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Islamic Truths Center
A Series of Theological Studies
A Critical Assessment of Umm Kulthum’s Marriage to Umar
Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hussaini Milani
Translated by
Jawid Akbari
by : www.shiaword.com
Оригинальное название
A Critical Assessment of Umm Kulthum’s Marriage to Umar
Islamic Truths Center
A Series of Theological Studies
A Critical Assessment of Umm Kulthum’s Marriage to Umar
Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hussaini Milani
Translated by
Jawid Akbari
by : www.shiaword.com
Islamic Truths Center
A Series of Theological Studies
A Critical Assessment of Umm Kulthum’s Marriage to Umar
Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hussaini Milani
Translated by
Jawid Akbari
by : www.shiaword.com
A Critical Assessment of Umm Kulthums Marriage to Umar Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hussaini Milani Translated by Jawid Abari A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar a Contents Contents........................................................................a Preude..........................................................................1 Introducton...................................................................3 A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar...................................................................................4 Secton I........................................................................... 6 The Narratons and Ther Narrators..................................6 The Narrators and Ther Narratons...............................7 1. Ibn Saads Narratons n A-Tabaqat A-Kubra.........7 2. Duabs Narratons n A-Durryat A-Tahra..........10 3. Hakm Nshaburs Narraton n A-Mustadrak.......15 4. Bayhaqs Narratons n A-Sunan A-Kubra...........16 5. Khatb Baghdads Narratons n Tarkh Baghdad..18 6. Ibn Abd A-Barrs Narratons n A-Istab:.............19 7. Ibn Athrs Narratons n Usd A-Ghabah...............21 8. Ibn Ha|ars Narratons n A-Isabah.......................24 Secton II........................................................................ 28 A Study of the Chans of Transmsson of the Narratons 28 A Study of the Chans of Transmsson of the Narratons ........................................................................................ 29 The Foca Pont n ths Regard......................................30 Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar as Seen by Bographers... .33 Yunus bn Bukar as Seen by Bographers................33 Amr bn Dnar as Seen by Bographers....................34 Sufyan bn Uyanah as Seen by Bographers............35 A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar b Wak bn |arrah as Seen by Bographers..................37 Ibn |ura| as Seen by Bographers............................37 Ibn Ab Makah as Seen by Bographers..................38 Husham bn Saad as Seen by Bographers..............39 Ibn Wahab as Seen by Bographers..........................40 Musa bn A Lakhm as Seen by Bographers...........41 A bn Rabah Lakhm as Seen by Bographers.........41 Uqbah bn mr |uhan as Seen by Bographers.......42 Ata Khurasan as Seen by Bographers....................43 Muhammad bn Umar Waqd as Seen by Bographers .................................................................................... 43 Abdu Rahman bn Zad as Seen by Bographers......44 Zad bn Asam as Seen by Bographers...................46 Zubar bn Bakkar as Seen by Bographers..............46 A Study of the Chans of Transmsson of Narratons about Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar........................47 A Study of the Authentcty of the Narratons Concernng Umm Kuthums Death....................................................48 A Look at the Bography of Amr Shuab.................48 A Look at the Bography of Ammar bn Ab Ammar. .49 A Look at the Bography of Na..............................49 A Look at the Bography of Abduah A-Bah............49 Secton III....................................................................... 51 The Text of the Narratons and ther Sgncatons.........51 The Text of the Narratons and ther Sgncatons......52 The rst dmenson:.................................................52 The second dmenson:............................................56 Thrd dmenson:......................................................57 A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar c The Fourth dmenson:.............................................58 The fth dmenson:.................................................60 The sxth dmenson:................................................61 The seventh dmenson:...........................................61 The eghth dmenson:.............................................62 The nnth dmenson:...............................................63 The tenth dmenson:...............................................64 Summary..................................................................... 66 One Oueston...........................................................69 Answer..................................................................... 69 Secton IV....................................................................... 73 Umars Marrage to Umm Kuthum n Shte Narratons. .73 Umars Marrage to Umm Kuthum n Shte Narratons74 The rst tradton:....................................................74 The second tradton:...............................................75 The thrd tradton:...................................................75 Fna word concernng the marrage of Umm Kuthum. 77 Summary of the Book..................................................79 Bbography................................................................81 A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 1 !relude Wth the prophetc msson of Prophet Muhammad (S), the sea of the prophets, the ast and the most perfect dvne regon was conveyed to humanty and prophethood came to an end. The regon of Isam emerged n Mecca but after twenty three years of arduous ehorts made by the Messenger of Aah (S) and a handfu of hs oya companons t spread a over the Araban Pennsua. The contnuaton of ths dvne msson was an mportant undertakng that was entrusted pubcy on Dhu H||a, the eghteenth, by Gorous Aah, to A (A.S.), the Commander of the Fathfu and the rst personaty after the Hoy Prophet (S) n the word of Isam. Wth the procamaton of Hazrat As guardanshp and successon on ths day, dvne bessngs were competed and the regon of Isam was perfected and announced as the ony regon chosen by Aah. That was how unbeevers and pagans despared of destroyng Isam. Soon after the demse of the Messenger of Aah (S)|, some of the companons of the Hoy Prophet (S), based on ther pre-hatched conspraces, devated from the course of gudance and eadershp. They cosed the gate of the cty of knowedge puttng Musms n perpexty. From the very begnnng of ther rue, they paced the truths of Isam - that were ke shnnng sun - behnd the dark couds of doubt and skeptcsm by way of puttng a ban on recordng prophetc narratons, spreadng fabrcated narratons, castng doubts and embarkng on hypocrtca and deceptve tactcs. Obvousy, n spte of a conspraces hatched by the enemes of Isam, the truths of Isam and nobe sayngs of the Messenger of Aah (S) were promugated by the A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 2 Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S), hs successors and a few of hs devout companons and those truths contnued to ow and manfest themseves n one way or the other n the course of hstory. By expanng the truths, they dd away wth doubts, specous arguments, and wcked beefs ncucated by the enemes of Isam, and made the truth cear to a. In ths respect, great schoars and men of knowedge such as Shekh Mud, Sayyd Murtadha, Kha|a Nasr, Aamah H, Oadh Nuruah, Mr Hamd Hussan, Sayyd Sharafuddn, Aamah Amn etc. havng been gtterng ke shnng stars, snce they are the ones who defended Isamc truths, expaned the reates of the schoo of Ah A-Bayt (A.S.) and deat wth spurous arguments usng ther tongues and pens. In our era, one of the outstandng schoars and researchers who has, wth hs eoquent pen and expressve wrtng, expaned the truths of the regon of Isam and astutey defended the imamate and wilayah (guardanshp) of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S.) s Ayatoah Sayyd A Husan Man, a great researcher. The Isamc Truths Center s proud to take up the task of revvng the frutfu and precous works of that great researcher by revewng, transatng and pubshng them n a bd to make them avaabe to students, scentc gures and those who are n search of Isamc truths. The book n your hand s a transaton of one of hs works whch w now acquant the Engsh readers wth Isamc truths. It s expected that ths humbe ehort w earn the peasure of the Remnant of Aah, the Imam of Tme, may Aah hasten hs reappearance. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 3 Islamic Truths Center A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 4 Introduction The purpose of wrtng ths book s to conduct a research nto the narratons or reports regardng Umars marrage to Umm Kuthum, the daughter of the Commander of the Fathfu, A, peace be upon hm. Ths event has aways been used by a group of peope to deny the btter ncdents and adverse events that took pace durng the eary perod of Isam n regards to A bn Ab Tab and Fatma Zahra, peace be upon them. Thus, they argue as such: If what s known as Umars assaut on As house were correct and hs attack ed to the martyrdom of Fatma, the daughter of Hoy Prophet (S), such a marrage or matrmony woud not have taken pace but t took pace and we concude, therefore, that the aeged events are not true and that A (A.S.) and Umar were n qute good terms wth each other. Ths study deves nto the narratons regardng Umars marrage to Umm Kuthum n a bd to carfy whether the foregong argument s compete and reasonabe or nvad and frutess. Obvousy, such an argument can be compete and acceptabe ony when: 1. the subject around which we discuss should have existed. That is to say, it must be proved, in the first place, that the Commander of Faithful, Ali (A..! had a dau"hter by the name #mm $ulthum. Therefore, if a dau"hter by this name never existed, or Fatima %ahra (A..! did not have such a dau"hter & as stated by some scholars, the above ar"ument would be incomplete and out of place. '. it could be termed as marria"e between #mar and #mm $ulthum by simply pronouncin" the formula of marria"e contract. (f conclusion of marria"e contract between those two depends on conju"al relations, this ar"ument will a"ain be incomplete and you will see that there is no concrete evidence to show that the two sides had conju"al relations. ). assumin" that such a marria"e too* place, the ar"ument would be justified only when the marria"e should have ta*en place with complete consent and approbation. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 5 (n case, the marria"e, as stated by the narrations of the Two ects, has ta*en place under coercion, intimidation and pressure, ma*in" recourse to such an ar"ument would then be counterproductive and it will be counted as another injustice done to the +rophet,s pro"eny (A..!. A Critical Assessment of Umm Kulthums Marriage to Umar A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 7 In the name of Aah, the Compassonate the Mercfu A prase s due to Aah, the Lord of the words. May the peace and bessngs of Aah be upon our Master, Muhammad, and hs pure famy, and may the curse of Aah be upon a of ther enemes. Snce the eary Isamc centures as of now, many nqures and nvestgatons have been made and answers gven concernng the foowng narraton: The Commander of Faithful, Ali (A.S.) married his daughter to Ummar b. Khattab. As we, books, treatses and artces have been wrtten n ths regard. For nstance, Shekh Mud, may Aah be peased wth hm, has authored two we-researched treatses n ths regard, of whch one has been presented n the book tted A!webat Al"#asail Al"Sarawiyah n repy to the tenth queston and the other has been presented n A!webat Al"#asail Al"$%!ibiyah n repy to the fteenth queston. The present book s the resut of research concernng ths ncdent. In ths study, rst of a, the orgna narraton has been cted from the most famous Sunn books whereupon ther chans of transmsson as we as ther sgncatons have been examned and crtczed. Ths study ams to examne the story, unve and carfy the truth and nay put a stop to controverses and dsputes n ths regard. And Aah s Fectous and He s the Heper. Section I The "arrations and Their "arrators A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 9 The "arrators and Their "arrations One of the narratons wdey known among Sunn Musms s the narraton to whch they have made recourse n order to argue that "the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S.) marred out hs daughter, Umm Kuthum, to Umar". They have transmtted ths narraton n ther sources and we w cte t from ther most famous books: #$ Ibn Saads "arrations in Al%Taba&at Al%Kubra As far as we know, the earest narrator who has passed on ths tradton s Muhammad bn Saad b. Man Zuhr (d. 230 A.H), the author of Al"Taba&at Al"Kubra. He has ncuded severa narratons n hs book on ths sub|ect whch are as foows: The frst narration: Umm Kuthum was the daughter of A bn Ab Tab bn Abdu Muttab bn Hashm bn Abd Manaf bn Ousa. Her mother was Fatma, the daughter of the Messenger of Aah (S) 1 and Khad|ah bnt Khuwad bn Asad bn Abdu Uzza bn Ousa. She was a young gr when Umar marred her. The frut of ths marrage was a son caed Zad and a daughter caed Ruqayyah. Umm Kuthum remaned Umars wfe unt he was ked. After Umar, Awn bn |afar bn Ab Tab bn Abdu Muttab marred her (!) 2 , but Awn too ded and thereupon, Awns brother, Muhammad bn |afar bn Ab Tab became her husband. He too, passed away. Then hs brother, Abduah bn |afar bn Ab Tab marred Umm Kuthum after the death of her sster, Zanab, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab (A.S). Umm Kuthum made 1 In spte of the fact that n Sunn sources the greetng (saawat) after the Hoy Prophets name s wrtten ncompetey, we, as the Prophet (S) hmsef recommended, have wrtten t competey. 2 We have used sgns of excamaton (!!) n our transaton of some of the werd, rethnkabe and ob|ectonabe passages cted from ther sources. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 10 reference to t sayng: "I fee embarrassed towards Asma bnt Umas whose two sons ded when they were n my company, and I am worred about the thrd one!" Umm Kuthum ded n Abduah bn |afars house and dd not bear a chd wth anyone of them! The second narration: Umar bn A-Khattab asked A bn Ab Tab for the hand of Umm Kuthum n marrage. A sad: "I have kept my daughters for the sons of |afar." Umar sad: "Marry her to me, O Abu Hasan, for by Aah, there s no man on the face of the earth who seeks to acheve through her good companonshp that whch I seek to acheve." A sad: "I have done so." Then Umar came to the Muha|run (t. mgrants) between the grave (of Rasu-Aah) and the pupt. They - A, Uthman, Zubayr, Tahah and Abd ar-Rahman - used to st there, and whenever a matter used to arrve from the fronters, Umar woud come to them there and consut wth them. He came to them and sad: "Congratuate me". They congratuated hm, and asked: "Wth whom are we congratuatng you, O Amru Mumeneen?" He reped: "Wth the daughter of A bn Ab Tab." 1
