Most Read in the Category of The Wives of the Prophet
1-)
Safiyya bint Huyay (r.anha)
Safiyya bint Huyayy (whose real name was Zaynab) was among the captives when Khaybar was conquered. She was the daughter of Huyay bin Ahtab, the chief of Banu Nadr. She came from the lineage of Hz. Harun (Aaron). She was married to Kinana, son of Rabi bin Huqayq, one of the leaders of Khaybar Jews. Her husband was killed during the Battle of Khaybar.
While the mujahids were returning to Madinah, the Prophet asked Hz. Bilal to bring Safiyya to her. When she arrived, the Prophet told her about Islam and made her the following offer: "If you become a Muslim, I will marry you. If you choose to remain a Jew, I will free you and you can join your tribe."
Hz. Safiyya saw in her dream that she would be a wife of the Prophet. She was expecting such a proposal. She made her mind without hesitation and said,
“O Messenger of Allah! Before you called me to Islam, I wanted to be a Muslim when the army settled and approved your prophethood. I have no relation with Jews now and I do not need them. I have neither my father nor my brother in Khaybar from now on. You ask me to choose between unbelief and Islam. Allah and the Messenger of Allah are much better for me than being freed and going back to my nation.”
The Prophet became very happy when he heard what she said and freed her. Then, he married her.
Hz. Safiyya had a small scar on her face. The Prophet saw it and asked her, “What is this?” Hz. Safiyya answered:
“When I married Kinana, I saw a dream on the first night. In my dream, the moon came from Madinah and fell onto my lap. When I informed Kinana about my dream, he got very angry and said, ‘You want to marry Muhammad, the king of Hejaz.’ Then, he slapped me. This scar is the trace of that blow.”[1]
Hz. Safiyya was a contented woman. When she arrived in Madinah, she gave her jewels to Hz. Fatima and the wives of the Prophet as gifts.”[2]
Hz. Safiyya loved the Prophet very much and did not want to leave him. Once, she went to visit the Prophet when he was in the mosque for i'tikaf. After staying there for an hour, she wanted to return home. The Messenger of Allah stood up to see her off. When they arrived at the door of the mosque in front of the room of Umm Salama, they met two Companions from Ansar. They greeted the Prophet and tried to leave hurriedly. The Prophet knew that they would not think of bad things about him. However, thinking about the possibility of Satan's giving them delusions, he shouted to them: “Stop! Do not hurry. The woman with me is Safiyya bint Huyay.”
The Companions said, “Subhanallah, (How dare we think of any evil?)" They felt offended because the Prophet told them who the woman with him was, thinking that they might think of bad things about him. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah warned them and his ummah as follows:
"Satan reaches everywhere in the human body as blood reaches in it. I was afraid lest Satan should insert an evil thought in your minds."[3]
Hz. Safiyya could not stand it when the Prophet became ill and had pains. She wanted to suffer instead of him. When the Prophet became very ill, all of his wives gathered around him. Safiyya stated the following sincerely and in tears:
“O Messenger of Allah! I wish I was suffering instead of you now.”[4]
Hz. Safiyya died in the 52nd year of the Migration when Hz. Muawiya was the caliph.
May Allah be pleased with her!
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The real name of Umm Habiba, who was Abu Sufyan's daughter, was “Ramla”. She was Hz. Muawiya's sister. Her mother was Safiyye bint As, who was Hz. Uthman’s aunt.
Hz. Umm Habiba was one of the first Muslims. Her husband was Ubaydullah bin Jahsh, who also became a Muslim. However, her parents had not become Muslims yet. Besides her father, Abu Sufyan, was one of the leaders of the polytheists. Therefore, Hz. Umm Habiba suffered unbearable tortures but she did not give up her belief. When the tortures became too severe, she migrated to Abyssinia with her husband.
The Abyssinian king, the Negus welcomed the immigrants. He gave them whatever they needed. Meanwhile, Umm Habiba gave birth to a girl there. They called her Habiba. After that, Ramla was given the name “Umm Habiba”.
After a short while, Umm Habiba saw in her dream that her husband's face had become black. After that, she spoke as follows:
“I said to myself, 'I swear by Allah that he will change.' In the morning, my husband said to me, ‘O Umm Habiba! I had studied the religions and found Christianity as the best religion before. However, I became a Muslim somehow. Now, I have become a Christian again.' I said to him, ‘By Allah, there is no good in you.' Then, I told him about the dream I had.
After changing his religion, Umm Habiba’s husband forced his wife to become a Christian too. He told her that they would be rich. However, Umm Habiba did not accept his vows and offers. She had left her father, mother, hometown and relatives for the sake of Islam. She was ready to leave her husband too. She left her husband without any hesitation. She was alone with her daughter in a place so many kilometers away from her hometown now. She had very difficult days.
The Prophet heard that Umm Habiba’s husband exited Islam and that Umm Habiba left her husband. He wanted to reward Hz. Umm Habiba, who underwent so much trouble for the sake of her religion. After she completed her iddah (waiting period), the Prophet sent an envoy to the Abyssinian king, the Negus. The Prophet wrote two letters addressing the Negus. In the first letter, the Prophet called the Negus to accept Islam. In the second letter, he asked the Negus to marry Umm Habiba off to the Prophet. He also asked the Negus to send the immigrants to Madinah.
Amr bin Umayya, who was sent as an envoy by the Prophet, left Madinah and arrived in Abyssinia after a tiring journey. The Negus accepted him to his presence. He read the letters sent by the Prophet respectfully. The light of guidance began to shine on his face. He had already learned about Islam from the Muslims that had migrated to his country, especially from Jafar bin Abi Talib, who was Hz. Ali's brother. Then, he uttered kalima ash-shahadah and became a Muslim.
After fulfilling the first request of the Prophet, the Negus took action in order to fulfill his other request. He sent a maid to Umm Habiba to give her the good news. Hz. Umm Habiba became very happy when she heard that the Prophet wanted to marry her. She forgot all of her problems and misfortunes. She gave the two silver bracelets around her wrists and the anklets around her ankles to the maid in return for this good news.
In the evening, the Negus invited all of the Muslims in his country to his palace. After chatting for a while, he addressed them as follows:
“Praise be to Allah! He is the sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might and the Irresistible. I witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), gave the glad tiding that he would come.”
After that, the Negus gave Umm Habiba 400 gold coins as mahr on behalf of the Prophet.
After the Negus, Khalid bin Said, the deputy of Umm Habiba, made a speech and said that he married Umm Habiba off to the Prophet.
After that, the Negus gave dinner to the guests. He also had a dowry prepared for Umm Habiba. He completed the preparations for the journey of the immigrants. He sent them to Madinah by ships. [1]
The immigrants arrived in the port called Jar, which is about a day and a night far away from Madinah. They, they got off the ships and went to Madinah on camels. The people of Madinah became very happy when they saw that the immigrants who had gone to Abyssinia in order to get rid of the tortures of the polytheists returned. The Prophet allocated a room to Umm Habiba.
