Ruqayya bint Muhammad
(may God be pleased with her)
Ruqayya bint Muhammad was a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and his first wife Khadija, born in Mecca around 601 CE. She was first betrothed to Utba, son of Abu Lahab; the engagement was broken off after the revelation of Surat al-Masad (Tabbat). She then married Uthman ibn Affan, the future third caliph, emigrating with him first to Abyssinia and later to Medina. They had a son, Abdullah, who died in childhood (c. 4 AH). Ruqayya fell ill (reported as measles or fever) and died in Ramadan 2 AH (March 624 CE), aged about 22-23, just as the news of the victory at Badr reached Medina. Because the Prophet was at Badr, Uthman, who had remained in Medina to care for her, led her funeral prayer, and Umm Ayman washed her body. She was buried in the Jannat al-Baqi cemetery. Her burial place is reported unanimously in the classical sources; it is neither disputed nor folkloric. Her grave, like the others in Baqi, is today unmarked.