Then he tod them the story and sad that he had heard the Prophet (S) say: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage.0 1 1 Ibn Sa'ad, Al"Taba&at Al"Kubra vo.8 p.338 (ed. Dar A-Kotob A-'Imyyah, Berut 1990) 2 Some transators have transated ths tradton as such: "On the |udgment Day every means w be cut oh and every neage severed except my neage." A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 11 I was a companon of the Prophet and I aso oved ths - reatonshp - to be mantaned. The third narration: "Wak bn |arrah narrates from Husham bn Saad, he from Ataa Khurasan that he sad: "Umar pad forty thousand |drhams| as dowry |marrage gft| to Umm Kuthum!" The fourth narration: Muhammad bn Umar Waqd and others have sad: "Umar asked A for the hand of hs daughter, Umm Kuthum, n marrage. A reped that she had not yet attaned the age (of puberty). Umar reped: "By Aah, ths s not true. You do not want her to marry me. If she s underage, send her to me." Thus, A caed Umm Kuthum, they prepared her and made her up. Then he asked for a pece of coth whch he foded and handed over to Umm Kuthum teng her to take the garment to Amru Mumeneen and te hm: "My father has sent me to you nstructng me to convey you hs greetngs and sad that f you ked the garment, take t or ese, return t!." When Umm Kuthum went to Umar, the atter sad: "May Aah bess you and your father, I ke t." Umm Kuthum returned to hs father and sad: "He dd not unfod the garment, but |ust ooked at me!" Then A marred her to Umar and she bore hm a chd named Zad. The ffth narration: Wak bn |arrah narrates from Isma bn Ab Khad, he from Aamr Shab that both Zad bn Umar and Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A, ded. Ibn Umar ohered funera prayer consstng of four takbrs (Aahu Akbar). He paced Zad on the sde he had stood A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 12 and Umm Kuthum n the drecton of Obah and prayed on both of them. The sixth narration: Ubaduah bn Musa says: "Isra narrates from Ab Hasn, he from Aamr who sad: "Ibn Umar ohered a funera prayer on Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A, and her son. He paced Zad on hs sde and prayed on those two." Wak has reported a smar account from Zad bn Habb, from Shaab and added: "Durng the (funera) prayer, Hasan and Husan, the sons of A, Muhammad bn Hanayah, Abduah bn Abbas and Abduah bn |afar stood prayng behnd bn Umar." The seventh narration: Ubaduah bn Musa and Isra have narrated from |abr, he from Aamr Shab that he sad: "Durng the prayer on the corpse of Zad bn Umar bn Khattab, Abduah bn Umar ed the prayer whe Hasan and Husan prayed behnd hm. Had he known that t was good to say more takbr (Aahu Akbar), he woud have sad t." The eighth narration: Ubaduah bn Musa narrates from Isra, from Sudd, from Abduah bn Baha that he sad: "I saw Ibn Umar pray on Umm Kuthum and Zad bn Umar bn Khattab and that he paced Zad on the sde where the Imam (the prayer eader) was standng whe Hasan and Husan were wtnessng the prayer." The ninth narration: Wakbn |arrah, from Hammad bn Saamah, narrates that Ammar bn Ab Ammar (Mawa 1 of Ban Hashm) sad: "I was present on the day on whch Saed bn Aas, who was then the governor of Medna, prayed on those two wth eghty peope from the companons of Prophet Muhammad (S) foowng hm n prayer." 1 A freed save s known as Mawa A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 13 The tenth narration: |afar bn Awn narrates from bn |urayh that Na sad: "The bodes of Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab and wfe of Umar bn Khattab and her son Zad were brought n for funera prayer. On that day Saed bn Aas was the prayer eader." The eleventh narration: Abduah bn Numar narrates from Isma, he from Ibn Ab Khad who narrates from Aamr that: "Ibn Umar ohered prayers on the dead bodes of hs brother Zad and that of Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A. The corpses of those two were n one casket and Zads body was on the sde cose to the prayer eader." 1 '$ (ulabis "arrations in Al%(urriyat Al%Tahira Another schoar who has reported and recorded narratons n ths regard s Abu Bushr Muhammad bn Ahmad A-Duab (d. 310 A.H). In hs Al",urriyat Al"Tahira, he has reported severa narratons regardng Umm Kuthum bnt Fatma, daughter of the Hoy Messenger of Aah, peace be upon hm and hs descendants. The first narration: A-Duab says: "I heard Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar sayng: I heard Yunus bn Bukar say that he had heard from Ibn Ishaq that Fatma, the daughter of the Hoy Prophet (S), gave brth to three sons named Hasan, Husan and Mohsn. The atter ded at a young age. She aso gave brth to two daughters named Umm Kuthum and Zanab." The second narration: Ibn Ishaq says: "Aasm bn Umar bn Oatadah narrated to me as such: "Umar asked A for the hand of hs daughter, Umm Kuthum n marrage and A reped that she had not yet attaned the age (of maturty). 1 Al"Taba&atu Al"Kubra,8/338 - 340. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 14 Umar reped: "By Aah, ths s not true. 1 You do not want her to marry me. If she s underage, send her to me." Thus, A gave hs daughter Umm Kuthum a dress and asked her to go to Umar and te hm that her father wanted to know what ths dress was for. When she came to Umar and gave hm the message, he grabbed her hand and forcby pued her towards hmsef. Umm Kuthum asked hm to eave her hand, whch Umar dd and sad: "You are a very mannered ady wth great moras. 2 Go and te your father that you are very pretty and you are not what he sad of you!" Wth that A marred Umm Kuthum to Umar. The third narration: Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar narrates from Yunus bn Bukar, from Khad bn Saeh, from Waqd bn Abduah bn Umar, from some of hs reatves that Umar bn Khattab Umar bn Khattab asked A for the hand of hs daughter, Umm Kathum bnt Fatma (daughter of the Hoy Prophet (S)) n marrage. A sad to hm: "She has other guardans aso, wat unt I get ther permsson." Then A (A.S.) went to Fatmas sons and nformed them about Umars proposa whereupon they sad: "Marry her to hm." A caed Umm Kuthum, who was then a young gr then, and sad to her: "Go to the Commander of the Fathfu, and te hm: "My father sends you hs regards and says that he has fued your wsh." 1 In the prnted copy of the book, t has been wrtten n ths part of the books as such: "There s a word here whch s not readabe"! But the orgna sentence s ths: "No, I swear by Aah! That s not true." 2 In the prnted copy of the book, t has been wrtten as such: "There s a word here whch s not readabe"! But n the tradton of Muhbuddn A-Tabar, there s not any word." A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 15 Upon reachng Umars house, Umm Kuthum conveyed hm her fathers message whereupon Umar grabbed her and hed her to hs bosom (!!) and sad: "I sought Umm Kuthums hand n marrage and her father marred her to me." They sad to Umar: "What do you mean? She s a tte gr?!" Umar sad: "Do not dsparage me |for marryng a young gr|, for I heard the Prophet say, upon hm be bessngs and peace: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my means and lineage.0 ( desired to place myself in the +rophetHs linea"e throu"h this marria"e.I The fourth narraton: Abdu Rahman bn Khad bn Mun says: "Habb, the wrter of Mak bn Anass book, narrates from Abdu Azz Darawerd, from Zad bn Asam, from hs father, who was the freed save of Umar bn Khattab, sayng: "Umar asked A for Umm Kuthums hand n marrage whereupon A dscussed the matter wth Abbas, Aq and Hasan. Aq was annoyed teng A: "The apse of days and months w ony add to your ack of nsght and astuteness n your work. By Aah, f you do ths, such and such w happen." A tod Abbas: "By Aah, he s not takng wshfuy, but the whp of Umar has mpeed hm to say what you are hearng." 1
1 From the coecton of tradtons and the above statement, t s concuded that Hazrat A (A.S) was aganst ths marrage and because of the threats from Umar, Aq wanted ths marrage to take pace and hs anger too, was because of ths. Therefore, Hazart Amr (A.S) dd not decare hs acceptance to ths marrage to be out of good w. Of course the surprsng part s n the rest of the above narraton, where we are seeng that the opnon of Amru Muumnn A (A.S) changed at once; and that too A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 16 Then A turned to Aq and sad: "Oh Aq, I swear by Aah that t s not because of my ncnaton to you and your opnon, but Umar bn Khattab nformed me that he heard the Messenger of Aah (S) say: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage.0 The ffth narration: Abdu Azz bn Mun has narrated from Abu A-Darda Marwaz, from Khad bn Khedash; aso, Ishaq bn Ibrahm bn Muhammad bn Suaman bn Ba bn Ab A-Darda Ansar has reported from Abu |amahr Muhammad bn Uthman who sad: "Abduah bn Zad bn Asam, from hs father, from hs grandfather, narrated that Umar bn Khattab, marred Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab, wth a dowry of 40,000 drhams! The sixth narration: Abu Osama Abduah bn Muhammad, from Ha||a| bn Ab Mun, from hs grandfather, from Zuhr who narrates: "Umar bn Khattab marred Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A and hs wfe Fatma and they were bessed wth a baby boy named Zad." The seventh narration: Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar, from Yunus bn Bukar, from Ibn Ishaq who narrated: "Umar bn Khattab marred Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A and they were bessed wth a baby boy named Zad and a daughter. Umar ded whst she was ave." The eighth narration: Abu Osamah Abduah bn Muhammad Haab, from Ha||a| bn Ab Mun, from hs father, from Zuhr who narrates: "After Umar bn Khattab, was not because of the threats from Umar, but because of the urge of Umar to form a reatonshp wth the Messenger of Aah (S) (!!).
A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 17 Awn bn |afar bn Ab Tab marred Umm Kuthum (!!) and she dd not bear a chd from Awn, unt the atter ded." The ninth narration: Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar, from Yunus bn Bukar, from Ishaq, who narrates: "When Umar, the husband of Umm Kuthum bnt A, ded, Awn bn |afar marred Umm Kuthum and he aso ded n her fetme wthout her bearng a chd wth hm." The tenth narration: Ibn Ishaq says: "My father Ishaaq bn Yasaar narrates from Hasan bn Hasan bn A bn Ab Tab, who sad: "When Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab was wdowed of Umar, her brothers Hasan and Husan went to her and sad: "You are known as the rst ady of Isam and the daughter of the best ady of the word. We swear by Aah that f you eave your decson to A, he w dentey marry you to one of hs orphans (!!) and f you wsh to get much weath, you w dentey get t." I swear by Aah, no sooner they got up than A arrved whe he was eanng on hs wakng stck. Prasng and thankng Aah, he remnded them of ther status and dgnty to the Prophet of Aah (S) and sad: "O the chdren of Fatma, you are aware of your status and dgnty and you know we that I have gven you prorty over my other chdren owng to your poston and reatonshp to the Messenger of Aah (S)." They sad: "You are rght, may Aah bess you and may He reward you on our behaf." A turned to hs daughter and sad: "My daughter, Aah has granted you the authorty to hande your matter yoursef, but I wsh you eave that to me." Umm Kuthum sad: "Dear father, I swear by Aah that I am aso a woman, and I too have the aspratons and A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 18 desres of a other women, I woud ove to en|oy the word as much as any other women do; I wsh to decde for mysef what I shoud do n ths regard." A sad: "My daughter, I swear by Aah that t s not your vew but rather that of these two!" Then he stood up and sad: "You w ether do ths or you w never tak to any of these two!" Hasan and Husan grabbed ther fathers dress and sad: "Dear father, st down. By Aah, we cannot ahord to mss you." Then they tod Umm Kuthum: "Leave the decson of your marrage to hm." Umm Kuthum sad: "I have done so." A sad: "I w marry you to Awn bn |afar, who s an adoescent." Thereupon, A returned to Umm Kuthum takng her four thousand drham. Then he nformed hs nephew and sent her to hm. Hasan bn Hasan says: "By Aah, ever snce the begnnng of creaton as of now, I know of no ove to be ke her ove of Awn." The eleventh narration: Abu Ishaq, Ibrahm bn Yaqub bn Ishaq |ouz|an narrates from Yazd bn Haroon, from Hammad bn Saamah, from Ammar bn Ab Ammar that he sad: "Both Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A, and Zad, the son of Umar ded. We shrouded those two and Saed bn Aas ohered funera prayer on them wth Hasan, Husan and Abu Hurarah prayng behnd hm." The twelfth narration: Ibrahm bn Yaqub narrates from Yazd bn Haroon, he from Isma bn Ab Khad that he sad: "Aamr was asked as to how the prayer on the A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 19 corpses of men and women were ohered to whch he reped: "When I arrved, I saw Abduah bn Umar oherng funera prayer on hs brother and hs mother Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab." 1 )$ H*im "ishaburis "arration in Al%Mustadra$ Hakm, Abu Abduah Nshabur (d. 405 A.H.), has narrated ony one tradton n ths regard as foows: Hassan bn Yaqub and Ibrahm bn Ismat, both far and |ust, from Sarr bn Khuzaymah, from Muaa bn Asad, 2 from Wuhab bn Khad, from |afar bn Muhammad |.e. Imam Sadq (A.S)|, from hs father, from A bn Hussan, who sad: "Umar asked A for the hand of Umm Kuthum n marrage and sad: "Marry her to me." A sad: "I have kept my daughters for |afars son" Umar sad: "Marry her to me, for by Aah, there s no man on earth who seeks to acheve through her good companonshp that whch I seek to acheve!" A marred her to Umar. Then Umar came to the Muha|run and sad: "Dont you congratuate me?" They asked: "Wth whom are we congratuatng you, O Commander of the Fathfu? He reped: "Wth the daughter of A and Fatma, daughter of the Messenger of Aah (S). I head the Messenger of Aah (S) say: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 1 Al",urriyat Al"Tahirah, 157 - 165. 2 In the text of Al"#ustadra2 , t has been recorded as "Muaa bn Rashd" whch s wrong. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 20 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage.0 ( desired to include myself in the +rophetHs linea"e throu"h this marria"e.I After reportng ths narraton, Hakm then says: "Ths tradton s authentc n terms of the chan of transmsson, but Bukhar and Musm have not narrated t." 1 +$ ,ayha&is "arrations in Al%Sunan Al%Kubra Abu Bakr Bayhaq (d. 457 A.H.) has reported some narratons n ths regard whch are as foows: The frst narration: Abu Abduah, Hadh (.e. Hakm, the author of Al"#ustadra2) from Hassan bn Yaqub and Ibrahm bn Ismat, reports that Sarr bn Khuzaymah reported from Muaa bn Asad, he from Wuhab bn Khad who narrated: "|afar bn Muhammad (.e.Imam Sadq (A.S)) reported from hs father, he from A bn Hussan; Lkewse from Abu Abbas, Muhammad bn Yaqub, from Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar, from Yunus bn Bukar, from bn Ishaq, from Abu |afar (.e. Imam Baqr (A.S)), from hs father, from A bn Hussan that: "When Umar marred Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab, he came to the Muha|run between the grave (of the Messenger of Aah) and the pupt where the peope n attendance congratuated hm and wshed hm we." Addressng the peope, Umar sad: Behod! I swear by Aah that what mpeed me to marry her, was a tradton that I had heard from the Messenger of Aah (S) who sad: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage.0 1 Al"#ustadra2, 3/153, #a0rifat Al"Sahabah (#ana&ib Amirul #u0uminin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon hm), No. 4684). A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 21 Havng quoted ths narraton, Bayhaq says: "Ths s the text of Ibn Ishaqs narraton, but t s, n terms of the chan of transmsson, consdered to be mursal0 (hurred or a tradton n whch the chan of narrators s omtted) and hasan (good). That s because t has aso been narrated wth a broken chan of transmsson." The second narration: Abu Husan bn Bshran reported from Daa| bn Ahmad, from Musa bn Haroon, from Sufyan, from Wak bn |arrah, from Rooh bn Ubadah, from Ibn |uray|, from Ibn Ab Makah, from Hasan bn Hasan and he from hs father that he sad: Umar asked Imam A for the hand of Bb Umm Kuthum n marrage. A sad: "She s too young to be marred." Umar sad: "I heard the Prophet of Aah (S) say: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage.0 ( desired to place myself in the +rophetHs linea"e throu"h this marria"e.I A turned to Hasan and Husan and sad: "Marry Umm Kuthum to your unce!" They sad: "Umm Kuthum, ke a other women, s free to choose whomever as husband." A stood up angry (!) but Hasan pued hs ap and sad: "We cannot ahord to mss you." A sad: "Then marry her to Umar." 1 1 Al"Sunan Al"Kubra, 7/101 and 102 numbers 13393 and 13394. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 22 Bayhaq has ncuded ths narraton agan under "The Narratons about Fathers Marryng out Ther Vrgn Daughters". 1 Turkman, the author of the book of Al"-ouhar Al"3a&i, says: "Bayhaq, n ths secton of hs book, has narrated the marrage of the Prophet and a sx-year-od Asha, the marrage of Umar and As daughter at a young age, and some of the Prophets companons who marred out ther young daughters.. As for Asha and As daughter, they were young (and had not yet reached the age of puberty). -$ Khatib ,aghdadis "arrations in Tarih ,aghdad Khatb Baghdad (d. 463 A.H.) expanng the bography of Ibrahm bn Mahran Marwaz n hs Tari2h 4aghdad, narrates a tradton wth hs chan of transmsson. The narraton reads: Lath bn Saad Oays, a servant of Ban Rafaah n the year 171 AH n Egypt, reports from Musa bn A bn Rabah Lakhm, from hs father, from Uqba bn Aamr |uhan, who narrated: "Umar bn A-Khattab asked A bn Ab Tab for the hand of Umm Kuthum (daughter of Fatma) n marrage, and frequenty vstng As house on ths matter. He tod A: "O Abu Hassan, what has made me to come to you tme and agan s a sayng whch I heard from the Prophet of Aah (S) that: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage.0 ( wish to place myself in the +rophetHs linea"e throu"h this marria"e.I A stood up and caed for hs daughter, made her up (!) and then sent her to Amru Mumeneen, Umar. Seeng 1 Al"Sunan Al"Kubra, 7/185 number 13660. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 23 Umm Kuthum, Umar stood up and grabbed her anke and sad, 'Te your father that I am wng, I am wng, I am wng. When the gr returned to hs father, A sad: "What dd Amru Mumeneen say?" Umm Kuthum sad: "When Umar saw me, he got up, took me n hs ap, kssed me (!), and when I got up to eave, he grabbed my anke and sad, 'Te your father that I am wng'." Then A marred her to Umar. She gave brth to Zad bn Umar bn Khattab who ved unt he grew od and ded. 1 .$ Ibn Abd Al%,arrs "arrations in Al%Istiab/ Ibn Abd A-Barr Ourtub (d. 643 A.H.) has aso reported some narratons n ths regard whch are as foows: The frst narration: Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab, was born before the demse of the Prophet of Aah (S). Her mother was Fatma Zahra, the daughter of the Messenger of Aah (S). Umar bn Khattab asked A bn Ab Tab for her hand n marrage. A sad: "She s young." Umar sad: "Marry her to me! I sha observe her dgnty more than anyone ese." A sad: "I w send her to you, f you ke her, I sha marry her to you." A then sent the gr wth a pece of coth and tod her to say |to Umar| 'Ths s the scarf that I was takng about'. She conveyed these words to Umar, who sad, 'Te your father that I have accepted'. Umar then touched the gr's caf pung asde the garment. 1 Tari2h 4aghdad, 6/180. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 24 She excamed, 'You have done ths to me? If t hadn't been for the fact that you are the Commander of the Fathfu, I woud have broken your nose'. The gr went home and repeated the epsode to her father, statng 'You sent me to a fou man.' Wth that A sad, 'My daughter, he s your husband'. Thereupon, Umar went over to the Muha|run near the pupt of the Prophet (S), where the eary Muha|run used to gather. Addressng them, he sad: "Congratuate me. They sad: "What for, O Amru Muumeneen? He sad: "I have marred Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab. I heard the Prophet of Aah (S) say: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage.0 ( was related to the +rophet (! but ( wish to place myself in the +rophetHs linea"e throu"h this marria"e.I The Muha|run congratuated hm. The second narration: Abdu Warth reports from Oasm, from Khushan, from Ibn Ab Umar, from Sufyan, from Amr bn Dnar, from Muhammad (Ibn Hanayah) the son of A, who narrates: "Umar bn Khattab asked A for her daughters hand (Umm Kuthum) n marrage. A reped that she was too young. They tod Umar: "A has re|ected you. Umar returned to A to ask agan for hs daughters hand n marrage. A sad: "I w send her to you, f you ke her, she w be your wfe. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 25 Then A sent her daughter to Umar, and Umar pued away the coth from her caf (!). Umm Kuthum sad: "Take oh your hands! Were t not for the fact that you are the Commander of the Fathfu, I woud have bnded you." The third narration: Ibn Wahab reports from Abdu Rahman bn Zad bn Asam, from hs father, from hs grandfather who narrates that: "Umar bn Khattab marred Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab wth a dowry of four thousand drham!" The fourth narration: Abu Umar says: "Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab, gave brth to two chdren named Zad and Ruqayyah from Umar bn Khattab. She and her son Zad ded on the same day. Zad was n|ured n a batte whch took pace overnght among Ban Ad can. He had gone to sette the dspute between the warrng partes when someone ht hm n the dark. He got fatay n|ured and coapsed. A whe ater he ded, hs death concdng wth the death of hs mother. Ibn Umar prayed on both of them as suggested by Hasan bn A. As they say: "Two tradtons were performed about these two peope: 1. None of them nherted from the other, snce t was not cear who passed away rst. 2. Zads corpse was paced n front of hs mothers corpse on the sde where the prayer eader stood. 1
