Hafsah bint ‘Umar
(radhiAllahu ‘anha) is one of the wives of RasulAllah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam) who stands out at the forefront, along with her co-wives A’ishah, Umm
Salamah, and Zaynab bint Jahsh.
Her name has two meanings:
one being ‘young lioness,’ and the other being a reference to a certain type of
bird that was known for being beautiful, elegant, strong, and predatory. With
Hafsah (radhiAllahu ‘anha), everyone around her testified to the fact that she
indeed lived up to her name – a creature of power as well as beauty.
Hafsah was amongst the
eldest of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab’s children, and of the early believers of
Makkah. She was described as being “her father’s daughter” and indeed, she had a
very close relationship with him. Although they used to have strong words with
each other quite often, they also respected each other greatly and loved each
other dearly.
‘Umar would often go to
his daughter in matters of both family dispute – for example, when he disapproved
of something that one of his sons did – or politically, such as when he was the
khalifah and Hafsah acted as an intermediary between him and various
plaintiffs. He also referred to her for Islamic knowledge, drawing upon her
understanding of legal rulings as well as an understanding of the society
around her.
Hafsah’s first husband was
Khunays ibn Hudhaafah, a believer who fought in the Battle of Badr and then
fell ill in Madinah after the Hijrah. When he died and Hafsah was left a widow,
‘Umar (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) was determined to find a husband who would be
suitable for his daughter. With a personality that so matched his own, he knew
that not any man would be right for Hafsah – only a strong man could marry a
woman like Hafsah.
With this in mind, ‘Umar
approached both Abu Bakr and ‘Uthmaan (radhiAllahu ‘anhum), hoping that one of
them would be as eager about the match as ‘Umar himself was. To his dismay,
both of them refused. However, his disappointment was quickly alleviated when
RasulAllah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) proposed to Hafsah.
As RasulAllah’s wife,
Hafsah quickly established herself amongst her co-wives. She and A’ishah
(radhiAllahu ‘anha) were similar in temperament and immediately hit it off;
A’ishah laughingly described the two of them as being ‘one hand.’ They spent
time together both in camaraderie and friendly rivalry, forming their own
little clique and backing each other up in conflicts with their other co-wives.
Hafsah was a woman of both
strength and skills. As A’ishah (radhiAllahu ‘anha) said drily, “She was her
father’s daughter” in temperament, and equal in intelligence. She was one of
privileged few who were not only literate, but were able to write as well. She
was eager to study and quick to learn, which RasulAllah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam) recognized and encouraged, especially when he found Hafsah (radhiAllahu
‘anha) sitting with ash-Shifa bint ‘Abdullah, who was famous for her skills as
a doctor. RasulAllah specifically instructed ash-Shifa to teach Hafsah
medicine, thus adding to her skillset.
In addition to the
‘secular sciences,’ however, Hafsah was unique in that she was one of the
female Companions who memorized the Qur’an completely. She committed it firmly
to memory and was well-versed in it, to the point that she would engage in
debate with RasulAllah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and quote ayaat of the
Qur’an to bolster her points.
Jabir bin 'Abdullah Ansari
narrates an incident which was related to him by Umm Mubasher. She, Hafsah and RasulAllah
(sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) were sitting together and conversing. RasulAllah
mentioned that all the people who had given the pledged of allegiance at
Hudaybiyah under the tree would go to Paradise, and not to Hell. Intrigued,
Hafsah asked how this was possible, and quoted the verse: {There is not one
of you but will pass over it (Hell).} (Quran 19:71)
In answer, he replied with
the verse immediately after it: {Then We shall save those who use to fear
Allah and were dutiful to Him. And We shall leave the wrongdoers therein to
their knees (in Hell).} (Noble Quran 19:72)[1]
Hafsah was not merely a
passive caretaker of the mus’haf; she was a powerful guardian, who was also an
active participant in the process of the preservation of the Qur’an.
