Hafsa bint Umar
Birth:
Hafsa bint Umar was born in the year the Quraysh were rebuilding the Kabah.
This was five years before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ received prophethood, and he was 35 years old at the time.
Family:
Mother:
Hafsa’s mother was Zainab bint Ma’zun, the sister of Uthman ibn Maz’un, who was one of the earliest companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Father:
Hafsa’s father was Umar ibn al-Khattab, the greatest companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ after Abu Bakr, and the second Khalifah in Islam.
Brother:
Her brother was Abdullah ibn Umar, who was also well-renowned as a great companion to the Prophet. He participated in the Battle of Khandaq, and took part in all of the battles that followed.
However, he was most famous for his knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence, and he directly narrated Hadiths from the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
First Marriage:
Hafsa bint Umar was married to Khunays ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi, who was one of the early Muslims who accepted Islam.
Khunays was one of the believers who migrated to Abyssinia and later on, he migrated to Madinah along with his wife.
Khunays ibn Hudhafah participated in both the Battle of Badr and Uhud.
At Uhud, he suffered many wounds and a short while after this battle, he passed away from the injuries he sustained.
Umar’s Approach to Abu Bakr:
After the death of Khunays ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi, Umar ibn al-Khattab met Abu Bakr and said to him: If you wish, I will give Hafsa in marriage to you.
Abu Bakr remained silent and when Umar witnessed this, he was very angry at the fact that Abu Bakr did not even reply to his offer.
Umar’s Approach to Uthman ibn Affan:
Umar ibn al-Khattab then approached Uthman ibn Affan, who was grieving from the death of his wife Ruqayyah, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Umar thought that by giving his daughter to him in marriage, it would help relieve the sadness he was feeling.
After speaking to him, Uthman ibn Affan politely replied, requesting to be given a few days to think about this proposal.
However, after these days passed, Uthman ibn Affan told Umar ibn al-Khattab: I do not wish to marry today.
Umar’s Approach to the Prophet:
Umar ibn al-Khattab was left saddened by this and he went to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to complain about this.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: One who is better than Uthman will marry Hafsa and one who is better than Hafsa will marry Uthman. (Bukhari)
The Prophet’s Proposal:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then proposed to marry Hafsa, and Umar ibn al-Khattab was very happy with this.
Abu Bakr Meets Umar:
Eventually, Abu Bakr met Umar and told him: Possibly you were angry with me when you offered Hafsa to me and I did not reply to you, but nothing prevented me from answering your proposal except that I had heard the Messenger of Allah mention her and I could not reveal his secret. Had he abandoned his intention to marry her, I would have married her.
Words of the Prophet Come True:
Uthman ibn Affan married Umm Kulthum, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Umar ibn al-Khattab then realised why Uthman was against marrying his daughter, as the Prophet married Hafsa bint Umar and realised his words had come true.
As mentioned above, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: One who is better than Uthman will marry Hafsa and one who is better than Hafsa will marry Uthman. (Bukhari)
Marriage to the Prophet:
When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ married Hafsa bint Umar, he gave her a dowry of four hundred dirhams and the marriage took place in the third year AH, after his marriage to Aisha bint Abi Bakr.
Umar’s Advice to His Daughter:
Umar ibn al-Khattab advised Hafsa and warned her against making the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ angry.
Hafsa and the Prophet:
Hafsa bint Umar then stayed in the house of the Prophet, making her one of the ‘Mothers of the Believers.’
She would take great care of him and served him well, and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would treat her well, listen to what she had to say and correct her whenever it was required.
An Example of the Prophet Correcting Her:
On one occasion, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sitting with his companions, who had made the pledge of allegiance to him at Hudaybiyyah.
The Prophet ﷺ said to them: The companions of the tree, who pledged their allegiance under it, will not enter the Fire.
When Hafsa heard this, she said: No, O Messenger of Allah.
Hafsa recited the following Ayat: ‘There is not one of you but will pass over it (Hell); this is with your Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished.’ (Quran, 19:71)
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ replied: Complete the verses, O Hafsa!
The Prophet then recited: ‘Then We shall save those who use to fear Allah and were dutiful to Him. And We shall leave the Zalimun (polytheists and wrongdoers), therein (humbled) to their knees (in Hell).’ (Quran, 19:72)
Divorce and Reconciliation:
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ divorced Hafsa on one occasion and when her father, Umar ibn al-Khattab heard about this, he placed dust on his own head and said: Allah will not pay any attention to Umar after this.
Umar ibn al-Khattab went to Hafsa and said: It is possible that the Messenger of Allah has divorced you, if he has indeed divorced you once and that he may take you back on my account, but if he divorces you a second time, I will never speak to you again.
After this, Angel Jibril came to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and ordered him to take Hafsa back.
Role in Preserving the Quran:
After Abu Bakr ordered for the compilation of the Quran, he gave it to Hafsa bint Umar to preserve.
To put this into context, Abu Bakr trusted Hafsa with this responsibility over his own daughter, Aisha and the rest of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
After her father, Umar ibn al-Khattab was murdered, Uthman ibn Affan became the third Khalifah of Islam.
Uthman knew that people would argue over the different ways to recite the Quran, so he ordered for the copies to be standardized in accordance with the copy that was handed to Hafsa bint Umar.
Uthman sent a message to Hafsa which said: (We request) that you send the parchments which are in your possession, so that we can make copies from it, then we shall return it to you.
Hafsa bint Umar sent this copy to Uthman, who ordered Zayd ibn Thabit, Abdullah ibn Az-Zubayr, Sa’id ibn Al-A’as and Abdur-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham to make copies of them.
Uthman ibn Affan then returned the original copy to Hafsa and sent authenticated copies across the Muslim lands, ordering the previous copies of the Quran to be burnt.
Death of Hafsa bint Umar:
Hafsa bint Umar passed away in the year 45 AH, during the Caliph of Mu’awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan at the age of sixty.