Umm Kulthum was born in the village of Tamay e-Zahayra, Dakahlia Governorate, in the Nile Delta to a religious family; her father, Ibrahim El-Sayyid El-Beltagi, was an imam from the Egyptian countryside, and her mother, Fatmah El-Maleegi, was a housewife.
She learned to sing by watching her father teach her older brother, Khalid. She had exceptional singing talent from a young age. She learned to recite the Qur’an from her father, and she reportedly memorized the entire book.
Her grandfather was a well-known Quran reader, and she remembered how the villagers would listen to him when he recited the Quran. After noticing her strength in singing, her father asked her to join the family ensemble when she was 12 years old. She joined as a supporting voice, at first just repeating what the others sang. She wore a boy’s cloak and a bedouin head covering on stage to assuage her father’s concerns about her reputation and public performance.
At the age of 16, she was noticed by Mohamed Abo Al-Ela, a modestly famous singer who taught her the old classical Arabic repertoire. A few years later, she met the famous composer and oudist Zakariyya Ahmad, who took her to Cairo.
Umm Kulthum’s wife and children
She was legally married to Utaybah ibn Abi Lahab before August 610, but the marriage was never consummated.
Umm Kulthum had no children from her three subsequent marriages.
Umm Kulthum’s parents and siblings
Umm Kulthum was born in the village of Tamay e-Zahayra, Dakahlia Governorate, in the Nile Delta, to a religious family: her father, Ibrahim El-Sayyid El-Beltagi, was an imam from the Egyptian countryside, and her mother, Fatmah El-Maleegi, was a housewife.
Listening to her father teach her older brother, Khalid, taught her how to sing. She demonstrated exceptional singing talent at a young age. She learned to recite the Qur’an from her father and is said to have memorized the entire book.
