Her Blessed Family

Hazrat Umme Kulsoom (ra) is the story of a blessed daughter of our beloved master, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

The Holy Prophet (sas) was twenty-five1 years old when he married Hazrat Khadijahra, the daughter of Khuwailid. Hazrat Khadijah (ra) belonged to the Asad tribe2 and was a wealthy lady of high moral char- acter. Because of her piety and righteousness, she came to be known as Tahirah3 in Makkah. Hazrat Khadijah (ra) became impressed by the honesty and trustworthiness of the Holy Prophet (sas) and sent him a proposal of marriage through her friend Nafeesah, the daughter of Mena. The Holy Prophet (sas) accepted the proposal after seeking counsel from his uncle, Abu Talib.4

Hazrat Khadijah (ra) gave birth to all the chil- dren of the Holy Prophet (sas) except for his son Hazrat Ibrahim (ra) who was born to Hazrat Mariyah Qibtiyyah (ra). The Holy Prophets as had three sons and four daughters from Hazrat Khadijah (ra). The names of his three sons were Qasim, Tahir, and Tayyab. In some traditions, Hazrat Tayyab (ra) is also referred to as Hazrat Abdullah (ra).

His daughters’ names were Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umme Kulsoom and Fatimah. All of these children of the Holy Prophet (sas) were born before his claim of prophethood. The Holy Prophet’s kunyat, or parental lineage name, was Abul-Qasim (the Father of Qasim) after his eldest son’s name Qasim. All three sons passed away in childhood, however, the daughters reached adulthood and accepted Islam.

Hazrat Umme Kulsoom (ra) was six years old when the Holy Prophet (sas) announced his prophethood. In other words, she was born in Makkah six years before the Holy Prophet (sas) announced his prophethood. She had two elder sisters: Hazrat Zainab (ra), who was ten years old at that time, and Hazrat Ruqayyah (ra), who was a year older than her. All three sisters witnessed the period of opposition towards their beloved father after his claim of prophethood.