The Messenger’s Children with Khadijah

Ibn Ishaq said: Khadijah bore all of the Messenger of Allah’s children except Ibrahim: al-Qasim, by whom he was given the kunyah Abu al-Qasim; al-Tahir; al-Tayyib; Zaynab; Ruqayyah; Umm Kulthum; and Fatimah, peace be upon them. Ibn Hisham said: The eldest of his sons was al-Qasim, then al-Tayyib, then al-Tahir. The eldest of his daughters was Ruqayyah, then Zaynab, then Umm Kulthum, then Fatimah. Ibn Ishaq said: Al-Qasim, al-Tayyib, and al-Tahir died in the pre-Islamic period… The account continues on printed page 191.

[1] Another report says the person who went with the Messenger was Abu Talib, who delivered the marriage address. It may be that Abu Talib and Hamzah both went with him, and Abu Talib delivered the address because he was older than Hamzah. See Sharh al-Mawahib and al-Rawd al-Unuf. [2] Al-Zuhri says that Khuwaylid finalized the marriage while drunk, then denied it when he sobered up before consenting and confirming it. A man of Makkah composed: “Do not reject Muhammad, O Khadijah; he is a star shining like the two bright stars.” Other accounts say Khuwaylid had already died, and that Khadijah’s uncle ‘Amr ibn Asad gave her in marriage; another says her brother ‘Amr ibn Khuwaylid did so. See Sharh al-Mawahib and al-Rawd al-Unuf. [3] The wording may suggest that al-Tahir and al-Tayyib were two separate sons, but the well-known view is that they were titles of Abdullah. See Zad al-Ma‘ad, al-Rawd al-Unuf, and al-Ma‘arif. [4] Reports differ about al-Qasim’s death in the pre-Islamic period. Al-Suhayli cites al-Zubayr saying that al-Qasim died as an infant. The Messenger later entered upon Khadijah while she wept and said, “The little milk of al-Qasim has flowed.” When she wished he had lived long enough to be fully weaned, he told her, “If you wish, I will let you hear his voice in Paradise.” She replied that she believed Allah and His Messenger. This report indicates that al-Qasim may not have died before Islam.

As for the Messenger’s daughters, they all lived to see Islam, accepted Islam, and migrated with him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Ibn Hisham said: Ibrahim’s mother was Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah. Abdullah ibn Wahb narrated to us from Ibn Lahi‘ah that Ibrahim’s mother was Mariyah, the Messenger’s concubine, whom al-Muqawqis had given to him from Hafn in the district of Ansina.