whereby he alleged that “ourselves” meant “those equal to him,” contrary to established Arabic usage.
Further evidence of this is that the phrase “our women” does not refer exclusively to Fātima. Rather, any of his daughters whom he summoned would have occupied the same position in this regard. At that time, however, he had no daughter other than Fātima, for Ruqayya, Umm Kulthūm, and Zaynab had all died before then. Likewise, “ourselves” does not refer exclusively to Alī. Rather, this (1) is a plural form, just as “our women” and “our sons” are plural forms.
He summoned al-Hasan and al-Husayn only because, apart from them, there was no one who could be ascribed to him (2) as a son. If Ibrāhīm was alive at that time, he was an infant who would not be summoned. Ibrāhīm was the son of Māriya the Copt, whom [al-Muqawqis] (3), the ruler of Egypt, had presented to him. He also presented the Prophet with the mule, Māriya, and Sīrīn. The Prophet then gave Sīrīn to Hassān ibn Thābit and took Māriya as a concubine. She bore him Ibrāhīm, who lived for between thirteen and nineteen months and then died. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Indeed, he has a wet nurse in Paradise who will complete his suckling.” (4)
(1) N, S, and B read the masculine *hādhā* (“this”).
(2) N and S: “to the two of them,” which is an error.
(3) “To him” is omitted from M; “al-Muqawqis” is omitted from N and S.
(4) S reads *radāahu* (“his suckling”); all other manuscripts read *radāatahu* (“his suckling”). A hadith in approximately this wording is narrated from al-Barā ibn Āzib—may Allah be pleased with him—in *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), 4:283, 297, 304. I also found a similar hadith narrated from Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—in *Sahīh Muslim*, 4:1808 (Book of Virtues, chapter “His Mercy toward Children and Family, His Humility, and the Merit Thereof”). It begins: “I have never seen anyone more merciful to his family than the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” It also states that Amr ibn Saīd—the narrator from Anas—said that when Ibrāhīm died, the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Indeed, Ibrāhīm is my son. He died while still at the breast, and he has two wet nurses who will complete his suckling in Paradise.” “He died while still at the breast” means that he died while still of breastfeeding age. A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds another woman’s child. This hadith is also in *al-Musnad* (al-Halabī ed.), 3:112. Two weak hadiths stating that Ibrāhīm’s suckling will be completed in Paradise are found in *Sunan Ibn Mājah*, 1:484 (Book of Funerals, chapter “Reports Concerning the Funeral Prayer over the Son of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and the Account of His Death”).