Umm ʿĪsā bint Mūsā al-Hādī ( ar, أم عيسى بنت موسى الهادي) was the Abbasid princess, daughter of caliph

al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī ( ar, أبو محمد موسى بن المهدي الهادي; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab Al-Hādī (الهادي‎) was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succee ...

, niece of caliph

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

and principal wife of the seventh

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

caliph

al-Ma'mun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...

. Umm Isa was the daughter of Al-Hadi () from one of his concubine. She was born around 783 or 785. She spend her childhood in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. She was a young child when her father died in 786. Her father was succeeded by her uncle

. Her uncle took care of her and her brother after al-Hadi's death. Al-Ma'mun married his first wife Umm Isa, the daughter of his uncle al-Hadi, whom he married when he was eighteen years old. They had two sons, Muhammad al-Asghar, and Abd Allah. This marriage was arranged during Harun al-Rashid's reign. Also, The two sons of al-Hadi, Isma'il and Ja'far married Harun-Rashid's daughters, Hamdunah and Fatimah respectively. Thus, the two daughters of Harun were also cousins and sister-in-laws of Umm Isa. She lived a secluded life in the Caliph's harem, only a few things is known about her. Umm Isa was one or two years older than her husband al-Ma'mun. Her husband was born on the same day when her father died and her uncle ascended to the Caliphate. Her uncle, caliph Harun al-Rashid had nominated his two elder sons

Al-Amin Abu Musa Muhammad ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو موسى محمد بن هارون الرشيد, Abū Mūsā Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd; April 787 – 24/25 September 813), better known by his laqab of Al-Amin ( ar, الأمين, al-Amī ...

and al-Ma'mun as

Heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

. Already in 792, Harun had Muhammad receive the oath of allegiance (''

bay'ah ''Bayʿah'' ( ar, بَيْعَة, "Pledge of allegiance"), in Islamic terminology, is an oath of allegiance to a leader. It is known to have been practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. ''Bayʿah'' is sometimes taken under a written pact ...

'') with the name of ''

al-Amin Abu Musa Muhammad ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو موسى محمد بن هارون الرشيد, Abū Mūsā Muḥammad ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd; April 787 – 24/25 September 813), better known by his laqab of Al-Amin ( ar, الأمين, al-Amī ...

'' ("The Trustworthy"), effectively marking him out as his main heir, while Abd Allah was not named second heir, under the name ''al-Maʾmūn'' ("The Trusted One") until 799. Her husband al-Ma'mun became caliph after the death of her cousin and brother-in-law

. In 813, al-Amin was beheaded, and al-Maʾmūn became the undisputed Caliph.

Family

Umm Isa was related to the

ruling House both maternally and paternally. She was contemporary to several Abbasid caliphs, Abbasid prince and Princesses.

References

Sources

* * * Ibn al-Sāʿī (2017). Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad * {{DEFAULTSORT:Umm Isa bint Musa al-Hadi 8th-century births 9th-century deaths 8th-century women from the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century women from the Abbasid Caliphate Daughters of Abbasid caliphs Wives of Abbasid caliphs 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century Arabs