Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr


Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr was a daughter of Abu Bakr and Habiba bint Kharija.

Biography

She was born in Medina shortly after her father's death. While declaring his will, he informed his daughter Aisha that some palm trees that he had given her should be given as inheritance to her two brothers and two sisters. She readily accepted her father's wishes but asked to which other sister he was referring besides Asma. He told her that Habiba was pregnant and that he suspected it to be a girl.
Umm Kulthum was raised under the supervision of her sister Aisha "with kindness and gentleness". When Umar asked for Umm Kulthum's hand in marriage, Aisha refused consent. Her emissary explained to the Caliph: "You are rough and ready. How will it be with Umm Kulthum if she disobeys you and you beat her? You will have taken Abu Bakr's place in a way that does not suit you."
Umm Kulthum married Talha ibn Ubayd-Allah, who was some forty years older than herself. She gave birth to Zakariyyah, Yusuf and Aisha. Talha was killed at the Battle of the Camel in 656. Umm Kulthum then accompanied Aisha on a pilgrimage to Mecca while she was still in her waiting period.
Thereafter she married Abdulrahman ibn Abdullah al-Makhzumi. She bore him Ibrahim al-Ahwal, Musa, Umm Humayd and Umm Uthman.
Aisha sent Salim, a grandson of Umar, to Umm Kulthum with the instruction to suckle him ten times so that Aisha would be considered his foster-aunt. Umm Kulthum nursed him three times and then fell ill. The foster-relationship was therefore not completed, and Salim did not become eligible to see Aisha unveiled.

Legacy

Umm Kulthum was a successor. She narrated hadith from Aisha, of which some were collected by al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah.