The Prophet ﷺ was a father before he was a Prophet, and he buried more of his children than most parents could bear to imagine. He had seven children: three sons and four daughters. Six were born to his first wife Khadijah: al-Qasim, Zaynab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, Fatimah and 'Abdullah. The seventh, Ibrahim, was born to Mariyah in Madinah. All the sons died as small children, and of the daughters only Fatimah outlived him. Their stories run through the whole Seerah, from the quiet years in Makkah to the last year in Madinah, and they show us the Prophet ﷺ as a loving, grieving and patient father.
How many children did the Prophet ﷺ have, and in what order?
The majority of scholars of Seerah count seven children. In the order most of them give:
- Al-Qasim, the eldest, born in Makkah before prophethood; died as a small child.
- Zaynab, the eldest daughter, born when the Prophet ﷺ was about thirty.
- Ruqayyah, married to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan.
- Umm Kulthum, married to 'Uthman after Ruqayyah's death.
- Fatimah, the youngest daughter, married to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib.
- 'Abdullah, also called at-Tayyib and at-Tahir; died in infancy in Makkah.
- Ibrahim, son of Mariyah, born in Madinah in 8 AH; died in 10 AH.
Where scholars differ
The early historians did not all agree on the details, and it is honest to say so. Some early reports, including lists in the Sirah of Ibn Ishaq, name at-Tayyib and at-Tahir as separate sons, which would make eight or more children. Most scholars explain that these were titles of 'Abdullah, meaning "the good" and "the pure", because he was born after prophethood. Some reports place Ruqayyah before Zaynab, and a few differ over whether Fatimah or Umm Kulthum was the youngest daughter. There is also a difference over whether 'Abdullah was born before or after the first revelation.
None of these differences affects belief. The well-established facts are clear: the Prophet's children were three sons and four daughters, all from Khadijah except Ibrahim, and only Fatimah survived him. When you see a different order in another book, it usually reflects one of these early reports, not a mistake.
Who was al-Qasim, the Prophet's eldest son?
Al-Qasim was the first child of the Prophet ﷺ and Khadijah, born in Makkah some years after their marriage. In Arab custom a man was often called "father of" his eldest son, and so the Prophet ﷺ was known as Abu al-Qasim. Companions used this name when addressing him, and it appears in many hadith, for example when Abu Hurayrah says, "I heard Abu al-Qasim ﷺ say..."
Al-Qasim died while still a small child. Reports differ on his age: some say he lived until he could walk, others that he was old enough to ride a mount. Most historians say he died before the first revelation. It was the first death of a child that the Prophet ﷺ and Khadijah faced, and it came years before the trials of prophethood.
What happened to Zaynab, the Prophet's eldest daughter?
Zaynab was born when the Prophet ﷺ was about thirty, roughly ten years before prophethood. She married her mother's nephew, Abu al-'As ibn ar-Rabi', the son of Khadijah's sister Halah. He was an honest merchant and the marriage was a happy one. When the Prophet ﷺ began his mission, Zaynab accepted Islam with her mother and sisters, but Abu al-'As did not. Quraysh pressed him to divorce her, and he refused.
The necklace after Badr
At the Battle of Badr in 2 AH, Abu al-'As fought with Quraysh and was captured. Families in Makkah sent ransoms for their prisoners. Zaynab sent wealth and, with it, a necklace her mother Khadijah had given her on her wedding day. When the Prophet ﷺ saw it, he was deeply moved, remembering Khadijah, who had died a few years earlier. He asked the Companions whether they would free her husband and return her necklace, and they gladly agreed. The condition was that Abu al-'As would let Zaynab come to Madinah.
He kept his word. But as Zaynab left Makkah, a group of Quraysh, among them Habbar ibn al-Aswad, chased her. Her camel was frightened and she fell. Reports say she was pregnant and lost the child, and that her health suffered from then on.
Reunion and death
Some years later, a Muslim patrol captured a Qurayshi caravan led by Abu al-'As. He came to Madinah at night and asked Zaynab for protection, which she granted, announcing it in the mosque after Fajr. The Prophet ﷺ honoured her protection and the Companions returned his goods. Abu al-'As went back to Makkah, returned every trust to its owner, and then declared his Islam and migrated to Madinah. The Prophet ﷺ returned Zaynab to him. Reports differ on whether this was on their first marriage or with a new contract.