During the lifetime of
RasulAllah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), the Sahabah used to write down the
ayaat of the Qur’an on various sheets of paper and leather. Those sheets of
paper were not collected in the proper order of the Qur’an itself, but rather were
left loose. This was not an issue at the time as RasulAllah was still alive,
and there were many Sahabah who memorized the Qur’an and taught it to those
around them.
However, during the
khilaafah of Abu Bakr, there arose a problem – not only were there hundreds of
thousands of individuals newly accepting Islam, but there were many military
expeditions against political rebels. Due to the fact that those who memorized
the Qur’an were those most keen to die in Jihad, huge numbers of qurraa’
(recitors of the Qur’an) died in those battles. With their deaths came the risk
of the Qur’an being lost.
Abu Bakr and ‘Umar
(radhiAllahu ‘anhum) came to the conclusion that it was now necessary for Zayd
ibn Thabit – the personal scribe of RasulAllah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) –
to take part in collecting all the manuscripts of the Qur’anic verses. They did
so, and Abu Bakr became the first custodian of those scrolls until his death,
whereupon ‘Umar took them into his care, and after his death, it was
Hafsah bint ‘Umar who became the guardian of the mus’haf. (Narrated in Bukhari)[2]
It is further interesting
to note that when ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (radhiAllahu ‘anhu) passed away, he not
only bequeathed the ownership of the mus’haf to Hafsah, but also appointed her
as the executor of his will and his estates.[3]
Considering the fact that Hafsah had several brothers – including the famous
Abdullah ibn ‘Umar – it is a significant matter that Hafsah was regarded so
highly by her father, and respected by others.
Hafsah (radhiAllahu ‘anha)
was extremely protective of the manuscripts in her care. She understood their
importance and felt a personal bond with them – after all, she had been witness
to the revelation of so many of those verses, and heard her husband, the
Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), recite them in front of her.
When ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan
(radhiAllahu ‘anhu) became the khalifah and made it his mission to provide a
standardized copy of the mus’haf in order to prevent confusion regarding the
different qira’aat (modes of recitation), he first asked Hafsah’s
permission to use the manuscripts in her possession. Only after he promised to
return the scrolls to her when he was done, would Hafsah permit him access to
the scriptures.
When we look at the lives
of the Ummahaat al-Mu’mineen and indeed, at great women throughout Islamic
history, we need to consider them with more than a passing glance. It’s not
enough to mention them as being ‘righteous’ and ‘pious’ – which they indeed
were – but we do need to focus on how they contributed meaningfully to
our history and our faith.
Without Hafsah’s
dedication to being a strong protector and guardian of the mus’haf, we
would not have had the Qur’an’s impeccable preservation; since we know that
Allah promised us that He would never allow the Qur’an to be corrupted,
Hafsah’s role is highlighted further. In essence, she was a manifestation of
the promise of Allah – and indeed: {No doubt - the promise of Allah is
true.} (Qur’an 10:55)
In Hafsah, we have the
example of a woman who spent her life dedicated to the Qur’an; to memorize it,
to protect it, to preserve it, and to live according to it. Jibreel
(‘alayhissalaam) himself told RasulAllah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam): “She
is sawwaamah (constantly fasting), qawwaamah (constantly standing
in prayer), and she will be your wife in Jannah.”
This devotion to Allah, to
His Words and His Commands, is precisely what we need to revive amongst
ourselves should we hope to see the rise of another generation of heroines of
Islam.
3 comments:
Have you read 'The surrendered wife'? www.lauradoyle.org
Would love to read a book review from you and your thoughts on this book.
Please keep writing.
Jzk
Amazing
It is so encouraging to read about the Mothers of Believers from a different perspective. I feel that if more light is not thrown upon the other personality traits of the Ummahatul Mu'muneen and the sahabiyaat we as well lose an upcoming generation to a code of conduct other than Islam. Not because they don't want to follow Islam but because the classical interpretation of how a Muslim woman should be leaves very little to personal opinions, talents etc. It feels as though in order to stay a Muslim one has to give up on a lot of things. May Allah bless you with hidayah and everything that is good.
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