Hafsha bintu ‘Umar Ibn Khaththab
Hafsha bintu ‘Umar Ibn Khaththab was the daughter of the best man, who recognized the rights of Allah and the muslims. ‘Umar Ibn Khaththab was a fair ruler with a very solemn heart. The marriage between the Messenger of Allah and Hafsha was the proof of the compassion of the Prophet towards the female believer who had been widowed after the death of her first husband, Khunais Ibn Hudzafah as-Sahami, who fought in Allah’s Cause, and emigrated to Habasya, then to Medina, and then died in the battle of Badr. After his son in law deceased, sadly, Umar went to see the Messenger of Allah to tell him about the fate of his daughter who was now a widow. At that time, Hafsha was eighteen years old girl. Hearing the words of Umar, the Messenger of Allah told him a glad tiding by saying that he would like to marry Hafsha.
If we mentioned the name of Hafsha, our mind will be brought to her great services to the muslims at her time. She was the wife of the Prophet who was first to keep the Qur’an in the forms of writings on leather sheets, bones, and palm fronds, until it turned out to be the greatest Book.
Her Pedigree and Childhood
Her full name was Hafsha bintu ‘Umar Her mother was Zainab binti Madh’un bin Hubaib bin Wahab bin Hudzafah, the sister of Uthman Ibn Madh’un. Hafsha was born in the very famous year in the history of the Quraish, that is when the Messenger of Allah removed the black stone to its original place after the rebuilding of the Kaaba, after it was destroyed due to a flood. At that time, Fatima az Zahra, the youngest of the four daughters of the Messenger of Allah was born, and her birth was delightedly welcomed by her father. Several days after Fatima’s birth, Hafsha bintu Umar Ibn Khaththab was born. Upon hearing the news that the baby was a female, Umar was angry and restless, as the habit of the fathers in Quraish when they heard about the birth of their daughter. At that time, they consudered that the birth of a daughter will bring shame to the family. Whereas if only Umar knew that the birth of his daughter would bring fortune to the family, he surely would be the happiest man, since the child whom he named Hafsha, later would be the wife of the Messenger of Allah. In “Thabaqat”, Ibn Sa’d said, “Muhammad Ibn Umar said that Muhammad bin Zaid bin Aslam, from his father, from his grandfather, said that Umar said, ‘Hafsha was born at the time the Quraishs were building the Kaaba, five years before the Prophet was appointed as the messenger.”
Lady Hafsha -may Allah be pleased with her- was raised inheriting the character of her father, Umar Ibn Khaththab. In terms of courage, she was different from any other women; she had strong personality and her words were firm. ‘Aisha depicted her character as similar to her father. Another positive side of Hafsha was her capability in reading and writing, whereas at that time, such ability were rare to the women.
Embracing Islam
Hafsha was not included in the group who embraced Islam at its dawn, since at the beginning of the spreading of Islam, her father, Umar Ibn Khaththab, was still one of the arch enemy of the muslims, until the day he was interested to embrace Islam. One day, Umar found out that his sister, Fatima, and her husband, Sa’id Ibn Zaid, had embraced Islam, and he was enraged and intended to hurt them. When he arrived at his sister’s house, Umar heard the Qur’an recitation came from the house, and, still at the top of his rage, he entered the house. He mercilessly slapped them until blood trickled down from their foreheads. But an unexpected event occurred; Umar’s heart was touched, seeing the blood trickled down from the forehead of his sister. Then he took the Qur’an from their hand. When he slightly read the beginning of chapter Thaha, a miracle happened. His heart began to be illuminated by the light of truth and faith. Allah had granted the prophet’s prayer, who prayed so that Allah would open the heart of one of the two Umar to accept Islam. The two Umar that the Messenger of Allah meant were Amr Ibn Hisham, who was more known as Abu Jahl, and Umar Ibn Khaththab.
After the incident, from his sister’s house, Umar departed to see the Messenger of Allah and proclaimed that he had embraced Islam in front of him. Umar Ibn Khaththab was like a star who enlightened the world of Islam, and he started to raise the flag of jihad and calling to Islam, until several years after the death of the Messenger of Allah. After proclaiming his Islam, Umar Ibn Khaththab immediately met his family to persuade them to embrace Islam. All of his family members welcomed his calling, including Hafsha, who was ten years old at that time.