Umm Habiba fulfilled the requests of the Messenger of Allah immediately. Her love toward the Prophet was too great to describe. The following incident between her and her father is a good example to show it:
The polytheists violated one item of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah unilaterally. However, they did not dare to fight Muslims. Therefore, they wanted to renew the treaty. The polytheists of Makkah appointed Abu Sufyan, one of the leaders of Makkah, for it. Abu Sufyan was Umm Habiba’s father, that is, the father-in-law of the Prophet.
Abu Sufyan set off for Madinah at once. He planned to stay in her daughter's house when he arrived in Madinah and to ask her to help him for the renewal of the treaty. He arrived in Madinah after a tiring journey. He went to the house of the Prophet and knocked on the door of Hz. Umm Habiba. She allowed him to enter her room unwillingly. She did not show her a place to sit. Abu Sufyan was tired and wanted to sit on the mattress on the ground. However, Umm Habiba did not let him sit on it because it belonged to the Prophet. She would not allow a polytheist to sit on it even if he was her father. Abu Sufyan did not understand it why she did not allow him to sit on the mattress and asked her,
"My daughter! I could not understand it. Are you sparing me from the mattress or the mattress from me?”
Umm Habiba said, “This is the mattress of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). You are a polytheist. I will not let anyone like you sit on the mattress of the Messenger of Allah.”
When Abu Sufyan received this unexpected response, he got very angry and said,
“O my daughter! By Allah, you have changed a lot after you left me; you have evil deeds.”
It was impossible for a non-Muslim to understand the greatness of the love of the Companions toward the Prophet.
Umm Habiba answered him as follows:
“No! Allah gave me Islam, not evil deeds. However, you are still worshipping idols made of stones; they cannot hear or see.” Then, she added, “O my father! How come a notable of the Quraysh like you stays away from Islam?”
Abu Sufyan got angrier when she called him to Islam. He said,
“Woe on you! I did not expect to hear those words from you. You want me to abandon what my ancestors had been worshipping and enter the religion of Muhammad; is that right?” Then, he left Umm Habiba's room furiously. [2] (Abu Sufyan became a Muslim during the conquest of Makkah. He always regretted being so late.)
Umm Habiba, who loved the Prophet a lot and who always fulfilled his requests during the three years that he lived with the Prophet, reported some hadiths from the Prophet. One of them is as follows:
“If I did not fear that it would be difficult for my ummah, I would order them to clean their teeth with miswak.” [3]
When Hz. Umm Habiba, who died in the 44th year of the Migration when her brother Muawiya was the caliph, became very ill, she called Hz. Aisha and Umm Salama and asked for their blessings and said, “It is normal to have had some problems among us. If something happened between me and you, I ask Allah to forgive you and not to call you to account because of me.” They said, “We ask Allah not to call you to account because of us.” When she heard this, she became happy. [4]
May Allah be pleased with them!
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The virtues and merits of Hz. Aisha, who was the blessed wife of the Prophet, the mother of the believers and the daughter of Hz. Abu Bakr, who was the most loyal Companion of the Prophet, are too many to be counted.
Hz. Aisha, who was unique in terms of knowledge, ethics and taqwa, was an exceptional person who was outstanding in terms of issues like fiqh, hadith and interpretation of the Quran.
Hz. Aisha was born four years after the sun of prophethood started to illuminate the horizons of Makkah. Her father, Hz. Abu Bakr was a noble and clean man who did not worship idols unlike the majority of Makkans. He was engaged in trade. He was quite well off and he was one of the notables of Makkah. He was one of the followers of Hz. Ibrahim's religion of Hanif, the last remnants of the religion of tawhid. Her mother, Umm Ruman was one of the first believers in the Prophet.
Hz Aisha was born in such a noble and clean family, in a home illuminated by the light of oneness. Her childhood passed in a period when the struggle between the Muslims and the polytheists was the most severe.
Despite all kinds of cruelty and oppression of the polytheists, the light of the prophethood started to shine. About 10 years passed after the struggle between belief and unbelief. Hz. Aisha was a young lady. She was cute, intelligent and beautiful. She was educated and brought up by a great Companion, Hz. Abu Bakr. Both the education given by such a father and the intelligence and talents Allah gave her showed that she was a candidate for a great duty.
The 10th year was the "Year of Sorrow" for the Prophet. For, he lost two great people, whom he loved a lot and who helped and protected him at hard times. One of them was his uncle Abu Talib and the other was his wife Hz. Khadijah.
It was impossible for him not feel sorry. Abu Talib was one of the most influential people of Quraysh. He protected his nephew and prevented the polytheists from harassing him more. Hz. Khadijah was old but she set an example of unique fidelity and gratitude by showing great loyalty, obedience and devotion to him. At those hard times when everybody denied the Messenger of Allah and kept away from him, she became the first one to believe in him; she showed compassion to him and protected him. She consoled him when he was in trouble and shared his sorrow and happiness.
In this year of sorrow, in which Hz. Khadijah died, Jibril arrived and consoled the Messenger of Allah. He showed the Prophet the image of Hz. Aisha and said, “O Messenger of Allah! This lady will be your wife instead of Khadijah, eliminating your sorrow and loneliness.”[1]
The Messenger of Allah often went to the house of Hz. Abu Bakr and consulted him about the expansion of Islam. When he was there once, he said to Umm Ruman, Abu Bakr's wife, “I advise you to take care of Aisha and treat her well.” Knowing that there is definitely some wisdom behind each word of the Messenger of Allah, her mother and father started to take care of her more.
Once, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) went to Hz. Abu Bakr’s house. He saw little Aisha crying; she was very sad. This crying affected the Messenger of Allah. He asked her why she was crying. She said she was crying because of her mother. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah said to Umm Ruman, “Did I not tell you to treat Aisha well?” Umm Ruman felt embarrassed and promised that she would not treat Aisha badly again.
After this incident, Hawla, Uthman bin Maz’un’s wife, went to the Prophet and offered him to marry Aisha. The Prophet lived alone at that time. He accepted her offer and asked her to be his deputy.
Hawla went to Hz. Abu Bakr’s home happily. Umm Ruman opened the door. Hawla gave her the good news. Umm Ruman became happy but she could not say anything because Hz. Abu Bakr was not at home.
After a while, Abu Bakr arrived. He felt very happy and excited when he heard it. However, he had a concern: He became brothers with the Messenger of Allah. According to the Arab customs, a person could not marry the daughter of a person with whom he became brothers. Would Aisha be permissible for the Prophet? He asked Hawla to find out about it.
Hawla told the Messenger of Allah about the concern of Hz. Abu Bakr. The Prophet had been appointed by Allah to eliminate the wrong customs and replace them with true ones. He said to Hawla,
“Go to Abu Bakr and tell him that my brotherhood with him is not biological brotherhood but Islamic brotherhood. Therefore, there is no drawback to my marriage with his daughter.”[2]
Hawla conveyed this answer to Hz. Abu Bakr at once. Thus, the concern of Hz. Abu Bakr was eliminated. Then, the Prophet got engaged with Hz. Aisha. They remained engaged for three years.
