The Sons of Khadīja

khadija.pdf TIlE SONS OF KHADIJA M.J. Kister I The reports about the various events in the life of the Prophet, recorded in the early sources of the sira, hadith, historical works and adab literature, are divergent and even contradictory. The discrepancies in the traditions occasionally relate to prominent incidents in the Prophet's career, which had a bearing upon the relations between the Prophet and the influential families in Mecca, and which shaped, to some extent, the destiny of the Prophet and the fate of the nascent Muslim community. One such case which deserves to be examined and elucidated concerns certain events in the matrimonial life of Khadija. These are brought to light in the reports about the two husbands who preceded the Prophet, and also the children she bore these husbands during the period of the Jahiliyya and in the first years of Islam. Some of the early reports are concise. According to a tradition on the authority of Ibn Ishaq, as transmitted by Yunus b. Bukayr,l Khadija's first husband, whom she married when she was a virgin, was 'Atiq b. 'A'idh b. 'Abdallah b. 'Umar of the Makhzum. She bore him a female child. 'Atiq died and Khadija married AbU Hala b. Zurara al-Nabbashi of the 'Amr b. Tamim She bore him one male and one female child. He died and Khadija, again a widow, married the Prophet He was her third husband, she was his first wife. 1 Ibn Ishaq, al-Siyar wa-i-fTIIlghlui, ed. Suhayl Zakkar, Damascus 1398/1978,p. 82 60 Kister: Sons of Khadija In contrast to this is the report given in Ibn Sa'd's Tabaqat? Khadija was "mentioned" to Waraqa b. Naufal, but the marriage was not concluded. Khadija's first husband was Abu HIHa Hind b. al-Nabbash b. Zurara b. Waqdan b. Habib b. Salama b. Ghuwayy b. Jurwa b. Usayyid b. 'Amr b. Tamim. Two phrases which occur in this report on the authority of Ibn al-Kalbi are of some importance: Abu Halas father was a man of high position in his (tribal - K) group,' He settled in Mecca and became an ally of the Banii 'Abd al-Dar b. QU$aYY. The explicatory phrase "and Quraysh used to give their allies their daughters in marriage?' helps us to understand the relations between the influential clans in Mecca and their allies, the newcomers whom they welcomed, aided and tried to absorb into their clans and families. Khadija indeed married Abu Hala and bore him one male child named Hind and another named Hala Her second husband was 'Atiq b. 'Abid [not: 'A'idhl b. 'Abdallah b. 'Umar b. Makhziim. She bore him a female child named Hind. The kunya of Khadija was Umm Hind. Hind grew up, married Sayfi b. Umayya al-Makhziimi, and bore him a son named Muhammad, The children of Hind and Sayfi were called Banii 1-Tahira, because of Khadija, the mother of Hind; Khadija was called al- Tahira, The progeny of Muhammad b. Sayfi, who settled in Medina, perished. Similar to this account is the tradition recorded by Muhammad b. Habib in his Muhabbari Khadija's first husband was Abu Hala, to whom she bore a male child, Hind b. Abi Hala; but no other child of Abu Hala is mentioned. She bore her second husband, 'Atiq b. 'Abid of the Makhziim, a female child named Hind. A corroborative tradition which sheds some additional light on the position of the tribal members who flocked to Mecca and entered alliances with the prominent clans there is recorded by al- Tabari: Abu Hala al-Nabbash b. Zurara b. Waqdan b. Habib b. Salama b. Ghuwayy b. Jurwa b. Usayyid b, 'Amr b. Tamim came to Mecca with his two 2 3 4 5 Beirut 13nl1958, vn, 14-15. Wa-kana abUhu Iln text erroneously: abUhii] dhil sharafin Ii qawmihi. Wa-kanat qurayshun tuzawwiju halilahum. Ed. llse Lichtenstaedter, Hyderabad 136111942,pp. 78, 452 Kister: Sons of Khadija 61 brothers, 'Auf and Unays. They were accepted as allies of the Banu 'Abd al-Dar b. Qusayy, Abu Hala married Khadija bint Khuwaylid and she bore him two male children: Hind and Hala, Hala died,6 but Hind survived beyond the advent of Islam, to which he became a convert. Al-Hasan b. 'Ali transmitted Hind's traditions about the Prophet, mentioning that Hind was his maternal uncle. Ma'mar b. al-Muthanna reported that Hind died in Basra, and that people left their businesses in order to attend his burial? The report recorded by Ibn Habib in his al=Munammaq' is slightly different: AI-NabOOsh b. Zurara of the Banii Usayyid of Tamim joined the Banii Naufal b. 'Abd Manaf as an ally; but the author notes that the reasons for the conclusion of this alliance are not clear to him. Al-Nabbash b. Zurara, whose kunya was Abu Hala, married Khadija before her marriage to the Prophet; she bore him two male children, Hind and Hala, Certain new details are given in the Shi'i compilation of al-Majlisi, Bihar al-anwar" A tradition on the authority of Qatada says that Khadija's first husband was 'Atiq b. 'A'idh al-Makhziimi, and the second Abu Hala Hind b. Zurara al-Tamimi; Khadija bore him a son, Hind, who was thus called Hind b. Hind Another tradition says that Khadija married Abu Shihab 'Amr al-Kindi; her second husband was 'Atiq b. 'A'idh, after whose death she was courted by 'Uqba b. Abi Mu'ayt and al-Salt b. Abi Yahab, both of them very rich men: each possessed four hundred slaves. Abu Jahl wanted to marry her too; she refused all these matrimonial proposals'? A report transmitted on the authority of Abu Talib, that Khadija's first husband was 'Atiq b. 'A'idh, and the second 'Umar al-Kindi, to whom she bore a child, seems to be confused. A new detail is supplied by al-Baladhuri; The first husband was Abu Hala Hind b. al-Nabbash of Tamim; Khadija bore him Hind b. Abi Hala, The second husband was 'Atiq b. 'Abid of Makhziim, to whom she bore a female child named Hind 'Atiq divorced her and 6 7 8 9 10 Before the advent of Islam - K. Al-Tabari, Dhayl aJ-mudhayyaJ, Cairo 1358/1939, p. 40. Ed. Khurshid Ahmad Fariq, Hyderabad 1384/1964, p. 399. Tehran XVI, 10. Ibid., p. 22 62 Kister: Sons of Khadija she married her third husband, the Prophet" This is in fact the first report saying that Khadija was a divorcee (not a widow) when she married Muhammad, Some divergent details deserve to be noted in Nur al-Din al-Haythami's Maimd al-zawatd wa-manbd al-Fawii'id:12 Khadija bore her first husband, 'Atiq b. 'A'id, a son named Hind; he was thus named Hind b. 'Atiq, She bore her second husband, Abu Hala Malik b. Nabbash b. Zurara, the ally of the Banii 'Abel al-Dar, Hind and Hala, Thus Hind b. 'Atiq, Hala and Hind b. Abi Hala, Khadija's children from her two first husbands, are brothers of Khadija's children from the Prophet The controversial problem of Abii Hala's name and the fate of the children of Khadija born to her first two husbands are examined in al-Zurqani's Shark al-mawahib al-laduniyyal? Al-Zubayr (scil, Ibn Bakkar - K.) and (the transmitter - K.) al-Daraqutni say that his name was Malik. Ibn Manda and al-Suhayli record his name as Zurara, Abii 'Ubayd gives his name as al-Nabbash, Al-'Askari records his name as Hind Abii Hala's son, Hind, is said to have fought on the side of the Prophet in the battle of Uhud or in the Battle of Badr. He spread the tradition on the description of the person of the Prophet; this tradition was transmitted on his authority by al-Hasan b. 'Ali Al-Zubayr b. Bakkar reported that he was killed in the Battle of the Camel, fighting on the side of 'Ali; others say that he died in the plague of Basra, The son of Khadija and Abii Hala, named Hala, was recorded as one of the companions of the Prophet According to one tradition, the Prophet arose and saw Hala in his room. He pressed him to his breast and uttered joyously: hala, hala, halal" A contradictory report states, however, that Hala, borne by Khadija to her husband Abii Hala, was in fact a female child Indeed, al-Muhibb al- Tabari in his al-Sinu 11 Al-Baladhurl, Ansab al-ahraf, ed. Muhammad Hamidullah, Cairo 1959, I, 406-407. I2 Beirut 1967, IX, 219. I3 Cairo 1325, I, 199-201 14 See e.g. Ibn I;Iajar, al-I $aba fi tamyizi /-$aI)iiba, ed. 'Ali Muhammad al-Bijiiwi, Cairo 1971,VI, 516, no. 8919. Kister: Sons of Khadija 63 al-thamin tf manaqib ummahiu aJ-mu'minfn.15 records that Hala was the daughter of Khadija and al-Nabbash b. Zurara, who was accordingly given the kunya Abu Hala, Al-Muhibb records further traditions discussing the name of Abu Hala (Malik: b. al-Nabbash, Hind b. Zurara) and the problem of whether he was the first or the second husband of Khadija," Al-Muhibb reiterates the tradition that Hind b. Hind, the stepson of the Prophet, grew up, embraced Islam and was killed in the Battle of the Camel fighting on the side of 'Ali; another tradition says that he died in the plague of Basra, Important information about the son and grandson of Abu Hala is given in Ibn al-Kalbi's Jamharat al-nasabl' Khadija bore Abu Hala Hind b. al-Nabbash b. Zurara a son named Hind He fought in the Battle of Badr or in the Battle of Uhud, His son Hind b. Hind b. Hind was killed fighting on the side of Ibn al-Zubayr. This family perished and none of their progeny remained. It is worth noting the statement of al-Muhibb that nothing is known about the life and fate of the two female children borne by Khadija to her two husbands" Al-Diyarbakri quotes from the Sira of Mughultay some interesting reports: Khadija bore 'Atiq b. 