Hafsa bint Umar

{{Infobox person

| name = Hafsa bint Umar
{{small|Mother of the Believers}}

| native_name = {{lang|ar|حفصة بنت عمر}}

| birth_date = {{circa|605}} CE

| birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia
{{small|(present-day KSA)}}

| death_date = Sha'ban 45 AH; October/November, {{Circa}} {{Death date and age|665 CE|605 CE|df=yes}}

| death_place = Medina, Hejaz, Arabia
{{small|(historically Umayyad Caliphate)}}

| resting_place = Al-Baqi Cemetery, Medina

| known_for = Fourth wife of Prophet Muhammad

| spouse = {{bulleted list

| Khunays ibn Hudhafa ({{abbr|m.|married}} 619/620 died August 624)

| Muhammad ({{abbr|m.|married}} 624/625; died 632)

}}

| mother = Zaynab bint Maẓʿūn

| father = ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb

| relatives = {{Collapsible list

| state = collapsed

| Abd Allah (full brother)

| Ubayd Allah (paternal half-brother)

| Asim (paternal half-brother)

| Zayd (paternal half-brother)

| Fatima (paternal aunt)

| Uthman (maternal uncle)

| Zayd (paternal uncle)

}}

| family = {{ubl|Banu Adi (by birth)|Ahl al-Bayt (by marriage)}}

}}

Hafsa bint Umar ({{langx|ar|حفصة بنت عمر|translit=Ḥafṣa bint ʿUmar}}; {{Circa}} 605–665) was the fourth wife of Muhammad and a daughter of the second caliph Umar ({{Reign|634|644}}). In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" (Arabic: أمّ المؤمنين, romanized: ʾumm al-muʾminīn).

Early life

Hafsa was the daughter and eldest child of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and Zaynab bint Maz'un. She was born "when Quraysh were building the House Kaʿbah, five years before the Prophet was sent," i.e., in 605.Muhammad ibn Saad, Tabaqat vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina p. 56. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.

Marriage

She was first married to Khunays ibn Hudhafa but became a widow in August 624.Muhammad ibn Saad, Tabaqat vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). The Companions of Badr, p. 307. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.

As soon as Hafsa had completed her waiting period, her father Umar offered her hand to Uthman ibn 'Affan, and thereafter to Abu Bakr; but they both refused her. Disappointed, Umar went to Muhammad to complain about this, and Muhammad replied, "Hafsa will marry one better than Uthman and Uthman will marry one better than Hafsa."Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 pp. 56-58. The story is told in five separate traditions.

Muhammad married Hafsa in Sha'ban AH 3 (late January or early February 625).Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 58. This marriage "gave the Prophet the chance of allying himself with this faithful follower",Margoliouth, D. S. (1905). Mohammed and the Rise of Islam, p. 307. New York & London: G. P. Putnam's Sons. i.e., Umar, had become his father-in-law.

=Surat al-Tahrim=

There are two stories related to the revelation of the opening verses of Surat al-Tahrim. One is authentic according to Imams al-Bukhari and Muslim and found in Sahih Muslim 1474, narrated by the Prophet's wife Aisha. In this first narration, the Prophet prevented himself from drinking honey to please his wives.

The latter narration is mursal (meaning the chain of narration was interrupted) and ḍaʻīf (weak), narrated by Zaid ibn Aslam from the third generation who did not witness the event and found in Tafsir al-Tabari (who was known to record numerous kinds of narrations, both authentic and inauthentic, as a compendium for hadith scholars to peruse and criticize narrations). In this weak narration, the Prophet was intimate with Maria al-Qibtiyya while Hafsa was away visiting her father, then asked him "In my home and on my bed?" upon returning and discovering about their act. He then made Maria forbidden upon himself to please Hafsa.{{cite web |last1=Elias |first1=Abu Amina |title=Story of Hafsa and Maria in Surat al-Tahrim |url=https://www.abuaminaelias.com/hafsa-maria-surat-at-tahreem/ |website=www.abuaminaelias.com |access-date=11 September 2024 |date=26 March 2016}} Al-Qurtubi states that the first one is authentic and the second is weak.

Ibn Al-Arabi wrote in Ahkam al-Qur'an that: "Indeed, the only authentic narration is that it was about honey, that the Prophet drank it with Zainab, and Aisha and Hafsa pretended to be offended by it. There occurred what occurred and the Prophet made an oath never to drink it again. He confided that to his wife and the verse was revealed regarding all of them".

Notable work

Uthman, when he became Caliph, used Hafsa's copy when he standardized the text of

Qur'an.Bukhari 6:60:201. She is also said to have narrated sixty hadiths from Muhammad.Siddiqi, M. Z. (2006). Hadith Literature: Its Origin, Development, Special Features and Criticism, p. 25. Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust.

Death

She died in Sha'ban AH 45, i.e., in October or November 665. She is buried in Al-Baqi Cemetery next to the other Mothers of the Faithful.Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 60.{{cite journal|author1=Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Sayyari|editor1-last=Kohlberg|editor1-first=Etan|editor2-last=Amir-Moezzi|editor2-first=Mohammad Ali|title=Revelation and Falsification: The Kitab al-qira'at of Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Sayyari: Critical Edition with an Introduction and Notes by Etan Kohlberg and Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi|journal=Texts and studies on the Qurʼān|date=2009|volume=4|page=103|url=https://archive.org/details/KitabAlQiratOfAhmadB.MuhammadAlSayyari|publisher=BRILL|issn=1567-2808}}

Contrasting Views

=Sunni View=

Hafsa is seen as scholarly and inquisitive by the Sunnis. She is also respected as a Mother of The Believers.

=Shi'a View=

Due to the honey incident with the prophet,{{Cite web |title=Sahih al-Bukhari 6691 - Oaths and Vows - كتاب الأيمان والنذور - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6691 |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=sunnah.com}}{{Cite web |title=Sahih al-Bukhari 2468 - Oppressions - كتاب المظالم - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2468 |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=sunnah.com}} Shi'as disapprove of Hafsa and Aisha in this particular incident and cite the beginning of Surat al-Tahrim and the accompanying hadith as evidence. But they do not curse them generally, which is extremism.{{cite web |title=The Sixteenth Spurious Argument: Shia Opinon about Hafsa and Aisha |url=https://www.al-islam.org/spurious-arguments-about-shia-abu-talib-tabrizi/sixteenth-spurious-argument-shia-opinon-about-hafsa |website=www.al-islam.org |access-date=12 September 2024 |language=en |date=20 February 2014}}

External links

[https://www.abuaminaelias.com/hafsa-maria-surat-at-tahreem/ Story of Hafsa and Maria in Surat at-Tahrim]

References

Sources

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