The migration from Makkah to Madinah was very sorrowful. The believers who had to leave their hometown started to migrate alone or with their families. As it is known, Hz. Abu Bakr migrated together with the Prophet but his family remained in Madinah. Afterwards, Hz. Abu Bakr’s son, Abdullah set off for Madinah with her mother and two sisters. On the way, the camel that Hz. Aisha was on started to run very fast toward the desert and disappeared. It nearly made little Aisha fall off. Her mother felt very sad and was afraid that something bad would happen to her. However, the camel calmed down a bit later and returned to the caravan.
Hz. Aisha settled in the district of Banu Khazraj in Madinah with her mother and sister and stayed there for eight months.
Most of the muhajirs became ill in Madinah since they were not accustomed to the weather and water of Madinah. Hz. Abu Bakr and his daughter Aisha became ill, too.
When they recovered and life returned to normal, Hz. Abu Bakr asked the Messenger of Allah why he did not take Hz. Aisha. The Messenger of Allah said he did not have the mahr to give her. Thereupon, Hz. Abu Bakr said he was ready to lend him the amount of mahr. The Prophet accepted it. He married Hz. Aisha and took her to his house.
Hz. Aisha’s weeding took place in the month of Shawwal. Up to that time, the Arabs did not have weddings in the month of Shawwal. For, there was a plague epidemic in the month of Shawwal in the past, which made them regard it as unlucky. With the marriage of Hz. Aisha, this wrong belief was also eliminated.
Hz. Aisha advised people to marry in the month of Shawwal. She showed her marriage as an example and said that she was the most beautiful, fortunate and luckiest woman.
One of the superstitions that was eliminated thanks to this wedding was taking the bride by making a fire in front of her.
With this marriage, the Prophet got closer to Hz. Abu Bakr, who was the first male Muslim and a loyal Companion.
The greatest wisdom behind this marriage of the Prophet is the service of Hz. Aisha to Islam with the knowledge and virtues she obtained in the nine-year period in which she was married to the Prophet. It was possible for the Companions to see and know the apparent religious decrees but the decrees about the family life in Islam were not like that. An intelligent and shrew woman like her was necessary to inform the ummah about them.[3]
A person who was a candidate for such a duty had to be under the control of the Messenger of Allah beginning from a very early age. For, a person can be brought up for a certain purpose only by directing his talents toward that purpose.
As a matter of fact, while Hz. Aisha was fulfilling this duty as a woman, Anas bin Malik was educated similarly by the Messenger of Allah beginning from a very early age as a man; he conveyed many hadiths to the ummah.
Hz. Aisha, who spent her youth, the most effective era of her life, with the Messenger of Allah, learned a lot of things from him.
Hz. Aisha had a different place in the eye of the Prophet. The Messenger of Allah loved her very much and expressed this frequently. Once, the Messenger of Allah was asked, “Who is the most beloved person to you?” The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Aisha.” They asked, “Among men?” He said, “Her father.”[4]
Hz. Aisha herself stated that she was more virtuous than the other wives of the Prophet as a means of gratitude: “Nobody got married to the Prophet at a very young age like me. No wives of the Prophet had muhajir parents. My decree was sent down from the sky by Allah. Jibril showed the Prophet my image in Harira and said to him, ‘Marry her because she is your wife.’ We had a bath from the same receptacle with the Messenger of Allah. He did not do it with the others. When the Prophet performed a prayer, I would perform next to him. The other wives could not stand like that. Jibril came to him when he was with me but not when he was with his other wives. Allah removed his spirit when his head was resting on my bosom. He died in my room and he was buried in my room.”[5]
As Hz. Aisha mentioned, she had the honor of seeing Jibril. Hz. Aisha narrates this incident as follows:
Once, I saw Jibril from my room. He was on a horse. The Messenger of Allah was calling out to him. When the Messenger of Allah entered the house, I asked him, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Who were you calling?’ He asked,
“Did you see him?” I said,
“Yes, I did.”
“Who did you liken him to?”
“Dihyatul-Kalbi.”
“You definitely saw something good. H e was Jibril.”
After a while, he said, “O Aisha! Jibril sends his greetings to you." I replied to his greeting. [6]
Hz. Aisha had a sensitive temperament. She sometimes got angry and furious. When she was angry, it would be clear from the way she addressed the Prophet. Once, the Messenger of Allah said to her, “O Aisha! I know when you are angry and when you are pleased. Hz. Aisha said, “O Messenger of Allah! How do you know?” The Prophet said, “When you are pleased, you swear by saying, ‘By the Lord of Muhammad’. When you are angry, you swear by saying, ‘By the Lord of Ibrahim’.” Hz. Aisha answered as follows, rejoicing the Prophet and expressing her respect to him:
“O Messenger of Allah! Yes, you are right. When I am angry, I do not utter your name but your love is always in my heart.”[7]
The Messenger of Allah always treated her well. He always fulfilled her wishes. He even raced with her. Once, Hz. Aisha won the race. In the second race, Hz. Aisha lost because she got a bit fat. The Messenger of Allah said, “We got even now.”[8]
The Messenger of Allah returned from the expeditions of Tabuk and Khaybar. There was a cloth at the front part of his house. The wind had blown and removed the cloth. Hz. Aisha's toys from her childhood appeared behind the cloth. The Messenger of Allah asked Hz. Aisha,
“O Aisha! What are they?”
“My daughters.”
There were also two horses with wings among the toys. The Messenger of Allah asked,
“What is that?”
“It is a horse.”
“What is on it?”
“Its wings.”
“Can a horse have wings?”
“Did you not hear? Hz. Sulayman had horses with wings.”
Upon this answer, the Messenger of Allah grinned.[9] This was an answer that indicated the intelligence and culture of Hz. Aisha.
Hz. Aisha became distinguished with her knowledge and intelligence. She became the person whom the Companions applied after the death of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh).
Hz. Aisha answered the questions the Muslims asked her about hadith, fiqh and other religious issues. While mentioning her level about hadith, Abu Musa al-Ash’ari stated the following: “Whenever we, the Companions of the (pbuh), had a dispute over a hadith, we would ask Hz. Aisha and see that she definitely knew about that hadith.”
She gave decrees on her own about some religious issues, becoming one of the fiqh scholars among the Companions.
Hz. Aisha’s main service to the religion of Islam was related to the issues private questions and some issues that were very difficult for the ummah to learn. First, she felt ashamed when private issues were asked in the presence of the Messenger of Allah. However, she realized in the course of time that there was no need to feel ashamed about conveying the decrees of the religion.
Once Umm Sulaym went to the Prophet and asked the following question:
"O Messenger of Allah! Is ghusl necessary for a woman when she has a sexual dream?