'A'idh of Makhziim a female child named Hind and a male child named 'Abdallah or 'Abd Maruif. Al-Qurtubi, in his Tajsir (= al-Lami li-ahkam ai-qur'an),19 records a tradition saying that Khadija bore 'Atiq a male child named 'Abd Maruif. No less interesting is the tradition recorded by Diyarbakri that Khadija bore Abu Hala Hind a daughter, Zaynab, and two male children: al-Harith and Hind The tradition about a male child borne by Khadija to 'Atiq b. 'Abid is recorded in Ibn Hazm's Jawami' ai-sirai" Khadija, says the report, bore her first husband a male child named 'Abdallah, She bore 15 16 17 18 19 20 Cairo 140211983, p. 23. Pp. 6, 23. MS. Br. Mus, Add. 'l32fJ7, fol 93b. This very report is recorded in Diyabakrfs Ta'rikh ol-khamis I, 261 Cairo 1387/1967. XIV. 104. Ed. ll,Jsiin 'Abbas and Nasir al-Dln al-Asad, Cairo, rut, P. 3l 64 Kister: Sons of Khadija her second husband Abu Hala Hind b. Zunlra two male children, Hind and al-Harith, and a female child named Zaynab. Hind b. Hind fought in the Battle of Uhud and dwelt in Basra. Al-Harith embraced Islam and was killed by an unbeliever at the Rukn al- Yamiini More details about al-Harith are provided by al-Baladhuri," Al-Harith b. Abi Hala was the first man killed at the Rukn al- Yamani, fighting for the sake of GodP One tradition says that he was under the tutelage of Khadija (ji hiin khadikua); he embraced Islam, manifested his faith openly and summoned people to convert to Islam. One day when he was with a group of Quraysh and heard a man slandering the Prophet he tried to defend the Prophet A row ensued in which al-Harith was beaten by a rude unbeliever who trampled him down and trod on his belly. He was carried away wounded and later died. Another tradition says that he was killed while performing his prayer at the Rukn al- Yamiini Ibn I:Iajar23provides us with information about the beginnings of al-Harith's missionary activity, which occurred when the Prophet was enjoined to call openly upon the people to convert to Is1am..24 Ibn I:Iazm25 records the story of al-Harith and furnishes us with an additional detail about him: $afwiin b. $afwiin b. al-Nabbash of Tamim is said to have been the first believer who killed an unbeliever after the mira; he killed the murderer of al-Harith b. Abi Hiila.26 Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi, in Jiimi' al-athar fi maulidi l-rasidi l-mukhtar,27 records a significant report of Ibn 'Abd al-Barr stating that Khadija bore Abu Hala a male child named al- Tahir; he was the brother of Hind and Hala, The Prophet is said to have sent him as governor (ami!) to a district in al- Yemen, 21 Ansah ai-ashr1Jf, MS. foL 969b. 22 n sabili llah. 23 AI-I saba, I, 604, no. 1501 24 ... an yasdda bimii amarahu ... ; see SUrat ai hijr, 95: [a-sdd bimii tumaru wa-drid 'ani l-mushrikin: 25 Jamharas ansab ai-'arab, ed. 'Abd al-Salam Hariin, Cairo l382/1962, p. 210. 26 And see about Safwiin b. Safwan: al-Tabarl, Ta'rikh; III, 268 and Ibn Hajar, ai-I saba, m. 435, no. ~. 27 MS, Cambridge Or. 9l3, foL 25Oa.. Kister: Sons of Khadija 65 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr in fact records a tradition transmitted by Sayf b. 'Umar on the authority of Abu Miisa al-Ash'ari saying that al-Tahir was among the five governors sent by the Prophet to the different districts of al-Yemen." An extended report about al-Tahir is given by Ibn I:Iajar.29According to the tradition transmitted by Sayf b. 'Umar, Tahir b. Abi Hala was sent as governor to a district of al-Yemen, as already mentioned. The important additional report says that al-Tahir succeeded in quelling the rebellion of the 'Akk (called al-akhilbith). These reports are corroborated by the information provided by al-Tabari; al-Tahir b. Abi Hala was appointed by the Prophet to be in charge of the 'Akk in Mecca. He was later sent as governor to a district of al-Yemen, or according to another version, was appointed over the tribes of 'Akk and the Ash'ariyyin, He faced the forces of al-Aswad al-Ansi and succeeded in crushing the rebellion of the 'Akk and the Ash'ariyyin after the death of the Prophet Later he was sent by Abu Bakr to San'a in order to help the Abna' in their fight against the unbelievers." Not much is known about al-Zubayr b. Abi Hala, Sayf b. 'Umar used to transmit his traditions. Ibn Manda reported his tradition saying that the Prophet killed a detained Qurashite and stated: ''Nevermore should a detained (or imprisoned - K) man from Quraysh be killed,'?' It is obvious that the traditions concerning the two husbands of Khadija to whom she was married prior to her marriage to the Prophet are obscure, confused and very often contradictory. The reports about the children borne by Khadija to these two husbands are 28 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, aI-lsti'ab. II, 775,no. 1297. 29 Al-I$aba,m, 515,no. 3258. 30 Al-Tabari, Ta'rikh al-rusui wa-l-muIUk, ed. Muhammad Abii l-Fadl Ibrahim, Cairo 1969,III, 228, 230, 318,320-321,328. 31 Ibn l:Iajar, al-Isaba; II, 558, no. im; and see Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-ghiiba tt mariiaii l-sahiiba; n.p., 1280 (repr, Tehran), II, 199inf~ and see this tradition with a significant phrase added: "Nevermore should a detained man from Quraysh be killed except the murderer of 'Uthman, you ought to kill him; but if they do not do it, then tell them that they will be slaughtered as a ewe is slaughtered," in Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kiimil [i 4u'ala'i i-rijaI, Beirut 1405/1985,VI, 2361 66 Kister: Sons of Khadija blurred; there is hardly any agreement among the genealogists and the transmitters of haditb as to the details of the stories. Only a few of the persons mentioned in the reports lived until the advent of Islam, and we are told that even those few died or were killed and that their progeny ceased to exist It is noteworthy, however, that the settings of the stories about the two husbands possibly reflect the situation in Mecca. It is plausible that Khadija married a man from the aristocratic clan of Makhziim, in accordance with her position and wealth; but it is equally plausible that she married a Bedouin immigrant to Mecca., as this was a common custom in Meccan society. In this way the Meccan clans tried to strengthen their ties with the Bedouin tribes and to secure the commercial activities of the Meccan families. n The traditions concerning the Prophet's age when he married Khadija are divergent and confused. Many traditions report that he married her at the age of twenty-five, and that Khadija was then forty years 0ld32 Some sources record the tradition transmitted on the authority of Hakim b. Hizam, which confirms the data mentioned above: Khadija was born fifteen years before the Year of the Elephant; Hakim was born thirteen years before the Year of the Elephant; she was thus two years older than Hakim, and he could easily have established her age as forty. The Prophet, born in the Year of the Elephant, was thus twenty-five years old at the time of their marriage. 33 32 Al-Dimyati, al-Mukhiasar Ii sirati l-nabiyyi Cs), MS. Chester Beatty 3332,foL lOb; al-Mutahhar h Tahir, Kitah al-bad' wo-l-tdrikh; ed. ct. Huart, Paris 1916, V, 10; al-Majlisi, Bil)iJr al-anwiir, XVI, 19; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa-l-nihaya; V, 193!oo the authority of Hakim h l;Iizam); Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiu VIII, 15 (on the authority of Haklrn h l;Iizam);. al-Baladhurf, Ansah al-ashrii], ed. Mohammad Hamidullah, Cairo 1959,I, 98 (with the remark: "this is the accepted opinion of the scholars"). 33 See Ibn Nasir aI-Din, Jami' al-iJJhlJr, fol. 250a (quoted on the authority of Miisii b. 'Uqba and traced back to Haklm b, Hizam); aI-Majlisi, BiI)lu al-anwiir, XVI, 12; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiu, VIII, 17; and see H. Lammens, "L'Age de Mahomet et Ia Chronologie de la Sira," Journal Asiatique, XVII (1911)2()<}-150; and see the Kister: Sons of Khadija 67 Ibn Qutayba'" only records the age of Muhammad when he married Khadija: He was twenty-five years 0ld3s An additional detail in connection with the date of his marriage is given by Ibn Qutayba" in a tradition saying that the Prophet went to Syria with the merchandise of Khadija when he was twenty-five years old; he married Khadi ja two months after his return. A corresponding tradition is recorded in the Sira aJ-halabiyya;37 He was twenty-five years old; some say twenty-five, two months and ten days; others say: and fifteen , days. Mughultay, in his aJ-Zahr ai-basim Ii sirat abi l-qasim,38 is even more precise in a tradition recorded on the authority of Abu 'Umar (i.e. