Hafsah bint Umar: Wives of the Prophet ﷺ

Tribe: Quraysh (Banu Adi)
Married: About 3 AH (c. 625 CE); some say 2 AH
Before this marriage: Widow of Khunays ibn Hudhafah, a Companion who fought at Badr
Children with the Prophet ﷺ: None
Died: About 45 AH (c. 665 CE); reports differ
Buried: Al-Baqi', Madinah

Hafsah bint Umar emigrated to Madinah with her husband Khunays ibn Hudhafah, a Companion who had fought at Badr. When he died she was left a widow, and her father Umar offered her in marriage first to Uthman and then to Abu Bakr, but neither accepted. Abu Bakr later explained that he knew the Prophet ﷺ had mentioned her and he would not disclose the Prophet's secret; had the Prophet left her, he would have accepted. The Prophet ﷺ then proposed, and Umar married her to him (Sahih al-Bukhari 4005).

The Quran speaks of two of the Prophet's wives who supported one another against him (Quran 66:4), and Umar identified them as Hafsah and Aisha (Sahih al-Bukhari 4913). It is also reported that the Prophet ﷺ divorced Hafsah and then took her back (Sunan Abi Dawud 2283), a report scholars cite in discussing the rulings on revocable divorce. The Quran treats such household moments with guidance, not harshness.

Hafsah's lasting contribution concerns the Quran itself. After the pages of the Quran were compiled in the time of Abu Bakr, they were kept by him, then by Umar, and then by Hafsah (Sahih al-Bukhari 4986). When Uthman decided to copy the Quran into standard volumes, he asked her to send the pages, and she did; the copies were made and the pages were returned to her (Sahih al-Bukhari 4987).