Hz. Aisha was also there. She said to Umm Sulaym, "You humiliated the women."Upon this the Messenger of Allah said to Hz. Aisha , "No. You humiliated the women." Then, he said to Umm Sulaym, "Yes, she needs to make ghusl." When Umm Sulaym later narrated this incident, she said she felt ashamed. [10]
Masruq, one of the Tabiun scholars who reported hadiths from Hz. Aisha, went to her once and greeted her. Then, he said, “I want to ask you something but I feel ashamed.” Thereupon, Hz. Aisha said, “I am your mother and you are my son.” Thereupon, Masruq asked, “What parts of a woman are halal for her husband when she is menstruating. Hz. Aisha said, “All kinds of kissing and playing except sexual intercourse.”
Hz. Aisha, who was educated by the Messenger of Allah himself, was very pious. When she performed prayers, she put on a gown, a loose dress and a scarf that hung down to her chest.[11]
The following incident showing her degree of taqwa is also exemplary:
“And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former Times of Ignorance.”[12] When she heard the verse above, she would cry so much as to wet her garment, remembering the terrible situation of the women of Jahiliyya Era.[13]
Hz. Aisha, who was very careful about tasattur, warned those who came near her about the issue. Once, Hafsa, who was her brother Abdurrahman's daughter, came near her. She was wearing a transparent dress. When Hz. Aisha saw it, she warned her not to wear that dress and said to her, “Do you not know what Allah states in the chapter of an-Nur?”[14]
Once, during the hajj season, some women came to Hz. Aisha and told her they wanted to visit Hajar al-Aswad together. Hz. Aisha said to them, “You can go. I cannot visit it together with men. She performed circumambulation after the large crowd of people left.[15]
Hz. Ishaq, who was from Tabiun, was blind. When he came to talk to Hz. Aisha, she would cover her face. Once Ishaq said to Hz. Aisha, “They say you cover your head when I am with you though I am blind. It is impossible for me to see you.” Hz. Aisha said, “Yes, you do not see me but I see you.”
Hz. Aisha did not hurt or wrong anybody. Although she narrated thousands of hadiths, she did not say any bad things about anybody.
Hz. Aisha spent most of her time worshipping. She performed tahajjud prayers with the Messenger of Allah at night. It is narrated that she kept performing tahajjud prayers after the death of the Messenger of Allah, too. Once, while she was performing tahajjud prayer, her nephew Qasim arrived. He asked her what prayer she was performing. She said she was performing tahhajjud prayer that the Messenger of Allah had performed.
When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) returned home one day, he saw that Hz. Aisha had a terrible headache. Hz. Aisha was groaning and saying, “O my head!” Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah said to her jokingly, “It is not important, Aisha. If you die before me, I will prepare your dead body for the funeral and perform your prayer.” Hz. Aisha said, “Do you want me to die?” Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “O Aisha! Your headache is temporary. The real headache is mine. I will not get rid of it.” Thus, he informed her that he would die.[16] Then, he asked permission from his other wives to stay in Hz. Aisha’s room. He died by resting his head on her bosom. He was buried in her room.
After the death of the Messenger of Allah, everybody showed respect to Hz. Aisha and asked her about the things they did not know. Taking pride in her, Hz. Abu Bakr expressed her feeling toward her on his deathbed as follows:
“O my daughter! I am not leaving you a wealth lovelier than you after me. I do not know poverty worse than losing you.”[17]
Hz. Aisha educated students in hadith and fiqh. Some women became distinguished thanks to the knowledge they learned from her. The most famous ones among them were Aisha bint Talha, Amra bint Abdurrahman, Hafsa bint Shirin. Aisha bint Talha answered the gifts and letters that came to Hz. Aisha; she acted as Hz. Aisha’s secretary. Umar bin Abdulaziz said for her, “There is nobody knowing Hz. Aisha’s hadiths better than her."
There were also some notables of Tabiun who reported hadiths from Hz. Aisha. The most famous ones among them were Said bin al-Musayyab, Alqama bin Qays, Masruq bin al-Ajda.
Once Masruq went into the presence of Hz. Aisha. He asked her, “Will you tell me about the ethics of the Messenger of Allah?” Hz. Aisha said, “Are you not an Arab who reads the Quran” He said, “Yes, I am.” She said, “His ethics was the Quran.”[18]
Amra, one of her female students, asked her, “How was the Messenger of Allah at home?” Hz. Aisha answered her as follows:
“He was like your men but he was the most lenient and best one; he also smiled a lot.”[19]
Hz. Aisha never complained about bad straits though she underwent many hard and troubled days. She did not have welfare in the house of the Prophet but she always wanted the welfare of others and preferred an abstemious life to everything.
After the death of the Messenger of Allah, many places were conquered and people became wealthier thanks to booties. However, Hz. Aisha did not deviate from the life she had at the time of the Messenger of Allah at all and continued living abstemiously.
Once, Umran bin Zayd went into her presence and greeted her by saying, “Salamun alaykum; O mother!” After saying, “Alaykum as-salam”, Hz. Aisha started to cry. Umran asked, “O mother! What makes you cry?” Hz. Aisha answered as follows:
“I have heard that some of you eat all kinds of food as much as they can and they find it nice. I have remembered your Prophet. That is why I am crying. For, he did not fill his stomach with two different kinds of food in a day. He sometimes ate dates but did not eat bread. When he ate bread, he did not eat dates. That is what makes me cry. ”[20]
Hz. Aisha spent most of her days fasting. Once, she was fasting on a scorching day of arafah. She fainted due to heat. When her brother, Abdurrahman saw her, he told her to break her fast. Hz. Aisha answered her brother as follows:
“I heard the following from the Messenger of Allah: If a person fasts on the day of arafah, his sins of one year are forgiven.”[21]
Hz. Aisha narrated 2. 210 hadiths, becoming the fourth Companion among the seven Companions that narrated the most hadiths. Some of the hadiths narrated by her are as follows:
“Try to marry the best women. Marry the women that are equal to you; ask the hands of the ladies whose parents are equal to you in marriage.”[22]
“The Messenger of Allah did not beat any of his servants or wives.”[23]
“Allah likes treating others mildly.”[24]
“A woman is like a rib; you may break her while trying to straighten her.”[25]
Hz. Aisha led an ideal life that serves as a model for Muslim women. She passed away like all ephemeral beings and rejoined the Messenger of Allah.
It was about the last years of the period of Muawiyah. Hz. Aisha, who saw and underwent several troubled incidents and whose name was involved in some issues, passed away on the 17th month of the month of Ramadan at the age of 66 after the witr prayer.
While visiting her when she was ill, Ibn Abbas praised her by saying, “Aisha has been the mother of the believers since the beginning. She is the most beloved wife of the Prophet. The decree about tayammum was sent down due to her. The verses of the Quran that were sent down thanks to her are read in mosques." Hz. Aisha interrupted him and said, “O Ibn Abbas! Keep me away from this kind of praise!”
Her death caused a great sadness among the ummah. A very large group of people took part in her funeral. His janazah prayer was led by Abu Hurayra, who was the vice governor of Madinah at that time. She was buried in the Cemetery of Baqi. The Companions expressed their sorrow by saying, “Another torch of the family of the Prophet went out.”