1 Al"5sti0ab, 4/509 & 510. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 26 0$ Ibn Athirs "arrations in Usd Al%1habah Ibn Athr |azar (d. 630 A.H.) has aso reated some narratons n ths regard n hs book tted Usd Al"6habah. Hs narratons are as foows: The frst narration: Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab and Fatma, the daughter of the Messenger of Aah (S) was born before the demse of the Hoy Prophet (S). Umar bn Khattab asked A bn Ab Tab for hs daughters hand n marrage. A reped that she was too young. Umar sad: "There s no man who seeks to acheve through her good companonshp that whch I seek to acheve. A sad: I w send her to you and f you are peased, I sha marry her to you." Then A sent Umm Kuthum to Umar wth a pece of coth and nstructed her to te Umar that t was the coth he was takng about." Umm Kuthum conveyed Umar her fathers message. Umar tod her: "I am peased, may Aah be peased wth you." He then touched her! Why are you dong ths? Umm Kuthum ob|ected. "Had t not been for the fact that you are Commander of the Fathfu, I woud have broken your nose." Then she went home and repeated the epsode to her father, statng 'You sent me to a fou od man.' Wth that A sad, 'My daughter, he s your husband'. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 27 Thereupon, Umar went to the pace of the Muha|run near the pupt of the Prophet (S), where the eary Muha|run used to gather. He sat besde them and sad: "Congratuate me." They sad: "What for, O Amru Muumeneen? He sad: I have marred Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab. I heard the Prophet of Aah (S) say: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage. ( was related to the +rophet (! but ( wish to place myself in the +rophetHs linea"e throu"h this marria"e.I Then the Muha|run congratuated hm. Umar marred Umm Kuthum wth a dowry of forty thousand drhams! The frut of ths marrage was two chdren named Zad son of the Greater Umar and Ruqayyah. Umm Kuthum and her son, Zad, ded on the same day. Zad was n|ured n the batte whch took pace overnght among Ban Ad can. He had gone to sove the dspute between the two warrng sdes when someone ht hm n the dark. He got fatay n|ured and coapsed. Zad was ave for a whe but then he breathed hs ast on the same day as hs mother. Ibn Umar prayed on both of them as proposed by Hasan bn A. When Umar was ked: "Awn bn |afar marred Umm Kuthum! A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 28 The second narration: Abdu Wahab bn A bn A Amn reports from Abu Fadh Muhammad bn Nasr, from Khatb Abu Tahr Muhammad bn Ahmad bn Ab Saqar, from Abu Barakat Ahmad bn Abdu Wahd bn Fadh bn Nadhf bn Abduah Farra who narrates that he tod Ahmad: "Has Abu Muhammad Hassan bn Rashq narrated to you?" He sad: "Yes, Abu Bushr Muhammad bn Ahmad bn Hammad Duab reported from Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar, from Yunus bn Bukar, from Ibn Ishaq, from Hasan bn Hasan bn A bn Ab Tab who sad: "When Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab (A.S) was wdowed of Umar, her brothers Hasan and Husan went to her sayng: "You are known as the chef of Musm women and the daughter of the best ady. We swear by Aah that f you eave your decson to A, he w dentey marry you to one of hs orphans (!) and f you wsh to get substanta weath (!!), you w dentey get t." I swear by Aah, no sooner dd they stand up than A arrved whe he was eanng on hs wakng stck. Prasng and thankng Aah, he remnded them of ther status and dgnty to the Prophet of Aah (S) and sad: O the chdren of Fatma, you are aware of your status and dgnty and you know we that I have gven you prorty over my other chdren owng to your poston and reatonshp to the Messenger of Aah (S)." They sad: You are rght, may Aah bess you and may He reward you on our behaf." A turned to hs daughter and sad: "My daughter, Aah has granted you the authorty to hande your matter yoursef, but I wsh you to eave that to me." A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 29 Umm Kuthum sad: "Dear father, I swear by Aah that I am aso a woman, and I too have the aspratons of other women (!!), I woud ove to en|oy the word as much as any other women; I wsh to decde for mysef what I shoud do regardng ths matter." A sad: "My daughter, I swear by Aah that t s not your vew but t s that of these two!" Then he stood up and sad: "You w ether do ths or you w never tak to any of these two! Hasan and Husan grabbed ther fathers ap and sad: "Dear father, st down. By Aah, we cannot ahord to mss you." Turnng to Umm Kuthum, they sad: "Leave your matter to hm." I have done so," Umm Kuthum answered. A sad: "I w marry you to Awn bn |afar, who s an adoescent." Thereupon, A returned to Umm Kuthum gvng her four thousand drham and sendng her to Awn." Ths narraton has aso been reported by Abu Umar. 1 2$ Ibn Ha3ars "arrations in Al%Isabah Ibn Ha|ar Asqaan, who ded n the year 852 A.H., has aso reported some narratons n ths regard whch are as under: The frst narration: Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab was a descendant of Hashm, her mother was Fatma, the daughter of the Messenger of Aah (S). She was born durng the fetme of the Prophet of Aah, peace be upon hm and hs descendants. 1 Usd Al"6habah, 7/377 & 378. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 30 Abu Umar says, "She was born before the demse of the Hoy Prophet (S)." Ibn Ab Umar Maqds says: "Sufyan reported from Umar, from Muhammad bn A |Imam Baqr (A.S)| that he sad: "Umar bn Khattab asked A for her daughters hand (Umm Kuthum) n marrage. A reped that she was too young. They tod Umar, "A has re|ected you." Umar returned to A to ask agan for hs daughters hand n marrage. A sad: "I w send her to you, f you ke her, she w be your wfe." Then A sent her daughter to Umar who pued away the coth from her caf! Umm Kuthum sad: "Take oh your hands! Were t not for the fact that you are the Commander of the Fathfu, I woud have bnded you." The second narration: Ibn Wahab reports from Abdu Rahman Ibn Zad Ibn Asam, from hs father, from hs grandfather who narrates that Umar marred Umm Kuthum wth a dowry of forty thousand drham! The third narration: Zubar says: "Umm Kuthum bore two chdren from Umar by the names of Zad and Ruqayyah. Umm Kuthum passed away on the same day as her son. Zad was n|ured durng the batte that took pace amongst Ban Ad, where he had gone to sette the dspute between the warrng partes when someone ht hm n the dark. He got fatay n|ured and coapsed. Hs mother was aso sck, and they both ded on the same day." The fourth narration: In hs Al",urriyat Al"Tahirah Abu Bushr Duab narrates on the authorty of Ibn Ishaq: A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 31 Hasan bn Hasan bn A says: "When Umar, the husband of Umm Kuthum ded and she was wdowed of hm, her brothers Hasan and Husan went to her and sad to her: "If you yoursef make your decson and want to get substanta weath, you sha dentey get t." Then A entered the house, thanked and prased Aah and sad: "My daughter, Aah has granted you the authorty to hande your matter yoursef, but I wsh you eave the matter to me." Umm Kuthum sad: "Dear father, I swear by Aah that I am aso a woman, and I too have the aspratons and desres of a other women and I woud ove to en|oy the word as much as any other women do." A sad: "My daughter, I swear by Aah that t s not your vew but rather that of these two!" Then he stood up and sad: "You ether do ths or I w never tak to any of these two!" They surrounded Umm Kuthum and wanted her to accept the proposa. She accepted and got marred to Awn bn |afar." The ffth narration: Dar Outn has referred to Umm Kuthum n n Al"52hwah and has sad: "When Awn ded, hs brother Muhammad marred Umm Kuthum! After a whe, Awn too ded whereupon hs brother Abduah marred her (!) and Umm Kuthum ded n Abduah's house. Ibn Saad has aso reported a narraton smar to the above sayng at the end: Umm Kuthum used to refer to the ncdent sayng: "I fee embarrassed towards Asma bnt Umas whose two sons ded when they were n my company, and I am worred about the thrd one." A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 32 Umm Kuthum ded n Abduah bn |afars house and dd not bear a chd wth anyone of them. The sixth narration: Ibn Saad reports from Anas Ibn Ayadh, from |afar bn Muhammad, from hs father who sad: "Umar bn Khattab asked A for hs daughters hand n marrage. A sad: "I have kept my daughters for the sons of |afar." Umar sad: "Marry her to me, for by Aah, there s no man on earth who seeks to acheve through her good companonshp that whch I seek to acheve." A sad: "I have accepted." Umar went to the pace of the Muha|run and tod them: "Congratuate me." They congratuated hm, and asked: "Whom have you marred?" He reped: "I have marred the daughter of A bn Ab Tab." Indeed, the Prophet of Aah (S) sad: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means will be *ut o+ and e)ery lineage se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage.0 I had gven the Prophet a daughter, but I aso oved to (marry a daughter from hs famy)." 1
1 Al"5sabah, 8/464 and 465. Section II A Study of the Chains of Transmission of the "arrations A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 34 A Study of the Chains of Transmission of the "arrations The narratons that you went through were the most mportant reports that have been passed on by Sunn Musms most famous books. Some of these narratons reate to the aegaton that the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) marred hs daughter to Umar. Some reate to the marrage of Umm Kuthum after Umars death and others reate to the event of her death and her son. Based on Sunn Musms rues and prncpes n the scence of hadth (tradton) and reyng on the sayngs of ther schoars n 7ilm Al"ri!%l |the scence of narrators bographes|, f one carefuy ooks and examnes the chans of the transmsson of these narratons, he w come to understand that the story n ts entrety s baseess and unsubstantated et aone the reevant detas and mnor ncdents n connecton wth t? 1 Now, before verfyng the chans, we sha remnd you of a few ponts concernng these narratons: 1. The stores that you went through n the prevous secton have not been reported n the two we-known and respected books, namey Sahih 4u2hari and Sahih #uslim. The authors of these two books have dsregarded these narratons not mentonng them n ther books. 2. These narratons have aso not been narrated n the other Sunn books whch are wdey known as Sihah Sittah. 1 We can dvde the narrators of these narratons nto two groups: 1. Peope who have been weakened (consdered as unreabe) and accused of yng by Sunn schoars. 2. Peope who are though trusted by Sunn schoars, ther hatred and mace towards the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) was an obvous and ndsputabe hstorca reaty. It s pertnent to menton that, the narratons from ths group of narrators - especay those aganst A bn Ab Tab (A.S) - are not acceptabe to Sha. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 35 Hence, a the authors of the sx so-caed authentc books have dsregarded these tradtons and agreed not to narrate them. 3. Ths story has not been reated n other hadth books such as #usnad of Ahmad bn Hanba. He and a group of hs foowers mantaned that anythng that s not recorded n ths book - #usnad Ahmad - s not authentc. 1 It s worth notng that n many cases and n dherent topcs, Sunns do not present ther arguments wth reance on the narratons whch are authentc smpy because Bukhar and Musm have not narrated them n ther books or that they have not been recorded n the other Shah books! The 4ocal !oint in this 5egard The foca pont that can be mentoned n ths regard s that ths story has been narrated by ther narrators from the Sha Imams, the Ah A-Bayt (A.S). The above narratons have been transmtted n the books of Al"Taba&%t of bn Saad, Al"#ustadra2 of Hakm, Al"Sunan Al"Kubra of Bayhaq and Al",urriyat Al"Tahirah of Duab. Two ponts must be noted concernng these narratons. The frst point: Foowng years of studyng and revewng Sunn Musms narratons, we have found out that when Sunns and the opponents of the Ah A-Bayt (A.S) wanted to reate a narraton to the Ah A-Bayt (A.S) whch s n no way n harmony wth those nobe mens opnon and doctrne, they have aways embarked on fabrcatng a narraton ascrbng t to one of the members of the pure progeny of the Hoy Prophet, peace be upon hm and hs descendants. 1 Vde: 3afaht Al" A8h%r, 2/27 and next. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 36 When they wanted to nd a faut wth Aahs Prophet (S) and hs nobe daughter, Fatma Zahra (S.A) as we as hs successor Amru Mumeneen A (A.S), they made up a story ascrbng a sayng to the Ah A-Bayt that they sad that, for exampe, A (A.S) sought marrage to the daughter of Abu |ah. 1
When they wanted to propagate the prohbton of temporary marrage they made every ehort to crtcze Ibn Abbas, who unt the ast moment of hs fe beeved that temporary marrage was awfu. Thus, they forged a narraton forbddng the temporary marrage and quotng a sayng from A rebukng and tauntng Ibn Abbas for beevng n the permssbty of temporary marrage. They aso fabrcated tradtons quotng them from hs sons. 2 When they wanted to fabrcate a tradton on the merts of the companons, they made ths tradton mputng t Imam |afar Sadq (A.S) that he sad that the companons were ke stars. 3 Therefore, there s no doubt that the story of Umm Kuthums marrage to Umar s a fabrcated story whch has no bass at a. The second point: The Sunn Musms have narrated ths story from Imam Sadq (A.S), from hs father as narrated n Ibn Saads Al"Taba&at or from Imam Sadq (A.S), from hs father, from Imam Sa||ad (A.S) as narrated n Al" #ustadra2 or from Hasan bn Hasan as narrated n A- ,urriyat Al"Tahirah or from Hasan bn Hasan, from hs father as narrated by Bayhaq n hs Al"Sunan Al"Kubra. Therefore, f the Sunn Musms am of quotng these narratons s to base ther argument on them to prove ther 1 Refer to the treatse that we have wrtten concernng ths sub|ect. 2 See the research work that we have wrtten concernng ths topc. 3 See the book that we have wrtten concernng ths topc. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 37 sde of the story on the bass of ther own standards and prncpes, then t depends on the authentcty of the narraton accordng to them. Hence, t s not possbe to use the foregong narratons on the authorty of the Ah A-Bayt (A.S) because Ibn Saad, the wrter of Al"Taba&at Al"Kubra has spoken nsoenty and dsrespectfuy of Imam Sadq (A.S) sayng: "He has severa narratons that cannot be used to argue wth snce they are weak and unreabe. He was once asked: Dd you hear these narratons from your father?" He sad: "Yes." He was asked agan and he sad: "I found them n my fathers book." 1
Lkewse, n hs Al"#ustadra2, Hakm Nsharbur narrates a tradton from Imam Sa||ad (A.S) on the authorty of Imam Sadq (A.S) consderng t to be authentc. Commentng on that tradton, Dhahab says: "The chan of transmsson of ths narraton s cut oh." 2 Concernng that narraton, Bayhaq, says: "Ths narraton s mursal0 (hurred or a tradton n whch the chan of narrators s omtted." 3
The narraton that has been narrated from Hasan bn Hasan n Al",urriyat Al"Tahirah, s aso smar to ths. On top of that, ts narrators have been weakened as sha soon be cared. Certany, there s no nterrupton n the narratons transmtted n Bayhaqs Al"Sunan Al"Kubra from Hasan bn Hasan, from hs father but ther chans of transmsson ack authentcty and credbty especay because the narrator 1 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 19:;. 2 Tal2his Al"#ustadra2, <9=;1.