They had two children. 'Ali ibn Abi al-'As died young. Umamah was much loved by her grandfather: Sahih al-Bukhari records that the Prophet ﷺ prayed while carrying her, putting her down when he went into sajdah and picking her up when he stood (hadith 516). After Fatimah's death, Umamah married 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. Zaynab died in Madinah in 8 AH. The hadith of Umm 'Atiyyah about washing the Prophet's daughter, in which he gave his own garment to wrap her body, is understood by many scholars to refer to Zaynab.
Who was Ruqayyah, the Prophet's second daughter?
Ruqayyah was first married to 'Utbah, a son of Abu Lahab, and her sister Umm Kulthum to his brother 'Utaybah. When the Prophet ﷺ began calling people to Islam, Abu Lahab became his fiercest enemy, and Surah al-Masad was revealed about him and his wife. Abu Lahab then ordered his sons to separate from the Prophet's daughters. Historians report that these marriages had not yet been consummated.
Ruqayyah then married 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, one of the early Muslims. When persecution in Makkah became severe, they were among the first emigrants to Abyssinia, around the fifth year of prophethood. There she gave birth to a son, 'Abdullah, and 'Uthman was called Abu 'Abdullah after him. The family later returned and migrated to Madinah. Their son died as a child, at about six years old.
In Ramadan of 2 AH, as the Muslims set out for Badr, Ruqayyah was seriously ill. The Prophet ﷺ told 'Uthman to stay behind and nurse her, and promised him the reward and the share of one who was present at Badr, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari from Ibn 'Umar. Ruqayyah died while the army was away. Reports say that as she was being buried, Zayd ibn Harithah rode into Madinah with the news of victory. The Prophet ﷺ returned to find his daughter already in her grave.
Why was 'Uthman called Dhun-Nurayn after marrying Umm Kulthum?
Umm Kulthum, like Ruqayyah, had been separated from her first husband, Abu Lahab's son 'Utaybah. She migrated to Madinah with the rest of the Prophet's family. After Ruqayyah died, the Prophet ﷺ married Umm Kulthum to 'Uthman, in Rabi' al-Awwal of 3 AH. Because 'Uthman married two daughters of the Prophet ﷺ, he was given the title Dhun-Nurayn, "the possessor of two lights". No other man is known to have married two daughters of a Prophet.
Umm Kulthum had no children. She died in 9 AH. Sahih al-Bukhari records from Anas ibn Malik that at the burial of one of the Prophet's daughters, the Prophet ﷺ sat by the grave with tears flowing from his eyes. Scholars such as Ibn Hajar explain that this was Umm Kulthum, since the Prophet ﷺ was away at Badr when Ruqayyah was buried. Within seven years he had now buried three daughters.
Why is Fatimah the best known of the Prophet's children?
Fatimah, called az-Zahra', "the radiant", was the youngest daughter. Many historians say she was born around the time Quraysh rebuilt the Ka'bah, about five years before prophethood; others place her birth a little later. She grew up through the hardest years in Makkah. Reports describe her, as a young girl, removing the filth that enemies threw on her father's back while he prayed by the Ka'bah. After her mother Khadijah died, she cared for her father so tenderly that she was called Umm Abiha, "the mother of her father".
In 2 AH, after Badr, she married 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. Their home was simple and their life was hard: Fatimah ground grain until her hands blistered. When she asked her father for a servant, he taught her and 'Ali instead to say Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah and Allahu akbar before sleeping, telling them it was better for them than a servant, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
Fatimah and 'Ali had al-Hasan (3 AH), al-Husayn (4 AH), Zaynab and Umm Kulthum, and some reports also mention a son, Muhsin, who died young. Through al-Hasan and al-Husayn the Prophet's descendants continue to this day. The Prophet ﷺ said that Fatimah was a part of him and that whatever angered her angered him (Sahih al-Bukhari). She resembled him in her walk and her speech.
In his final illness, he whispered something to her and she wept; then he whispered again and she laughed. After his death she explained that he had first told her he would die of this illness, and then that she would be the first of his family to follow him, and that she would be the leader of the women of Paradise. This is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from 'A'ishah. She died about six months after the Prophet ﷺ, in 11 AH, and was buried in al-Baqi'. Our free Fatimah az-Zahra sheet tells her story in more depth.
