Question:
According to shite beliefs Prophet S.A.W had only one daughter Bibi Fatima The others(Bibi Rookaya, Kulsum and Zainab} were Bibi Khadija’s sisters Hala , and they were fostered by Nabi S.A.W Is this true?
Answer:
This is a spurious claim. Ibn Babuyah in al-Khisal, al-Shaykh al-Mufid in al-Masa’il al-`Ukbariyya, al-Majlisi in Bihar al-Anwar, al-Fadl al-Tabarsi in I`lam al-Wara, al-Kuleni in al-Kafi, al-Tabataba’i in Tafsir al-Mizan, Ibn Abi al-Hadid in Sharh Nahj al-Balagha, and other main authorities of the Shi`is all assert that Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Zaynab were all the daughters of Khadija from the Prophet (upon him and his House blessings and peace), as do Ahl al-Sunnah. The Prophet would even say of Zaynab: “She is the best of my daughters, she was targeted because of me” (Zaynab khayru/afdalu banati, usibat fiyya), as narrated by al-Tahawi in Mushkil al-Aathaar, al-Tabarani in al-Awsat, Ibn Abi `Asim in al-Aahaad wal-Mathani, al-Hakim, al-Bayhaqi and others with a good chain according to Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