Married and Emigrated to Medina
The fact that Umar had embraced Islam brought a great fortune to majority of the muslims in facing the vileness of the Quraish. The news of him embracing Islam motivated the emigrants in Habasya to return to their land after they’ve left it for quite a long time. Among them was a young man named Khunais bin Hudzafah as-Sahami. He loved the Messenger of Allah so much, as he loved his family and homeland. He emigrated to Habasya to save himself and his religion. When he arrived at Mecca, he immediately went to see Umar Ibn Khaththab, and he saw Hafsha at Umar’s place. He asked Umar to marry him to Hafsha, and Umar gave his permission. The marriage between a warrior and a believer was held. Their household was a very happy one since it was based on faith and piety.
When Allah shed His light upon the residents of Yatsrib to embrace Islam, the Messenger of Allah found a new strength that could help the muslims. Thus, he permitted the muslims to emigrate to Yatsrib to maintain their beliefs and protect them from the torture and oppression of the Quraish. In this emigration, Hafsha and her husband joined the groups that emigrated to Yatsrib.
Trials and Rewards
After the muslims settled in Medina, and the Messenger of Allah had succeeded to unite them in a strong rank, it was the time to face the polytheists who had fought them and robbed them their rights. Beside that, Allah’s order to fight against the polytheists had came.
The first battle between the muslims and polytheists of Quraish was the battle of Badr. In this battle, Allah had shown victory for His sincere slaves, despite their small number. Khunais was one of the muslim soldier and he suffered a severe wound from the battle. Hafsha was always by his side and tended to his wound, but Allah wished to call Khunais back to Him as a martyr in the first battle against evil and oppression, thus, Hafsha become a widow. At that time, her age was just eighteen years old, but Hafsha had already possessed patience to bear the test that afflicted her.
Umar was very sad because his daughter had became a widow in her very young age, thus he intended to marry Hafsha to another righteous muslim to calm her heart. Therefore, he went to the house to Abu Bakr and asked him to marry his daughter. But Abu Bakr was only silent, he didn’t answer his request at all. Then Umar went to see Uthman Ibn Affan and asked him to marry his daughter, but since at that time Uthman was still grieving due to the death of his wife, Ruqayya bintu Muhammad, he refused Umar’s request.
Seeing the attitude of his two friends, Umar was utterly disappointed, and he got sadder to think of the fate of his daughter. Then he went to see the Messenger of Allah to complain about the attitudes of those friends of his. Upon hearing Umar’s complaint, the Messenger of Allah said, “Hafsha will marry someone better that Uthman and Abu Bakr. And Uthman will marry someone who is better than Hafsha.” At first, Umar didn’t understand the meaning of his saying, but because he was an intellect man, he eventually understood that the Messenger of Allah was the one who will marry his daughter.
Umar felt highly honored hearing the intention of the Messenger of Allah to marry his daughter, and his happiness shone through his face. Umar directly went to Abu Bakr and revealed to him the Messenger of Allah’s intention. Abu Bakr said, “I didn’t mean to reject you with my words, but I know that the Messenger of Allah has mentioned about Hafsha, but I couldn’t leak his secret to you. Supposed that the Messenger of Allah leave her, I would certainly marry Hafsha.” Thus Umar just realized why did Abu Bakr refused to marry his daughter. Whereas Uthman’ attitude was caused by his grieve over the death of Ruqayya, and he meant to marry her sister, Ummu Kultsum, thus his lineage will still related to the Messenger of Allah’s lineage. After Uthman married Ummu Kultsum, he was dubbed “Dzun nurain” (The Owner of Two Lights). The marriage between the Messenger of Allah and Hafsha was considered more to his honor to Umar, beside the fact that Hafsha was a widow of a warrior and emigrant, Khunais Ibn Hudzafah as-Sahami.
At the House of The Messenger of Allah
At the household of the Messenger of Allah, Hafsha got a special room, just like Sauda bintu Zam’a and ‘Aisha bintu Abu Bakr. Naturally, ‘Aisha felt very jealous of Hafsha since they were at the same age, and it was different with Sauda bintu Zam’a who considered Hafsha as a noble woman, daughter of Umar Ibn Khaththab, the honorable friend of the Messenger of Allah.
