In the name of Allah the Beneficient and the Merciful

Biography of Jenabe Hafsa

Jenabe Hafsa was the daughter of Omar Bin Al Khatab bin B Nafil bin AbdulAzzi and her mother was Zainab bint Maz'oon, the sister of Uthman bin Maz'oon.

.

ْShe was born five years before Be'that or the Prophethood of Mohammad (SAW) correlating with the days when the Quraish was repairing the kabaa. It was the time when the tribes of Quraish, were on the brink of a quarrel as to which tribe was to replace the Hajar-al Aswad in its place, when the Prophet (SAW) reconciled them by replacing the Hajar–al-asward from a sheet held by all the chieftans.

Marriage to Khonees

ٌ

When Hafsa reached of age, she married a good and pious muslim by the name of Khonis bin Hazafeh. Sometime after their marriage, the pressures and tortures of the idolators had increased against the Prophet of Islam (SAW) and his companions, so much so that he asked those who could, to migrate to Habasheh (Morocco).

Khonais was one of those who had migrated to Habashah and then returned to Mecca where with his wife and companions obtained the prophet's permission to migrate to Yathrib (Medina Munawara). They resided in Medina till the migration of the Prophet of Islam to the city wherein their happiness was complete with his holy presence.

Martyrdom of Khonais and days of separation:

In the battle of Badr, victory was with the muslims with the help of Allah. Khonais was one of the brave warriors of this heroic war and though he was badly injured he kept on fighting to the end. He returned to Medina with many wounds wherein he passed away after some days. It was the Prophet (SAW) of Islam who prayed on his body and buried him in Bagheeh near Uthman bin Mazoon.

Her marriage to the Prophet (SAW)

After the period of Iddat (waiting period before re-marriage) of his daughter, Omar bin Khattab, noted her sorrow and decided to find a husband for her. He first approached Jenab Abu Bakr and asked him to marry his daughter, but he did not reply. He then asked Uthman to marry her, to which he said, " I have not decided to marry again."

Omar bin Khattab was quite upset and recounted this incident to the Prophet (SAW) . The Prophet (SAW) said, "Somebody better than Uthman will marry Hafsa and somebody better than Hafsa will marry Uthman."

Then,, the Prophet (SAW) asked for her hand and married her in the month of Shaban in the third year of Hejrat.

Later on, Ruqaya the daughter of the Prophet (SAW) and the wife of Uthman bin Haffan passed away and he remarried his second daughter Umme Kulthum.

Feminine wiles

It should be noted that sometimes envy and jealousy raised their heads amongst the Prophet's (SAW) wives, but he managed these emotional crisis with love and wisdom.

The Prophet of Islam had a slave named Marieh Ghebtieh gifted to him by the Egyptian emperor, and she was sometimes an object of envy of the Prophet's wives. A tradition from Anas says that Ayesha and Hafsa tried their best to make the Prophet (saw) abstain from her so much so that a verse of the Quran was revealed to him:

«يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ لَكَ تَبْتَغِي مَرْضَاتَ أَزْوَاجِكَ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ » (التحريم: 1).

«Oh Prophet why do you forbid yourself that which Allah has allowed only for the satisfaction of your wives?"

Traditions quote that the prophet (SAW) divorced Hafsa once but he returned to her and once more married her.After this event, she was repentant and changed her ways.

It is well known that she spent her days in fasts and her nights in worship and tried her best to acquire knowledge from the Prophet (SAW).

Knowledge and jurisprudence of Jenabe Hafsa

She had memorized the quran and narrated a lot of tradtions from the Prophet (SAW). Sixty traditions are quoted from her, of which six are common in both n Sahih Muslim and Bukhari, and three of them in Sahih Muslim alone.

Her knowledge, jurisprudence and piety was well known and during the rule of the four khalifs, especially her father Omar bin Khatab followed her opinion on many a ruling.

ْShe was also a reference for the Prophet's traditions and many of his companions including her brother Abdullah bin Omar used to study with her.

During the rule of Abu Bakr when the Quran was collected and written, Jenabe Hafsa was chosen to safeguard it.

ْShe was not attached to the world and during the rule of her father, her lifestyle did not change. During the assassination of Jenabe Uthman, when Ayesha asked Hafsa to accompany her for the battle of Jamal, she was ready to go, but her brother Abdullah forbade her from leaving her home, as the Quran had asked the Prophet's wives not to leave their homes after his death. Later on, she was always grateful to him for this wise advice.

Days and years passed, and in the year of 45 hijri due to old age and weakness she passed away at the age of sixty.

The khalif of the time, Marwan bin Hakam recited the last prayers on her corpse and she was buried in Baqih by her brothers, Abdullah and Asem..