Answered by: Maulana Mujahid Hussain

Question

I recently came upon a text claiming that the Prophet peace be upon him had twice proposed marriage to his cousin Umm Hani, once before and once after Prophethood. The text also claimed that she herself later proposed to the Prophet peace be upon him, but it was not accepted because she had not emigrated prior to the Conquest of Makkah. The text cited Ibn Saad's Kitab Al-tabaqat Al-kabir Volume 8, and the History of Al Tabari Volume 39.

As I'd never heard of these events in any other biography I'd read before, I thought it will be safer to ask. Are the reports concerning these 3 marriage proposals known to be authentic, uncertain, or false? 

In the name of Allah the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Answer

The narration you may be referencing is also found in Tirmizi, Hakim Bayhaqi, and Tabarani. Here is the narration as mentioned by Tirmizi.

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُوسَى، عَنْ إِسْرَائِيلَ، عَنِ السُّدِّيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أُمِّ هَانِئٍ بِنْتِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ، قَالَتْ خَطَبَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَاعْتَذَرْتُ إِلَيْهِ فَعَذَرَنِي ثُمَّ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ‏:‏ ‏(‏إنَّا أَحْلَلْنَا لَكَ أَزْوَاجَكَ اللاَّتِي آتَيْتَ أُجُورَهُنَّ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ يَمِينُكَ مِمَّا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمِّكَ وَبَنَاتِ عَمَّاتِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالِكَ وَبَنَاتِ خَالاَتِكَ اللاَّتِي هَاجَرْنَ مَعَكَ وَامْرَأَةً مُؤْمِنَةً إِنْ وَهَبَتْ نَفْسَهَا لِلنَّبِيِّ ‏)‏ الآيَةَ قَالَتْ فَلَمْ أَكُنْ أَحِلُّ لَهُ لأَنِّي لَمْ أُهَاجِرْ كُنْتُ مِنَ الطُّلَقَاءِ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ السُّدِّيِّ

Narrated Umm Hani bint Abu Talib:

"The Messenger of Allah proposed to me, but I asked him to excuse me. Then Allah [Most High] revealed: 'Verily we have made lawful to you your wives, to whom you have paid their due, and those whom your right hand possess – whom Allah has given to you, and the daughters of your paternal uncles, and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles, and the daughters of your maternal aunts, who migrated with you, and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet… (33:50)' She said: "So I was not lawful for him because I did not perform Hijrah; I was one of the Tulaqa (those that accepted Islam after the conquest of Makkah).'"[1]

The narration contains a weak narrator called Abu Saalih also known as Baazaam, for this reason, the scholars of hadith have classified it as weak.

Imam Qurtubi in his Tafseer of the Quran under the above mentioned ayah quotes the same hadith and says the following

فيه تسع عشرة مسألة :
الأولى : روى السدي عن أبي صالح عن أم هانئ بنت أبي طالب قالت : خطبني رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فاعتذرت إليه فعذرني ، ثم أنزل الله تعالى : إنا أحللنا لك أزواجك اللاتي آتيت أجورهن وما ملكت يمينك مما أفاء الله عليك وبنات عمك وبنات عماتك وبنات خالك وبنات خالاتك اللاتي هاجرن معك قالت : فلم أكن أحل له ; لأني لم أهاجر ، كنت من الطلقاء . خرجه أبو عيسى وقال : هذا حديث حسن لا نعرفه إلا من هذا الوجه . قال ابن العربي : وهو ضعيف جدا ولم يأت هذا الحديث من طريق صحيح يحتج بها .

Ibnul Arabi said this narration is really weak and it is not narrated in an authentic manner

Haakim and Zahabi were of the opinion that this narration is reliable however this opinion of theirs seems to be incorrect.

Also, the reason why she did not accept the marriage is mention by Tabarani and Tabari. Tabari mentioned the following in his Tareekh Tabari.

ذكر من خطب النبي ص من النساء ثُمَّ لم ينكحهن
منهن أم هانئ بنت أبي طالب، واسمها هند، خطبها رسول الله ص ولم يتزوجها، لأنها ذكرت أنها ذات ولد[2]

“The prophet proposed to Umm Haane however he did not marry her as she excused herself due to her children”

Only Allah Knows best.

Written by Maulana Mujahid Hussain.

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah 

Darul Ifta Birmingham