3 Al"Sunan Al"Kubra, >9=?1. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 38 narrates ths tradton from Hasan bn Hasan bn Ab Makah. We sha provde the detas soon. On the other hand, f ther am of reatng these narratons s to make Shtes accept them, smpy because they have been narrated from the Ah A-Bayt (A.S) through those who narrated tradtons from the Hoy Messenger of Aah (S), such an ehort depends on the fact that the foowers of Ah A-Bayt (A.S) shoud verfy and authentcate the transmtters of these narratons accordng to ther own vewpont, and ths s the begnnng of the debate between Shsm and the Sunnte schoo. Hence, the most mportant narratons whch Sunn Musms have made recourse to and ponted out n ther books are vered and proven be unreabe and unauthentc. (By extenson, other reevant narratons woud be vod and unauthentc). Notwthstandng ths, we sha dscuss at ength n ths regard. To begn wth, we sha dscuss the chan of the transmsson of the narraton that has been narrated n Al" Sunan Al"Kubra of Bayhaq, from Imam Baqr (A.S) and from hs respected father Imam Sa||ad (A.S) and n Al"5sti0%b, from Imam Baqr (A.S) and n Al"Sunan Al"Kubra from Hasan bn Hasan. Then we sha study ther snad (documentaton) and chans of the transmsson of the other narratons so as to draw a concuson and to expose the opponents by concrete arguments and proofs. On ths bass, we say: Bayhaq has reported ths narraton n Al"Sunan Al"Kubra from Hakm Nshabur, from Imam Baqr (A.S), from hs father Imam Sa||ad (A.S). The pont s that Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar s aso present n the chan of the transmsson of the narraton, and we sha now study hs bography. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 39 Ahmad ibn Abdul Jabbar as Seen by ,iogra6hers Some of the comments made by bographers concernng Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar are as foows: Ibn Ab Hatm says: "I have wrtten many narratons reported by Ahmad, but because a ot of peope are speakng |hghy of| hm, I have refraned from narratng them." Ibn Muen says: "He used to e." Abu Ahmad Hakm aso says about hm: "Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar s weak accordng to bographers. That s why Ibn Uqdah has dsregarded hs narratons." Ibn Ad aso says about hm: "The peope of Iraq unanmousy consder hm as weak (untrustworthy)." 1 7unus ibn ,uair as Seen by ,iogra6hers Yunus bn Bukar s aso n the chan of the transmtters of the narratons. Some bographers sayngs about hm are as foows: |ur, from Ab Dawud narrated that Yunus bn Bukar s not trustworthy accordng to hm. He used to take a cause from Ibn Ishaqs sayngs and attach t wth the tradtons. Nesa says about hm: "Yunus s not good n narratng tradtons." He has aso been reported as havng sad: "Yunus s weak n terms of narratng tradtons." |owz|an says about Yunus: "It s approprate to ook nto hs work carefuy." Sa| says: "Ibn Madn never transmtted narratons from Yunus, nevertheess, he s counted among the honest narrators by Sunn Musms." 1 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 1/47. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 40 Ahmad bn Hanba says about hm: "The peope hated and detached themseves from no one as much as they hated and detached themseves from hm." Ibn Ab Shaybah says: "He was characterzed by weakness." Sa| says: "Yunus was a truthfu person, the ony aw wth hm was that he used to foow the ruers and he was a foower of the Mur|ah 1 sect. 2 Amr ibn (inar as Seen by ,iogra6hers Ths narraton has aso been quoted by Ibn Abd a-Barr and Ibn Ha|ar on the authorty of Imam Baqr (A.S) wth Amr bn Dnar beng present n the chan of the transmsson. We have mentoned beow comments made by some bographers about hm: Maymun narrates from Ahmad bn Hanba that Amr bn Dnar s weak n terms of transmttng narratons and that he was a reporter of weak |munkar| tradtons. Ishaq bn Mansur narrates from Ibn Maen that he s not noteworthy from a bographca perspectve. Yaqub bn Shaybah has aso narrated from Ibn Maen that he sad that Amr bn Dnar s a dh%hib Al"hadith0 3 . Amr bn A says about hm: "The narratons from Amr are weak n terms of transmsson." He narrated mun2ar |teray denounced| 4 tradtons from Sam, from bn Umar, from Aahs Messenger (S). Abu Hatm has narrated the same sayng: "A of hs narratons are denounced." 1 Mur|ah was a group of Musms who procamed: "No sn s harmfu wth fath." 2 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 11/383. 3 Meanng the tradtons transmtted by hm are worthess. 4 #un2ar, (JK L : M ;N ), teray means 'denounced'. If a narraton whch goes aganst another authentc hadth s reported by a weak narrator, t s known as mun2ar. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 41 Abu Zurah says about Amr: "Hs narratons are vagarous." Bukhar says: "He s a man who shoud be ooked at wth uncertanty and hestaton." Abu Dawud says about hs narratons: "They are not noteworthy." Trmdh says: "He s not strong n terms of transmttng tradtons." Nasa decares hs opnon about Amr by sayng: "He s not reabe snce he has narrated denounced tradtons from Sam." Ese where, he says: "He s weak n terms of transmttng tradtons." |owz|an and Dar Outn have made smar remarks about hm. Ibn Hbban says: "Whoever ooks at hs narratons, becomes surprsed; he has narrated #awdu0ah 1 tradtons from trustworthy narrators." In the book of Al"Awsat, Bukhar aso wrtes as such about hm: "Hs narratons can nether be foowed nor can they be consdered authentc." Ibn Ammar Mawse says about Amr: "He s weak n terms of transmttng tradtons." Sa| aso makes a smar remark sayng: "He s weak n terms of transmttng tradtons for he has narrated denounced tradtons from Sam." 2 1 $adith #awdu', a tradton fabrcated by the narrator and fasey ascrbed to Prophet Muhammad (S) or hs descendants, peace be upon them. 2 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 8/27. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 42 These were some of the remarks made by bographers concernng Amr bn Dnar. Hence, the concuson s that the narraton whch he has transmtted n connecton wth the sub|ect matter s worthess. What s more, Sufyan bn Uyanah s aso n the chan of these narrators. Sufyan ibn Uyainah as Seen by ,iogra6hers Bayhaq has aso reported ths narraton from Hasan bn Hasan, from hs nobe father (S). Among the peope n the chan of the transmsson of the tradton s Sufyan bn Uyanah. What foows s what some bographers have some commented on hm: Ibn Ammar says: I heard Yahya bn Saed Oattan sayng: "Bear wtness that Sufyan bn Uyanah ost hs mnd n the year 197 (A.H.). Therefore anyone who heard a narraton from hm n ths year or n the foowng years, cannot be trusted." After quotng Ibn Ammar, whe answerng the queston of Dhahab, Ibn Ha|ar Asqaan says: "Ths has been reported by Dhahab ony because Ibn Ammar s among the trusted nteectuas. There woud be no probem, f Yahya bn Saed heard t from a group of pgrms n that year and tested t smpy because he trusted them due to the fact that there were many peope who reported the same." I found a sayng from Yahya bn Saed that can form a reason why Ibn Ammar narrated from hm, concernng Ibn Uyanah. Whe eaboratng on the bography of Isma bn Ab Saeh Muadhn, n Tari2h 4aghdad, Abu Saad Saman narrates, wth a strong chan of transmsson from Abdu Rahman bn Bushr bn Hakam, that he heard Yahya bn Saed sayng: "I tod Ibn Uyanah: "You have wrtten tradtons but when you narrate them these days, you add and omt somethng from ther chans of transmsson!" A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 43 He sad: "You shoud obtan the tradtons n the same way as you heard them earer, because I have become od now." Abu Mueen Raz wrtes as part of the annotatons whch he has wrtten on Ahmad bn Hanbas Al"5man: "Haroon bn Maaruf tod Ahmad: The heath condton of Ibn Uyanah had deterorated durng the ast moments of hs fe." Suayman bn Harb aso tod hm: "Ibn Uyanah has made a ot of mstakes n most of the narratons that he has reported from Ayyub." 1
8ai bin Jarrah as Seen by ,iogra6hers Another narrator who has transmtted ths narraton s Wak bn |arrah. In hs #i8an Al"(0tidal, Dhahab quotes Ahmad bn Hanba about Wak bn |arrahs ncredbeness and unreabty as a reporter because he used to curse the predecessors, drnk ntoxcants and gve fase verdcts. 2 Khatb Baghdad narrates on the authorty of Naeem bn Hammad that he had hs dnner - or breakfast - wth Wak. Wak sad: "Whch one do you ke me to brng you, od mens speca nabi8 (wine of rasns or dates) or young mens speca nabz?" I sad: "Do you speak of such thngs?" He sad: "I beeve ths s more haa (permssbe) than the Euphrates water." 3
Ibn Ha|ar reports from Ahmad that Wak has erred n as many as ve hundred tradtons. 4 1 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib: 4/108 and 109. 2 Mzan A-Etda, 7/127. 3 Tarkh Baghdad, 13/477. 4 Tahdhb A-Tahdhb, 11/111. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 44 He has reported from Muhammad b. Nasr Marwaz that n the ast days of hs fe, Wak used to narrate tradtons from hs own mnd changng hs sentences. 1 Ibn Jurai3 as Seen by ,iogra6hers Ibn |ura| too, s one the transmtters of ths tradton. Regardng hm, Ibn Ha|ar wrtes: Mak says: "When t comes to narratng a tradton, Ibn |ura| s ke someone coectng rewood n the darkness. 2 Ibn Mueen says: "The narratons that he has narrated from Zuhr are not worthy of attenton." Ahmad says: "When Ibn |ura| says: "Someone sad", and "I am reportng", he s n fact narratng a denounced |munkar| narraton." Yahya bn Saed says: "Whenever Ibn |ura| says that someone (or so and so) sad, t s ke he s speakng out hs own mnd |he s not reportng from anyone|." Ibn Madn says: "I asked Yahya bn Saed concernng the narratons reported by Ibn |ura| from Ata Khurasan." He sad: "Hs narratons are weak." I tod Yahya: "Ibn |ura| says that Ata Khurasan reported to hm." Yahya sad: "Hs words are not noteworthy; they are a weak. Ata ony has gven hm a book." 1 Ibd, 11/114. 2 Ths phrase s used n scentc books to make a sarcastc remark about mxng up of the rght and wrong and truth and fasehood. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 45 Ibn Hbban says: "Ibn |ura| used to practce tadlis0 1 (conceang)." Dar Outn says: "Keep away from the conceang and decet of Ibn |ura| snce hs tadlis |conceang| s mean." 2 Concernng Ibn |ura|s personaty, Dhahab wrtes n hs #i8an Al"(0tidal: "He used to practce tadlis n narratng tradtons." 3 In ths regard, Ibn Ha|ar says: "Ibn |ura| used to practce tadlis n narratng narratons and used to narrate tradtons by way of irsal (the absence of the nk between the successor and the Prophet)." 4 Most mportanty, Ahmad bn Hanba says about hm: "Some of the narratons that Ibn |ura| has narrated by way of irsal are forged. It was not mportant for hm as to where he was narratng from. 5 Ibn Abi Maliah as Seen by ,iogra6hers Hs name s Abduah bn Ubaduah and t s enough to say about hm beng untrustworthy that he was a speca muadhin0 (one who cas peope to prayer) and the |udge of Ibn Zubar. 6 Now we sha once agan ook back at the tradton and see the narrators n the chan of transmsson of the tradton whch he has reported. 1 A person reports from hs shakh whom he met, what he dd not hear from hm, or from a contemporary of hs whom he dd not meet, n such a way as to create the mpresson that he heard the hadth n person. A mudallis (one who practces tads) here usuay uses the mode ("on the authorty of") or ("he sad") to concea the truth about the snad. 2 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 6/354 and 355. 3 #i8an Al"(0tidal, 4/404. 4 Ta&rib Al"Tahdhib,1/617. 5 #i8an Al"(0tidal, 4/404. 6 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 5/272. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 46 In the narratons of Ibn Saad and the narratons that Ibn Ha|ar has narrated from Ibn Ab Makah n Al"5sabah, there s Wak bn |arrah whom we became famar wth through the detas provded above. Husham ibn Saad as Seen by ,iogra6hers One of the narrators s Husham bn Saad about whom Dhahab wrtes n hs #i8an Al"(0tidal: Ahmad has sad about hm: "Husham was not a memorzer. 1 On the other hand, Yahya bn Oattan dd not narrate from hm." Dhahab further wrtes: "On another occason, Ahmad says: "There s no sound and authentc tradton among Hushams tradtons." Concernng hm, Ibn Mueen says: "Hs tradtons are nether strong nor gnorabe." Nesa has descrbes hm as such: "Husham s weak n narratng tradtons." In another statement, he says: "Husham was not strong n terms of narratng tradtons." Ibn Ad says about hm: "Athough Husham was weak n terms of narratng tradtons, they are worth wrtng down and recordng." Ibn Ha|ar says about hm: "Dowr narrated from Ibn Mueen that Husham s weak n terms of narratng tradtons." Commentng on hm, Abu Hatm aso says: "The tradtons of Husham are recorded but they ack the capacty to be used for argumentaton or evdence-based reasonng." 1 Accordng to some schoars, a memorzer n the scence of diraya (bography) and tradtons s sad to be a person who has memorzed one hundred tradtons together wth ther chans of transmsson. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 47 Dhahab adds: "Ibn Abd a-Barr has mentoned hs name among the peope who are counted as weak but whose narratons are wrtten, and Yaqub bn Sufyan has aso consdered hm to be among the weak." Ibn Saad says about Husham: "He used to narrate a ot of tradtons but he was generay consdered to be weak; he was ncned towards Shsm. 1 Ibn 8ahab as Seen by ,iogra6hers Ibn Wahabs has appeared n the narraton that Ibn Abd a-Barr and Ibn Ha|ar have narrated wth ther own isnad 2 from Asam, the freed save of Umar. Now, we sha see who he s and what bographers have sad about hm. Ibn Wahab s that same Abduah bn Wahab A-Ourash who s Egyptan by orgn but was aed wth the Ourash. Ibn Ad and Dhahab have recorded hs name n Al"Kamil @ Al",hu0afa 3 and #i8an Al"(0tidal respectvey. 4 Ibn Mueen has aso sad somethng about hm wth ntent to reproach hm. 5
Ibn Saad says concernng Ibn Wahab: "He used to practce tadlis." 6 That s, he conceaed the truth about the isnad of the tradton to create the mpresson that he heard the hadth n person. Ahmad bn Hanba says about hm: "The tradtons whch Ibn Wahab has narrated from Ibn |ura| need to be examned and contempated upon (for they may not be true)." 1 #i8an Al"(0tidal, 7/81 and Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib: 11/37 and 38. 2 The chan of authortes attestng to the hstorca authentcty of a partcuar hadth. 3 Al"Kamil @ Al",hu0afa: 5/336. 4 #i8an Al"(0tidal, 4/223. 5 Al"Kamil @ Al",hu0afa, 5/336 and 337 and #i8an Al"(0tidal: 4/223 and 224. 6 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 6/67 and 68. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 48 Conrmng what Ahmad bn Hanba has sad about Ibn Wahab, Abu Awanah says: "Ahmad has sad the truth, because Ibn Wahab has transmtted reports whch none other than hm has reported." 1 Musa ibn Ali 9ahmi as Seen by ,iogra6hers Khatb Baghdad has reported ths narraton wth hs own isnad from Lath bn Saad, from Musa bn A bn Rabah Lakhm, from hs father, from Uqbah bn mr |uhan who are a verabe n terms of trustworthness and reabty. Accordng to Suyut: "Musa bn Lakhm was the governor of Egypt from 155 unt 161 A.H." 2 Ibn Ha|ar says about hm: "Musa took the governorshp of Egypt n the year 161 AH." 3 Saman says concernng Musa Lakhm: "He was the governor of Egypt." 4 Ibn Mueen has commented on hm by sayng: "Musa s not good n narratng tradton." Regardng Musa Lakhm, Ibn Abd a-Barr wrtes: "The narratons that Musa has narrated aone are not strong." 5 Ali ibn 5ab*h 9ahmi as Seen by ,iogra6hers Ibn Ha|ar has studed A Lakhms fe and made reference to certan facts about hm n hs book n whch he wrtes: 1. He came to Muawyah as a representatve. 2. He used to say: "I sha not pardon whoever named me A because my name s Ua." 1 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 6/67 and 68. 2 $usn Al"#uhadharah, 2/12. 3 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 10/323. 4 A"Ans%b 5/134. 5 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 10/323. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 49 3. He was treated wth respect by Abdu Azz (the son of Marwan and brother of Abdu Mak who was for some tme the governor of Egypt) unt a tme when Abdu Azz got angry at hm and sent hm to a batte n Afrca. He remaned there n Afrca unt he ded. 1 U&bah ibn :mir Juhani as Seen by ,iogra6hers Uqbah has been crtczed and consdered unreabe by many bographers: 1. He was one of the governors and agents of Muawyah bn Ab Sufyan. Saman says: "Uqbah was present durng the conquest of Egypt and he got the measurement of that area. In the year 44, after the death of Utbah son of Abu Sufyan, he served as the commander of Muawyahs army n Egypt. Then n the year 47, Muawyah dspatched hm for a nava combat. 2
