HOUSE OF KULTHUM IBN HIDM
The first house of the Prophet ﷺ in Medina.
The first door that opened
When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Quba, even before Medina, a crucial question arose: where would he sleep that first night? Where would he lay his head after fourteen years of Meccan persecution and a journey of 450 kilometers?
Arab tradition dictates that a traveler is the guest of the clan chief. The chief of Banu 'Amr ibn 'Awf in Quba was Kulthum ibn al-Hidm (رضي الله عنه). It was in his house that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stayed during the first nights.
Who was Kulthum ibn al-Hidm?
He was an old man. Wise. Respected. He had converted to Islam before the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ, during the interactions between the Ansar of Medina and the Messenger of Allah in Mecca.
He had in his property a mirbad (date drying area) adjacent to his house. This very location would later become the site of the Mosque of Quba, the first mosque in Islam.
The nights spent at his home
According to the most reliable sources of the Sīrah: "The Prophet ﷺ stayed with Kulthum ibn al-Hidm for four nights — from Monday to Thursday — before departing for the house of Sa'd ibn Khaythamah." (Ibn Hisham · As-Samhudi)
The cluster of dates Umm Jirdhân
It was in this house that the blessed episode of the dates took place. When the 'Idhq Umm Jirdhân was brought to him, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his hands: "O Allah, bless Umm Jirdhân!" This first date eaten in Medina, and this first blessing pronounced on Medina's soil, occurred in the house of Kulthum.
The authentic hadith
Anas ibn Malik (رضي الله عنه) reports: "The Prophet ﷺ stayed in Quba among the Banu 'Amr ibn 'Awf for fourteen nights, and he established the mosque founded on piety there." (Sahih Muslim n°524)
The swift death of Kulthum
Kulthum ibn al-Hidm died shortly after the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ. He enjoyed only a few weeks in the company of the Messenger of Allah whom he had hosted in his home. But Allah granted him immense grace: he died a Muslim, having hosted the Prophet ﷺ under his roof, on the land where the first mosque of Islam would be built. What higher honor can a man hope for?