Age of Umm Kulthum when she married Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him

3-3-2003 | IslamWeb

Question:

I have read that Umm Kulthum (RA), daughter of Ali (RA) and the Prophet's (saw) daughter, Fatimah (RA), was only five or six years old at the time of her marriage to Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA). Is this true?

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

 

It is permissible to propose to a young girl, even a baby girl, and her father has the right to unite her in wedlock, but her husband is not allowed to have sexual intercourse with her until she is mature. In the collections of Al-Bukhari and Muslim, it is narrated from 'Aa'ishah, may Allaah pleased with her, who said that "the Messenger of Allaah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) joined me in marriage when I was seven years old and consummated the marriage with me when I was nine years old." This is the wording of Muslim.

According to biographers like Ibn 'Abd al-Baarr  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him in his book Al-Istee'ab and Ibn Hajar  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him in Al-Isaabah, Umar ibn Al-Khattaab  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him proposed to Umm Kulthum, the daughter of 'Ali  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him but 'Ali  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him replied, "She is still young." Then Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him proposed to her again, whereupon Ali  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him said, "I will send for her and if she accepts, she is your wife." Then, Ali  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him sent her to Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him who unveiled her leg. She said, "Stop this! If you were not the Leader of the Believers, I would beat you."

Thus, Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him accepted her as his wife and no narration stated her exact age. However, there is a discontinuity in the chain of narration and thus it is inauthentic as stated by Shaykh Al-Albaani  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him.

 

Allaah Knows best.

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