How many grandchildren did the Prophet (pbuh) have? Did he have any grandchildren from his children other than Hz. Fatima?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Hz. Zaynab, the older daughter of the Prophet (pbuh), married to Abul-As, her maternal aunt’s son, and she had two children called Ali and Umama from him. Ali died at a young age after the conquest of Makkah (8 H/630 AD).

Her daughter Umama married Hz. Ali after the death of Hz. Fatima; when Hz. Ali was martyred, she married Mughira b. Nawfal. She had a son called Yahya from Mughira but her generation did not continue.

Hz. Ruqiyya, the second daughter of the Prophet (pbuh), married Hz. Uthman. She died of measles in the second year of the Migration and her son Abdullah from Hz. Uthman died when he was two years old. Thus, Hz. Ruqiyya’s generation did not continue either.

Umm Kulthum married Hz. Uthman in the third year of the Migration when her older sister Ruqiyya died. When she died in the ninth year of the Migration, she had no children; her generation did not continue either. 

Hz. Fatima, the younger daughter of the Prophet (pbuh), had 5 children: Hasan, Husayn, Umm Kulthum, Zaynab and Muhassin (Muhsin). They were all born from Hz. Ali. Her last child Muhassin died very young. (1) Fatima’s generation continued with her other children. Hz. Fatima’s grandchildren from her daughter Zaynab are known as “Zaynabis”.

Umm Kulthum, the other daughter of Hz. Fatima, married Hz. Umar when he was the caliph. She had two children called Ruqiyya and Zayd from Hz. Umar; their children died very young.

When Hz. Umar was martyred in (23 H/644 AD), Umm Kulthum married Awn b. Jafar, her paternal uncle’s son; she did not have any children from him. When Awn died, she married his brother Muhammad b. Jafar and had one child from him. When Muhammad died, she married his brother Abdullah b. Jafar but she did not have any children from him. (2)

Why is Hz. Fatima’s generation mentioned but the Prophet’s grandchildren from his other daughters are not mentioned?

The Prophet states the following in a hadith:

“There are paternal relatives for the son of every mother to be attributed to. Fatima’s two sons are exceptions because I am their guard and paternal relative.”(3)

Thus, he stated that his generation would continue through two sons of Hz. Fatima.

From this point of view, the grandchildren of the Prophet (pbuh) from his other daughters are attributed to the Messenger of Allah only in the first generation. However, his relation continues with the descendants of Hz. Hasan and Hz. Husayn. The grandchildren of the Prophet from Zaynab and Umm Kulthum are not attributed to the Prophet but to their fathers.

Footnotes:

1. Murat Sarıcık, Hz. Muhammed’in Çağrısı, Nesil Yayınları, İstanbul 2006, p. 55- 56, 202, 206; for resources and detailed information, see İbrahim Sarıçam, Hz. Muhammed ve Evrensel Mesajı, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Yayınları, Ankara, 2004, p. S. 291- 293.
2. For detailed information and resources, Murat Sarıcık, Dört Halife Dönemi, I-II, Nesil Yayınları, İstanbul 2002, I, 331- 336.
3. Hakim an- Nisaburi, al- Mustadrak, I- IV, Beirut, ty. III, 164; for detailed information, see Murat Sarıcık, Osmanlı İmparatorluğunda Nakîbü’l- Eşrâflık Müessesesi, Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara 2003, p. 10.

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