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr); The Prophet married Khadija two months and fifteen days after his return from Syria, at the end of Safar in the year twenty-six, which corresponds to twenty-five years, two months and ten days after the Day of the Elephant The tradition of Ibn 'Abd al-Barr is recorded in Ibn Nasir aI-Din's Jam;' aJ-iithilr.39 Mughultay mentions a tradition from Ibn 'Asakir saying that the Prophet returned with Maysara from Syria on the fourteenth night from the end of Dhii l-Hijja in the year twenty-five counting from the Day of the Elephant 40 Niir al-Din al-Haythami records a tradition saying that the Prophet married Khadija at the age of twenty-five, and supplies 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 detailed study by Lawrence I. Conrad, "Abraha and Muhammad: some observations apropos of chronology and literary topoi in the early Arabic historical tradition," BSOAS L (1987),225-240. AJ-Ma'arif, ed. Tharwat 'Ukasha, Cairo 1969,p. 131 And so: al-Majlisi, Biblu, XVI, 10 on the authority of 'Amr b. 'Ala; Ibn Hazm, Jawarnl ol-sira; p. 31 P.15O. I, 154. MS. Leiden, Or. 370, foL 93a. MS. Cambridge, Or. 913, fol. 250a. And see Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's tradition: al-Zurqani, Sharh al-mawahib ol-laduniyya; I, 199. See this tradition: al-Maqrizi, Imt(/ al-asmd bimlJ li-l-rasidi miTUJl-anba' wa-l-amwill wa-l-haiadou wa-l-mata', ed. Mahmiid Muhammad Shakir, Cairo 1941,I, 9. 68 Kister: Sons of Khadija another detail: Quraysh were then building the Ka'ba 41A contradictory tradition says that the Ka'ba was being built by Quraysh when the Prophet was thirty-five years old 42 However, al-Majlisi records yet another tradition in which the building of the Ka'ba by Quraysh is coupled with the date of Fatima's birth and the date of the Revelation granted to the Prophet 43 Some traditions about the age of the Prophet when he married Khadija are diverse: According to a report traced back to al-Zuhri, the Prophet was twenty-one years old when he married her.44 Another tradition says that he was twenty-three years old at the time," A tradition recorded on the authority of Ibn Jurayj says that he married her when he was thirty-seven years old 46 Other traditions give the age of the Prophet at his marriage as thirty'? or twenty-nine," The traditions recording the age of Khadija when she married the Prophet are likewise contradictory and blurred. The tradition based on the report that Khadija was born fifteen years before the Year of 41 Majma' al-zawii'id, IX, 219; the same tradition is quoted in Ibn Kathir's al-Bidiiya wa-l-nihaya; V, 293; al-Mutawwa'I, Man sabara zafira; MS. Cambridge, Or. 1473 (10),foL 38a. 42 A1-Majlisi, Bihiu aI-anwar, XVI, 7. 43 A1-Majlisi, Bi/JiJr,XVI, n. 44 Al-Zurqani, Sharh. al-mawahib, I, 199, III, 220 (and see the refutation of this report: al-Zurqani, ibid III, 227); 'Abd ai-Malik b. Husayn al-Tsaml, Simi aI-nujUin aI-'awiiJi, Cairo 1380, I, 365; al-Maqrizi, 1m/a', 1,9; al-Suhayli, ol-Raud al-unui, II, 246; al-Haythami, Majmd aI-zawa'id, IX, 219; al-Muhibb al-Tabarl, aI-Simt al-thamin; p. 14; Ibn Kathir, ol-Bidiiya wa-l-nihiiya, V, 293. 45 Muhammad b. Habib, ai-Muhabbar. p. 78; al-Baladhuri, Ansah aI-ashral, I, 98; al-Maqrizi, 1m/a', I, 9. 46 Al-Zurqanl, Sham al-mawahib, I, 199; al-Maqrizi, Imtis", I, 9; Mughultay, al-Zahr al-biisim; fol. 93a; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidiiya; V, 293; Ibn Nasir ai-Din, Jaml aI-1JJhiu,foL 25Oa. 47 Al-Muhibb al-Tabari, al-Sim; al-thamin; p. 14; Ibn N~ al-Din, Jaml aI-1JJhiu, fol. 25Oa; al-Zurqani, Shark al-mawahib, II, 199, III, 220, 227; al-S3liI:li,Subulu l-huda wa-l-rashad fi siraii khayri l-'ibad, ed. Mustafa 'Abd al-WaI.tid.Cairo 139411974, n. 225; al-Suhayli, al-Raud n 246. 48 Mughultay, al-Zahr al-basim; fol. 93a (nearing thirty}, aI-Maqrizi, Imtd, I, 9 (nearing thirty); al-Zurqani, Sharb aI-mawiihib, 1,199; al-S3liI:li,Subul al-huda; Il, 225 (nearing thirty). Kister: Sons of Khadija 69 the Elephant, that the Prophet was born in the Year of the Elephant and that he married her when he was twenty-five years. old and she forty is, of course, consistent in itself, and adapted to the widely circulated data about the birth and death of the Prophet Divergent traditions say that Khadija was forty-five years old when she married him.49 Other reports relate that she was thirty years oldsO A tradition, traced back in some sources to Ibn (Abbas, states that she married the Prophet when she was twenty-eight years old," There are isolated traditions saying that she was thirty-five or twenty-five years old when she married the Prophet," All these traditions should be taken into consideration in evaluating the reports about the children Khadija bore the Prophet Scholars of haditb and sira are unanimous as to the number of female children borne by Khadija to the Prophet She bore him four daughters, all of whom were still young at the advent of Islam and embraced the new faith. All of them married, but only three bore children. Their progeny died, except for that of Fatima; they are the descendants of al-Hasan and al-Husayn, the sons of Fatima Scholars, however, are at odds as to the number of male children borne to the 49 Ibn Kathir, ai-Bidiiya; V, 293 (on the authority of al-Wiiqidi); Mughultay, al-Zahr al-biisim; fol 93a; Ibn N~ir al-Din, Jam'" al-iUhiir, fol 250a; Ibn 'Asiikir, Ta'rikh Dimashq (tahdhib), ed. 'Abd al-Qadir Badriin, Beirut 1399/1970, I, 302-303 (on the authority of al-Wiiqidi: forty-four years old); al-Zurqiini, Sharh al-mawllhib, I, 199 (on the authority of Ibn Sa'd), III, 220; al-Halabi, Sira; 1,156. 50 Al-Zurqani, Sharh al-mawilhib, I, 200, III, 220; Ibn N3$ir al-Din, Jami' al-llthllr, fol 250a; Ibn 'Asiikir, Ta'rikh (tahdhib) I, 302; al-$iilibi, Subul al-hudll, II, 225; al-l;Ialabi, Sira; I, 156. 51 Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya; V, 293; al-Zurqiini, Sharb al-mawahib, I, 200, III, 220; Mughultay, al-Zahr ai-basim; fol 93a; Ibn N3$ir al-Din, Jam'" al-llthiir, fol 250a (on the authority of Ibn Sa'd~ al-$iilibi, Subul, II, 225; Ibn 'Asiikir, Ta'rikh (tahdhib), I, 302 (on the authority of Ibn al-Kalbi); al-l:lalabi, Sira; I, 156; al-l:liikim, al-Mustadrak; Hyderabad (repr, Riyiid), III, 182; Muhammad b. Habib, al-Mul)obbar, P. 78; al-MajJ.isi,Bihlu al-anwlu, XVI, 12 52 Al-l;Ialabi, Sira; I, 156. 70 Kister: Sons of Khadlja Prophet by Khadija," The various traditions about the male children of Khadija are examined in the following lines. A significant report formulated concisely and recorded in an early source says that the Prophet began to practice tahannutb after some of his female children were born, Khadija bore him al-Qasim; some scholars claim that she also bore him another male child called al- Tahir, but other scholars say that she bore only one son, al-Qasim/" Al-Zurqani quotes the tradition saying that Khadija bore the Prophet only one son, al-Qasim, but provides us with a comprehensive review of other traditions which record various numbers for the male children whom Khadija bore the Prophet According to some of these traditions, Khadija bore the Prophet thirteen children," According to a tradition recorded by Ibn Ishaq, the male children of the Prophet were born before the Call; they were al-Qasim, al-Tahir and al-Tayyib, The Prophet's agnomen tkunya) was Abu l-Qasim, All the male children of the Prophet died before the advent of Islam (i.e. before the Call). Some traditions stress that they died while suckling," 53 'Abd al-Razzaq, al-Musannaf, V, 321, no. 9718 ( ... wa-la-qad zdama bddu I-'ulamll annahii waladat lahu ghuliiman akhara yusamma al-tahir; wa-qda ba'4uhum: mij ndlamuha waladat lahu ilia l-qasim ... ). 54 See the tradition quoted from Ibn IsQaq'sal-Mubtadd stating that Khadija bore the Prophet only one son, named al-Qasim: Mughultay, al-Zahr al-basim; foL 94b: ... wa-it l-mubtada'i 'ani bni ishaqa: za'ama ba'4u I-'ulamlli anna khadijata (r) lam talid li-l-nabiyy! (s) mina l-dlwkUri ilia l-qasima; wa-hM.hil la shay'a. 55 Al-Zurqiini, Sharb al-mawahib, III, 193-194; see the tradition of the one child, al-Qasim, pp. 193, L 2 and 194, L 11:wa-tahsulu min jami'i l-aqwaJi thamaniyaiu dhukiain: ithnllni muuafaqun 'alayhima, al-qasimu wa-ibrahlmu wa-sittaiun mukhialatun fihim ... 56 Ibn Ishaq, al-Siyar wa-l-maghazl, pp. 82, 245; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidiiya wa-l-nihaya; V, 293; SulaymfuJb. Miisii al-Kalii'i, al-Iktifa' fi maghazi rasidi llllhi wa-l-thaliuhaii l-kJuJafa', ed. Mustafa 'Abd al-Wal).id, Cairo 138711968, I, 199 (on the authority of Ibn IsQaq}, l-Isaml, Simi aJ-fUljUm, , 406; Ibn 'Asakir, a I Ta'rikh Dimashq (tahdhlb), ed. 'Abd al-Qiidir Badran, Beirut 139911979, I, 302, ult.; Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, 'Uyu.n al-athar, II, 288 and ibid. this tradition recorded on the authority of Ibn Isbiiq; and see 'Abdallah b. Abi Zayd al-Qayrawanl, Kitiib aJ-jaml, ed. Muhammad Abu l-Ajfiin and 'Uthman Binikh. Beirut-Tunis Kister: Sons of Khadija 71 According to the tradition of al-Zubayr b. Bakkar, Khadija bore the Prophet only two male children: al-Qasim and 'Abdallah; 'Abdallah was also called al-'Tayyib and al-'Tahir. 