May Allah have mercy on her!
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Hz. Hafsa is Hz. Umar’s daughter. She was born in Makkah before the Prophet was given the duty of prophethood. First, she married Khunays bin Hudhafa. These two fortunate partners, who were among the first Muslims, were exposed to unbearable tortures of the polytheists. They migrated to Madinah together. Hz. Khunays joined the Battle of Badr. He fought against the polytheists heroically. He was wounded in the battle and died because of that wound when he returned to Madinah. Thus, Hz. Hafsa became a widow at a young age.
Hz. Umar did not want his beloved daughter to live as a widow. He thought about it and decided to marry her off to Hz.Uthman because Hz. Ruqayya, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah had died and Hz. Uthman was a widower. Hz. Umar went to Hz. Uthman without losing time. Hz. Uthman was sad. Hz. Umar consoled him and said, “O Uthman! If you wish I will marry Hafsa, my daughter off to you.” Hz. Uthman did not answer at once. He asked some time to think. After a few days, he apologized to Hz.Umar and said, “I do not want to marry now.”
When Hz. Uthman gave this answer, Hz. Umar went to Hz. Abu Bakr and offered him the same thing. Hz. Abu Bakr kept silent and did not answer. Hz. Umar became sad because he did not give any answer. For, Hz. Uthman gave an answer at least and apologized. Then, Hz. Umar went to the presence of the Prophet sadly. He said, “O Messenger of Allah! I was surprised by Uthman. I offered him to marry Hafsa but he did not want to marry her.” The Prophet felt sorry when he saw Hz. Umar, who was his assistant and a great Companion, like this. He gave Umar a glad tiding: “O Umar! Shall I find you a better son-in-law than Uthman and find Uthman a better father-in-law than you” Hz. Umar was surprised. Who could be a better son-in-law than Uthman? He said, “Yes. O Messenger of Allah! Please tell me.” The Prophet said,
"Marry your daughter, Hafsa off to me and I will marry my daughter, Umm Kulthum off to Uthman. For, Allah married Uthman off to somebody better than your daughter and your daughter to somebody better than Uthman."
Hz. Umar became very glad when he heard this glad tiding. They completed the preparations at once and the Prophet married Hafsa in the 3rd year of the Migration in the month of Shaban.
Thus, the Messenger of Allah rewarded and honored Hz. Umar by marrying his daughter Hafsa off to him as he rewarded and honored by marrying the daughter of Hz. Abu Bakr, who was his greatest assistant. The reason why Hz. Abu Bakr kept silent when Hz. Umar offered him to marry his daughter was the fact that he knew the Prophet would marry Hafsa. He did not want to tell him this secret about the Messenger of Allah. As a matter of fact, after they got married, he said to Hz. Umar, “There was no reason why I should not give a positive answer to your offer. However, the Messenger of Allah had told me that he wanted to marry Hafsa; therefore, I did not want to reveal his secret. If the Messenger of Allah had given up marrying Hafsa, I would have definitely married her.” Then, he apologized to Hz. Umar.[1]
Hz. Hafsa lived in poverty like the other wives of the Prophet. She had only one quilt, which she used as a mattress. She lay on it in summer; and she lay on it in winter by covering her body with half of it. Hz. Hafsa did not usually have bread to eat with her meal. However, she did not complain about her situation. She always thanked Allah Almighty.[2]
Once, they gave her a bag of honey as a present. When the Messenger of Allah visited her every morning, she would make sherbet from that honey and give it to the Prophet to drink.[3] Hz. Hafsa worshipped a lot. She performed prayers and fasting a lot.[4] When people gave her something as a present, she would not eat it; she would give it to the Prophet, preferring him to her own self.
Hz. Hafsa served Islam greatly after the death of the Prophet. One of her services was that she was given the duty of preserving the copy of the Quran. She fulfilled that duty fully.
Hz. Hafsa also served Islam by making the words of the Prophet reach us. She narrated 60 hadiths. One of her hadiths, which exists in various hadith books is as follows:
When the Messenger of Allah went to bed, he would put his right hand on his left hand and pray as follows:
“O Lord! Protect me from punishment on the day when you resurrect Your slaves!”
He would repeat it three times.[5]
Hz. Hafsa, who received the honor of being "the mother of the believers", died in the 45th year of the Migration, when Hz. Muawiya was the Caliph, at the age of 60.
May Allah be pleased with her![6]
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Hz. Khadija was a wealthy and honorable woman; she was called “tahir [clean]” even during the Era of Jahiliyyah. She used to send caravans to Damascus and its surroundings; she was engaged in business. She gave some of the profit to her employees. She heard that Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) was honest, reliable, and loyal, and had high ethics. She offered him to take a trade caravan to Damascus with Maysara. Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) accepted her offer. The caravan was prepared and Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) set out with Maysara.
They had a break near a monastery around Damascus. The future prophet was sitting in the shade of a tree. The monk in the monastery asked Maysara who the person sitting under the tree was. Maysara said, “He is from the people of Makkah and a member of the tribe of Quraysh.” The monk got excited. He said, “Only prophets have sat under that tree up to now.” Then, he asked about the properties of the Prophet mentioned in the Bible. When he heard the answer, he said, “He is a prophet. In fact, he is the last Prophet. I wish I would live at the time when he would be given the duty of prophethood.”
Finally, the Messenger of Allah and Maysara sold the goods they took with them. They returned to Makkah with a big profit.
Maysara told Hz. Khadija about the words of the monk and some extraordinary things he saw during the journey.
Hz. Khadija was waiting eagerly for the caravan to return. Finally, the caravan appeared. When the caravan approached, she saw a cloud over the head of the Prophet protecting him from heat. She became very excited. She said to the woman who were with her, “Look! Muhammad is being shaded by angels.”
After a while, the Prophet arrived at her house and gave the goods to Khadija. She pleased him by giving more money than she had promised.
Hz. Khadija wanted to marry the Prophet and spent the remaining part of her life with him. She sent an envoy to the Prophet and said,
“I want you to be near me since you have honor, trust, high ethics and honesty.”
With those words, Hz. Khadija stated that she wanted to marry the Messenger of Allah. When he received this offer, he talked to his uncles. He asked them whether they approved such a marriage or not. They approved it. Abu Talib went to Khadija to search the issue. He heard from her that she wanted to marry his nephew.
Thereupon both parties started preparations for the wedding. Khadija determined the date of the wedding ceremony. It was going to be held in her house. The Prophet, his uncles, aunts and the notables of Sons of Hashim went to Khadija’s house on the determined day. On the other hand, Khadija’s uncle Amr bin Asad, her cousin, Waraqa bin Nawfal and other relatives were also there to represent Hz. Khadija.
