THE CHILDREN OF THE COMMANDER OF THE FAITHFUL
(This is) an account of the children of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be on him, their number and names, and a selection of reports about them. The Commander of the Faithful, peace be on him, had twenty-seven children, male and female:
1. Al-Ḥasan
2. Al-Ḥusayn
3. Zaynab the elder
4. Zaynab the younger, who was given the kunya Umm Kulthūm. Their mother was Fāṭima, the blessed, mistress of the women of the worlds, daughter of the master of those sent by Allāh and the seal of the prophets, the Prophet Muhammad.
5. Muḥammad, who was given the kunya Abū al-Qāsim. His mother was Khawla, daughter of Ja‘far b. Qays al-Ḥanafī.
6. ‘Umar
7. Ruqayya They were twins. Their mother was Umm Ḥabīb, daughter of Rabī‘a.
8. Al-‘Abbās
9. Ja‘far
10. ‘Uthmān
11. ‘Abd Allāh (The last four) were martyrs with their brother al-Ḥusayn on the plain of Karbalā’. Their mother was Umm al-Banin, (she commonly known as Umm al-Banin (“mother of several sons”). daughter of Ḥizām b. Khalid b. Darim.
12. Muḥammad, the younger, who was given the kunya Abu Bakr.
13. ‘Ubayd Allāh Both of these were martyrs with their brother al-Ḥusayn on that plain. Their mother was Layla, daughter of Mas‘ud al-Darimi.
14. Yaḥyā His mother was Asmā ̓, daughter of ‘Umays al-Khath‘amī, may Allāh be pleased with her.
15. Umm al-Ḥasan
16. Ramla The mother of these two was Umm Sa‘īd, daughter of ‘Urwa b. Mas‘ūd al Thaqafī.
17. Nafīsa
18. Zaynab, the youngest
19. Ruqayya, the younger
20. Umm Hānī ̓
21. Umm al-Kirām
22. Jumāna, who was given the kunya Umm Ja‘far.
23. Umāna
24. Umm Salama
25. Maymūna
26. Khadīja
27. Fāṭima These, the blessings of Allāh be on them, had different mothers.
Among the Shī ̔a, there are those who mention that Fāṭima, the blessing of Allāh be on her, after the Prophet had a miscarriage with a son, whom the Prophet, may Allāh bless Him and His Family, had (already) named during her pregnancy as Muḥsin.2
- (2 There were many sources that clearly confirm the presence of Mohsen among the children of Fāṭima and ‘Alī peace be upon them, this is not confined within the limits of Shī‘ite books, Indeed, many of the books of the non-Shī‘a (‘āmma) mention this matter, and they agreed to his existence without comment or hesitation, see: Al-Kafi, 6:18/2; Al-Khisal, 634; Tarikh Ya‘qubi, 2:213; Manaqib by Ibn Schahrashub, 3:358; Tarikh al-Ṭabarī, 5:153; Tarikh by Ibn Athir, 3:397; Ansab al-Ashraf of al-Baladhiri, 2:189; al-Asaba by Ibn Hajar, 3:471; Lisan al-Mizan of al- Dahabi, 268; Mizan al-I‘tidal, 1:139; al-Qamus al-Muhit of Firuzabadi, 2:55, and other various sources)
According to this group there were twenty-eight children of the Commander of the Faithful, the blessing and peace of Allāh be on him. Allāh knows and judges best.