'Abdallah was born after the Call and died as a small child. The first child of the Prophet who died was al-Qasim; the second was 'Abdallah," Some scholars identified al- Tahir with another child, named al-Mutahhar, alleged to have been the son of Khadija and the Prophet. They argued that al-Tahir was the name given to a child whom Khadija bore to a previous husband. However, this argument is rejected on the grounds that Khadija could not have given the same name to a child of a previous husband and a child of the Prophet" According to a tradition traced back to al-Zuhri she bore the Prophet only two children: al-Qasim and 'Abdallah," Other traditions say that the two male children borne by Khadija were named 1402/1982, pp. 128 ult-129, l 1; and see al-Zurqiini, Sharh al-mawiihib, III, 194, I. 7: ... wa-qala bnu isbaqa fi l-siraii 'inda dhikri tazawwu]i l-mustafi: khadi jata: kulluhum ghayra ibrahima wuIida qabla l-islluni. wa-m1Jtal-banUna qabla l-islluni wa-hum yarta4tfm ... 57 Ibn Kathir. al-Bidiiya; V, 307; Ibn l:Iajar al-iAsqalani, al-Isaba; IlL 549 (al-Zubayr b. Bakklir on the authority of Musab, and see ibid another tradition transmitted on the authority of al-Zuhri); Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiu, VIII, 16; al-Kazariinl, al-Sira al-nabawiyya; MS. Br. Mus., Add. 18499, fol. 83a-b; al-Kala'I, al-Iktita', L 199 penult, (on the authority of al-Zubayr b. Bakkar); al-Zurqiini, Sharb al-mawiihib, IlL 193;Ibn 'Aslikir, Ta'rikh Dimashq (tahdhib). L 293; Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, 'UyiUI al-aihar, IL 288 (two traditions); Muhammad b. l:Iabib, al-Muha/Jbar,p. 78; Ibn al-Kalbi, Jamharat al-nasab, MS. Br. Mus.,Add. 23297, fol. 9a; al-Dimyati, al-Mukhiasar [i sirati I-nabiyyi ($), MS. Chester Beatty 3332, fol. 14a (a tradition of al-Kalbi traced back to Ibn 'Abbas as in al-Nuwayri, Nihaya: al-arab [i luniln al-adab, Cairo 1964, XVIII, 208 on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas: the first child born before the Call was al-Qlisim, who was followed by the four daughters. In the end Khadija bore the Prophet a male child named 'Abdallah who was also called al-Tayyib and al-Tahir, but some scholars assume that 'Abdallah is not to be identified with al-Tayyib and al-Tahir, and that they are two additional children). 58 Ibn Hajar, al-I$1Jba, I, 262; al-Zurqiini, Sharh al-mawiihib,III, 193info V 59 Ibn Hajar, al-lsaba; IlL 549; cf. al-Dimyati, al-Mukhta$ar, fol 14a; Ibn N~ al-Din, Jami' al-iUhiJr fol, 250b (on the authority of Hishlim b. 'Urwa and another tradition on the authority of Ibn 'Ahhii") 72 Kister: Sons of Khadija al-Qasim and al- Tahir.60 A peculiar tradition is recorded on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas: Khadija bore the Prophet a child named 'Abdallah. Then there was a period during which Khadija ceased bearing children, One day during that period the Prophet met al-'& b. Wa'il, who mockingly called him al-abtar, and then the sura: al-kauthar was revealed. Later Khadija bore the Prophet Zaynab, Ruqayya, al-Qasim, al-Tahir, al-Mutahhar, al- Tayyib, al-Mutayyab, Umm Kulthiim and Fatima," The number of male children borne to Muhammad by Khadija according to this list was six; the number of female children was, as mentioned, four. Thus Khadija bore the Prophet ten children, A tradition transmitted by Ibn Lahi'a records four male children: al-Qasim, al- Tahir, al- Tayyib and 'Abdallah'" Noteworthy is a report which shortens the period in which Khadija bore children: al-Tayyib and al-Mutayyab were twins; al- Tahir and al-Mutahhar were also twins.63 A curious tradition is recorded in Ibn Nasir al-Din's Jami' ai-athar.64 Khadija, says the tradition, bore the Prophet four male children: al-Qasim, al- Tahir, Ibrahim and al- Tayyib, This tradition was nevertheless rejected by the scholars and considered erroneous, as Ibrahim was borne by the slave girl Mariya, not by Khadija. It is noteworthy that a very late compiler of a maulid commentary records an early tradition, according to which Khadija bore the Prophet only one male child, al-Qasim, while the scholars are 60 Abu I-Husayn Ahmad b. Faris, Aujazu l-siyar li-khayri l-bashar, Cairo 1359/1940,p. 9; Ya'qiib b. Sufyan al-Fasawi, aJ-Ma'rila wo-l-tarikh; ed. A.kram I;>iya'al-Umarl, Beirut 140111981, 'lfj9 inf.-270. II, 61 Ibn Kathir, ol-Bidiiya, V, m; Ibn 'Asiikir, Ta'rikh Dimashq;I, 294. 62 Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya; V, 307; Ibn Nasir aI-Din, Jamr al-iuhar, fol. 251a; al-Zurqanl, SharlJ,aJ-mawahib,III, 191 63 Mughultay, al-Zahr al-basim; fol. 94b; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya; V, 308; Ibn 'Asiikir, Ta'rikh, I, 294; Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, 'Uyful al-athar, II, 288; Ibn Hajar, al-Lsaba; VI, 262; al-Zurqani, Sharb al-mawahib, III, 193; al-'I$iimi, Simi al-nujiim; I, 406; 'Ali b. Burhan al-Din al-Halabl, Insim al-'uyful Ii sirati l-amini I-ma'miin (= ai-Sira aJ-/Jalabiyya),Cairo 1382/1962,III, 345; Ibn Niisir al-Din, Jarnl aJ-lIthiu,foL 25la 64 FoL 25la Kister: Sons of Khadija 73 at variance as to whether she bore him another child. 'Abdallah," ill A remarkable tradition concerning Khadija's male children born to the Prophet reports that Khadija bore the Prophet two children: 'Abd al-'Uzza and 'Abd Manaf. This tradition was transmitted by al-Haytham b. 'Adiyy (d. 206 A.H.) on the authority of Hisham b. 'Urwa (d, 146 All) and traced back to his father 'Urwa,66 Ibn Nasir al-Din mentions another tradition quoted from a book by Abii 'Ubayda Ma'mar b. al-Muthanna (d 209 All, evidently from his Azwaju i-nabiyyi ts); mentioned fol. 251b), stating that in the period of the Jahiliyya Khadija bore the Prophet four children: al-Qasim, 'Abd Manaf, al-Tayyib (= 'Abdallah) and al-Tahir, This brings the number of children borne to the Prophet by Khadija to eight: four male and four female children. Abii 'Ubayda argues that 'Abd Manaf was born during the period of the Jahiliyya; had he been born during the period of Islam he would not have been called 'Abd Manaf, says Abii 'Ubayda, as stated in the summary of Ibn Nasir al-Din.67 It is indeed fortunate that Abii 'Ubayda's T asmiyatu azwaji i-nabiyyi ts) wa-auladihi is extant, and was edited by Nihad Miisii..68 Abii 'Ubayda's report in this treatise differs in an essential detail from 65 Muhammad Nawawi b. 'Umar al-Jawl, Tar ghib al-mushtiiqin li-bayiini manziimati l-sayyidi l-barzanji zayni l-'abidin, Cairo, n.d.,p. 24: ... wa- jumlatu auladihi $alla llahu 'alayhi wa-sallam sab'atun: thaliithatu dhukilrin wa-arbdu iniuhin; lakin wabidun mukhtalaiun [ihi; [a-l-dhukkr» l-qasimu wa-ibriihimu; wa-hadhan! muuajaqun 'alayhima, wa-'abdu llahi wa-hluiha mukhtalafun fi hi; wa-yuqalu lahu ai-tay yibu wa-I-rahiru; wa-l+qaulu t-athbatu wuiiiduhu; wa-summiya 'abdu llahi bi-I-rayyibi wa-l-tahiri li-annahu wulida bdda l-nubuwwati ... 66 Al-Zurqanl, Sham al-mawahib, III, 193 inf.-194 sup.; Ibn Nasir al-Din, Jami' al-iuhar, foL 252a; al-Tsaml, Simt al-nujism al-'awali, I, 408; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya; V, '!JJ7,308; Ibn I:Iajar al-'AsqaIani, Lisan al-mizlin, Hyderabad 1331, VI, 210,no. 740. 67 And see an anonymous tradition recorded in al-Halabfs Sira; III, 345 ult., saying that a child born to the Prophet before the Call was named 'Abd ManM. 68 Majallat mdhad al-makh{iUiital-'arabiyya, XIII (1967),244-279. 74 Kister: Sons of Khadija the summary provided by Ibn Nasir al-Din; al-Qasim, says the report, was born during the period of Islam. The four daughters were born during the period of the Jahiliyya, The three male children of the Prophet borne by Khadija, 'Abd Manaf, al-Tayyib (= 'Abdallah) and al- Tahir, were also born in the period of the Jahiliyya,69 The arguments Abu 'Ubayda uses to support his chronology of the births of Khadija's children are instructive, and help us to understand the ideological basis of his treatise. The Prophet, says Abu 'Ubayda, gave his daughter Zaynab in marriage to Abu l-'As b. al-Rabi', When she converted to Islam, the Prophet prohibited her from staying with Abu l-'As, who remained an unbeliever, but when Abu l-'As later embraced Islam, the Prophet authorized their bond on the basis of the previously concluded Jahili marriage. The same applies to the marriages concluded between Ruqayya and Urnm Kulthiim with Abu Lahab's sons 'Utba and 'Utayba respectively, with the approval and blessing of the Prophet As for 'Abd Maniif, he was born during the period of the Jahiliyya; had he been born during the period of Islam the Prophet would not have given him this name. Further evidence that the male children of the Prophet borne by Khadija lived and died during the period of the Jahiliyya is adduced by Abu 'Ubayda, who cites the tradition about Khadija's conversation with the Prophet as to the fate of their deceased infants. The Prophet assured her that their infants were in Paradise, but added that the children borne by her to her former husbands, the unbelievers, were placed in He1l70 This had/til, argues Abu 'Ubayda, indicates that the male children of the Prophet, except al-Qasim, were born and died during the period of the Jahiliyya; had they died during the period of Islam, Khadija would not have enquired about their fate," It is evident that the problem touched upon in Khadija's conversation with the Prophet is the fate in the hereafter of children of believers, in contradistinction to the fate of children of unbelievers. The story about Khadija's grief at the death of al- Tahir also belongs 69 Tasmiya; pp, 248, ll, 1-2, 12-14, 249, ll, 1-12 70 See this