Preparations for the wedding were completed; sheep were slaughtered and food was cooked. After the meal was eaten, Abu Talib stood up in accordance with the tradition and made a speech describing their pedigree and honor. He said he wanted his nephew Muhammad (pbuh) to marry Khadija. He spoke as follows:
"My brother Abdullah’s son, Muhammad is your relative. No youth from Quraysh can be compared to him. He is superior to all of them in terms of honor, nobility, intelligence and virtue. He may have few belongings but it is not so important. Belongings are temporary things. They are like a shadow. Property is something transitory that is taken and given. I swear by Allah that his degree will be greater and higher from now on. He wants to marry your daughter Khadija and agrees to give 20 male camels as mahr.”
After Abu Talib’s speech, Waraqa bin Nawfal stood up. After praising his pedigree, Waraqa said they found Khadijah suitable for Muhammad (pbuh) and made the following speech:
“Thanks Allah that He created us as you have mentioned. He gave us more honor and fame than you have mentioned. Now, we are the chiefs of Arabs. You are so, too. Our tribe does not deny your high rank; no one rejects your goodness and honor. We also want to be relatives with you. O people of Quraysh! Become witnesses. I am marrying Abdullah’s son Muhammad and, Khuwaylid’s daughter Khadija in return for 20 male camels as mahr.”
When Waraqa bin Nawfal completed his speech, Amr bin Asad, Khadija's uncle stood up and said that he approved this marriage.
Thus, Hz. Khadija attained the honor of being the wife of the Master of the Universe as a result of her ethics and virtues in the Era of Jahiliyya, when all kinds of prostitution was widespread.
The Prophet went to his uncle Abu Talib’s house with his respectable wife. He had two camels slaughtered and gave a wedding feast. Abu Talib also slaughtered a camel in memory of this happy marriage and gave a feast to the people. Meanwhile, he also thanked Allah Almighty for this bounty and said, “Praise be to Allah, who eliminated all of our sorrows.”
The Prophet (pbuh) stayed in his uncle's house only for a few days. Then, he moved to his wife Hz. Khadija’s wife.[1]
Hz. Khadija was 40 years old when he married the Prophet. The Prophet was a young man who was 25 at that time. Thus, the Prophet had his first marriage with a widow who was 15 years older than him.
Hz. Khadija handed all of her wealth to the Prophet, who was really "trustworthy". The Messenger of Allah continued doing trade. He did not disappoint his beloved wife. He made a lot of profits. However, this wealth did not change his plain lifestyle. He maintained his previous state. He never wasted or showed off. Besides, his heart and spirit were covered by completely different lofty feelings. There was no place for love of world in his heart.
Hz. Khadija was older than the Prophet but she always showed great respect and kindness to him. She always fulfilled his wishes. She did all of her duties as a wife and spared no material or spiritual sacrifice. The gap in her heart was filled and she attained the honor of becoming the wife of the last. With this marriage, the Prophet set examples, guided mankind and gave answers to the following questions,: “How is a family established?" How do two spouses get on well?" How does a family home become part of Paradise?"
Hz. Khadija had a unique place in terms of hospitality and generosity. Thus, their house never lacked guests.
Qasim, the first fruit of the marriage of the Prophet with Hz. Khadija was born. The Prophet was given the nickname “Abu’l-Qasim”. Afterwards, Zaynab, Ruqayya, Fatima, Umm Kulthum were born; and after his prophethood, Abdullah (Tayyib) was born. Qasim and Abdullah died in Makkah when they were very young. All of the children of the Prophet except Fatima died before him. Fatima died six months after the death of her father.
It was the month of Ramadan in 610. The Prophet became 40 years old. As usual, he went to Hira Cave. He worshipped Allah until dawn. It was time for the first revelation. Jibril, who received orders from his Lord, went to visit the Prophet disguised as a handsome man and by emitting nice scents. He did not want to frighten him. He said in a strong but sweet voice, “Read!” When he spoke, his voice came from the sky and mountains. The Prophet was frightened. He said, “I cannot read.” Jibril hugged and squeezed him. After putting him on the ground, he said “Read!” again. The Prophet gave the same answer. Jibril revealed him the first verses: “Proclaim! (or Read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created― Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful― He Who taught (the use of) the Pen― Taught man that which he knew not..”[2]
Jibril disappeared after conveying him the verses. Meanwhile, the excitement and fear of the Prophet increased. He left the cave at once and set off for Makkah. He wanted to tell his wife what had happened. He hoped she would console him.[3]
While the Prophet was proceeding toward Makkah with quick steps, the mountains, stones and trees on the way greeted him by saying, “Assalamu alayka ya Rasulallah!”. They congratulated him on his prophethood. When the Prophet looked around, he saw nothing but trees and stones.
Then, the Prophet arrived home. Hz. Khadija welcomed him joyfully. When she saw his face so luminous as she had never seen before, she could not keep her eyes off him. Meanwhile, a nice scent was coming from the Prophet. Hz. Khadija guessed that something had happened. She kissed him on the forehead and said,
“May mother and father be sacrificed for you! I see a light on your face that I have never seen before and I smell a scent that I have never smelled before.” Hz. Khadija guessed that this should be the prophethood that she was told by Waraqa bin Nawfal.
The Prophet did not want to keep her in suspense. However, he was frightened and excited. He said, "Wrap me up; wrap me up!" Hz. Khadija made him lie down and wrapped him. She did her best to comfort him. Then, she waited in curiosity and patience for the time he would tell her what had happened.
After a while, the Messenger of Allah woke up. His fear and excitement had lessened. He told Khadija what had happened. Then, he said, "O Khadija! I see some lights and hear some sounds; I am worried. I hate idols and soothsayers. I fear that jinn will pester me."
Hz. Khadija, who was prudent and intelligent enough to become the first wife of the Prophet, consoled him as follows:
“O my cousin! Do not speak like that. You do not have to fear and worry. I swear by Allah that He shall never humiliate you. You tell the truth. You keep people's things entrusted to you. You take care of your relatives. You treat your neighbors kindly and compassionately. You help the destitute. You entertain poor people. You help against the vicissitudes which affect people. O my cousin! Persevere! By Allah, I hope that you will be the Prophet of this ummah."[4]
These convincing statements of his closest confidant, source of consolation and spouse soothed the Prophet. Besides, Hz. Khadija supported the Prophet spiritually by saying, “I believe that you are a prophet.” This unhesitant belief of his wife's at that time rejoiced the Prophet and increased his enthusiasm.
After that, the Prophet showed Hz. Khadija how to make wudu as Jibril taught him; they performed a prayer together. Thus, Hz. Khadija attained the honor of becoming the first believer in the Prophet and performing the first prayer with him along with the honor of being his wife.[5]
Thus, Hz. Khadija showed another example of sacrifice in addition to her numerous sacrifices up to that time. Once, Allah sent greetings to Hz. Khadija through Jibril, the angel of revelation, and said He had prepared a palace for her in Paradise:
“Give My greetings to Khadija. Give her the good news that she will have a palace made of oyster in Paradise. There is no ado or fuss there, nor working. There will not be any troublesome and hard tasks there.”[6]
Hz. Khadija died at the age of 65, three years before the Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madinah. A little while before her death, Abu Talib also passed away. Losing Abu Talib, his self-sacrificing uncle, who was the target of the polytheists but who never gave up protecting the Prophet, and Hz. Khadija, who was his enduring and self-sacrificing spouse, one after the other was very saddening for the Prophet. Therefore, that year was called "the Year of Sorrow".