Umar understood how great was ‘Aisha’s position in the heart of the Messenger of Allah. He also knew that anyone who caused ‘Aisha’s wrath, was similar to provoking the Messenger of Allah’s wrath, and anyone who was pleased with ‘Aisha, meant that he was pleased with the Messenger of Allah. Thus, Umar left a message to his daughter Hafsha to try to get close to ‘Aisha and love her. Beside that, Umar asked Hafsha to behave well, thus there will not be any rift happened between them. However, it was very natural if misunderstood that arose from jealousy still occurred between them. And patiently, the Messenger of Allah made peace among them without causing them to grieve. One of the example was when Hafsha saw Mariya al Qibtiya came to see the Prophet for a matter. Mariya stood far from the mosque, and the Messenger of Allah ordered her to enter Hasha’s house, who, at that time, was visiting her father. When she saw that the screen of her house was shut, whereas the Messenger of Allah and Mariya were inside, Hafsha exploded. She cried angrily. The Messenger of Allah tried to persuade and calmed her down, he even vowed to make Mariya forbidden to him if Mariya didn’t apologize to Hafsha, and the Prophet asked Hafsha to keep the matter as a secret. It was also natural that the wives of the Messenger of Allah were jealous of Mariya, since she was the only woman who gave birth to the son of the Messenger of Allah after Khadija -may Allah be pleased with her-. The matter was soon spread, whereas the Messenger of Allah had ordered her to keep it a secret. The news eventually reached the Messenger of Allah thus he was very angry. In some narration it was said that after that, the Messenger of Allah divorced Hafsha, but he reconciled with her not long after that because he saw that Hafsha’s father, Umar, was very restless. Whereas in another narration, it was said that the Messenger of Allah meant to divorce her, but angel Gabriel came to order him to retain her as his wife, because she was a resolute woman. The Messenger of Allah then retained Hafsha as his wife, moreover, because of that scandal, Hafsha was deeply sorry for her action in leaking the secret of the Messenger of Allah and causing him to be angry.
Umar Ibn Khaththab warned his daughter not to make the Messenger of Allah angry anymore and keep obeying him and seeking for his pleases. Umar Ibn Khaththab prioritized the pleases of the Messenger of Allah for Hafsha to seek. Basically, the Messenger of Allah married Hafsha because he honored Umar and he felt sorry for Hafsha who was left by her husband. To counter the spreading issues, Allah the Exalted revealed several verses as follow:
“O Prophet, why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful for you? Is it to please your wives? Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Compassionate. Allah has prescribed for you a way for the absolution of your oaths. Allah is your Guardian. He is All-Knowing, Most Wise. The Prophet confided something to one of his wives and then she disclosed it (to another); so after Allah revealed to the Prophet (that she had disclosed that secret), he made a part of it known to her and passed over a part of it. And when he told her about this [i.e., that she had disclosed the secret entrusted to her], she asked: “Who informed you of this?” He said: “I was told of it by He Who is All-Knowing, All-Aware.” If the two of you turn in repentance to Allah (that is better for you), for the hearts of both of you have swerved from the Straight Path. But if you support one another against the Prophet, then surely Allah is his Protector; and after that Gabriel and all righteous believers and the angels are all his supporters. Maybe if he were to divorce you, your Lord might grant him in exchange wives better than you – those who truly submit to Allah, are full of faith, obedient, disposed to repentance, and given to worship and fasting – both previously wedded ones and virgins.” (Qs. At-Tahrim:1-5)
The Severe Trial
Hafsha was a woman who always asked the Messenger of Allah about various problems, and it caused Umar to be angry with her, whereas the Messenger of Allah always treated her gently and lovingly. He said, “Be kind to the women.” The Messenger of Allah was once severely angry with his wives, when they asked him for more monthly money. Upon hearing this news, Umar immediately went to see the Messenger of Allah. At his house, Umar saw the Messenger of Allah’s wives looked glum and sad. It seemed like a row had occurred between them and the Messenger of Allah. Then Umar called his daughter particularly, and reminded her to abandon any attitudes that could provoke her husband’s wrath, and to realize that he didn’t possess many wealth to be given to them. How terrible was the anger of the Messenger of Allah, that he vowed not to come to his wives for a month until they realized their mistakes, or he’ll divorced them if they didn’t realize their mistakes. Regarding this event, Allah declared,
“O Prophet, tell your wives: “If you seek the world and its embellishments, then come and I will make some provision for you and release you in an honorable way. But if you seek Allah and His Messenger and the Abode of the Hereafter, then surely Allah has prepared a great reward for those of you who do good.”(QS. Al-Ahzab: 28-29)
The Messenger of Allah distanced himself from his wives for a month, and he lived in a room that was called khazana, and a slave named Rabah sat in front of his room.
