Class 6 – Special mentions by the Prophet ﷺ
Class 6
Special mentions by the Prophet ﷺ
ASMA BINT UMAYS
The people have the reward of one Hijrah but you have the reward of two Hijrahs
She was from the first emigrants. It is said that she accepted Islam before Allah’s Messenger began sitting at the House of Al Arqarn. Her husband, Ja’far emigrated with her to Al-Habasha and she bore for him ‘Abdullah, Muhammad and Aun.
Asma’ was among the first Muslims. She embraced Islam very early along with her husband Ja’far. They were newly-wed when they set out for Abyssinia as emigrants in the way of Allah.
Islam had overwhehned their lives. Instead of staying in Makkah and enjoying their first days of marriage, they had their honeymoon in the path of Allah and struggle and in the path of perseverance. This, according to a sincere believer who really loves Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, is most pleasant experience and the greatest in reward.
When she migrated with him to Madinah in the 7th year, he was martyred at the Battle of Mu’tah. Abu Bakr married her and she bore for him Muhammad. Then As-Siddiq died and she washed him*. Then ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, Allah be pleased with him, married her.
* Shaykh Al-Albanee said: “The spouses: it is permissible for each one of them to undertake the funeral bath of the other since there is no proof prohibiting that and the foundation is permissibility especially when it corroborated by hadith ‘A’ishah narrated: ‘If I had known beforehand about my affair what I found out later, none would have washed him except his wives.”‘ (Reported by Ibn Majah)
Ash-Sha’bi narrated: (When) Asma arrived from Abyssinia, ‘Umar said to her, “0 Abyssinian, we have done hijrah before you!” She said, “By my life, you spoke the truth. You were with the Messenger of Allah who was feeding your hungry ones and teaching your ignorant ones while we were far away and banished. By Allah, I will go to the Prophet and mention that to him.” So she came to him, and he said: “The people have one hijrah and you have two hijrahs.“
The Prophet’s statement to Asma’ was not to soothe her nerves or to console her. It was rather an explanation of the reality, a clarification concerning an ambiguous matter and a way of preventing crisis.
For, those who left Makkah for Abyssinian running away with their religion did really migrate. Allah (S.W.T.) says: “ … Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to emigrate therein? … “ (Qur’an 4: 97)
Indeed, the concept of migration to Abyssinian was popular in such a way that accepts no other interpretation. And those who emigrated there also moved from there to Madeenah as emigrants. It is not only that, when they arrived at Madeenah and before they could settle down- and in spite of their being exhausted by the long journey through the land and the sea and through nights and days – they learnt that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was on a battle in Khaybar and they proceeded there. They continuously endured the pain and hardship, yearning to meet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. They arrived there when the battle had already ended and Khaybar had been conquered. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said, “I do not know for which I should be happier: the conquest of Khaybar or the arrival of Ja’far?“
Obedience to Husband After His Death
Sa’ d bin Ibrahim, the judge of Madinah, said: “Abu Bakr willed that his body be washed by Asma.”
Qatadah also said : “Bint Umays, his wife, washed him.”
She never wanted to disobey his orders even after his death. This is how fidelity and obedience ought to be.
Adh-Dhahabi said: “She survived ‘Ali, Allah be pleased with her. It is mentioned that she died in the year 60th of hijrahl.”
UMM SHARIK
She was Given a Drink from the Heavens
She was Ghuzayyah bint Jabir bin Hakim Ad-Dawsiyyah. Preponderant reports say that she is the one who offered herself in marriage to the Prophet but he did not accept her, so she did not marry until she died.
Ibn Abbas R.A. said: “Islam made inroads into the heart of Umm Sharik and she accepted it while she was in Makkah. She used to be under Abi Al-Askar· Ad-Dawsi.
Thereafter she used to surreptitiously go to the women of Quraish inviting them and encouraging them to accept Islam until her actions became exposed to the people of Makkah and they arrested her. They said: “Were it not for your people, we would have done such and such with you. However, we are going to turn you over to them.”
She narrated: “They put me on a saddle-less camel and left me for three days with neither food nor drink. Whenever we alighted, they would tie me in the sun while they would seek shade from the heat of the sun. They prevented me from food and drink.
“While they alighted at a stopover, they fettered me under the sun, as usual then I felt something cold on my chest, so I reached for it and it was a bucket of water. I drank a little from it and it was taken away from me and raised. Then it came back and I reached for it and drank from it. Again it was raised and then it came back and I reached for it and It was raised repeatedly like that. Then it was left and I drank from it until I was filled and I poured the remainder on my body and clothes.
“When my captors awoke from sleep, they saw traces of water and found me in good condition. They said: ‘You freed yourself and took our water container and drank from it?’ I said to them: ‘No by Allah, rather, it occurred owing to such and such.’ They said: ‘If indeed you are truthful, then your religion is better than ours.’ When they checked their water container, they found it as they left it consequently, they accepted Islam.”
UMM WARAQAH BINT AT HARITH
Let’s Go and Visit a Martyr
She was the noble female Companion: Umm Waraqah bint ‘Abdullah bin Al-Harith Al-Ansariyyah. She accepted Islam and pledged allegiance to Allah’s Messenger.
Ibn Al-Jawzi said: “We were informed by Ibn AI-Husayn with a chain from Umm Waraqah bint ‘Abdullah bin Al-Harith Al-Ansariyyah and she had memorized the entire Qur’an. The Prophet had ordered her to lead her household in prayers and she had a Mu’adhdhin (a caller to prayer) and she used to lead her household (in prayers).”