Ibn Ha|ar says about Uqbah: "He was apponted governor of Egypt by Muawyah n the year 44." 3 Suyut has aso sad the same thng about hm. 4 2. He was the murderer - or one of the murderers - of Ammar bn Yasr. In ths regard, Ibn Saad wrtes: "Ammar (may Aah bess hm) was ked at the age of 91. He had been born before the Prophet of Aah (S). In the Batte of Smn, Ammar was confronted by three peope; Uqbah bn mr |uhan, Umar bn Harth Khuan and Shark bn Saamah Murad. When they had surrounded hm, Ammar tod them: "I swear by Aah, f you attack me and push us back as far as to Ha|ar pam grove, I woud st be sure that we are on the rght sde and you are not." 1 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 7/271 and 272. 2 A-Ansab, 2/134. 3 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 7/209 and 210. 4 $usn Al" #uhadharah, 2/8. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 50 It was then that they attacked and ked hm. Some peope thought that Uqbah bn mr had ked Ammar. 3. He was the man who bate up Ammar by the order of Uthman. After the above account of the conversaton, Ibn Saad says: "Uqbah s the person who bate Ammar at the behest of Uthman bn Ahan." 1 Based on the foregong account, we do not see any need to examne the bographes of Lath bn Saad and other peope n Khatb Baghdads chan of the transmtters of the narraton. At* Khurasani as Seen by ,iogra6hers One of the narrators of ths narraton s Ata Khurasan. Bukhar has mentoned hm n the book tted Al",huafa Al" Saghir. 1 Ibn Hbban has made menton of hm n Al"#a!ruhin. 3 Uqa has mentoned hs name n hs book tted Al",huafa Al"Kabir. 4
Dhahab has provded Ata Khurasans bographca detas n two of hs books namey #i8an Al"(0tidal and Al" #ughni @ Al",huafa0. A Saman says about Ata Khurasan: "He was a man of bad memory, had a ot of mstakes, erred unknowngy and these narratons were transmtted from hm. When these probems were noted wth hs narratons, they were no 1 Al"Taba&at Al"Kubra, 3/196. 2 Al" ,huafa Al"Saghir, 178 and 179. 3 The book of Al"#a!ruhin, 2/130 and 131. 4 Al",huafa Al"Kabir, 3/405. 5 #i8an Al"(0tidal, 5/92, Al"#ughni @ Al",huafa, 2/59. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 51 onger used as proofs and reasons as they were consdered worthess and unacceptabe." 6
In addton, there s nterrupton and dsconnecton wth ths narraton of hs because Ata was born n the year 50 and he ded n the year 133 or 150 of the Isamc caendar. Therefore he must have narrated these narratons from someone ese whose name he has not mentoned. Muhammad ibn Umar 8a&idi as Seen by ,iogra6hers One of the narrators who have reported ths narraton s Muhammad bn Umar Waqd. Bographers have aso sad a ot about hm: Ahmad bn Hanba says: "He s a great ar and a person who tampers wth narratons." Bukhar and Abu Hatm say: "Muhammad bn Umar s an obsoete person." Lkewse Abu Hatm and Nesa have sad: "He used to forge narratons." Ibn Rahwah says: "In my opnon, he s one of those who fabrcated narratons." Ibn Mueen says: "He s not a reabe and trustworthy person." Dar Outn says: "He s characterzed by weakness n terms of narratng tradtons." Ibn Ad says: "Tradtons transmtted by hm are not protected and coherent; ev and compcatons arse from them." Saman says: "Much has been sad about hm." 6 Al"Ans%b, 2/337. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 52 Ibn Khaakan says: "The bographers have weakened hm n terms of narratng tradtons and they have sad a ot concernng hm." Yafee says: "Promnent tradtonsts have abeed hm as weak." Dhahab says: "There s an a out agreement about dsregardng hs narratons. 1
Abdul 5ahman ibn ;aid as Seen by ,iogra6hers Another person who has narrated ths tradton s Abdu Rahman bn Zad. Abu Tab says: "Ahmad bn Hanba sad concernng Abdu Rahman bn Zad: "He s weak n terms of narratng tradtons." Abduah bn Ahmad says: I heard my father dsparagng Abdu Rahman and sayng: "He narrates denounced tradtons." Dowr says: "Ibn Mueen says about Abdu Rahman: "Hs narratons are not noteworthy." Bukhar and Abu Hatm say about hm: "A bn Madn has strongy dsparaged (weakened) hm." Abu Dawud says: "Zad bn Asams chdren are a weak n terms of narratng tradtons." Nesa and Abu Zurah have sad about Abdu Rahman: "He s weak n terms of narratng tradtons." Abu Hatm says: "Abdu Rahman s not strong n reportng tradtons." Ibn Hbban comments on Abdu Rahman by sayng: "Owng to gnorance, he used to narrate the tradtons 1 Vde: #i8an Al"(0tidal, 6/273, Al"#ughni @ Al",huafa, 2/354, Al"K%shif, 3/65, #ir0%t) Al"-in%n, 2/36 n the happenngs of the year 207, Al"Ans%b, 5/567, Ta&rib Al" Tahdhib, 2/117 and Taba&%t Al" $ifadh (page 81), 149 and other sources. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 53 nversey to an extent that he narrated a ot of mursal |t. hurred| tradtons as marfu |attrbuted| tradtons and a ot of the maw&uf 1 tradtons wth chans of transmsson and t s because of the same reason that hs narratons are denounced and dsregarded." Ibn Saad says: "He has reported a ot of narratons, but surey he s weak n terms of narratng tradtons." Ibn Khuzaymah says: "Abdu Rahman s among the peope who are of poor memory due to whch the schoars and experts never use hs narratons to present ther argument." Sa| says: "Hs narratons are mun2ar |denounced|." Tahaw says: "Hs narratons are weak accordng to schoars of hadth." |owz|an says: "Zads chdren are weak n terms of narratng tradtons." Hakm and Abu Naem say: "Abdu Rahman used to narrate forged tradtons from hs father." Ibn |auz says: "Bographers are unanmous about hm beng dhaif |weak|." 2 ;aid ibn Aslam as Seen by ,iogra6hers Another narrator of ths narraton s Zad bn Asam. Bographers have wrtten that he has transmtted narratons from |abr bn Abduah Ansar and Abu Hurarah, whe Ibn Mueen has sad: "Zad had never heard any narraton from ether |abr or Abu Hurarah." 1 #aw&uf refers to a narraton attrbuted to a Companon, whether a statement of that companon, an acton or otherwse." 2 You can nd ths matter and other sayngs n the book of Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 6/162 and 163. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 54 Thus many narratons reported from other companons have been attrbuted to hm to make the mpresson that he hmsef has reported those narratons from them whereas n fact he had never heard them. Ibn Abd a-Barr has aso sad the same thng about hm and Ibn Ha|ar has quoted hm and seen eye to eye wth hm n ths regard. He says: "Ibn Abd a-Barr has sad thngs n the ntroducton to hs book Al"Tamhid whch show that Zad practced tadlis n narratng tradtons." Moreover, Ibn Umar has been quoted as havng sad: "I do not know any weaknesses n hm other than the fact that he nterpreted the Ouran based on hs own persona opnon and he went to extremes n dong ths." 1 What was sad above gnores the bographes of the narrators of ths tradton n between Ibn Abd a-Barr, Ibn Ha|ar and Ibn Wahab. ;ubair ibn ,aar as Seen by ,iogra6hers Ibn Ha|ar has reported ths narraton n hs Al"5sabah from Zubar bn Bakkar. Zubar was the |udge of the cty of Makkah and was among the peope who dsobeyed the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) and the Prophets Househod (A.S) gong astray. Wth that sad about hm, he has aso been dsparaged and reproached by Sunnte schoars. Zubar ded n the year 256 A.H. It has been reported from Ibn Ab Hatm that he saw Zubar but he dd not wrte any tradtons from hm. Ahmad bn A Suayman has mentoned Zubar bn Bakkar n Al",hu0afa (a book on weak and unreabe 1 You can nd these statements and aso other sayngs n Tahdhb A-Tahdhb voume 6 pages 162 and 163. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 55 narrators) and has commented on hm as such: "Hs narratons are denounced." 1 In addton, Ibn Ha|ars narraton from Zubar has been transmtted by way of irsal (the absence of the nk between the successor and the Prophet (S)). A Study of the Chains of Transmission of "arrations about Umm Kulthums Marriage to Umar What has been mentoned had to do wth the man story whch was, by way of the bographca study, proven to be baseess. Now we sha revew the narratons concernng the marrage of Umm Kuthum after Umars death. Sunn sources have passed on narratons concernng Umm Kuthums fe as per whch the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) marred Umm Kuthum to Awn bn |afar. The man and orgna source of ths narraton s Al",urriyat Al"Tahirah whch other sources such as Usd Al"6habah, Al"5sabah, ,ha2hair Al"U&ba etc. have cted from. Ths narraton from Hasan bn Hasan has been reported through Ahmad bn Abdu |abbar, Yunus bn Bukar and Ibn Ishaq, from Hasan bn Hasan. Of course we have aready examned the chan of the transmsson of ths narraton. Duab has transmtted ths narraton wth hs own chan from Ibn Shahab Zuhr, who was among the famous devants gong astray from the path of the Prophets househod, peace be upon them. 2 In ths study, we have skpped the bographes of other narrators and we are |ust remndng you of one thng and 1 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, <91>B. 2 Refer to the treatse I have wrtten concernng the narraton about AliCs /ro/osal to Abu -ahlCs daughter. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 56 that s, Ibn Mun - who has narrated from Zuhr - was the brother of Husham bn Abdu Maks wfe. 1 A Study of the Authenticity of the "arrations Concerning Umm Kulthums (eath The narratons whch are about Umm Kuthums death have, for the most part, been narrated by Ibn Saad n hs Al"Taba&at Al"Kubra. We sha now examne ther chans of transmsson and then ther sgncatons. There s no doubt that most of the chans of the transmtters of ths narraton end to Amr Shuab. Hence, we sha now expore hs personaty and try to gure out who he s. A 9oo at the ,iogra6hy of <Amir Shuabi He was born durng the ast sx years Umars regn. He ded after the hundredth hegra year. Hs narratons are, therefore, mursal (.e. the chan of narrators s omtted). Shuab was the |udge of the Marwan famy. He was amongst the devants who opposed the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) to the extent that he went to Ha||a| and spoke of hm (A.S) and cursed hm. Hasan Basr was enraged wtnessng ths. He advsed hm not to curse A (A.S). 2
Hs grudge and enmty mpeed hm to say: "A had never read the Ouran nor had he memorzed t!" Ths unconsdered sayng made some peope oppose hm and re|ect what he had sad about A (A.S). 3 It was because of ths enmty that he was ed to fabrcate narratons such as the foowng: 1 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 7/13. 2 5hya Al" Ulum, 2/346. 3 6hayat Al"3ihaya @ Taba&at Al"Dur%0, 1/541. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 57 1- Abu Bakr prayed on Fatma, the daughter of Aahs Prophet (S) and rected four ta2birs. 2- When Fatma passed away, A bured her at nght and took Abu Bakr by hs arm hepng hm to oher prayer on Fatma. The fact that ths narraton s fabrcated s so obvous that Ibn Ha|ar has been compeed to wrte under t: "Ths narraton s weak and dsconnected." 1
Lkewse ths enmty has made hm go as far as to consder Harth Hamedan as a ar (because he was Shte) but he was ob|ected to for havng eveed such an accusaton aganst hm. Ibn Ha|ar says n ths regard: "Whe quotng Ibrahm about Shuab refutng Harth, Ibn Abd a-Barr wrtes n hs book tted Al"5lm: "I thnk Shuab shoud be punshed because he has refuted Harth and caed hm a ar. Ths s because Harth had not been seen yng, and hs ony crme was hs excessve ove of A, peace be upon hm. 2 A 9oo at the ,iogra6hy of Ammar ibn Abi Ammar In vew of the fact that some of the narratons end wth Ammar bn Ab Ammar, a quck gmpse nto hs bographca account reveas that a number of the eaders of |arh - (t. to n|ure) and Tad - (t. to ad|ust) 3 such as Shuabah bn Ha||a|, Bukhar, Ibn Hbban and others have reproached hm. 4 A 9oo at the ,iogra6hy of "*fi Some of these narratons are connected to Na, the master of Ibn Umar. Hence, we must have a short gmpse 1 Al" 5sabah, 8/267. 2 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 2/135. 3 The phrase Al"!arh wa Al"taCdil refers to a systematc approach to crtqung a narrator's poston as a narrator. 4 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 7/341, Ta&rib Al"Tahdhib, 1/707. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 58 of hs bography. To understand the type of hs character, t s enough to know that Abduah bn Umar had sad to Na: "Oh Na fear Aah and do not ascrbe es to me n the same way as Ikramah used to ascrbe es to Ibn Abbas." Ths sayng of Ibn Umar about Na and Ikramah, s famous. Addtonay, Ahmad bn Hanbas sayng about Na s worthy of notce. He says: "Nas narratons from Umar are cut-oh and dsconnected." 1
A 9oo at the ,iogra6hy of Abdullah Al%,ahi Some of these narratons are connected to Abduah A- Bah who s better known as Abduah bn Yasar. Concernng hm Ibn Ha|ar says: "Abduah was the master Musab bn Zubar, therefore, hs narratons are mursal0 (ncompetey transmtted). Whenever ths man narrates from Asha, he says: "Asha narrated to me." The schoars have refuted hm and sad that he narrates ony from Urwah bn Zubar. Ibn Ab Hatm has aso made menton of Abduah A-Bah n hs Kitab Al"'5lal reportng from hs father that argument cannot be but on A-Bahs narratons as they are dsordered and shaky. 2
