Khawla bint Jaʿfar al-Ḥanafiyya (Arabic: خولة بنت جعفر الحنفية), also known as Umm Muḥammad (Arabic: أُمّ مُحَمَّد), was one of the wives of the Muslim caliph and Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib.
Biography
Khawla was known as al-Hanafiyya after her tribe Banu Hanifa. After Abu Bakr became caliph, the people of Yamama refused to pay Zakat (religious tax), forming a strong army and following a self-proclaimed prophet from their tribe called Musaylima. They fought against the Muslims until they were defeated by the Muslim general Khalid ibn al-Walid. Consequently, some of those who fought (or helped) against Muslims from Banu Hanifa were enslaved. Then Ali ransomed Khawla and set her free and, after the death of his wife Fatima, married her, after which she became pregnant and gave birth to Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya.
