Umm Kulthum bint Ali: Difference between revisions

Umm Kulthum was the fourth child of [[Fatima]] and [[Ali|Ali ibn Abi Talib]], and their youngest daughter.{{Sfn|Qutbuddin|2005|p=9938}} The former was the daughter of the [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] and the latter was his cousin. Ali is also recognized as the fourth [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun caliph]] ({{reign|656|661}}) and the first [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Shia imam]]. Umm Kulthum is also known as Zaynab al-Sughra ({{lit|the junior Zaynab}}) to distinguish her from her older sister [[Zaynab bint Ali|Zaynab al-Kubra]] ({{lit|the senior Zaynab}}).{{Sfn|Qutbuddin|2005|p=9938}} The [[Arabic]] world {{Transliteration|ar|zaynab}} literally means 'adornment of father'.{{Sfn|Qutbuddin|2005|p=9938}}{{Sfn|Adibzadeh|2013|p=37}} Umm Kulthum was still a young child in 632 [[Common Era|CE]] when her grandfather Muhammad and her mother Fatima both died.{{Sfn|Esposito|2022}}{{sfn|Buehler|2014|p=186}}

 

The second [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun caliph]] [[Umar|Umar ibn al-Khattab]] is said to have asked Umm Kulthum for her hand in marriage during his reign ({{Reign|634|644}}), according to the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] historian [[Ibn Sa'd]] ({{Died in|845}}) in his biographical {{Transliteration|ar|Tabaqat}}. Still a child at the time, Umm Kulthum resisted this proposal, the report by Ibn Sa'd continues. This refusal is attributed by the Islamicist [[Wilferd Madelung|W. Madelung]] ({{Died in|2023}}) to Umar's reputation for harsh treatment of women. Ali too was reluctant but eventually gave in, according to Ibn Sa'd, when Umar enlisted the support of prominent [[Muslims]] for his proposal.{{Sfn|Madelung|1997|p=67}} This proposal was likely an overture by Umar, who may have considered Ali's cooperation necessary in his collaborative scheme of government.{{sfn|Madelung|1997|pp=62, 65}} While Ali reputedly advised Umar and his predecessor [[Abu Bakr]] ({{Reign|632|634}}) in certain matters,{{sfn|Nasr|Afsaruddin|2023}}{{sfn|Poonawala|1982}} their conflicts with Ali is also well-documented,{{sfn|Aslan|2005|p=122}}{{sfn|Madelung|1997|pp=42, 52–54, 213–4}}{{sfn|Abbas|2021|p=94}} but largely downplayed or ignored in Sunni sources,{{sfn|Jafri|1979|p=45}}{{sfn|Shah-Kazemi|2019|p=78}} where there is often a tendency to neutralize the conflicts among the [[Companions of the Prophet|companions]] after Muhammad.{{Sfn|Shah-Kazemi|2019|p=78}}{{Sfn|Lucas|2004|p=255{{ndash}}284}}{{Sfn|Soufi|1997|p=120}} In contrast, these conflicts might have been magnified in [[Shia Islam|Shia]] sources.{{Sfn|Jafri|1979|p=45}}