Who was 'Abdullah, also called at-Tayyib and at-Tahir?
'Abdullah was the last child of Khadijah, born in Makkah. Most scholars say he was born after the first revelation, which is why he was given the names at-Tayyib and at-Tahir, "the good" and "the pure". He died as a baby.
His death was used to mock the Prophet ﷺ. Reports in the books of tafsir say that al-'As ibn Wa'il, a leader of Quraysh, called the Prophet ﷺ abtar, "cut off", meaning a man with no son to carry his name, whose memory would die with him. Allah answered in Surah al-Kawthar: "Indeed, We have given you al-Kawthar. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. Indeed, it is your enemy who is the one cut off" (Surah al-Kawthar 108:1–3). Fourteen centuries later, the Prophet's name is called out in the adhan around the world every minute, while the name of the one who mocked him is remembered only in this story.
How did the Prophet ﷺ grieve for his son Ibrahim?
After the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet ﷺ sent letters to rulers inviting them to Islam. Al-Muqawqis, the ruler of Egypt, replied politely and sent gifts, among them Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah. In Dhul Hijjah 8 AH she gave birth to a son in Madinah. It was more than twenty years since the Prophet ﷺ had last held a newborn son. Sahih Muslim records from Anas that he said a boy had been born to him that night and that he had named him after his father, Ibrahim.
Ibrahim was nursed by Umm Sayf, the wife of a blacksmith named Abu Sayf, in the higher part of Madinah. Anas reports that the Prophet ﷺ would walk there to see him, enter a house full of smoke from the forge, take the baby, kiss him and hold him close.
In 10 AH, when Ibrahim was about a year and a half old, he fell ill. Anas describes the scene in Sahih al-Bukhari (hadith 1303). The Prophet ﷺ held his son as he was breathing his last, and his eyes filled with tears. 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf asked, in surprise, whether he too wept. He replied that it was mercy. Then, as more tears came, he spoke the words that every grieving Muslim parent has held on to since:
In one breath he named the grief honestly and tied it to contentment with Allah's decree. He did not pretend he felt nothing, and he did not let sorrow push his tongue into complaint.
On the day Ibrahim died, there was an eclipse of the sun, and people said it was because of his death. The Prophet ﷺ could have let them believe it. Instead he stood and taught them that the sun and the moon are two signs of Allah, and that they do not eclipse for anyone's death or birth, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (hadith 1043). He also told them, as al-Bara' ibn 'Azib reports in Sahih al-Bukhari, that Ibrahim had a wet nurse in Paradise who would complete his nursing.
Grief and truth together
In his deepest sorrow the Prophet ﷺ corrected a false belief that flattered him. Grief never made him say anything untrue, and truth never made him hide his tears.
What can we learn from the lives of the Prophet's children?
- Tears are not weakness. The Prophet ﷺ wept for his children and called it mercy. Grieving parents can cry and still be patient, as long as their tongues say only what pleases Allah.
- Daughters are an honour. In a society that despised daughters, he loved, protected and publicly honoured his. He carried his granddaughter in prayer and stood to greet Fatimah when she entered.
- Loyalty and good character win hearts. Abu al-'As became Muslim after years of being treated with fairness and dignity by the Prophet's family.
- Allah answers the mockers. The man who called him "cut off" is forgotten; the Prophet's name and family are honoured everywhere.
- Simplicity in the home. Fatimah's life with 'Ali, and the gift of tasbih instead of a servant, teach contentment and remembrance.
- Truth matters even in grief. On the day of the eclipse he protected people's belief rather than his own standing.
To place these children within the wider family, read about the wives of the Prophet and the free sheet on Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the mother of six of them. For the full story of his life, see Prophet Muhammad, the best of mankind and our family tree sheet, the blessed lineage of the Prophet. If you would like your children to grow up loving the Prophet's family and the Qur'an, our courses are a good place to begin.
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 1303: the Prophet's tears and words at the death of his son Ibrahim.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 516: the Prophet ﷺ praying while carrying his granddaughter Umamah.
- The Qur'an, Surah al-Kawthar (108), verses 1-3.
- Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (from Ibn Ishaq): the children of the Prophet ﷺ and Khadijah.
- Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, and Ibn Hajar, al-Isabah: biographies of the Prophet's daughters.