What has so far been sad was about the chans of the transmtters and documentaton of the narratons regardng Umm Kuthum. Of course, we have, for the sake of brevty, cosed eyes to bographes of other ndvduas who have transmtted ths narraton. 1 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 10/370. 2 Tahdhib Al"Tahdhib, 6/82 and 83. Section III The Te=t of the "arrations and their Significations A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 60 The Te=t of the "arrations and their Significations Truth-seeker! Come wth me so we may, after we have examned the bographes of the narrators of ths story, ook nto the text of the narratons and ther sgncatons. Ths has to be done so that we shoud, throughout the stages of the story, ook from cose the maevoence and sptefu behavors of the enemes of the househod of the Hoy Prophet, peace be upon them. We sha carry on ths dscusson from severa dmensons: The first dimension/ In the concocted story about Umm Kuthums marrage to Umar, t has been narrated that the reason gven by Imam A (A.S) for not consentng to hs daughters marrage to Umar was the formers young age and that he had kept her for the son of hs brother, |afar bn Ab Tab. It has been narrated n the narraton by Ibn Saad that "A (A.S) sad: "I have kept my daughters for the sons of |afar." In the narraton of Hakm, the Imam has been quoted as havng sad: "I have prepared her for the son of my brother." In another narraton quoted by Ibn Saad, t s reported that the Imam sad: "She s a young gr." Of course Ibn Abd a-Barr, Ibn Athr and others have aso reported the same thng. In Bayhaqs narraton, t has been reported that the Imam (A.S) sad: "She s too young (for marrage)." So n these narratons, nothng ese has been reported from the Imam (A.S), except that Umar returned agan and A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 61 sad: "Marry her to me; I swear by Aah! There s no one n ths word that.." Accordng to these narratons, the Imam (A.S) dd not do anythng except that he sent her daughter to Umar so that he coud see her..! It has been added n some narraton that the Imam (A.S) ordered her to be prepared and made-up. So they she was beauted and adorned and then, the Imam (A.S) sent her to Umar so that f he ked her and agreed to marry, she woud then become hs wfe! It s surprsng to see how the Imams poston changes n respect of Umm Kuthums marrage from tota and decsve refusa to quck acceptance, thus reversng and changng hs mnd so qucky? Who beeves ths? At east ths report s dubous and suspcous and requres some thought and reecton. Certan facts are reveaed to the reader who goes through dherent narratons n ths regard, facts that they have attempted to contnue to hde n some od works authored by the schoars of hadth. Now we sha menton and eaborate on some of those narratons: Ibn Maghaza (d. 483) narrates through hs own chan from Abduah bn Umar that Umar bn Khattab mounted the pupt and sad: "Oh peope! I swear by Aah! What made me tak persstenty to A bn Ab Tab concernng hs daughter was the fact that I heard the Prophet of Aah (S) say: - . /O 123 4 1P56 4 JQPR 7P89:; <= >! D . E (?P;@A9BC F22P3 4 STJQPR @PUQ6@V W@PAXY> <= > S?;@A9BC W@Z[\> O@UQ2]@^B 1 1 #an%&ib Al"5mam Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S), bn Mmaghaza, 134 and 135. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 62 ()ery lineage and means and grooming relationshi/ will be se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage and grooming relationshi/ with me, and these two will *ome on the ,ay of -udgment and will inter*ede for their owners. = Through ths narraton, t becomes cear that the Companons and ther foowers were surprsed hearng ths story and t was even taked about n the cty makng Umar to go on the pupt and expan to the pubc hs am of ths marrage proposa, and he swore that he had no other reason for ths act of hs except that he had heard the Messenger of Aah (S) about t and he was bent on dong that ony for the same reason. The pont to be taken nto consderaton s that there s no deta as to Umars persstence and nsstence and t has not been expaned why he nssted on marryng As daughter and what the atters reacton was to t. In Khatb Baghdads narraton, t has been reported that Umar bn Khattab proposed to A bn Ab Tab for hs daughter, who was from Fatma (A.S), and went to hm tme and agan and sad: "O Aba Hassan, What has made me to come to you tme and agan s ony a sayng that I heard from the Messenger of Aah (A.S) .." It has been stated, n ths narraton, that Umar vsted A (A.S) many a tme. Accordng to some narratons, Umar used threat to ntmdate A (A.S) n order to make hm accept the oher. For nstance, Ibn Saad reports: "When Imam A (A.S) tod Umar that Umm Kuthum was a young gr, Umar sad: "I swear by Aah! That s not your excuse, but we know what your ntent s." 1 #ana&ib Al"5mam Ali bin Abi Talib (A.S), Ibn Maghaza, 134 & 135. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 63 In the narraton reported by Duab and Muhb Tabar from Ibn Ishaq, t has been sad that Umar sad: "I swear by Aah! That s not what you want to do, t s ony that you want to stop me from marryng Umm Kuthum". 1
In some other narratons t has been ceary stated that Umars whp aso payed an mportant roe n ths ncdent. In the narraton that Duab has narrated through hs own chan from Asam, Umars master, we read: Umar proposed to A bn Ab Tab for hs daughter, Umm Kuthum, and he dscussed the matter wth Abbas, Aq and Hasan. Aq got angry and tod A: "The passage of days and months w ony add to your ack of nsght and astuteness n your work. By Aah, f you do ths, such and such w happen." A tod Abbas: "By Aah! He s not takng wshfuy, but the whp of Umar has mpeed hm to say what you are hearng" 2 On the other part, Abu Naem Isfahan has aso passed ths report from Zad bn Asam, from hs father, but he has omtted "Umars whp" from the report. Lets read ths narraton together: Zad bn Asam narrates from hs father that Umar bn Khattab caed A bn Ab Tab to hs pace and had a prvate conversaton wth hm. Thereupon, A stood up and waked up to "sufah" 3 and consuted Abbas, Aq and Hasan regardng Umm Kuthums marrage to Umar. A Sad: "Umar has nformed me that he heard the Prophet of Aah (S) say: 1 ,ha2hair Al"U&ba @ #ana&ib ,hawi Al"Durba, 286. 2 Al",urriyat Al"Tahirah, 160. 3 A rased pace wth a roof made of eaves of date-pam trees and t s a restng pace for the poor and mserabe. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 64 - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means and lineage is se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage and means.0 =
Apart from beng an underage gr and the fact that Umm Kuthum had been kept for the son of |afar, A (A.S) aso gave another reason for hs refusa where the Imam (A.S) sad: "She has aso two other guardans apart from me." 2 What the Imam (A.S) meant by those two were Imam Hasan and Hussan (A.S). Accordng to the narratons, A dscussed the matter wth Hasan and Hussan (A.S), Aq and Abbas. Ths narraton that has been reported from Asam mpes that Imam Hasan (A.S) kept sent about ths proposa, and hs sence has been taken as a sgn of hs consent and approva. In another narraton t s reported that Hussan kept quet and Hasan started to tak. Thankng and prasng Aah he sad: "Dear father, apart from Umar, who ese s more approprate for marrage wth Umm Kuthum? He was a companon of the Prophet of Aah (S) and when the Prophet (S) passed away, he was peased wth hm. He has taken the caphate and has acted |usty! A sad: "You are rght, my son, but I dd not want to nsh a task wthout seekng the opnon of you two." 3 Ths narraton contradcts the narraton that Bayhaq has reported from Ibn Ab Makah, from Hasan bn Hasan. It s reported n that narraton that A tod Hasan and Hussan: "Marry her to your unce." 1 $iliyat Al"Awliy%0, 2/42. 2 ,ha2hair Al"U&ba, 289. 3 ,ha2hair Al"U&ba, 289. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 65 They sad: "She s aso ke a other women and has the rght to choose." Thereupon, A stood up angry but Hassan grabbed hs coth and sad: "Dear father, we cannot ahord to mss you." A sad: "Then marry her to Umar." 1 Nevertheess, a group of peope have ntentonay and knowngy pad heed to these forged narratons. Now, you shoud gve carefu attenton to the narratons. Ths same contradcton has been reported from Hasan bn Hassan n connecton wth the marrage of Umm Kuthum wth Awn bn |afar. In that narraton, t s reported that when Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab became a wdow after the death of Umar bn Khattab, her brothers Hasan and Hussan, came over to her and sad.. 2
Ths s a ong narraton that contans shamefu es and aughabe statements. The second dimension/ It has been stated before that as per many narratons the reason Imam A (A.S) opposed to Umm Kuthum's marrage to Umar was the fact that she was young and underage. It s nferred from these narratons that Umar dd not accept what A (A.S) put forth as excuse. That was why he went to A tme and agan persstenty askng hm for hs daughters hand n marrage. He went as far as to use threat to ntmdate A (A.S) to accept the proposa as evdenced by narratons reported by Duab and Muhb Tabar. A sad: "She s young." Umar sad: "I swear by Aah! That s not what you want to do, t s ony that you want to stop me from marryng 1 A-Sunan Al" Kubra, 7/185 number 13660. 2 Al",urriyat Al"Tahirah, 162 and 163; ,ha2hair Al"U&ba, 290. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 66 Umm Kuthum. If what you say s the case, send her to me." 3 Snce such actons are not n keepng wth the reverence and respect of the second caph accordng to Sunn schoars, some narrators and hadth experts have avoded to report on the opposton of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) to hs daughter's marrage to Umar and aso the atter's nsstence, threat and refutaton. One who refers to Khatb Baghdad's narraton w ready admt ths fact. Third dimension/ Ibn Saad narrates from Waqd and others and says: "Then A requested for a pece of garment whch he foded and tod Umm Kuthum to take t to Umar. It has been stated n Muhb Tabars report from Ibn Ishaq that A caed Umm Kuthum, gave her a pece of coth and tod her: "Take ths to Umar." Ths was done to make Umar see her. That was why when Umm Kuthum returned to her father, she sad: "Umar dd not unfod the coth and he dd not ook at anythng except me." Surey, such a behavor from the Musms caph has been seen by some Sunn schoars e.g. Sabt bn |auz, as thy and unpeasant. We sha soon pont out hs words n ths regard. It s for the same reason that some narrators have not made reference to ths topc n ther narratons. Abu Bushr Duab has narrated as such: "A caed Umm Kuthum, who was a tte gr, and sad to her: "Go to Amru Mumeneen and te hm: "My father sent you hs greetngs and sad that he fued the request that you had made." 3 Al",urriyat Al"Tahirah, 157 and 158; ,ha2hair Al"U&ba, 286. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 67 Khatb Baghdad has aso reported a smar narraton: "Umar proposed to A for hs daughters hand n marrage and sad: "Marry her to me." A sad: "I have kept her for the son of my brother, Abduah bn |afar." Umar sad: "I swear by Aah, there s no man on the face of the earth who seeks to acheve through her good companonshp that whch I seek to acheve." Thereupon, A marred her to Umar and the atter went to the Muha|reen." The 4ourth dimension/ In ths story, thy and unpaatabe thngs have been quoted ncudng the foowng: Ibn Saad narrates from Ibn Waqd as such: "A ordered Umm Kuthum to be made up and adorned so that she coud go to Umar. She was prepared and adorned (as ordered by her father)." In the narraton transmtted by Khatb Baghdad from Uqbah bn Aamr, t has been reported: "She was adorned." In the narraton reported from Imam Baqr (A.S) by Ibn Abd a-Barr and others, the Imam has been quoted as havng sad: "When Umm Kuthum went to Umar, Umar pued away the coth from the caf of her eg!" Truy, these reports are at the hghest eve of obscenty. The queston s that, are the ars and forgers of these narratons not ashamed of dong such obscene and oathsome acts? Ther conducts are so mean and despcabe that even f a ay person hears them, he w ready despse them and testfy to ther obscenty. Are they not ashamed of A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 68 forgng and attrbutng such thy stores to Imam Baqr, peace be upon hm? Indeed t s so shameess and t s owng to the same reason that we see some Sunn narrators tryng to msreport and concoct such stores n order to prove ther sde of the story. Ibn Athr modes the story and makes t ook a bt modest. He says: "Umar paced hs hand on her." In ths respect, Duab and Muhb Tabar have reported as such: "Umar took hod of her arm." Ese where they say: "Umar grabbed her and pued her to hs bosom!" Others such as Bayhaq and Hakm Nshabur have not narrated anythng n ths regard. When reportng such narratons, Muhb Tabar says: "Ibn Samman has made a bref but mpct reference to ths sub|ect." However, what he has reported does not ncude anythng from the reports transmtted by the narrators whose names were mentoned above. 1
In addton, some of the narrators of ths story, have stated ceary that ths story s a e. Concernng ths same ssue, Sabt bn |auz (d. 654) says: "My grandfather wrtes n Al"#unta8am that A sent Umm Kuthum to Umar so that he coud see her. Umar pued away the coth from the caf of her eg and then touched her!" Sabt bn |auz further says: "In my opnon - I swear by Aah - ths s a despcabe act; even f she were a save gr, she woud not have been treated as such. 2
1 Refer to: ,ha2hair Al"U&ba, 289. 2 It s worth mentonng that n the Isamc aws (of both the Sunn and Sha sects) specc aws on how to treat a save have been dscussed whch are not comparabe wth the aws regardng a free woman. In any case, the meanness and obscenty of Umars acton remans n pace and what Ibn |auz Hana means from the above statement refers to the very pont. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 69 On the other hand, Musms are unanmous about touchng a non-mahram ady beng prohbted n Isam. The queston s: Why are they attrbutng a ths to Umar? 1 The author says: "I wsh t was ony touchng." In Khatb Baghdads narraton, Umar s sad to have even kssed and grabbed the caf of Umm Kuthums eg! The fifth dimension/ The text of the narraton narrated by Ibn Saad and others, n a way, contans prase and congratuaton. We have read that Umar tod Meccan mgrants: "Congratuate me." and they congratuated hm. 2 In other words, Umar requested a speca congratuaton and sad: "Congratuate me on wves beng consderate and empathetc and on havng more chdren." 3 It s pretty obvous that ths knd of congratuaton was customary n the perod of gnorance whch, accordng to a Musms, the Messenger of Aah (S) had prohbted. In ths regard, Ahmad bn Hanba narrates through hs own chan that Abduah bn Muhammad bn Aq says: "Aq son of Tab had marred, he came to us and we congratuated hm n the way whch was customary durng the perod of gnorance. Aq sad: "Cam down! Do not congratuate me n such a manner because the Prophet of Aah (S) prohbted us from congratuatng n such a manner and he sad: "You shoud say "May Aah bess you, may Aah make t bessed, may t be bessed. 4 1 Tadh2irat Al"Khawas, 288 and 289. 2 Al"Taba&at Al"Kubra, 8/339, Kan8ul Ummal, 13/269 number 37576, Al"5sti0ab, 4/509, Usd Al"6habah, 7/378, Al"5sabah, 8/465. 3 ,ha2hair Al"U&ba, 287. To understand the meanng of ths knd of congratuaton, refer to Eisan Al"Arab0 and other books n Arabc grammar to nd the word "Rfaa". 4 #usnad Ahmad ibn $anbal, 4/484. Refer to Fasail Al"Shia, 14/183 tradton number 25550. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 70 Snce ths statement of Umar depcts hs gnorance and a ack of knowedge about the thngs that the Messenger of Aah (S) prohbted as we as ndcates the fact that he wanted to revve the customs and norms of the perod of gnorance, some Sunn schoars have endeavored to ater the text and manpuate t n a way whch s consstent wth ther own vaues and standards. That s why n Hakms Al" #ustadra2, we read: "Umar went to the Muha|rn and sad: "W you not congratuate me?" In Bayhaqs Al"Sunan Al"Kubra, t s reported that Umar went to the Muha|rn and they prayed and wshed hm we. Lets not forget that Khatb Baghdad has never narrated ths ncdent n hs Tarkh (hstory book). The si=th dimension/ Another aspect of ths story that can be studed and examned s the frut of ths fase marrage; t has been reported n some narratons that foowng the marrage of Umm Kuthum to Ummar, she gave brth to a son aegedy named Zad. It has been reported by Sa'ad and other narrators that she gave brth to bn Umar and Roqayyah, daughter of Umar. When t comes to the number of Umar's chdren, Nawav narrates as such: "Fatma and Zad whose mother was Umm Kuthum." 1 In another narraton passed on by Ibn Outabah about the daughters of the Commander of the Fathfu, A, peace be upon hm, t has been stated as such: "Umm Kuthum gave brth to chdren whom I referred to." 2