It is also reported from him from his grandmother from her mother Umm Waraqah bint ‘Abdullah bin Harith Al Ansariyyah: Allah’s Messenger ﷺ used to visit her and called her a martyr and she had memorized the entire Qur’an.
When the Messenger of Allah called upon the Muslims to go to Badr to intercept a caravan of Quraysh led by Abu Sufiyan, Sakhr ibn Harb, on its way back from Syria and that was carrying commercial commodities, that Allah might transfer it to them, especially the emigrants from whom the Quraysh seized their houses, properties and monies, Umm Waraqah wanted to go out with the Prophet ﷺ She explained her wish and her intention.
She came to him and said: “0′ Messenger of Allah, allow me to go out with you so that I could nurse the sick ones among your Companions, and perhaps, Allah will bless me with martyrdom.”
The Messenger of Allah replied her, “Stay in your house, Allah will bless you with martyrdom.”
From that day onward, she was called ‘the martyr’.
Umm Waraqah attained success in this world and got a lot of wealth, fame, noble lineage, high status and all that the seeker of this world would want to have. But she never strived for the beauty of this world though she saw it rising and falling in people’s hands. She saw that the materials of this world would end and what is with Allah would remain.
Umm Waraqah stayed in her house and devoted her time to her scripts in which Soorahs of the Qur’an were written, reciting their verses with humbleness and piety. With the passing of each day, she increases in her closeness to Allah and in her piety.
AI-KHANSA’ TAMADUR BINT ‘AMR IBN SHAREED
May Allah be pleased with her!
“Hey! Khanás!”
That was how the Prophet ﷺ hailed Khansa’ and encouraged her to recite more poems!
This word ‘hey’ indicates an encouragement to give more, while the word Khaniis which is a shortening of her name Khansii ‘ indicates the Prophet’s desire to hear more from her. This is exactly similar to how the Prophet ﷺ fondly addressed ‘A’ishah when he would call her ‘A ‘ish.
The Messenger of Allah did not use to compose poetry but as an Arab he naturally loved refined and truthful poetry that is far from exaggeration and triviality in words and meanings.
AI-Khansa’ belonged to the tribe of Banu Sulaym. She was extremely beautiful, well-mannered and very eloquent. She started reciting poems very early in her life. Initially, she did not use to say more than two or three lines of poetry but it was her sorrow over the death of her brother Sakhr that brought out her innate talent to recite long poetry. So she recited long, emotional and extremely stylish poems to eulogize him and her other brother, Mu’awiyah.
It is a consensus of the scholars of poetry that no woman ever attained the status of al-Khansa’ in poetry; neither before her nor after her.
In her eulogy for her brother she said what means: “0′ my eyes, shed tears generously! Will you not weep for Sakhr, the generous?!
Will you not shed tears for the audacious, tall and handsome young man who possessed, qualities of leadership and lead his people?!” AI-Khansa’ came to Madeenah along with a delegation from Banu Sulaym. She embraced Islam and became a good Muslimah. She pledged her allegiance and she remained truthful to it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard her poem and asked her to recite more, as it has been mentioned earlier. He loved her poem and addressed her warmly.
That was the first manifestation of her being around the Messenger. AI-Khansa’ was of the noblest plants in terms of origin, growth and fruits. Her nobility in these aspects reached its peak on the day of the Battle of Qadisiyah.
0′ mothers of today! 0′ Muslim ladies! This is a great model for you. Perhaps, this will make you go back to the reality of your roles in life and your responsibility in building the true Muslim family and Ummah.
Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr reported in his book al-lstee’ab: “AI-Khansa’ bint ‘Amr witnessed the battle of Qadisiyah with her four sons. She addressed them on the eve of the battle and said, ‘My sons! You embraced Islam and migrated willingly. By Allah besides Whom there is no other deity worthy of being worshipped, you are all sons of one man as you are sons of one woman. I have never cheated on your father. Never have I brought disgrace upon your uncle, disparaged your esteem or altered your lineage. You know the great and abundance reward that Allah has set aside for the Muslims who fight against the enemies. Know that the everlasting abode is better than this transient one. Allah ﷺ says:
“ O you who believe! Endure and be more patient [than your enemy], and guard your territory by stationing army units permanently at the places from where the enemy can attack you, and fear Allah, so that you may be successful.” (Qur ‘an 3: 200)
When you wake up tomorrow morning sound and healthy by Allah’s leave, go and fight against your enemy with sure understanding and seek Allah’s help over His enemies. When you see that the war has become tense, engage yourselves in the fight gallantly and resiliently that you may attain treasures and honour in the Abode of Eternity.’ “
After this statement of al-Khansa’, I or any other creature, for that matter, has nothing better to say! Her statement is beyond any comments as it is amply comprehensive.
The narrator proceeds: “So her sons left having accepted her admonition and determined to implement her words. When the morning came, they set out on to the battlefield early and they all fought gallantly and courageously until they were martyred one after another.
And the news of their martyrdom came to al-Khansa’! But what did she say?
Here is where the greatness of this woman manifested most. When she heard this news, she remembered nothing but elevation to the peak of glory and the greatness of Islam and Eeman. She R.A. said, ‘All praise is due to Allah Who honoured me with their martyrdom. And I hope that my Lord will make me join them in the Abode of His Mercy!'”
It is noteworthy to add that the commander of the faithful, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab used to give al-Khansa’ the entitlement of her four martyred sons, two hundred dirhams annually, in the name of each of them, until she died.
May Allah have mercy on al-Khansa’, the poetess! May Allah be pleased with this believing and patient lady!