After that event, an upsetting news was spread among the muslims that the Messenger of Allah had divorced his wives. The most upset one was Umar Ibn Khaththab, thus he rushed to see his daughter who at that time was crying. Umar said, “It seems like the Messenger of Allah has divorced you.” Sobbing, Hafsha answered, “I don’t know.” Umar said, He had divorced you once, and took you back because of me. Had he divorced you once again, I will not talk to you forever.” Hafsha cried and cried, lamented for her negligence towards her husband and father. After several days the Messenger of Allah went to his seclusion, still there was no one that could make sure whether or not he had divorced his wives. Due to his impatience, Umar went to the khazana to see the Messenger of Allah. In this occasion, Umar went to him not because of the sake of his daughter, but because of his love for him, and his sadness upon seeing his condition. Beside that, he’d like to confirm the truth of the spreading news. He felt that it was his daughter that was the cause of the Messenger of Allah’s sadness. Then Umar asked for his explanation, although he was certain that he wouldn’t divorce his wives. And he was right, the Messenger of Allah wouldn’t divorce his wives, thus Umar asked for his permission to announce that glad tidings to the muslims. He went to the mosque and told people that the Messenger of Allah didn’t divorce his wives. The muslims welcomed the glad tidings, particularly his wives.
After a month has completed since the Messenger of Allah left his wives, he went back to them. He saw from their faces that they regretted for what they did. They wished to go back to Allah and His messenger. To make it more certain, he announced their regret to the muslims. It could be said that Hafsha was the wife who regretted the most thus she attempted to draw herself closer to Allah wholeheartedly and used it as an expiation to the Messenger of Allah. Hafsha increased her worship, particularly fasting and the night prayer. The habit continued until the Messenger of Allah passed away. Even at the caliphate of Abu Bakr and Umar, she still followed the development of the great conquests, both on the east and the west.
Hafsha felt a great loss when her father was killed by Abu Lu’lu’ah. He lived until the caliphate of Uthman, in which a terrible rift happened among the muslims who demanded the revenge for Uthman’s death, until the time when Ali Ibn Abi Thalib was sworn as caliph. At that time, Hafsha was joining the group of ‘Aisha as she said, “My opinion is like ‘Aisha’s.” But she was not among those who swear their allegiance to Ali Ibn Abi Thalib, since her brother, Abdullah Ibn Umar asked her to stay at her house and not to go out and swear her allegiance.
Regarding the death of Hafsha, some narration said that she died in year 47 of Hijra, at the time when Mu’awiya Ibn Abi Sufyan ruled. She was buried in the cemetery of Baqi’, side by side with the graves of other wives of the Prophet.
The Owner of the First Mushaf (Manuscript of the Qur’an)
The great work of Hafsha for Islam was that the Qur’an was united in her hand after it underwent deletion, because she was the only wife of the Prophet who was able to read and write. At the time of Messenger of Allah, the Qur’an was saved inside the chests of the muslims (i.e, their mind, -ed) and memorized by the companions, and they wrote it down on the palm frond, or on sheets which was not united in a particular book.
At the time of Abu Bakr’s caliphate, many of those who memorized the Qur’an died in the battle against the apostates. This condition motivated Umar Ibn Khaththab to urged Abu Bakr to gather the scattered Qur’an. At first, Abu Bakr was worried that uniting the Qur’an in a book would be considered as innovation, since it was never done during the time of the Messenger of Allah. But due to Umar’s demand, Abu Bakr eventually ordered Hafsha to gather the Qur’an, and keep and maintain it. This authentic manuscript of the Qur’an was kept in Hafhsa’s house until she died.
May Allah’s mercy always be upon Hafsha, and may Allah grant her an appropriate place at His side. Amin.
Source of reference: “Dzaujatur-Rasulullah” (The Wives of Allah’s messenger). by Amru Yusuf. Published by Darus-Sa’abu, Riyadh.
Article of www.Whatisquran.com