tradition: Ibn Nasir al-Din, Ja,nl ai-iuhar, fol 25lb. 71 P.249. Kister: Sons of Khadija 75 here. The Prophet consoled her, promising that after her death al- Tahir would welcome her at the gates of Pamdise.72 The essential question at issue, however, is whether the Prophet was granted infallibility before the Revelation, whether he was cleansed from the impurity of idol worship and of close contacts with unbelievers (kuffiir or mushrikun), and whether, prior to the Call. he refrained from committing deeds which might have been considered adherence to the customs or practices of the unbelievers. It is thus remarkable that the story of the Prophet's daughters who were married to unbelievers with the approval of the Prophet (a story adduced by Abu 'Ubayda as evidence for the validity of the tradition about the Prophet's child being named 'Abel Manat) is quoted and explicated by Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 A.H.) in his T awil mukhtaJif al-hadith'? as proof that the Prophet believed in God and yielded to His injunctions and commands. The Prophet gave his daughters in marriage to unbelievers because this had not been forbidden at that time according to God's injunctions, shard i'l" It was Ibn Qutayba's aim to prove that the Prophet acted in accordance with God's commands as revealed to former prophets, and to explain that the tradition about the Prophet's adherence to the tenets and beliefs of his people, kana 'alii dini qaumihi; means in fact that the Prophet followed his people, Quraysh, who adhered to certain beliefs, tenets and injunctions of the "Faith of Ishmael," din ismdil. Several of these practices were closely observed by the people of the Prophet, Quraysh," Bihar al-anwar, XVI, 16; and see ibid .• p. 15, a similar tradition on the consolation of Khadija after the death of al-Qssim; the Prophet promised her that al-Qasim would welcome her after her death at the gates of Paradise. 73 Cairo 1326, 134-139. 74 See p. 139. 75 See e.g. al-Suyutl, al-Rasaila His', Beirut, 1405/1985 (Masalik al-hunafi: [i walidayi l-mustafa salla llahu 'alayhi wa-iilihi wa-sallama); p. 49: ... [a-hasala mimma auradnahu anna ab1J'al-nabiyyi salla lliihu 'alayhi wa-sallama min 'ahdi ibriihima ila kabi bni lu'ayyin kanu kulluhum 'ala din: ibriihima 'alayhi l-saliimu, wa-waladuhu murratu bnu kdbin al-"fiihiruannahu kana ka-dhldika Li-anna abahu ausiihu bi-l-imani, wa-baqiya baynahu wa-bayna 'abdi l-muttalib arbdaiu aba' ... ; and see ibid .• p. 47: ... wa-qad akhraja ibnu 72 Al-Majlisi, 76 Kister: Sons of Khadija This subject was discussed comprehensively by Muslim scholars. Ibn Hazm, for example, concludes his lengthy analysis by stating that the prophets could not have committed any sin or perpetrated any transgression before they were granted prophethood: ... ta-bt-yaqinin nadri anna llaha ta'aJa 'asamahum qabla l-nubuwwati min kulli mil yudhauna bihi bdda l-nubuwwaii ... 76 The problem of the Prophet's infallibility is discussed at length in al-Khafaji's commentary Nasim ai-riyad sharb shifa'i l-qQ.4i 'iyQ.4:77 The Prophet, like other prophets, was protected from any sin whatsoever both before and after being granted prophethood. The tradition saying that the Prophet adhered to the tenets of his people for forty years, kana 'ala amri qaumihi arbdina sanatan, does not indicate that he had no knowledge of belief in God; he merely lacked knowledge of God's ordinances and precepts, the taraid. which were granted him after the Revelation. The opinion of al-Kalbi and al-Suddi, who interpreted the words wa-wajadaka dalton; "and He found you erring" literally as denoting unbelief, kutr, "and God found you as an unbeliever" (scil, amongst the unbelieving people - K.) conflicts with the consensus of the community; it is inconceivable that such an accusation of shirk could be levelled against the Prophet 78 The same opinion appears in al-Mawardi's A'lam aJ-nubUWWa.79 The Prophet did not worship idols, and he distinguished himself by his noble character, his belief in the unity of God and his high moral qualities and ethical principles. Scholars disagreed as to which faith. religious law of God, shari'a the Prophet followed before he was granted the Revelation: the shari'a of Abraham, of Moses or of Jesus," 76 77 78 79 80 habiba [i ta'rikhihi 'ani bni 'abbiisin qiila: kana 'adniinu wa-mo'addun wa-rabi'atu wa-mudaru wa-khuzaymatu wa-asluhu (?) 'ala millati ibrahima 'alayhi l-saliimu la-Ia tadhkuriihum. ilia bi-khayrin ... Ibn Hazm, ai-Fisal [i l-milal wa-I-ahwa'i wa-l-nihai, Cairo, n.d.,IV, 55. Cairo 1327,repr. aI-Madina, IV, 48 seq. Ibid., p. SO. Beirut, n.d.,pp.221-221 And see about his purification from idolatry, ibid., p. 224, inf.; and see the discussion as to the nature of the shari'a followed by the Prophet before the Revelation: Mughultay, al-Zahr al-basim fol. llOa-llOb; and see the lengthy discussionof this subject al-Zurqani, Sharn al-mawahib; VII, 239-242 Kister: Sons of Khadija 77 Muslim scholars have tried to justify the attendance of the Prophet at certain ritual celebrations of the unbelievers in their places of worship. A tradition transmitted by 'Othman b. Am Shayba (d, 235 A.H.), and traced back to the Companion Jabir b. 'Abdallah, records such an event: the Prophet, says the report, used to visit the places of celebration of the unbelievers, kana rasidu llahi is) yashhadu mda l-mushrikina mashahidahum: Once he heard an angel behind him saying to another angel: "Let us go and stand behind the Prophet" The second angel answered: ''How can we stand behind him, when it was his desire to attend the stroking of the idols?' tkayt« naqiunu khaltahu wa-innama 'ahduhu bi-sttlam: l-asnami qablu). The Prophet indeed never again attended the ritual practices of the unbelievers," It is the usual method of the Muslim scholars to reject controversial traditions of this kind by censuring some of the transmitters as "weak," "unreliable" or "neglected," and by appropriate explication and interpretation of the tradition itself. In the case of the tradition mentioned above, the editor quotes the opinions of the orthodox scholars denouncing the transmitter 'Uthman b. Abi Shayba. As for the content, the scholars explain that the Prophet aimed by his attendance at the ritual practices of the unbelievers to reproach them for these practices. Such was also the approach of the authors of the compendia of haditn and the authors of the sira in their assessment of the tradition of al-Haytham b. 'Adiyy. The isnad given in Ibn Nasir al-Din's Jami' aI-athilr ending with 'Urwa is extended in Ibn Kathir's al-Bidaya V, 307 to the first transmitter, Sa'id b. al-Musayyib (d. 94 A.H.), who transmitted traditions and utterances of the Prophet and of the companions of the Prophet and reported about their lives and their political activities," Al-Haytham's tradition about the sons of the Prophet allegedly named 'Abd al-Tlzza and 'Abd Manaf is completely rejected by the orthodox scholars of Islam. He is described as a liar, and the traditions 81 Abu Ya'la, Musnad, ed. Husayn Salim Asad, Beirut, 1404/1984, n, 398, no. 1877; and see this tradition: Niir al-Dln al-Haythaml, Majmd al-zawllid, vm, 226. 82 See e.g. Ibn Hajar al-'AsqaIani, Tahdhib al-tahdhib, Hyderabad 1325, IV, 84, no. 145. 78 Kister: Sons of Khadija transmitted by him are described as reprehensible," It is impossible, says a comment on the tradition of the pagan names of the two children, that a deed of this kind could have been done by the Prophet," Al-Zurqani records the opinions of the scholars of haditb stating that none of the reliable transmitters (thiqiu) related the tradition of al-Haytham on the authority of Hisham b. 'Urwa," The opinion of Qutb aI-Din al-Halabi as recorded in his al=Maurid al-iadhb is that nobody is permitted to say that the Prophet called his children by these two names. There is, however, a certain reservation in the words of Qutb al-Din; If this in fact happened (ie, if the two children were really named 'Abd al-Uzza and 'Abd Mana! - K), it might have been done by one of Khadija's relatives; the Prophet might then have changed them (i.e, into Muslim names - K.). Further, Qutb al-Din conjectures that if this happened, it was because the Prophet was assiduously engaged in the worship of God so that the information about the names did not reach him; in addition, the life span of the two children thus named was very short Finally, he surmises that some of the Satans invented it in order to instill confusion in the hearts of the people of feeble faith..86 It was indeed a harmonizing solution to affirm the report that the two sons of the Prophet were named 'Abd al-'Uzza and 'Abd Manaf, and that these names were changed by the Prophet into al- Tahir and al- Tayyib," The full version of Haytham b. 'Adiyy's tradition contains an additional passage which reveals the essential differences of opinion and attitude between two centres of hadith: the Iraqi and the Medinan. The full version is recorded in Ibn Nasir al-Din's Jami' ai-athiu, in Ibn Kathir's al=Bidaya, in Zurqani's Sharb al-mawahib and in Ibn 83 See e.g. al-Dhahabi, Miziin al-itidiil, N, 324, no. 9311 84 Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-mizan; VI, 210 sup.; and see Ibn Nasir aI-Din, Jiimi' a/.