Moment 1 of 1
The engagement Abu Lahab ended
Makkah, in the early years of the prophetic mission, after Abu Lahab had turned against it.
MakkahThe early years of the prophetic mission1 min read
Before the mission began, Ruqayyah and her sister Umm Kulthum had each been engaged to one of Abu Lahab's two sons — an ordinary arrangement between two households of the same clan.
Once the message began and the Prophet's ﷺ own family accepted it, the arrangement stopped being ordinary. Abu Lahab, an uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, became one of the fiercest opponents of what his nephew was calling people to, and the Qur'an would later address him directly over it.
Among the ways he expressed that opposition was a domestic one: he ordered his sons to break off their engagements to the Prophet's ﷺ two daughters, before either marriage had gone ahead.
The engagements ended. Ruqayyah later married Uthman ibn Affan instead — a believer, from the same clan that had just tried to humiliate her family by rejecting her.
In this moment: The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Abu Lahab
Quick recall
Why did Ruqayyah's first engagement, to a son of Abu Lahab, come to an end?
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.
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
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