Umm Kulthūm bint Abī Bakr () was a daughter of

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

and Habiba bint Kharija. She was said to be the first and probably only Muslim woman in the Early Caliphate's history who received her inheritance from her father in utero. Umm Kulthum was a famous

Tabi'un The tābiʿūn (, also accusative or genitive tābiʿīn , singular ''tābiʿ'' ), "followers" or "successors", are the generation of Muslims who followed the companions (''ṣaḥāba'') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and thus received their ...

and

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

narrator.

Biography

She was born in

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

shortly after her father's death. While declaring his will, he informed his daughter

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

that some palm trees that he had given her, should then be given as inheritance to her two brothers and two sisters. She readily accepted her father's wishes but asked to which other sister he was referring besides Asma. He told her that Habiba was pregnant and that he believed it was going to be a girl. After Umm Kulthum was born, she was raised under the supervision of her sister Aisha "with kindness and gentleness". When she became old enough for marriage,

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

asked for Umm Kulthum's hand, but Aisha refused consent. Her emissary explained to the Caliph: "You are rough and ready. How will it be with Umm Kulthum if she disobeys you and you beat her? You will have taken Abu Bakr's place in a way that does not suit you." Umm Kulthum was eventually married to her father's cousin and close associate Talha, who was over forty years older than her. From the marriage she had two sons and one daughter, named respectively: Zakariyya, Yusuf (who died in infancy) and 'Aisha.Muhammad

Ibn Sa'd Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Sa‘d ibn Manī‘ al-Baṣrī al-Hāshimī or simply Ibn Sa'd () and nicknamed ''Scribe of Waqidi'' (''Katib al-Waqidi''), was a scholar and Arabian biographer. Ibn Sa'd was born in 784/785 CE (168 AH) and di ...

. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kubra'', vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Medina'', pp. 298-299. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. Talha was then killed during the

Battle of the Camel The Battle of the Camel, also known as The Battle of Basra () took place outside of Basra, Iraq, in 36 AH (656 CE). The battle was fought between the army of the fourth caliph Ali (), on one side, and the rebel army led by Aisha, Talha and ...

in 656. Umm Kulthum then accompanied Aisha on a pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

while she was still in her waiting period. Thereafter she married Abdur-Rahman ibn Abdullah al-Makhzumi. They had two sons and two daughters: Ibrahim al-Ahwal, Musa, Umm Humayd and Umm Uthman. Aisha sent Salim, a grandson of Umar to her sister Umm Kulthum when he was of suckling age, with the instruction to breastfeed him ten times so that Aisha would be considered his foster-aunt, but he fell ill after she nursed him three times so she could not continue it. So the foster-relationship was therefore incomplete, and Salim did not become eligible to see Aisha unveiled.

Legacy

Umm Kulthum was a

Tabi‘un The tābiʿūn (, also accusative or genitive tābiʿīn , singular ''tābiʿ'' ), "followers" or "successors", are the generation of Muslims who followed the Companions of the Prophet, companions (''ṣaḥāba'') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad ...

. She narrated

from Aisha, of which some were collected by

al-Bukhari Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm al-Juʿfī al-Bukhārī (; 21 July 810 – 1 September 870) was a 9th-century Persian Muslim ''muhaddith'' who is widely regarded as the most important ''hadith'' scholar in the history ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

al-Nasa'i Al-Nasāʾī (214 – 303 Islamic calendar, AH; 829 – 915 CE), full name Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Aḥmad ibn Shuʿayb ibn ʿAlī ibn Sinān ibn Baḥr ibn Dīnar al-Khurasānī al-Nasāʾī (), was a noted collector of hadith (sayin ...

and

Ibn Majah Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Yazīd Ibn Mājah al-Rabʿī al-Qazwīnī (; (b. 209/824, d. 273/887) commonly known as Ibn Mājah, was a Middle Ages, medieval scholar of hadith of Persian people, Persian origin. He compiled the last of Sunni ...

.Tahdhib al-Kamil al-Mizzi 35/381

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Umm Kulthum Bint Abi Bakr Family of Abu Bakr Tabi‘un hadith narrators 7th-century Arab people Children of Rashidun caliphs Daughters of caliphs Banu Abu Bakr