-athiir, foL 252a 85 Sharb al-mawahib, III, 193penult 86 Al-Zurqani, Sharb al-mawahib, III, 194, sup; al-'I$iimi, Simi a/.-nujilm a/.-'awiili, 1, 408. 87 Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya; V, ?JJ7. Kister: Sons of Khadija 79 Hajar's Lisan al-mizan: But the tradition with full isnads is recorded in Abu l-Jahm al-'Ala b. Miisa's (d. 228 Ali) Juz'.ss Itis noteworthy that another MS. of this JUZ'89 was identified and perused by Suliman Bashear, who quoted this very tradition in his rook, Muqaddima ti l-tarikh aI-Qkhar.90 The passage contains a conversation between al-Haytham b. .Adiyy and Hisham b. 'Urwa concerning the tradition that Khadija bore the Prophet 'Abd al-Tlzza, 'Abd Manaf and al-Qasim, Al-Haytham questioned Hisham about the sons of the Prophet, al-Tayyib and ul-Tahir, and Hisham b. 'Urwa answered: "That is a lie which you, the people of Iraq, have invented; but our elders, ashyakhunll, said: 'Abd Ill-'Uzza, 'Abd Manaf and al-Qasim?" 'Urwa's answer clearly reflects the rift between the Medinan and Iraqi hadith scholars. The Medinan lind Syrian scholars accused the Iraqis of forging hadiths of sectarian inclinations, of spreading reports encouraging rebellions and inflating utterances and traditions." IV According to tradition, the children of Khadija died while she was still alive. She was consoled by the utterance of the Prophet that they were granted residence in Paradise. As to al-Qasim, who did not live to complete his suckling, the Prophet promised Khadija that he would be given a wet nurse in Paradise to complete his suckling," xx MS.Hebrew Univ~Ar. 8" 273, pp. 59-60. !l9 MS.Z8hiriyya, Majmil 83, fols. 2115. 90 Jerusalem 1984, p. 168, n. 60. 91 Abu 1-Jahm, J uz', P. 60. iya' l-'Umari, al-Najaf 1386/1967, p. 9-10: a p in the Year of the Elephant, forty years after, thirty years after or fifteen years before; and see the different dates recorded in Muhammad b. Siilim al-Himawi, Ta'rikh al-siilihi, MS. Br. Mus., Or. 6657, fol 13Oa; and see the various traditions: Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya; II, 262: ten years after the Year of the Elephant, twenty-three years after, thiny years after, forty years after and fifteen years before the Day of the Elephant (this tradition is marked as gharib, munkar and (ja'it); and see the various dates recorded in al-Bayjiiri's 82 Kister: Sons of Khadija Scholars of haditb and sira stress that the aim of the story of the miraculous salvation of Mecca was to herald the advent of the Prophet, and to emphasize the elevated position his people gained after humiliation during Abraha's expedition'?' Another crucial event mentioned in connection with the Prophet's birth was the Battle of Iabala. This battle was waged seventeen years before the birth of the Prophet; Islam began fifty-seven years after Iabala. Thus when 'Amir b. Tufayl, who was born on the Day of Jabala, came to visit the Prophet in the year of the Prophet's death he was eighty years old; the Prophet was then Hiuhiyatun 'ala mauiidi abi l-baraka: sayyidi ahmadi l-dardlr, Cairo 1294, pp, 44-45; aI-Sinjari, Manllil)u l-karam bi-akhbari maldeota wa-l-haram; MS. Leiden, Or. 7018, fol. 58a: born in the Year of the Elephant, or fifty days after the attack of the troops of the Elephant, or thirty years after the Year of the Elephant, or forty years after the Year of the Elephant Many traditions are recorded in Ibn N~ al-Din's Jami' al-iithiu, fols. 179b-180b:the Prophet was born in the Year of the Elephant, he received the Revelation forty years after the Elephant (The fight at - K.) 'Ukaz took place fifteen years after the Elephant and the Ka'ba was built twenty-five years after the Elephant; the Prophet was born thirty days after the Elephant, or fifty days, or fifty-five days, or two months and six days, or ten years; some say twenty years, some say twenty-three years, some say thirty years, some say that God sent the Prophet with his mission fifteen years after the Ka'ba was built, and thus there were seventy years between the Elephant and the mission (mab'aJh) of the Prophet; some say that he was born fifteen years before the Elephant, some say forty days or fifty days, some say thirty years before the Elephant, and finally, some say that there were ten years between the expedition of the Elephant and the mission, wa-bayna an buitha: See al-Bayhaqi, Dala'i/, I, 65: the Prophet was on the Day of 'Ukaz twenty years old; p. 67: the Ka'ba was built fifteen years after the Year of the Elephant and the Prophet received his revelation forty years after the Elephant According to another tradition, the Prophet received his mission fifteen years after the building of the Ka'ba, the mission of the Prophet, al-mab'ath; was seventy years after the Year of the Elephant; p. 68: the Prophet was born ten years after the Year of the Elephant 101 Al-Zurqanl, Sharb al-mawahib, I, 89: ... wa-qad kiinat h1uJhihi l-qissatu dallatan 'ala sharafi sayyidinii muhammadin wa-irhasan iahii ... wa-fzazan li-qaumihi ... ts) wa-tdsisan li-nubuwwaiihi Kister: Sons of Khadija 83 sixty-three years 01d102 The link between the date of the Prophet's birth and the Expedition of the Elephant is, however, denied by the Mu'tazila: God caused the miraculous event of Abraha's defeat for another prophet before Muhammad, such as Khalid h Sinful or Quss h sa'ida103 It is evident that the divergent and contradictory traditions give no clue as to the exact date of the Prophet's birth or of his marriage to Khadija, or the number of male children Khadija bore and their fate. Traditions about the death of Khadija link the time of the event with the time of the hijra of the Prophet to Medina She is said to have died three years before the hijra.104 Some sources record 102 Jarlr and Farazdaq, Naqlli4, ed. Bevan, pp. 230, 676, 790; and see Abu l-Baqa' Hibatullah, al-Manilqib al-mazyadiyya Ii akhbari i-mulUki l-asadiyya; MS. Br. Mus., Add 23296, foL 54b = ai-Manjjqib, ed. Siilil,1Miisii Dariidika and Muhammad 'Abd al-Qadir Khuraysat, 'Amman 1984, I, 191 ult.-I92, 1. 1: ... wa-qila inna yauma jabala kana qabia i-isiami bi-thiJIOlhina'iiman; wa-qila bi-arbdina ... ; and cf. al-Baladhuri, Ansah al-ashral, MS. Ashir Ef1 fol. 960a: ... wa-kanat [abalatu qabla maulidi i-nabiyy bi-sab'a 'ashrata sanatan; and see the detailed analysis of the Jabala tradition: Mughultay, al-Zahr al-basim, MS. Leiden, Or. 370, foL 130h 103 Al-Tabarsi, Majma' al-bayan [i tafsiri i-qur'an, XXx, 239: ... wa-kana hadha min a'?ami l-mujiziui i-qahirat wa-i-ayati i-bahirat [i dhiilika l-zamiin azharahu liahu ta'ala li-yadulla 'ala wujUbi mdrifauhi wa-lihi irhasun li-nubuwwaii nabiyyinii $alia llllhu 'alayhi wa-saliam li-annahu wulida [i dhalika i-'am; wa-qala qaumun mina i-mu'taziIaJiannahu klJna mu'jizatan li-nabiyyin mina i-anbiya'i [i dhalika i-zamiini wa-rubbama qalu huwa khiUidu bnu sinllnin . .. and see the cautiously formulated comment of 'AM al-Jabbar in his Mutashilbih al-qur'iin, ed. 'Adniin MuI,1ammad Zarziir, Cairo 1969, IL 700:.... [a-amma qauluhu ta'ala tarmihim bi-l)ijaratin min sijjil [a-innahu 'indanii ia budda min an yakiina dhalika mu'jizan li-ba'di i-anbiya'i [i dhiUika l-waqti li-anna [ihi 1UUJ.da 'adatin wa-dhalika ia yaiiau ilia Ii azmiini i-anbiya'i. 104 See e.g. al-Qayrawiini, Kitah al-jlunl, p. 131;Ibn Hazm, Jawlunl al-sira; p.31; Niir al-Din al-Haythami, Majma' al-zawa'id, IX, 219, ult, And see ibid an additional detail: she died in the seventh year of the Prophet's mission;and see al-'Isami, Simi al-nujiim; I, 367: she died three years before the hijra. Additional details: she lived with the Prophet for twenty-four years, five months and eight days, fifteen years of which preceded the Revelation; al-Mutahhar b. Tahir al-Maqdisi, Kitah al-bad' wo-i-tarikh; V, 11:she died 84 Kister: Sons of Khadija divergent and conflicting data about the death of Khadija. The traditions that she died three years before the hijra are contradicted by a tradition that she died two years before the hijra and by another that she died five years before the hijra.IOS Ibn Qutayba'P" provides us with two different details: she died three days after the death of Abu Talib, and the Prophet went out to al- Ta'if accompanied by Zayd b. Haritha three months after her death. Al-Zurqani records different traditions about the date of Khadija's death:"? she died three, four, five or six years before the hijra. She died in the same year in which Abu Talib died. Further, Zurqani stresses that some of the details concerning Khadija's age at her death are not congruent with the data about the age of the Prophet when he married her.IOS Al-Hakim, who records the tradition saying that she died three years before the hijra; mentions nevertheless another tradition which holds that she died one year before the hijra. Noteworthy is the comment of al-Hakim concerning the tradition that she died at the age of sixty-five: according to him, this is an odd tradition; in his opinion she did not reach the age of sixty.109 The two comments as to the incompatibility of the contradictory, divergent and equivocal traditions indicate that these 105 106 107 I~ 109 three years before the hijra: Two additional details are provided: she died after the Banii Hashim left the shib, three days after the death of Abii Talib, AI-SaI.il:Ii, ubuJ ol-hudii; II, 571 Additional details are given: she died on the S tenth of Ramadan, The date coincides with the tenth year of the mission of the Prophet, after the Banii Hashim left the shi'b; Ibn 'Asakir, T'a'rikh Dimashq (tahdhlb) I, 303 has a similar report He records, however, an additional detail: her death occurred two years after the Banii Hashim had left the shi'b; al-Maqrizi, [mtTl al-asmd, I, 29 records that she died three years before the hijra; and mentions that her death occurred eight months and twenty-one days after the Banii Hashim had left the shib. Ai-Ma'1JTif, p. 151 Shml;z ai-mawahib, III, 2Zfr-227. Shark ol-mawahib. III, 227: ... amma 'ala anna sinnahu il;zda wa-tishrkna au thaJ.lIJhUna fa-Ia yatr/atta in qllla inna mautahiJ sanaia 'ashrin mina l-bdthaii: Al-Hakim, ai-Mustadrak, III, 182:... 