حَفْصَةُ بِنْتُ عُمَر
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا
Hafsah bint Umar
Daughter of Umar · The Qur'an collection was kept with her · Widow of Khunays ibn Hudhafah
may Allah be pleased with her
Quraysh — Banu Adi · Makkah and Madinah, up to about 45 AH
The daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab, widowed young, whom the Prophet ﷺ married after two other Companions did not take up her father's offer of her hand. The single written collection of the Qur'an, gathered under Abu Bakr, was later kept in her care, and it was from her copy that the standard text was prepared under Uthman.
Known for
The single written collection of the Qur'an, gathered under Abu Bakr, was kept in her care
After Umar's death the collection passed to her. Uthman later drew on it when he had standard copies prepared and sent to the main centres, and the sheets were returned to her afterwards. After her own death they came into Marwan's hands, and the reports describe him having them destroyed.
Umar tried to arrange her remarriage, and two Companions he approached did not take it up
He offered her first to Uthman, then to Abu Bakr. Neither answered as Umar expected, and it was the Prophet ﷺ who then said he would marry her himself.
Story
Her story in moments
Short episodes from her life, in order. Read one at a time.
In full
Life & legacy
Before her marriage to the Prophet ﷺ
Hafsah was the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab, of Banu Adi. Her first husband was Khunays ibn Hudhafah as-Sahmi, a Companion who was wounded in battle and died of the wound, leaving her a widow in Madinah.
Umar then set about finding her a husband, which is the subject of the moment below.
The Qur'an in her care
After the Battle of Yamamah, in the early years of Abu Bakr's caliphate, the Qur'an was gathered into a single written collection by Zayd ibn Thabit. That collection passed, after Umar's death, into Hafsah's keeping.
When Uthman had standard copies of the Qur'an prepared and sent to the main centres, it was Hafsah's collection that the work was based on. The sheets were returned to her once the copying was done.
After her death, the sheets passed out of her keeping. The reports describe Marwan, then governor of Madinah, sending for them and having them destroyed.
How the sources describe her
She is remembered in the biographical dictionaries as devoted to fasting and prayer
Connect
People around her
Family
Her father, who sought a husband for her after her widowhood and later became caliph.
- The Prophet Muhammad ﷺSpouse
He married her after two Companions he had first been offered did not take it up. The Qur'an collection kept in her care afterwards is her most significant connection to the household.
Alongside
Umar approached him first about marrying Hafsah; he stayed silent rather than answer, which Umar only understood later.
Umar first proposed Hafsah to him after his wife Ruqayyah had died; he did not accept at the time. Decades later, as caliph, he had standard copies of the Qur'an prepared from the collection kept in her care.
He gathered the Qur'an into a single collection under Abu Bakr; that collection was later kept in Hafsah's care, and he drew on it again when Uthman had standard copies prepared.
Full timeline
- 2–3 AH approximate
Widowed by the death of her first husband, Khunays ibn Hudhafah
- 2–3 AH approximate
Marries the Prophet ﷺ
- Around 23 AH, after Umar's death approximate
The Qur'an collection gathered under Abu Bakr passes into her keeping
Uthman later drew on it to prepare standard copies of the Qur'an, then returned the sheets to her.
- Around 45 AH approximate
Dies
After her death the master sheets passed out of her keeping and were destroyed on the order of Marwan, then governor of Madinah.
Part of
Sources & review
Draft content — undergoing reviewThis content was written for SahabaMate and has not yet been checked by a reviewer against the works below. Treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
Sahih al-Bukhariصحيح البخاري
Hadith collection · Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari
As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyahالسيرة النبوية
Classical biography · Ibn Hisham, from the recension of Ibn Ishaq
Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabirالطبقات الكبرى
Classical biography · Ibn Sa'd
Tarikh ar-Rusul wa'l-Mulukتاريخ الرسل والملوك
Classical history · Muhammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari
Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz as-Sahabahالإصابة في تمييز الصحابة
Classical biography · Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
Siyar A'lam an-Nubalaسير أعلام النبلاء
Classical biography · Shams ad-Din adh-Dhahabi
SahabaMate editorial summary
Editorial summary
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