Children of Muhammad

The common view is that the Islamic prophet Muhammad had three sons, named Abd Allah, Ibrahim, and Qasim, and four daughters, named Fatima, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum, and Zaynab. The children of Muhammad are said to have been born to his first wife Khadija bint Khuwaylid, except his son Ibrahim, who was born to Maria al-Qibtiyya. None of Muhammad's sons reached adulthood, but he had an adult foster son, Zayd ibn Harithah. Daughters of Muhammad all reached adulthood but only Fatima survived her father. Citing, among others, the advanced age of Khadija, some Shia sources contend that Fatima was the only biological daughter of Muhammad, as she is known to have enjoyed a close relationship with Muhammad, unlike Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum, and Zaynab. That Fatima was the only biological daughter of Muhammad appears to be the mainstream view among Shia Muslims.

In chronological order, most Sunni sources list the children of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as

• Qasim (598–601)
• Zainab (599–629)
• Ruqayya (601–624)
• Umm Kulthum (603–630)
• Fatima (605–632)^[1]
• Abd Allah (611–615)
• Ibrahim (630–632)

The Sunni view is that they were all born to Muhammad's first wife Khadija bint Khuwaylid, except Ibrahim, who was born to Maria al-Qibtiyya.^[2]

It is improbable that the elderly Khadija could have given birth to so many children.^[2] Some Shia sources therefore contend that Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum, and Zainab were adopted by Muhammad after the death of their mother Hala, who was Khadija's sister,^[3][4] or that the three were daughters of Khadija from an earlier marriage.^[5] Before successively marrying the early Muslim Uthman ibn Affan, Ruqayya and Umm Kulthum were initially married to polytheists, something which Muhammad likely would have not permitted for his biological daughters, Shia authors argue.^[5] They also cite the absence of historical evidence for a close relationship between Muhammad and Ruqayya, Zainab, or Umm Kulthum, unlike Fatima.^[5] That Fatima was Muhammad's only biological daughter may indeed be the mainstream view in Shia Islam,^[3] or at least in Twelver Shi'ism, the main branch of Shia Islam.^[4] In particular, this belief seems to be prevalent among the Shias of South Asia.^[6]

Muhammad's sons all died in childhood,^[7][8] although he also had an adult foster son, Zayd ibn Harithah.^[9][8] Some have suggested that the early deaths of his sons were detrimental to a hereditary-based system of succession to Muhammad.^[8] The alternative view is that the descendants of the past prophets become the spiritual and material heirs to them in the Quran, and that the succession to the past prophets is a matter settled by divine selection in the Quran and not by the faithful.^[10][11]

Muhammad's daughters reached adulthood but they all died relatively young,^[8] such that none survived him except Fatima.^[2] Fatima married Muhammad's cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib. It is through her that Muhammad's progeny has spread throughout the Muslim world.^[1] The descendants of Fatima are given the honorific titles sayyid (lit. 'lord, sir') or sharif (lit. 'noble'), and are respected in the Muslim community.^[1][4][12] Ruqayya and Umm Kulthum married Uthman ibn Affan one after another, and Zainab married Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi, another companion of Muhammad. Umm Kulthum remained childless whereas Ruqayya gave birth to a boy Abd Allah, who died in childhood.^[13][14] Zaynab gave birth to a son, named Ali, who also died in childhood, and a daughter Umama, whom Ali ibn Abi Talib married sometime after the death of Fatima in 632 CE.^[15] Muhammad's attitude and treatment towards his children, enshrined in the hadith literature, is viewed by Muslims as an exemplar to be imitated.^[16]