'an hishami bni 'urwata qala: tuwuifiya: khadi jatu bint u khuwaylidin wa-hiya bnatu khamsin wa-sittina sanatan; hlzdhlz qaulun shadhdhun, [a-inna lladhi 'indi annahii lam tablugh siuina sanoian: Kister: Sons of Khadija 85 stories have to be reassessed against the background of the possible activities of the Prophet and his position during the initial period of his marriage in Mecca. It is plausible that during the first years of his marriage the Prophet devoted himself to his commercial business and the management of his household. Tradition explicitly says that he started to practice tahannuih after the birth of some of his daughters, and that all his daughters were born before the Call and the Revelation. It was only during the second period of his stay in Mecca that Muhammad was granted prophethood and became conscious of his mission. During that period, when he was faced with opposition and stubborn resistance, Khadija became his devoted adherent and intrepid supporter. It is possible that the Prophet married her when he was twenty-five years old, loving her passionately.'" In all probability, Khadija was not forty years old, and could still have borne him four daughters and one or two sons. The tradition that she was twenty-eight years old when she married the Prophet seems to be the sound one. If this is the case, and if we further accept as sound the tradition that she lived with him for twenty-four years, then she must have died at the age of fifty-two; the Prophet was then forty-nine years old. The early tradition that Khadija bore the Prophet only one male child, al-Qasim, seems to be trustworthy; the infant died after a short time. It is possible that Khadija bore him another male child, 'Abdallah, but it is not likely that she bore him other male children, as reported in later equivocal and dubious traditions/" v The death of one or two sons of the Prophet is reflected in several traditions, and is echoed in the commentaries of the Qur'an, According to tradition, the first of the children of the Prophet who died was al-Qasim; afterwards 'Abdallah died. Then al-'A~ no ill (0$1. al-hamdu li-lliihi lladhi at'amani l-khamir wa-zawwajani khadijaia wa-kuniu lahiJ 'iishiqan: See e.g. al-I;Iakim, ai-Mustadrak., III, 182, inf; ... 'ani l-zuhri: qala rasUlu llllhi wa-albasani l-harir See the examination of the traditions about the children of the Prophet: A Sprenger. Das Leben und die Lehre des Mohammad. Berlin 1869, I, 188-206; W. Montgomery Watt, Muhammad oJ Mecca, Oxford 1953, pp. 58-59. 86 Kister: Sons of Khadija b. Wa'il called the Prophet al-abtar. God responded in the siirat a/-kauthar, the "Sura of Abundance," in which he revealed the verse: inna shimi'aka huwa t-amar, "surely he who hates thee is the one cut off.'~12The widely diffused tradition saying that al-'~ b. Wa'il called the Prophet al-abtar after the death of 'Abdallah, or al-Qasim or 'Abdallah and al-Qasim is contradicted by a version of the tradition traced back to Ibn 'Abbas, which holds that after the birth of 'Abdallah, there was a period during which Khadija ceased bearing children. AI-'~ b. Wa'il then called the Prophet al-abtar, because people used to call a man whose wife ceased bearing children a/-abtar. Khadija afterwards bore him al-Qasim and his other childreu'" In all 112 Ibn al-Jauzi, al-Wafa bi-aqwaJi i-n-wstafa..p. 655. And see: Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, VII, 389; al-Suyiitl, al-Durr al-mamhia, VI, 404; al-Shaukanl, FaJn al-qadir, Cairo, repro Beirut, n.d., V, 503; 'AIxI al-Razzaq, Tafsir, MS. Dar al-kutub, Tafsir 242, fol. 301a; Yabya b. Salam al-Taymi, Tafsir, Mukhtasar Ibn Zamanin MS. Fas, Qar. 34, p. 399121; al-Kazariini, al-Sira; MS. Br. Mus.,Add 18499,fol. 83a; al-Tabari, Jaml al-bayan fi tafsiri l-qur'an (= Tafsir), Biilaq 1329,XXx, 212;Ibn IsI)aq,al-Siyar wa-l-maghazi, pp. 245, 271; al-'As b. wsu called him al=abt ar after the death of al-Qasim, and then the siira: al-kauthar was revealed; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqiu, I, 133; al-Nuwayri, Nlhaya: at-arab. XVIII, ~ Abii Hayyan al-Jayyani, Tafsir al-bahr al-rrwJ;it,Cairo 1328, VIII, 520; Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikk Dimashq (tahdhib), I, 293; Ibn Nasir al-Din, Jiimi' al-athiir, fol. 251a: the man who named the Prophet al-abtar after the death of al-Qasim was 'Amr b. al-'As, but other reports say that the man who insulted the Prophet was al-'As b. Wa'il; Muqatil, Taf sir, MS. Ahmet III, 74-2, foL 254a; Al-Wiibidi, Asbab al-nuziU, Cairo 1388/1968, pp, 306 inf.-307; al-Khazin, Lubab al-tawil [i ma'iini i-tanzii (= Tafsir); 1381, VII, 253; al-Baghawi, Ma'aJim al-tanzil (= Tafsir), on margin of al-Khazin, Tafsir, VII, 253; al-Fakhr al-Razi, al-Tafsir al-kabir, XXXII, 132:After the death of 'Abdallah, the son of the Prophet, al-'As b. Wa'il offended the Prophet, calling him al-abtar. the man who had become cut off, devoid of male progeny; and see al-Qurtubi, Tafsir, XX, 222; and see al-Katakanl, al-Burhan [i tafsiri l-qur'iin; ed. Mahmiid b. Ja'far al-Zarandi, Qumm 1394, IV, 515: at-shant' refers to 'Amr b. al-'As. And see about the slirat al-katuhar Harris Birkeland, The Lord Guideth; Studies on Primitive Islam; Oslo 1956,pp. 56-99. ll3 Al-Mu'afa b. Zakariyya al-Nahrawani l-Jarirl, al-Jallsu i-SaJi/J al-kafi wa-l-anisu i-nlI.$ihui-shafi, MS. Topkapi Saray, ill Ahmet, No. 2321.foL 217a; Ibn 'Aslikir, Tdrikk Dimashq; I, 294; al-Suyutl, al-Durr al-manthUr,VI, 404. Kister: Sons of Khadija 87 these traditions the enemy of the Prophet who is said to have insulted him was al-'~ h Wa'il There are, however, other traditions in which the word ai-shimi' is attributed to other persons. According to a report recorded by al-Fakhr al-Razi, the person who insulted the Prophet out of hatred after the death of the Prophet's son was Abu Jahl114 Other traditions say that the person who insulted the Prophet after the death of his son was Abu Lahah'" A conciliatory explanation is given by al-Halabi in his Sirct16 al-'~ and Abu Lahab were both named aJ-abtar because their sons had embraced Islam and they had become cut off from them; they are not considered to be "the children of Abu Lahab and al-'As," and are not permitted to receive the inheritance of their fathers. Several traditions do not link the verses of the sura with the death of the children of the Prophet,"? There are some other traditions saying that the verse inna shani'aka huwa l-abtar refers to the unbelievers who insulted the Prophet by calling him ai-abtar, thus referring to their assumption that he would not find adherents and helpers and would be cut off. This was denied by the sura, which assured him that God and Jibril would give him succour and help.118 According to a tradition recorded in Ibn 114 Al-Fakhr al-Razi, al-Tajsir al-kabir, XXXII, 133, 1ll-3; Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, VII. 390; and see al-Shaukani, Fatl) ai-qadir, V, 501 115 Ibn Kathir, Taisir, VII, 390. ll; and see al-Fakhr al-Razi, al-Tafsir aI-kabir. XXXII, 133 sup; Abii Lahab called the Prophet ol-abtar after the prediction about Abii Lahab's doom and perdition was declared in Siira CXI: tabbat yadii abi lahabin wa-tobba; and see the article by Uri Rubin, "Abu Lahab and siira ocr; BSOAS XLII (1979).13-28. 116 Al-Sira aI-l)alabiyya, m. 346. 