The Prophet continued her love toward Hz. Khadija after her death, too. Whenever a friend or relative of Hz. Khadija came to him, he would ask about their health and entertain them. He always mentioned the generosity of Hz. Khadija and her assistance when he was in trouble. The Prophet mentioned Hz. Khadija so much, though she was not alive, that Hz. Aisha sometimes envied her.
Once, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was mentioning the good deeds of Hz. Khadija. Hz. Aisha was there. She could not help saying, “You always mention Khadija. However, Allah gave you younger and more beautiful wives than her.” Thereupon, the Prophet said,
“No. Allah did not give me anyone better than her because when everybody was in unbelief, she believed in me. When everybody denied me, she approved me. When I was deprived of everything, she shared her property with me. And Allah gave me children from her.”
Thereupon, Hz. Aisha stopped feeling jealous of Hz. Khadija after that. She felt ashamed of her statement and said, “O Messenger of Allah! I swear by Allah, who sent you as a prophet, that I want you tell us the incidents about Khadija from now on.” Thus, she appeased him.[7]
The Prophet states the place of Hz. Khadija among women as follows:
“The best women among the women of Paradise are Khadija, Fatima, Maryam and Asiya.”[8]
May Allah be pleased with them!
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The real name of Hz. Maymuna was “Barra”. One of her sisters, Ummu’l-Fadl was married to Hz. Abbas, the maternal uncle of the Prophet and her other sister Asma was married to Hz. Jafar, the cousin of the Prophet. The Messenger of Allah called these three sisters "believing sisters". When Hz. Maymuna's husband died, she became a widow. Hz. Abbas hoped that the Prophet would marry Hz. Maymuna. Therefore, whenever he met the Prophet, he would praise her and mention her high ethics and virtues.
The Prophet was on the way to Makkah for umrah. When had a break near Juhfa, Hz. Abbas approached the Prophet and asked him to marry Hz. Maymuna:
“O Messenger of Allah! Maymuna bint Harith is a widow now. Will you marry her?” The Prophet accepted his uncle's request. His uncle became very happy when he heard it.
Hz. Maymuna also became very happy when the Prophet accepted to marry her. When she heard the news, she was on a camel. She expressed her happiness by saying, “The camel and the one on it belong to the Messenger of Allah.”
Hz. Abbas married Hz. Maymuna off to the Prophet in the 7th year of the Migration in return for 400 dirhams as mahr. It was the last marriage of the Prophet (pbuh).
Hz. Maymuna died at the age of 80 in the 56th year of the Migration.
May Allah be pleased with her! [1]
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[1] Tabaqat, 8: 120, 123; al-Isaba, 4: 412-413.
7-)
Sawda bint Zam’a (r.anha)
The Prophet became very sorry when Hz. Hz. Khadija died. A kind of hole occurred in his family life. The people around the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) thought of finding a woman that would console and help him. Hawla, Uthman bin Maz’un’s wife, went into the presence of the Prophet to talk about it. She felt the absence of Khadija immediately. She said, “O Messenger of Allah! I felt the absence of Khadija immediately when I arrived.” The Prophet said, “Yes, she was the mother of my daughters and the caretaker of my house.” Thereupon, Hz. Hawla told him about her idea: “O Messenger of Allah! Would you like to marry?” The Prophet said, “Yes, if a suitable woman is found.” Then, he asked her who was in her mind. Hz. Hawla said she was thinking of Abu Bakr’s daughter Aisha and Sawda bint Zam’a. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Go and talk about them for me.”[1] Hz. Aisha was very young at that time. She was not old enough to marry. The Prophet only wanted to get engaged with her.
Hz. Sawda, and her first husband Sakran bin Amr, who was her uncle's son, were among the first Muslims. When this fortunate couple gave up worshipping idols and became Muslims, they were exposed to various tortures by their relatives and polytheists. When the torture became unbearable, they had to migrate to Abyssinia with many other Muslims. When they returned to Makkah, Sakran bin Amar passed away. Thus, Hz. Sawda became a widow with five little children. She was in financial difficulty.[2]
With the approval of the Prophet, Hz. Hawla went to Sawda's house to ask her hand in marriage hurriedly to give her this good news. Hawla entered her house and said to her, “The Messenger of Allah sent me to you to ask your hand in marriage.” Hz. Sawda became very happy when she heard it.
However, she had a concern. Hz. Sawda expressed her concern to the Prophet as follows:
“O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, there is no important drawback to my marrying you. However, I think my children will talk, whine and disturb you all the time; therefore, I behave timidly.”
Thereupon, the Prophet, who was sent as mercy to all realms, said, “May Allah show mercy on you! The best one among women is the one who faces troubles due to her little children.” Thus, he stated that her concern was groundless.
Besides, Hz. Sawda had seen in her dream a few days before the death of her husband Hz. Sakran that the Prophet put his feet on her shoulder. When she told her husband about her dream, Sakran said,
“O Sawda! If you have really seen this dream, it means I will definitely die and you will marry the Prophet.”[3]
Hz. Sawda remembered this dream and appointed her brother-in-law Hatib bin Amr to marry her off to the Prophet.[4] Thus, Hz. Sawda had the honor of becoming the second wife of the Messenger of Allah in the tenth year of his prophethood.
When Sawda married the Prophet, she was quite old. She was over 50. Her only purpose in marrying the Prophet was to have the honor of becoming the wife of the Prophet. As a matter of fact, when the Messenger of Allah married Hz. Aisha three years later, she showed how sincere she was regarding the issue. She said to the Prophet,
“I only want to be one of the women who had the honor of becoming your wife in the hereafter. You can spend the nights when it is my turn to be with you in Aisha’s room.”[5]
On the other hand, the Prophet married this Companion, who was a defender of belief, in order to protect her from the oppression of her merciless relatives and in order to reward her due to migrating for her religion by facing all kinds of danger. Therefore, a feeling of protection and compassion was dominant in this marriage. The purpose of the Prophet was to protect a mujahid woman who was a widow and had five children. Besides, he was alone at that time since Hz. Khadija had passed away.
Hz. Sawda was very obedient to the Prophet. She served him very well and fulfilled his orders at once. She regarded serving him as great honor. She took part in the farewell hajj with the Prophet with his other wives. She did not perform hajj or umrah after the death of the Prophet. When they asked her why she did not want to perform umrah, she said, “I performed hajj and umrah. Now, I will sit at home as Allah orders.”
Hz. Sawda did give much importance to the world. She gave away the things that she did not need to the poor. Once, Hz. Umar sent her a lot of money to spend. First, she could not understand that it was money. She asked, “What is this?” They said it was money. She said, “Are they dates? Why did he send so much money?” Then, he gave away all of the money to the poor.
