Umm Kulthum bint Ali

Umm Kulthum binte Ali (Arabic: أم كلثوم بنت على ) was the fourth child of Ali ibn Abu Talib (the first Shi’a Imam and fourth Sunni Caliph) and Fatima Zahra (the daughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad). She was married to Awn ibn Ja'far. After the Battle of Karbala she was taken to Yazid I's palace and died shortly after arriving at Medina.

There are Hadiths that claim Umar ibn al-Khattab married a fifth Umm Kulthum, and that it was Umm Kulthum binte Ali. Those Hadiths make the following contradictory claims:

Ali conducted the Nikah on his own	Abbas was witness to the Nikah
Banu Hashim were forced to agreeing to give Umm Kulthum in marriage	Banu Hashim happily married Umm Kulthum off
No children were born from the marriage.	Children were born from the marriage.
Zaid bin Umar had no children	Zaid bin Umar had children
Zaid bin Umar died a natural death	Zaid bin Umar was murdered
Zaid's mother died on the same day as Zaid	Zaid's mother survived him
Ali said that his daughter was under age	Ali said that his daughter was NOT under age
After Umar's death she married Awn bin Ja'far	Awn bin Ja'far died whilst she was still married to Umar
Umm Kulthum died during the Caliphate of Muawiyah I	Umm Kulthum was alive at Karbala

The differences between the fifth Umm Kulthum that Umar allegedly married in those Hadiths and Umm Kulthum binte Ali are the following:

The fifth Umm Kulthum	Umm Kulthum binte Ali
In 17 Hijri she was a child born 12 Hijri	Born in 6 Hijri so was past puberty in 17 Hijri
She died during Muawiyah I’s reign with her son, in Medina	Present at Karbala, died in 62 Hijri
Amr bin Aas and Mugheera bin Shuhba were advisers to the marriage (Tabari)	Ali arranged the marriage (Aqd Al Fareed) with Aun bin Ja'far
She had children (al Maarif)	She had no children (al Aqd al Mundhum)
Umar gave dower of 40,000 dirhams	450 Dirhams were given as Dower (same as Fatima) [al Aqd al Mundhum]
She died at least seven years before Karbala	Present in Karbala made captive by Ibn Ziyad, gave a sermon in Kufa
Had multiple marriages	Only one marriage with Aun

The Shi’a View

"Umar ibn Adheena asked sixth Shi’a Imam, Ja’far al-Sadiq, “People claim that Ali married his daughter to such a person”. The Imam, who was until then sitting down, stood up and said angrily, "Whoever holds such a viewpoint is misled." Subhanallah! Was Imam 'Ali unable to free his daughter from their clutches? He could have stood between them and her to protect, they have fabricated a lie". [1]

Sunni believe that Umm Kulthum binte Ali was married to Umar ibn al-Khattāb, which Shi’as disagree with and say that it is highly baseless. Umm Kulthum binte Ali was married to Mohammad ibn Ja’far and she participated in the event of the Battle of Karbala, and even recited an elegy sighting the doors and walls of Medina, after returning from Damascus. The wife of Umar ibn al-Khattāb was Umm Kulthum binte Abu Bakr, whose mother was Asmaa binte Umays (she was a sister of Mohammad ibn Abu Bakr and a step-daughter of Ali ibn Abu Talib), on the bases of which she has been uncounted amongst the daughters of Ali ibn Abu Talib just as he has deemed Mohammad ibn Abu Bakr as his own son from the lineage of Abu Bakr- One of the son of Umm Kulthum binte Abu Bakr was Zayd ibn Umar ibn al-Khattāb whose mention is found in history.

The Sunni View

Umm Kulthum was the second daughter of Ali and Fatimah, and the youngets of their children. She was born in about the year 6 Hijrah. She became of marriagable age during the khilafah of Umar ibn al-Khattab, and the khalifah asked for her hand in marriage. This is recorded by Ibn Sa‘d in his work at-Tabaqat al-Kubra (vol. 8 p. 338, ed. Muhammad 'Ab al-Qadir ‘Ata, Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut 1990) as follows:

I was informed by Anas ibn ‘Iyad al-Laythi, who reports on the authority of Ja‘far ibn Muhammad [as-Sadiq], and he from his father [Muhammad al-Baqir]that Umar ibn al-Khattab asked Ali ibn Abi Talib for the hand of Umm Kulthum in marriage. Ali said, "I had kept my daughters for the sons of Ja‘far." Umar said, "Marry her to me, O Abul Hasan, for by Allah,there is no man on the face of the earth who seeks to achieve through her good companionship that which I seek to achieve." Ali said, "I have done so."

Then Umar came to the Muhajirun between the grave [of Prophet] and the pulpit. They i.e. Ali, Uthman, Zubayr, Talhah and Abd ar-Rahman used to sit there, and whenever a matter used to arrive from the frontiers, Umar used to come to them there and consult with them. He came to them and said, "Congratulate me." They congratulated him, and asked, "With whom are we congratulating you, O Amir al-Muminin?" He replied, "With the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib."

Then he related to them that the Prophet said, "Every tie of kinship, and every association will be cut off on the Day of Judgment, except my kinship and my association." [Umar said,] "I have had the companionship of the Messenger of Allah; I would like also to have this [kinship]." Two children were born from this marriage, namely Zaid and Ruqayyah. After the martyrdom of Umar she was married to her cousin Awn ibn Jafar, and after his death to his brother Muhammad ibn Jafar.

Ultimately she died while married to a third of the sons of Jafar, namely Abdullah during the first half of the fourth decade after the Hijrah. Her son Zaid died on the same day as his mother, and the funeral prayer for mother and son was performed together.

The marriage of Umm Kulthum has been unanimously accepted as a fact of history by all major biographers and historians. Its authenticity has never been contested by anyone, not even the staunchest Shia during the first four centuries after the Hijrah. It was only during the fifth century that Shaykh al-Mufid (died 413 AH) appears to have woken up to the threat that the acceptance of this marriage holds for the doctrine of the Shia and their particular view of history.

At this moment it needs to be noted that the above narration was recorded by Ibn Sa‘d from a man called Anas ibn ‘Iyad al-Laythi, who report directly on the authority of Imam Jafar as-Sadiq, and he from his father Muhammad al-Baqir. In other words, we have here a purely Shia chain of narration. Anas ibn ‘Iyad al-Laythi is regarded by reputable Shia rijal, critics such as an-Najashi and Ibn Mutahhar al-Hilli, as a companion of Imam Jafar as-Sadiq who was "thiqah, sahih al-hadith" (reliable, a transmitter of authentic hadith). (See al-Ardabili, Jami‘ ar-Ruwat, vol. 1 p. 109, Dar al-Adwa, Beirut 1983) Since he narrates directly from their "infallible" Imam, there can be no question about the veracity of his report. Thereupon, his report is corroborated by a wealth of other narrations all of which affirm the historicity of this marriage. Above it all is the fact that for over three centuries this marriage remained uncontested.

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The Shi’a View

The Sunni View

See also

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