Ruqayyah bint Muhammad
Ruqayyah bint Muhammad was the second daughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and his first wife Khadija. She was amongst the earliest converts to Islam. She had married Utbah ibn Abu Lahab, but he divorced her after her conversion to Islam, after which she married Uthman bin Affan. She is described as "ذات الهجرتين" meaning "she who emigrated twice" since she participated in both the Migration to Abyssinia and Migration to Medina. She died in Medina in 2 AH (624 CE), at the same time as the Battle of Badr. Some Shiites dispute Ruqayyah's genealogy (see Genealogy of Khadijas daughters).
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[edit] Early life
Ruqayyah was born before the beginning of Islam. Abu Lahab approached Muhammad and asked to wed two of his daughters to his sons: Ruqayyah to Utbah, and Umm Kulthum to Utaybah. Later, after Muhammad had begun to preach Islam openly, Abu Lahab became hostile and actively opposed Islam. After sura Al-Masadd was published, he asked both his sons to divorce Muhammad's daughters, which they did.
After Ruqayyah's divorce, Uthman asked for her hand in marriage. They had a son named Abd-Allah, but he died when he was very young.
[edit] Migration to Abyssinia
Due to the Meccan oppression of early Muslim converts, a small group of Muslims (said to be just 11 men and 4 women) chose to migrate to Abyssinia in 613 AD. Amongst this first batch was both Ruqayyah and her husband Uthman. Their stay in Abyssinia did not last long, as they soon heard news that the Meccans had ceased their hostilities to Islam. Ruqayyah and Uthman returned to Mecca, but there they found that the news was false, and that the Meccans had actually intensified their campaign against the Muslims. Ruqayyah and Uthman joined a second migration to Abyssinia in 615 AD, with around one hundred other Muslims.
[edit] Migration to Medina
Many Muslims chose to stay in Abyssinia and live there until they received word to emigrate to Medina directly. However, a few Muslims chose to return to Mecca, and Ruqayyah was amongst them. Upon her return, she learned that her mother Khadija has passed away in her absence. Her stay in Mecca did not last long either, as most Muslims had began to migrate to the friendly city of Medina, and she migrated there as well. It was in Medina that her son Abd-Allah died.
Her grief over the loss of her mother and son would was compounded by an illness (said to be measles) which left her bed-ridden in 624 AD, at the same time as the Battle of Badr was being carried out. Ruqayyah died before the Muslims returned from battle, and was buried in Al-Baqi' cemetery. Uthman stayed by her side during her illness, and did not participate in the battle.
[edit] Minority view
The Sunni majority believe that all four of Khadija's daughters are from her marriage to Muhammad. The Sunni scholar Yusuf ibn abd al-Barr says: "His children born of Khadīja are four daughters; there is no difference of opinion about that".[1]
Some amongst the Shiite minority believe that only Fatima was Muhammad's daughter, and that the other daughters were from a previous marriage by Khadija, or were adopted.[2]
[edit] Marriage dispute
There is dispute about her marriage. Some sources has reported she was first married to Utbah ibn Abu Lahab. His father, Abu Lahab, forced Utbah to divorce Ruqayyah due to Abu Lahab's opposition to Muhammad and his teachings. Muslim convert Uthman ibn Affan had long admired Ruqayyah and was then able to ask for her hand in marriage.[3]
[edit] See also
- Fatima bint Muhammad
- Zainab bint Muhammad
- Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad
- Genealogy of Khadijah's daughters
- Sahaba
[edit] References
- ^ al-Istī`āb fī Ma`rifat al-Aşĥāb (Yusuf ibn abd al-Barr, The Comprehensive Compilation of the Names of the Prophet's Companions) vol.1 pp.50
- ^ Al-Tijani in his The Shi'ah are (the real) Ahl al-Sunnah on Al-Islam.org note 274
- ^ Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet by Karen Armstrong
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