Khawlah bint Ja'far


Khawlah bint Ja'far al-Hanafiyyah, also known as Umm Muhammad, was one of the wives of the Muslim Caliph and Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Biography

She was known as Hanafiyyah after her tribe Banu Hanifah. When the people of Yamamah were threatening the integrity of the newly emerging empire by refusing to pay the zakat to Abu Bakr, their men were all declared apostates and killed and she was brought to Medina as a slave girl together with the other womenfolk. When her tribesmen came to know her, they approached Ali ibn Abu Talib and requested him to save her from the blemish of slavery and protect her family's honor and prestige. Consequently, Ali ibn Abu Talib set her free after purchasing her and married her whereafter Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah was born.

Her important descendants