Hafsa bint Umar رضي الله عنها

Fourth Wife of the Prophet ﷺ — Guardian of the Written Quran

"Take Hafsa back — she fasts and prays and she will be your wife in the Garden."

— Angel Jibreel (AS) to the Prophet ﷺ

🌿 Daughter of Umar, Wife of the Prophet ﷺ

Hafsa (RA) was the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) — one of the Prophet's greatest companions. She had been married to another man but was widowed when she was still very young, only eighteen years old. Her father, Umar (RA), approached both Abu Bakr and Uthman (RA) about marrying her — both declined, knowing that the Prophet ﷺ had expressed interest in her himself.

When Umar (RA) went to the Prophet ﷺ to complain about their behaviour, the Prophet ﷺ smiled and said: "Hafsa will marry one better than Uthman, and Uthman will marry one better than Hafsa." Umar (RA) immediately understood — and was overcome with joy. They were married just after the Battle of Badr.

By this marriage, the Prophet ﷺ strengthened the bond between two of his closest companions — Abu Bakr and Umar — by marrying the daughter of each. Like her father, Hafsa (RA) was strong, direct and fearless in speech. She was not afraid to argue with the Prophet ﷺ, who was content to allow her to express what she thought.

📖 Guardian of the Quran

Hafsa (RA) memorised the entire Quran by heart. When Abu Bakr (RA) ordered the Quran to be compiled into a written copy by Zayd ibn Thabit (RA), that master copy was given to Umar (RA) for safekeeping, and then entrusted to Hafsa (RA) after his death.

When Uthman (RA) became Caliph and instructed that standardised copies of the Quran be made to send across the expanding Muslim world, it was Hafsa's copy that was used as the authoritative reference — meticulously checked against all other written records and the memories of those who had memorised it by heart.

Every Quran in the world today traces back to the copy that was once in Hafsa's keeping. Her role in preserving the word of Allah is one of the greatest contributions any woman has ever made to Islamic history. She died in 47 AH at the age of sixty-three, may Allah be pleased with her.

May Allah be pleased with Hafsa bint Umar — the guardian of the written Quran, whose devotion in fasting and prayer earned her a place as the Prophet's ﷺ wife in Jannah.

رضي الله عنها — May Allah be pleased with her