We Muslims believe in following through the descendants of Muhammad.
Zaynab Bint Muhammad is viewed as the oldest daughter of
Muhammad and
Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid by
Sunni Muslims.
Zainab was married to her maternal cousin Abu al-‘As bin Al-Rabi‘ and that was before Al-Hijra.Married to Abu al-‘As bin Al-Rabi prior to his conversion and circumcision to Islam, she became the mother of two children:
Ali and
Umamah.
Ali ibn Zainab,died after a few years in 9
AH.
His sister Umamah Bint Zaynab,after the death of her aunt Fatimah she married Muhammad's cousin
Ali Ibn Abu Talib. They had a common son,Hilal ibn Ali. She died in 66 AH (circa 685 CE).
Ruqayyah is viewed as the second daughter of
Muhammad and
Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid by
Sunni Muslims.
She was first married to
Utbah Ibn Abu Lahab. His father, Abu Lahab, forced Utbah to repudiate Ruqayyah due to Abu Lahab's opposition to Muhammad and his teachings. Muslim convert
Uthman Ibn Affan had long admired Ruqayyah and was then able to ask for her hand in marriage. Ruqayyah's son was
Abd -Allah Ibn Uthman, who died when he was 2 years old.
Uthman Ibn Affan became the third Caliph of Islam.
Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad was the third daughter of Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah according to
Sunni Muslims. Muhammad given second of his daughters to
Uthman Ibn Affan after the death of first, the 3rd rightly guided
Caliph of Islam. It is reported in a hadith that if the prophet had more daughters he would have also married them to Uthman.
Her first husband was
Utaybah Ibn Abu Lahab and her second was
Uthman Ibn Affan.
She died either in 9 AH (
630 AD) or around the time of the
battle of Badr (
624AD).She had no Children.
Fatimah c. 605or 615–632) was the last and important daughter of Muhammad and Khadijah. She is regarded by
Muslims as an exemplar for men and women.She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the
Quraysh of
Mecca. After
migration to Medina, she marriedAli ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin.She died a few months after her father, and was buried in Jannat Al Baqi in the city of Medina, although the exact location of her grave is unknown. Most
Shias believe that she was injured when defending Ali against the first
Caliphate, and that this incident led to her early death.
Their marriage lasted about ten years and ended when Fatima died. Although
polygyny is permitted by Islam, Ali did not marry another woman while Fatimah was alive.
Fatimah was survived by two sons,
Hasan and
Husayn, and two daughters,
Zaynab and Umm Kulthum.Controversy surrounds the fate of her third son,Muhsin. Shias say that she miscarried following an attac on her House by Abu Bakr and Umar, while Sunnis insist that Muhsin died in his infancy of natural causes.
Modern descendants of Muhammad trace their lineage exclusively through Fatimah, as she was the only surviving child of Muhammad. Muhammad had no sons who reached adulthood.
Fatimah's descendants are given the honorific titles Sharif (meaning
noble),
sayyid (meaning
lord or
sir) and respected by both Sunni and Shi'a, though the Shi'as place much more emphasis and value on the distinction.