1 Tah8ib Al"Asma wa Al"Eughat, 2/334. 2 Al"#aCaref, 122. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 71 The se>enth dimension/ One of the topcs dscussbe n ths fabrcated story s Umm Kuthum's marrage after Umar; t has been mentoned n many a number of narratons that after Umar's death, Awn foowed by Muhammad sons of |a'far marred Umm Kuthum but the same peope who have reported that these two marred Umm Kuthum have sad: "Awn and Muhammad were ked n the batte of Shushtar whch took pace durng Umar's caphate." Ibn Abd A-Barr says: "Awn son of |a'far bn Ab Tab was born n the tme of the Messenger of Aah, peace be upon hm and hs descendants. Awn's mother and that of hs brothers Abduah and Muhammad sons of |a'far bn Ab Tab was Asma daughter of Umas Khath'am. Awn and hs brother, Muhammad, were martyred n the batte of Shushtar wthout them eavng any chdren behnd." 1 He further says: Muhammad bn |a'far bn Ab Tab was born n the tme of the Messenger of Aah, peace be upon hm and hs descendants. He s the one who, after the death of Umar bn Khattab, marred Umm Kuthum daughter of A bn Ab Tab. and was martyred n the batte of Shushtar. 2 Concernng Awn bn |a'far's martyrdom, Ibn Ha|ar says, "Awn bn |a'far was martyred n the batte of Shushtar whch took pace n the tme of Umar's caphate. He dd not have a chd." 3 Ibn Athr has made a smar comment. 4
1 Al"5stiCab, 3/315. 2 Al"5stiCab, 3/423 and 424. 3 Al"5sabah, 4, 4/ 619. 4 Usd Al"6habah, 4, 302. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 72 It s pertnent to menton that the batte took pace durng the caphate of Umar and hstorans have made cear reference to t n ther accounts. 5 In ths passage quoted from Ibn Ha|ar, he has made menton of the same fact. Indeed, a truth-seekng researcher s amazedy mndfu of the contradctory reports and narratons transmtted by these peope. The eighth dimension/ An mportant queston n connecton wth the topc under dscusson s: Whch one of the two brothers marred Umm Kuthum, Awn bn |a'far or Muhammad bn |a'far? Sunn tradtons provde dherent accounts n ths regard. Ibn Sa'ad and Dar Outn, as stated n A-Isabah, says: "Awn ded durng the fetme of Umm Kuthum and hs brother, Muhammad, contracted marrage wth her. Then, Muhammad ded and Abduah marred her." Ibn Saad narrates as such: Umm Kuthum sad: "I fee embarrassed towards Asma bnt Umas whose two sons ded when they were wth me, and I am worred about the thrd one!" Umm Kuthum ded when she was wth Abduah bn |afar." 2 Ibn Outabah narrates ths story dherenty; he says: "When Umar was ked, Muhammad bn |afar marred Umm Kuthum and ded durng her fetme. Then Awn bn |afar marred her and Umm Kuthum ded when she was marred to hm." 3 You can see that Ibn Outabah has mentoned the marrage of Muhammad bn |afar wth Umm Kuthum before the atters marrage to Awn bn |afar and she ded when 5 Tari2h Tabari, 3/ 174, A-Kam A-Tarkh, 2/550. 2 Al"Taba&at Al"KubraG 8/338. 3 Al #a0arif, 122. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 73 she was st marred to Awn. Outabah has made no menton of Abduah bn |afar. Moreover, athough Ibn Abd a-Barr has dscussed Umm Kuthums fe, he has not stated anythng regardng her marrage after Umars death, nor has he sad anythng about her marrage to Awn. Nevertheess, when t comes to Muhammad bn |afars fe, he says: "Muhammad bn |afar bn Ab Tab s the one who marred Umm Kuthum, the daughter of A bn Ab Tab, after the death of Umar bn Khattab. 1 The ninth dimension/ In ths secton, we sha now have a short ook at the bography of Abduah bn |afar. He was the husband of the Wse Woman of Ban Hashm, e.g. Zanab, the daughter of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S). Lady Zanab (S.A) used to ve wth her husband Abduah unt hs death after the tragedy of Karbaa. Concernng Zanab (A.S), Ibn Saad wrtes: "Zanab was the daughter of A bn Ab Tab. Abduah bn |afar bn Ab Tab marred her. They were bessed wth four sons namey; A, Awn Akbar, Abbas and Muhammad and a daughter named Umm Kuthum." Ibn Saad goes on to report a narraton from Muhammad bn Isma bn Fadk, he from Ibn Ab Zeb that he sad: "Abdu Rahman bn Mahran tod me as such: "Abduah bn |afar bn Ab Tab, marred Zanab the daughter of A. At the same tme he had marred As wdow, Laa Bnt Masud; both Zanab and Laa were hs wves." 2 After countng the number of Abduahs chdren, Nawav says: "Ther mother was Zanab, the daughter of A bn Ab 1 Al"5sti0b, 3/424. 2 Al"Taba&at Al"Kubra, 8/340. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 74 Tab from Fatma, the daughter of the Prophet of Aah, peace be upon hm and hs descendants." 1 Concernng Hazrat Zanab (A.S), Ibn Ha|ar wrtes: "Zanab was the daughter of A bn Ab Tab bn Abdu Muttab. She was Hashem and the granddaughter of the Messenger of Aah (S) and her mother was Fatma." He further wrtes: "Ibn Athr descrbes Zanab as such: "She was born durng the fetme of the Messenger of Aah (S). She was an ntegent and a earned woman as we as a great orator. Her father marred her to the son of hs brother, Abduah bn |afar whereupon they were bessed wth chdren. When her brother Imam Husan (A.S) was ked, she was n hs company but thereupon she was taken to Sham (Syra). She was present n the court of Yazd son of Muawyah. Whe n the court, a man from Sham wanted to take her sster Fatma as a save. Addressng Yazd, Zanab devered a speech that showed her ntegence and strong heart. Ths story s we-known. 2 Therefore, f the woman who was caed Umm Kuthum and who ded durng the regn of Muawyah s the very daughter of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) and she Abduah bn |afars wfe after the death of Awn and Muhammad (as aso reported n the narratons), then t mpes that Abduah bn |afar marred two ssters at the same tme, somethng whch s prohbted and obscene n Isam. That s why Ibn Saad has carefuy reported sayng: "Umm Kuthum was marred to Muhammad bn |afar. After hs death, hs brother Abduah bn |afar bn Ab Tab marred her foowng the death of her sster, Zanab." 1 Tahdhib Al"Asma, Fa Eugh%t, 1/249. 2 Al"5sabah, 8/166 and 167. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 75 The tenth dimension/ Another queston that comes up s, who prayed on Umm Kuthum after she ded? The answer to ths queston s found n the reported narratons, but there are contradctons and dscrepances n those reports. The contradctons are found even n the narratons reported by one narrator. When t comes to the prayer on Umm Kuthum and her son Zad, Ibn Saad narrates from Shuab and Abduah A- Bah as such: "Ibn Umar prayed on them." He has aso reported the same story from Ammar bn Ab Ammar and Na who sad: "Saed bn Aas prayed on them." It s nterestng to note that some hstorographers have narrated from Ammar bn Ab Ammar that Saad bn Ab Waqas prayed on them. 1 In any case, regardess of who ohered the funera prayer, the narratons ndcate the fact that she ded durng the regn of Muawyah because the narratons report that Imam Hasan and Imam Hussan (A.S) attended the prayer. However, what s proven through hstorca accounts s that Umm Kuthum and her sster Zanab (A.S) were present n the event of Karbaa. When they were taken to Kufah as saves, she devered a famous speech n that cty the text of whch has been recorded and narrated n many books. Ibn Tafur (d. 280) has narrated Umm Kuthums speech n the book of 4al%gh%t Al"3es%. Ibn Athr and a few other famous schoars and tradtonsts have aso mentoned t under the term farth0 n ther books such as Al"3ihayah, Eisan Al"Arab and Ta! Al"Arus. 1 Tari2h Al"Khamis, 2/285. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 76 Perhaps t s because of the same reason that n Abu Dawuds narraton from Ammar bn Ab Ammar, t s reported that Ammar bn Ab Ammar sad: "I was present n the funera prayer on Umm Kuthum and her son. Her sons corpse was paced on the sde where the Imam was standng to whch I ob|ected but Ibn Abbas, Abu Saed Khedr, Abu Outadah and Abu Hurarah were aso n attendance. They sad that the way they paced the corpses n front of the prayer eader was customary. 1
Ammar bn Ab Ammar ends the story wthout mentonng the name of the Imam who prayed on those two. Lkewse, he has not cared as to who Umm Kuthum and her son were. It has been reported agan n Nesas narratons from Ammar bn Ab Ammar that he sad: "I was attendng the funera prayer of a ady and a son. The corpse of the son was paced n front on the sde at whch the Imam was standng and that of the ady was paced behnd hm when the prayer on those two was ohered. Among the peope n attendance were Abu Saed, Ibn Abbas, Outadah and Abu Hurarah. I ob|ected to the way they had postoned the corpses and they sad that t was customary." 2 Here Ammar bn Ab Ammar has ony reported that tradton and he has faed to menton the Imams name, and those of the two dead bodes on whch prayer was ohered nor has he stated anythng about the reaton between the woman and the boy. Summary As you notced, we presented and examned the chans of the transmsson of the narratons about the Commander of 1 Sunan Abi ,awud, 2/416 number 3193. 2 Sunan Al"3esai, 4/374 number 1976. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 77 the Fathfu, A (A.S) marryng hs daughter to Umar bn Khattab, and other narratons pertanng to ths great ady of the Househod of the Prophet (S). However, we coud not nd n them a chan of transmsson that coud be reed upon or whch an argument coud be based upon. We aso nvestgated metcuousy the text of the narraton regardng Umm Kuthums marrage to Umar. We ooked carefuy nto the sayngs of Sunn schoars and ther reports on ths topc. We found out that ther reports are contradctory and refutng each other. Moreover, we aso studed the sgncatons of the narraton and t was made cear that the entre story s baseess and undocumented. The probabty here s that the forgers of ths story sought to create a vrtue for Umar bn Khattab who hmsef s one of the narrators of ths prophetc tradton: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means and lineage will be se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my means and my lineage.0 Ths tradton sgnes the vrtues and merts of the Prophets Househod especay the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S). As aso stated by Manaw, even Hakm Nshabur has narrated the above tradton as a proof of the vrtues of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S). 1 That was why they forged the story of Umars proposa to the daughter of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) n a bd to ncude Umar amongst those who were nked to the Prophet (S) and to nay estabsh a vrtue for hm. Ths s further evdenced by the fact that a number of great Sunn tradtonsts have reported ths tradton from Umar wthout mentonng ths story, and they have reported the same 1 Faidh Al" Dadir, 5/27. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 78 tradton from other ndvduas wthout makng reference to Umars marrage proposa and the reevant story. Muttaq Hnd has cted ths tradton from dherent sources. As per hs report, the Messenger of Aah (A.S) sad: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 ()ery means and lineage will be se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my means and my lineage.0 However, he wrtes under the tradton as such: "Khatb Baghdad and Hakm Nshabur have narrated ths tradton from Umar. Lkewse, Khatb Baghdad has narrated from Ibn Abbas and Mswar." He further says that Ibn Asakr has aso narrated from Ibn Umar that the Prophet of Aah, peace be upon hm and hs descendants, sad: - . /0 156 4 JQR 789:> <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F256 4 G_JQR ()ery lineage and grooming relation will be se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my lineage and grooming relation.0 = Ibn Maghaza has reported ths tradton n #an%&ib Al" 5mam Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S) that the Prophet of Aah (S) sad: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 ()ery means and lineage will be se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my means and my lineage.0 Then he narrates ths tradton through hs own chan from Saed bn |ubar, from Ibn Abbas, from Umar. 2 1 Kan8ul Ummal, 11/183 number 31911 & 31912. 2 #ana&ib Al"5mam Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S), 133 & 134. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 79 There s a narraton smar to ths one reported from the Hoy Prophet (S) about Fatmas poston and rank. He has been quoted as havng sad: ?U`@V0 ?Zab GF:; Fatima is a /art of my bodyH The Hoy Prophet (S) has been quoted by dherent companons to have sad the above on a number of occasons. When some enemes of the Prophets Househod (A.S) saw the dherent aspects and mpcatons of ths sound and authentc tradton whch has been recorded n ther own Sihah, they deberatey embarked on fabrcatng the story of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) makng a marrage proposa to Abu |ahs daughter, somethng whch they nked to the above tradton to prove ther own sde of the story." 1 Thus, both of the tradtons reate to marrage proposas, one of them about Umar askng the daughter of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) for her hand n marrage and the other s about A (A.S) proposng marrage to Abu |ahs daughter! Umars marrage to Umm Kuthum woud make hm a groom of Fatma Zahra (S.A) whe As marrage to Abu |ahs daughter woud hurt Fatma and n|ure her feeng! As stated earer, Umars proposa was owng to the fact that he had heard the Prophet of Aah (S) say: - . /0 123 4 156 789:; <=> ?;@A9BC D . E F223 4 GF256 '()ery means and lineage will be se)ered on the ,ay of -udgment e.*e/t my means and my lineage.0 As proposa was opposed by the Messenger of Aah (S) and he was ohended to the extent that he, peace be upon hm, wanted A to dvorce hs daughter! 1 Refer to the thess that we have wrtten n ths regard. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 80 In short, gven the outcome of the research conducted nto ths story, t s very cear that the entre story s fabrcated and outrageous. When t comes to the narrators of ths story, they are Umars save, Oadh bn Zubar, the ker of Ammar Yasr and the cercs who were amated to the Ummayad famy. The narrators n the chan of transmsson are a few ars, fabrcators, weak and mudallis (one who practces tadlis) n terms reportng tradtons. Most probaby, the man reason for fabrcatng ths story s what we |ust mentoned as evdenced by the fact that some of the narrators are nvoved n the transmsson of both of the stores. ?ne @uestion Based on what was sad, a queston arses as to whether or not there s any probabty or an occason to whch the narratons regardng ths story coud be apped after assumng ther authentcty and the reabty of the chans of ther transmsson notwthstandng the fact that ths story s famous among Sunn Musms and there are few shadh (rreguar) narratons reported n ths connecton through Shte channes as we. Answer In repy to ths queston, we must say that there s no doubt that the statements and narratons reported n ths regard contan aegatons and cams whch are not permssbe to accept under any crcumstances." For nstance, go through the foowng narraton that they have reated: "A sent Umm Kuthum to Umar so that he coud see her. He aso ordered that she be adorned and beauted!" There are many other such narratons whch we do not menton here for the sake of brevty. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 81 Obvousy the reason these narratons are nvad and fase s qute cear. Another nstance s the story of the death of Umm Kuthum durng the tme of Muawyah as reported by Sunn narrators. The report that she ded durng Muawyahs regn s untrue because she was present n the event of Karbaa and there are reports conrmng her presence n the ncdents that took pace on the Day of Ashura. Therefore, that ady who ded on the same day as Zad, and on whom a certan ndvdua prayed was one of Umars wves wth her name beng ether Umm Kuthum (as she had wves whose names or ncknames were Umm Kuthum) or she was someone bearng a name other than Umm Kuthum. 1