117 See e.g. al-Fakhr al-Razi, ai-Tafsir aI-kabir. XXXII, 132 inf; Quraysh invited Ka'b b. al-Ashraf as arbiter and recounted the virtues by which they surpassed Muhammad; Ka'b confirmed their superiority in relation to Muhammad, a. al-Shaukanl, Fatl) al-qadlr, V. 504; al-Tabari, Tafsir, Xxx, 213; al-Khiizin, Tatsir, VII, 253; al-Baghawi, Tatsir, VII, 251 And see al-Fakhr al-Razi, ibid, for another tradition recorded on the authority of 'Ikrima and Shahr b. Haushab; the Prophet summoned Quraysh to embrace Islam; they refused, arguing that he had disobeyed his people and had become cut off from them 118 Al-Fakhr al-Razi, aI-Tatsir al-kobir, xxxn. 131 88 Kister: Sons of Khadija Kathir.'" al-Fakhr al-Razi,120 al-Tabaril" al-Jawr22 and al-Suyiiti,123 the word shimi' refers to 'Uqba b, Abi Mu'ayt, An odd tradition links the verse inna shani'aka huwa /-abtar with the person of Abu Jahl, but does not connect it with the death of the children of the Prophet Abu Jahl hated the Prophet and spoke about him with scorn. One day he asked his guests to accompany him to Muhammad's abode. When they reached the house of the Prophet, Abu Jahl summoned him to a wrestling contest which he hoped would expose the weakness of the Prophet The Prophet, however, succeeded in flinging Abu Jahl down and putting his leg on Abu JahI's chest.124 The story of the Prophet's wrestling with an adversary and defeating him is not unique; in the case of Rukana, the Prophet wrestled with him and flung him down to the ground, and Rukana became convinced of the prophethood of Muhammad and embraced 1slam12S It is evident that all these traditions refer to the Meccan period in the life of the Prophet, and it is thus plausible that the siirat ai-kauihar was regarded as Meccan There are, however, traditions which speak of this siira being revealed under quite different circumstances. A report recorded by al- Tabarani on the authority of Abu Ayyiib says that after the death of Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet, the unbelievers told each other joyously that the Prophet had become an abtar. The sisrat al-kauthar constituted a denial of this false claim.126 A tradition traced back to al-Suddi reports that when al-Qasim and 'Abdallah died in Mecca and Ibrahim in Medina, the unbelievers Ai-Tafsir aJ-kabir, xxxn m Tafsir, xxx, zn Marah labid, Cairo, n.d., II, 468. Ai-Durr aJ-manlhUr, VI, 404. AI-Fakhr a1-Razi, Tafsir, XXXII, 133; a1-Jiiwi,MarlJh labid, II, 468. A1-Fakhr remarks that the connection of the word shani' with Abu Jahl and the wrestling event is based on stories circulated by the qrL$oYll$. 125 See e.g. Ibn Hajar, al-Isaba; II, 497, no. 2691; and see the story of Rukfula in a1-Fiikihi, Tdrikk makka; MS. Leiden, Or. 463, fo1474b. 126 A1-Silaukiini,Fath aJ-qadir, Y, 504; a1-Suyiiti,aJ-Durr aJ-manlhUr, VI 403 info 120 121 122 123 124 119 Tafsir, VII, 389. Kister: Sons of Khadija 89 in Mecca said that the Prophet had become an abtar, a man bereft of progeny. The siaa: al-kauthar was a denial of this claim; in fact, the progeny of the unbelievers were cut off, while the progeny of the Prophet increased and grew abundantly,"? The "pseudo-historical background" of the tradition seems to indicate that after the death of Ibrahim in Medina (in the year 10 All.) there were quite strong groups of Qurashi opponents who expected the power of the nascent Islamic community in Medina to be shattered. But some traditions linking the revelation of siir at al-kauthar with the death of one or more sons of the Prophet are clearly anachronistic. To this group belongs the tradition reported on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas saying that when Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet, died, Abii Jahl joyously told his companions that Muhammad had been cut off from his progeny, butira muhammadun: Then God revealed the sisrat al-kautharli" The legendary character of this tradition is evident Abii Jahl was killed in the Battle of Badr in 2 AH., while Ibrahim died in the year 10 AR It is no wonder that the scholars of the Qur'an held different views as to whether the siira was revealed in Mecca or in Medina..129 A peculiar tradition, obviously Shi'i, on the authority of al-Hasan b. 'Ali, gives a significant background for the shani' verse of the siinu al-kauihar: the Prophet saw in a dream the Banii Umayya successively ascending his minbar; he was grieved by this vision, and then God revealed the siaa: al-kauthar. The word shimi' thus refers to the Banii Umayya. Al-Fakhr al-Razi remarks that the rule (mulk) of the Banii Umayya had indeed vanished and they had become cut off.l30 127 AI-Fakhr al-Razi, Taisir, XXXII, 133; cf. al-Qurtubl, Tajsir, xx, 222-223; and see the comments in al-Fadl b. al-Hasan al-Tabarsi's Jawami< aI-jarni' ti taisiri l-qur'ani I-majid, Tabriz 1379, pp. 553-554. 128 Abu H3yy8n. aI-Bahr aI-mu/.lit,VIII, 520; al-Shaukani, Fath d-qadir, V, 503; al-Qurtubi, Tafsir, xx. 222 129 See e.g. Abu Hayyan, al-Bahr al-muhit; VIII, 519: hadhihi I-suratu makkiyyatun [i l-mashhuri; wa-qaulu I-jumhuri madaniyyatun [i qauli l-hasani wa-Tkrtmata wa-qasadata; and see T. Noldeke-F. Schwally, GeschichJedes Qorlms, Hildesheim 1961. I, 92. 130 Al-Fakhr al-Razi, Tofsir, XXXII, 134 sup. 90 Kister: Sons of Khadija The conflicting views of the Muslim scholars as to whether the sura: ai-kaiahar is Meccan or Medinan are revealed in a remarkable discussion of a tradition about a nap the Prophet took, reported on the authority of Anas b. Malik. The Prophet is said to have taken a nap. Then he lifted his head and smiled. When asked about the reason for his smile he told the attending people that he had earlier (1m.ifan)been granted a sura; he then recited the siira: at-kauiharl" The pivotal issue in the discussion is whether the vision the Prophet had during his nap in Medina was merely a recollection of the Meccan sura, or a new revelation. or a vision of a sura, which would be endorsed by a revelation. The serious topic which had to be considered was whether a revelation of a sura could be granted during a nap. Some scholars were of the opinion that prophets could be granted revelation in dreams, while others denied it It was probably a conciliatory opinion put forward by some scholars who maintained that the verse inna shani'aka huwa I-abtar had been revealed in Mecca. while the two other verses had been revealed in Medina. This presumption was, however, contradicted by reports in which the sisrtu aJ-kauthar was included among those suras which came down as complete, undivided units revealed at once (dar atan wahidatan). To these sil.ros belong the fiuiha; the sUrat a/-ikhlas and the siaa: al-kaiahar." The sura: al-kauthar probably reflects the Prophet's grief after the death of his child and the mocking of his enemies in Mecca who called him al-abtar, but the reports of the transmitters referring to some historical events cannot be considered reliable and trustworthy. It is noteworthy that there was some aversion to recording chronological data relating to age. Malik b. Anas is said to have been reluctant to reveal a person's age: laysa min muruwwati I-rajuli an yukhbira bi-sinnihi.133 Al-Zurqani explains that the dates of the Prophet's children's deaths and their ages at the time are unknown due to the lack of Falh al-qadir, Y, 503; Ibn Kathir, Taf sir, YIL 384; aI-Suyii~i,aJ-Durr aJ-manthUr, VI, 401 132 Al-l;IaIabi, al-Sira aJ-haIabiyya, III, 346. 133 Ibn al-'Arabi, Ahkiim al-qur'iin; ed. 'Ali Muhammad al-Bijiwt, Cairo 1388/1968, N, 1968. 131 See e.g. al-Shaukani, Kister: Sons of Khadija 91 historical interest in that period: ... lam tulam muddatu hayatlhi li-qillati l-ttindt bi-l-ta'rikhi idhdhilka.134 The male children of the Prophet borne by Khadija died as infants; some traditions say that they died as sucklings. Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet borne him by the slave girl Mariya, died as a small child of sixteen or eighteen months. The Prophet, afflicted by this distress, gave vent to his feelings, weeping and bewailing the beloved son. A significant utterance of the Prophet emphasized the high status of the deceased child: "Had he survived he would have been a siddiq and a prophet'[" It was indeed a fatal calamity which the Prophet had to acceptl36 However, by God's grace the Prophet was compensated for his suffering and distress at the loss of his male progeny. He is said to have asked God to grant him children of the highest quality, and God responded and granted him female children. The Prophet further proudly stated in his utterance that anyone wanting to see the ''Father of Daughters" should see the Prophet, as he is the Father of Daughters. Miisa, Shu'ayb and Lut were also ''Fathers of Daughters'P? Another tradition of this kind is reported on the authority of Abu Hurayra and 'Uqba b. 'Amir: ... la takrahis l-banaii fa-inni aha I-banati wa-innahunna I-ghizlibiltu I-mu'nisiltu I-mujhiriltupa 134 Al-Zurqiini, Shorb,ol-mawahib, III, 193,112 135 See e.g. al-Suyiiti, al-Hiiwi li-I-falawi, ed. Muhammad Mubyi l-Din 'Abd al-Hamid, Cairo 1378/1959, II, 187-190;and see the detailed study of the different versions of this tradition in Y. Friedmann's "Finality of Prophethood in Sunni IsIam,"JSAl 7 (1986),187-191 136 Ibn Hajar, ai-I saba, I, 175:... inna l-'ayna tadmau wo-l-qalba yahzanu wa-llI naqUluilia rna yurdi rabbaniJ... 137 Al-Daylami, Firdaus ol-akhbar, MS. Chester Beatty, no. '!JJJ7, fol 89b: Ibn Mas'iid: ... sa'oltu rabbi khayra l-waladi fa-alani rabbi khayra l-woladi [a-razaqani l-baniiti; fa-man kana yuridu an yara aba l-baniiti fa-anii abu l-baniiti wa-milrii abu l-baniiti wa-slulayb abUl-baniiti wa-liil abU l-baniiti. 138 AI-Daylami, Firdaus, MS. Chester Beatty, no. '!JJJ7, fol187a; and see a similar tradition in which, however, the expression abu l-baniit is not mentioned: Ibn 'Adiyy, al-Kiimil [i du'af1ii l-rijaIi. Beirut 1405/1985, I, 2281 and Niir aI-Din V aI-Haythami, Majmd ol-zaw1iid. 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