ‘The
Beloved’.
F.
Grand-children of Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace
be upon Him)
F.1.
Children of Zaynab (RA)
Zaynab (RA) gave birth to two sons: Ali & Umamah.
F.2.
Children of Fatima Az-Zahra (RA)
Fatima (RA) gave birth to four children, two
sons and two daughters. The first child to be born was Al-Hassan, in the third year after Hijrah.
A year later, Al-Hussain was
born in the fourth year of Hijrah.The Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him)
was very (sentimentally) close to Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain. In the fifth year of Hijrah,
Fatima (RA) gave birth to Zaynab, the first grand-daughter of the Prophet (grace,
glory, blessings and peace be upon Him). Two years later, the fourth child was born, a girl, whom the
Prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) called Umm
Kulthum.
F.3.
Son of Zaid Ibn Harith (RA)
Son of Zaid Ibn Harith (RA) was Usama
Ibn Zaid.
Prophet Muhammad (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him) loved him too much and would keep him with
himself along with Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain.
Concluding
remarks
This is a brief description of the family
members of our beloved prophet (grace, glory, blessings and peace be upon Him). The lives of these persons are a testimony
to their greatness. May Allaah have mercy on the great Muslim personalities
mentioned above.
(Other
references: ‘Prophet Muhammad’s Biography’ by Imam Ibn Kathir).
And
Allaah Almighty knows best.
May Allah forgive me if I am wrong and guide
us to the right path…Aameen.
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