Assumng the authentcty of ther narratons and ther isnad |chans of transmsson|, ths probabty s reamrmed by the narratons of Abu Dawud, Nesa and others. Thus, there s no reabe report to prove that Umm Kuthum, the daughter of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) bore Umar a chd caed Zad. That s because there s no evdence apart from the narratons that were proved to be worthess and fabrcated. Lkewse, there s no report or evdence to prove that she gave brth to a daughter, not to menton the fact that the narrators themseves have dscrepant vews as to the story tsef as we as the name of that daughter. It s further reamrmed by Musm schoars who have sad: "When Umar ded, Umm Kuthum was st young and mmature." One of those schoars s Shekh Abu Muhammad Nawbakht who s one of the eary Shte schoars. In hs Al" 1 5fham Al"A0ad% Fa Al" Khusum, 2/72 - 212. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 82 5mamah, he wrtes: "Umm Kuthum was young and |uvene and Umar ded before consummatng marrage wth her. 1
Lkewse, Shekh Abu Abduah Muhammad bn Abdu Baq Zarqan Mak (d.1122 - 2 ) whe eaboratng on the meanng of knshp of the hoy Prophet (S) makes reference to the same pont sayng: "Knshp refers to peope who are reated to the cosest grandfather of the Messenger of Aah (S) .e. Abdu Muttab because the Prophet (S) sad: c;0 7:R dBC e]C cP; ePB4 eP2f 1Pg8 . UBC CeP> hPgV ijV@PK> @PQb FPV S@A6ePBC FPgZV iX@PV@K; CkC GF:lA9B Fhoe)er treats well any of the *hildren of Abdul #uttalib and does him a fa)or and he does not not ma2e u/ for the fa)or in this world, it will be ne*essary u/on me to ma2e it u/ on the ,ay of -udgment when he shall meet me. Tabaran has reported ths tradton n Al"#u0u!am Al" Awsat. Hence, those who are reated to peope before Abdu Muttab ke the chdren of Abdu Manaf, or the peope who are n the same eve reated to Abdu Manaf, for exampe the chdren of Hashm, the brothers of Abdu Muttab or the peope reated to hm but who dd not see hm or assocated wth hm, are excuded from hs knshp. It seems that knshp does not refer to the men and women who were n the company of the Messenger of Aah (S) and dd not see hm; but t refers to A and hs chdren; Hassan, Hussan, Mohassn and Umm Kuthum, the wfe of the second caph, Umar bn Khattab. 1 4ihar Al"Anwar, 42/91. 2 Hs bography can be read n Sil2 Al" ,urarfFi A0ayan Al" Darn Al"Thani Ashar, 4/32 A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 83 In fact, Umar ded before Umm Kuthum reached the age of puberty and Awn bn |afar marred her. He aso departed and she got marred to hs brother, Muhammad. He too ded and she got marred to Abduah, the brother of those two. Umm Kuthum ded n hs house and dd not bear a chd wth any of those three, except Muhammad, for whom she bore a daughter who ded, whe st a chd. Thus, Umm Kuthum does not have any chdren or descendents as the author mentoned n the second secton of ths book. 1
Furthermore, assumng that Umar marred Umm Kuthum, the fact that Umm Kuthum dd not bear a chd s reamrmed by Umar who stressed that he dd not want anythng by makng a marrage proposa but to be the son-n-aw of Hoy Prophet (S). He nssted that he wanted to be one of the members of the Prophets househod (A.S). He decared that he dd not seek to gan anythng except reatonshp wth the Messenger of Aah through marrage wth Umm Kuthum. 1 Sharh Al"#awahib Al"Eadoniyyah, 7/9 and 10, theme: Mabhath Oarabat A-Nab (S). Section IA Umars Marriage to Umm Kulthum in Shiite "arrations A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 85 Umars Marriage to Umm Kulthum in Shiite "arrations #
As we was mentoned whe rasng a queston regardng Umm Kuthums marrage to Umar bn Khattab, the story s famous and we-known among Sunn Musms and the narratons regardng ths marrage have aso been reported n the books authored by Sha schoars. However, n spte of ths story beng we-known among Sunn Musms and the fact that t has aso been reported n some Shte sources, some of our schoars have re|ected the story on the ground that t s not true and genune. If one goes through Shte sources, he w see the re|ecton and refutaton n the works authored by Shekh Mud, Sayyd Murtadha and Sayyd Nasr Hussan, the son of the author of Aba&at Al"Anwar (may Aah bess hm) - and n the works by other gures who have engaged n the anayss and evauaton of ths very sub|ect matter. Here we reterate that the narratons reported by reabe Shte narrators ndcate and revea what we have aready stated n our answer to the forgong queston. In ths respect, we quoted Nawbakht, one of the Shte schoars, and aso Zarqan, a Sunnte schoar. Now we sha menton and eaborate on the narratons reported by Shte sources through reabe chans of transmsson. 2
1 It s worth mentonng that the prevous edton of ths book acked ths secton as t was added ony n the wake of a request by some schoars and semnarans. That was because my study was focused ony on Sunn tradtons and narratons n connecton wth the sub|ect matter. It s expected that ths secton w be suppementary and that t w throw further ght on the answers gven brey n ths book. 2 Of course n ths topc there are other tradtons n the sources of the Sha whch after a carefu evauaton, we have reazed that on the part of ther documents, they have been tampered wth and dscamed. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 86 The first tradition/ Imam |afar Sadq (S.A) has been reported as havng sad concernng the marrage of Umm Kuthum: W. E0 mBk nJV Go@:2^p That this was the far! that was usur/ed from us. The second tradition/ It has been narrated n another narraton that Imam Sadq (A.S) sad: @U . B!! 18q iABC r@s iB JA;C cA:;tUBC iAgf @Q6 . C u<v5BC .?A.2R F9gV ur@s w@2.ZBC r@9V @; uiB xFB FbC xw@b 4 ur@s @; xyCk zPP28q ur@PPs dPPBC cPbC mPAqC @PP;C ,FPP6{JV 4 W. |=PfD }PP~C 4 ,<PP; D {C hPKB ?PP;JK; D . C 4 ,@Ql;e c. UAsD iAgf c>e@ i6 . @b c. Z8sD4 ,J3 .i:AU> iX@V w@2.ZBC 4 iB@3 WC -Z> J;DC igZV .iABC ((iABC 1 "When Umar came to make the marrage proposa, the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) tod hm: "She s a young gr." Thereupon, Umar met Abbas and tod hm: "What s wrong wth me? Do I have any defect?" Abbas sad: "Why are you sayng that?" Umar sad: "I asked your nephew for hs daughters hand n marrage, but he has turned me down. I swear by Aah! I w the we of Zamzam wth earth, I w destroy every honor that you have, and I w set up two wtnesses to testfy that he stoe, that I may cut oh hs rght hand. Abbas thereupon came to A and nformed hm of what had 1 Al"Ka@, 5/346 tradton number 1 and 2. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 87 transpred. He asked A to put the matter n hs hands, and A comped." The third tradition/ In another narraton reported from Suaman bn Khad and others, Suaman has been quoted as havng sad: "I asked Imam Sadq (A.S) as to where a ady whose husband had ded shoud pass her Iddah (watng) perod 1 . Was t necessary for her to pass the perod n her husbands house or wherever she wanted?" The Imam (A.S) sad: "Yes, she can pass her watng perod wherever she woud ke to." Then he sad: " W. E @A.gf iAgf <v5BC @U . B @; JUf dXC < . C <=g/ q@V S@eAb g86@V @Qb dBC ilAb " 2 Fhen Umar died, Ali (A.S) went to Umm Kulthum, got hold of her hand and brought her to his house. In vew of the above detas and assumng that the narratons are true and authentc, we say: "The opponents cannot use these narratons to base ther arguments and prove ther sde of the story or to make us accept anythng n ths regard. Ths s because the utmost concuson that can be drawn from these narratons s that the marrage contract took pace under threat and ntmdatng promses. It was ony after these threats that Umm Kuthum went to Umars house. When Umar was ked, the Imam (A.S) went to Umm Kuthum and took her to hs house. On the other hand, perhaps ths sayng of Imam |afar Sadq (A.S) .e. "A (A.S) hed her hand and took her to hs house" s a proof of what some schoars have stated that 1 Iddah s a watng perod of (four months and ten days) durng whch a ady who has ost her husband, must stay away from marrage. 2 Al"Ka@, 6/115 and 116 tradton number 2, ths nformaton because of ts appcaton n the aforesad aw, t has aso been mentoned n the books of Isamc aws. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 88 Umar ded before Umm Kuthum attaned the age of puberty. Therefore, what mert does ths proposa and the mposed marrage whch was characterzed by threat and ntmdaton does t earn Umar? What defect and aw does such a proposa and marrage exact on the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) and the Househod of the Prophet, peace be upon them? Can such a marrage be an ndcaton of the two sdes beng sncere frends of each other? When Umar threatens the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S), n the manner demonstrated by the narratons, to usurp and get ths gr, how may hs threats have been for usurpng the caphate whch forcby senced the Commander of the Fathfu (A.S) and hs foowers compeng them to pay aegance to hm?! In fact, we can say that ths usurpaton was meant to emnate the ehects of that usurpaton. Indeed, Ha||a| bn Yusuf Thaqa earnt ths same method from Umar as evdenced by ths hstorca narraton: Muhammad bn Idrs Shafe (d. 204) says: "When Ha||a| bn Yusuf marred the daughter of Abduah bn |afar, Khad bn Yazd bn Muawyah tod Abdu Mak bn Marwan: "Dd you eave Ha||a| to marry the daughter of Abduah bn |afar?" He sad: "Yes, what s wrong wth t?" Khad sad: "By Aah, ths s the worst shame." Abdu Mak asked: "How s that?" Khad sad: "I swear by Aah! O Commander of the Fathfu, ever snce I marred Ramah, the daughter of Zubar, the enmty I had n my heart toward Zubar, has pershed." Khad goes on sayng: "It seems Abdu Mak was aseep and I woke hm up wth these words of mne. Then A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 89 and there he wrote a etter to Ha||a| makng hm to dvorce Abduahs daughter." Ha||a| comped wth Abdu Maks order and dvorced her. 1 4inal word concerning the marriage of Umm Kulthum Consderng the nvestgaton and research conducted n regard to Umm Kuthums marrage, a queston that does arse s: Whom dd Umm Kuthum marry nay? In answer to ths queston, we must say that t was cared earer that, based on the sayng of Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S), he had kept hs daughters for the sons of hs brother, |afar. In fact, ths was done by the order of the Messenger of Aah (S) because one day the hoy Prophet (S) ooked at As and |afars chdren whereupon the Prophet (S) sad: @:X@:bO @:A:2B 4 @6=:b O@:X@:2B Iur daughters are for our sons and our sons are for our daughters. 1
However, when t comes to Umm Kuthum, there s a narraton whch says: "Umar asked A for Umm Kuthums hand n marrage. A made the excuse that she was too young and he further sad that he had kept her for the son of hs brother, |afar." 3
Lkewse t s seen n ths narraton that the Imam (A.S) dd not specfy whch son of |afar he had kept hs daughter for, but we know that he meant ether Awn or Muhammad. Ths s because, as mentoned earer, the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) had marred hs daughter Zanab (A.S) to Abduah, who was the edest of hs brothers. 1 #u2htasar Tari2h ,imash&, 6/205. 2 #an la Jahdhuruhu Al"Fa&ih, 3/249 tradton number 1184. 3 ,ha2hair U&ba, 288; Kan8ul Ummal, 13/269 tradton number 37586.
A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 90 Among the Sunn schoars, whose opnons and reports we are dscussng n ths book, there s no dherence as to the fact that Awn was ked n the batte of Shushtar, durng the regn of Umars caphate. Hence, based on the aforementoned narratons whch we assume to be authentc, Umm Kuthum was marred to Umar durng ths tme. When t comes to Muhammad, bn |afar, Ibn Ha|ar comments as such: "Abu Umar has narrated from Waqd that Muhammads nckname was Abu Oasm. He marred Umm Kuthum after Umars death." He further says: "Muhammad was martyred n the batte of Shushtar." It has been sad that Muhammad ved unt the tme of Imam A (A.S) and was n the company of the Commander of the Fathfu, A (A.S) durng the batte of Smn. In hs Al"52hwah, Dar Outn wrtes: "It s sad that Muhammad was martyred n the batte of Smn. In ths batte, he fought wth Ubaduah bn Umar bn Khattab and they fought each other to ther death." In ths respect, Marzban too wrtes n #u0!am Al"Shuara: "Muhammad bn |afar and Muhammad bn Ab Bakr were n Egypt. When Muhammad bn Ab Bakr was ked, Muhammad went nto hdng. A person from the can of Ak and the trbe of Ghaq advsed hm to eave Egypt and he ed there for Paestne where he went to one of materna unces from Khatham can. He saved Muhammad from Muawyahs mschef. Later on, Muhammad composed a poem descrbng ths ncdent." He further wrtes: "Ths has been proven and t re|ects Waqd who sad that Muhammad was martyred n the batte of Shushtar." 1 1 Al"5sabah, 6/7. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 91 So, the person who marred Umm Kuthum, after Umars death, based on the foregong supposton, s Muhammad bn |afar and, as was stated earer, Ibn Abd a-Barr has conrmed ths. Concernng Abduah too, t s necessary to know that he s key to have marred Umm Kuthum after the death of hs wfe Zanab (S.A). That s because accordng to Ibn Abd a-Barr, Abduah was ave unt the year 80 of the Isamc unar caendar and he ved for nnety years. Summary of the ,oo The dscusson was about Umm Kuthums marrage to Umar. The story was narrated from the most famous books authored by Sunn schoars. In ths study, we unveed the most hdden aspects of the story carefuy examnng the chans of the narratons, ther sgncatons, the narrators and ther goas. The truth of the matter was expaned and substantated and the controverses came to and end. Assumng that Hazrat Zahra (A.S) had a daughter by the name of Umm Kuthum and that marrage n Isam takes pace ony when the formua of marrage contract s rected, therefore, based on the few narratons mentoned n Kuayns Al"Ka@, we can concude that: Umar asked A (A.S) for Umm Kuthums hand n marrage and the Imam (A.S) made the excuse that she was too young and that she was engaged to her cousn. After Umars repeated proposa, frequentng and resortng to threat to ntmdate the Commander of the Fathfu, (A.S) and Ban Hashem, the Imam eft the matter to be decded by hs unce Abbas; the marrage took pace n the sense that ony a marrage contract was concuded wthout A (A.S) and hs daughter consentng to t. A Crtca Assessment of Umm Kuthums Marrage to Umar 92 That was why no sooner Umar ded than A (A.S) returned hs daughter to hs house. Hence, what has been narrated n some Sunn books about the gr dressng up and gong to Umar under the pretext of handng over a pece of garment s baseess and undocumented scentcay. The same s the case wth the report about Umm Kuthums death occurrng smutaneousy wth the death of her chd from Umar. The concuson s that ths ncdent cannot be used to cover up Umars conduct towards the househod of the Prophet (S) durng Lady Zahras fetme. 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