Umm Kulthum bint Jarwal
Ex-wife of Umar ibn al-Khattab
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Umm Kulthūm bint Jarwal (Arabic: أم كلثوم بنت جرول), also known as Mulayka (Arabic: مليكة), was a wife of Umar and a follower or Sahabiyyah of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Biography
She was born in Mecca as a member of the Khuza'a tribe. Her father was either Jarwal ibn Malik[1]: 204 or his son 'Amr ibn Jarwal.[2]: 92
She married Umar ibn al-Khattab before 616,[2]: 92 and they had two sons, Zayd and Ubayd Allah. Umar was concurrently married to Zaynab bint Maz'un, who bore him three children,[1]: 204 and to Qurayba bint Abi Umayya,[3]: 510 who was childless. Umar converted to Islam in 616.[1]: 207 The whole family emigrated to Medina in 622,[3]: 218 although Umm Kulthum and Qurayba were still polytheists.[3]: 510 [4]
Soon after the Treaty of Hudaybiya in 628, Muhammad announced a revelation that Muslims were ordered to "hold not to the cords of disbelieving women." Accordingly, Umar divorced Umm Kulthum and Qurayba, and they both returned to Mecca.[1]: 204 [3]: 510 [4]
The sources do not indicate the order of Umm Kulthum’s subsequent marriages. She married Abu Jahm ibn Hudhayfa in Mecca "while they were both polytheists," i.e., before January 630.[2]: 92 Abu Jahm was, like Umar, a member of the Adi clan of the Quraysh.[3]: 510 He was known in the community as "a great beater of women."[5][6]: 192 [7][8]
Whether before or after this, Umm Kulthum was also one of the wives of Safwan ibn Umayya, a member of the Juma clan[2]: 92 who was a leader in the Quraysh opposition to Muhammad.[3]: 318–319, 370 [9][10] He became a Muslim after the Conquest of Mecca[2]: 185 but continued to live in Mecca.[11]