Hz. Sawda died in Madinah in the 54th year of the migration during the caliphate of Muawiyah when she was more than 100 years old.
May Allah be pleased with her![6]
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In the 5th year of the Migration, Banu Mustaliq clan of the Khuzaa tribe took action in order to eliminate the Muslims; thereupon, the Muslims organized an expedition against them. This expedition ended with the victory of the Muslims thanks to the help of Allah Almighty. A lot of captives and booties were obtained.
Among the captives was Barra (Juwayriya), the daughter of Harith b. Abi Dirar, the leader of the Sons of Mustaliq. Barra's husband was killed during the battle. Juwayriyah was widowed.
The captives were distributed among the mujahids. Barra was given to Thabit b. Qays bin Shammas and his cousin. Barra made a deal with her masters to be freed in return for a certain amount of money. However, it was quite a large amount of money and she could not afford to pay it. Thereupon, she applied to the Prophet and told him about her situation.
"I am the daughter of Harith b. Abi Dirar, the leader of the Sons of Mustaliq. As you know I was given to Thabit b. Qays bin Shammas and his cousin. I made a deal with them to be freed in return for a certain amount of money. I came here to ask you to help me pay my ransom.
The Prophet said to her, “Is there not anything better than that for you?” Barra asked, “O Messenger of Allah! What is it?" The Messenger of Allah said, “Freeing you by paying your ransom and accepting you as my wife.”
Barra started to meditate. Three days before the battle, she saw in her dream that the moon rose from Madinah and fell on her bosom. When she heard the proposal of the Prophet, the light of guidance started to shine on her face. She accepted the proposal of the Prophet. Then, she uttered kalima as-shahadah and attained the honor of becoming a Muslim.[1]
Meanwhile, Harith b. Abi Dirar, Juwayriyah’s father, set off toward Madinah with some people from his tribe and some camels in order to save his daughter. When he reached the valley of Aqiq, he looked at his camels. He hid two of the most beautiful camels there. He did not want to give these nice animals as ransom. Then, he arrived in Madinah. He found the Prophet and said to him, "My daughter cannot be held as a captive. It does not fit my rank and honor. Free her." The Messenger of Allah said, "Do you want me to give her the right to decide?" Harith said, "Yes, if you do so, you will perform your duty." Thereupon, Harith went to his daughter and said to her,
"This man gave you the right to decide. Do not disgrace us."
However, it was impossible for Barra to prefer anything to the Prophet. As a matter of fact, she uttered the following at the risk of embarrassing her father:
"I prefer the Messenger of Allah."
Harith was annoyed and said, “You disgraced us!”[2] Then, he turned to the Prophet and said, “These camels are ransom for my daughter. Take them and give my daughter to me.” Allah Almighty informed the Prophet that Harith had hidden two of the camels. He said to Harith, “Where are the two camels you hid in Aqiq Valley? Why did you not bring them?" This miracle caused Harith and the people with them to become Muslims. With great excitement, Harith said, “I witness that there is no god but Allah; you are definitely the Messenger of Allah! I swear by Allah that nobody but Allah knew what I had done.” He became a Muslim. Two of his sons who were with him and some people from his tribe also became Muslims.[3]
Then, the Prophet asked Barra's father to marry her off to him. Harith said, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah! I have given her to you.” Thereupon, the Prophet married Barra in the 5th year of the Migration. He changed her name as “Juwayriya”. For, “Barra” means “good deed, goodness” and the Prophet did not like it when people said, “Barra left the house of the Messenger of Allah.”
Juwayriya was 20 years old then.
When the Companions saw that the Prophet married Juwayriya and became a relative of the tribe of Banu Mustaliq, they freed all of the slaves by saying, “The relatives of the wife of the Prophet should not be kept as slaves.” Thus, Hz. Juwayriya caused 700 captives from her tribe to be freed. Besides, many people from her tribe became Muslims. Hz. Aisha appreciated Hz. Juwayriya because of this.
Hz. Juwayriya performed fasting and prayers a lot. She also gave great importance to mentioning the names of Allah and glorifying Him. One morning, after performing the morning prayer (fajr), she started to say prayers and dhikr; meanwhile, the Prophet left. When he returned later that morning, he saw that she was still mentioning the names of Allah. He asked, "Have you been sitting in the same place since I left you?" She replied, "Yes, I have." Thereupon the Prophet said,
"I recited four phrases three times after I left you, and if these were to be weighed against what you have been reciting since dawn, they would still outweigh them. They are as follows:
‘Subhanallahi adada khalqihi, subhanallahi rida nafsihi, subhanallahi zinata arshihi wa subhanallahi midada kalimatihi ['Glory be to Allah and Praise be to Him as much as the number of his creations, and His pleasure, and the weight of His Throne, and the ink of His words.]”[4]
After this advice of the Prophet, Hz. Juwayriya, started to utter those words.
Juwayriya was a very charitable woman like the other wives of the Prophet. She would give the food she had to the poor though she was hungry. Once, the Prophet came to her room and asked, “Do you have anything to eat?” Hz. Juwayriya said, “By Allah, I have no food. I had some bones but I gave them away to a poor person.”[5]
This blessed wife of the Prophet's died in the 56th year of the Migration at the age of 65. Her janazah prayer was led by Marwan bin Hakam.
Hz. Umm Salama was one of the first Muslims. She was married to Abdullah bin Abdulasad. When this lucky family accepted Islam, they were exposed to unbelievable torture of their relatives and other polytheists. However, they did not give up their belief. When tortures became unbearable, they migrated to Abyssinia. The Negus of Abyssinia welcomed the muhajirs who took refuge in him. He helped them. However, being away from their homeland and the Prophet distressed Umm Salama and her husband like the other muhajirs.
Hz. Umm Salama gave birth to four children outside her hometown: Zaynab, Salama, Umar and Durra. Her real name was “Hind”. She was given the name Umm Salama when she gave birth to her son Salama.[1]
After living in Abyssinia for a long time, the muhajirs returned to Makkah. However, they were tortured by the polytheists again in Makkah. Thereupon, the Prophet ordered the Muslims to migrate to Madinah. Abu Salama, Umm Salama's husband, wanted to take his wife and children to Madinah, too. He put his son Salama and his wife on a camel and set off for Madinah. However, after a whileone of Umm Salama's relatives stood against him and said they would not allow him to take Umm Salama. Thereupon, Abu Salama left for Madinah sadly. Umm Salama narrated what happened after that as follows: "When my relative separated me from Abu Salama, his relatives got angry and said, 'They separated Umm Salama from our man. Therefore, we will separate our child from Umm Salama. They started to pull Salama away from me. They dislocated his arm and took him away. I cried for about a year. Finally, they felt pity for me and said to me, 'You can go to your husband if you want.' Abu Salama's relative brought my son to me. Then, I set off for Madinah.”[2]
After a long and tiring journey, Umm Salama arrived in Madinah and found her husband Abu Salama. Their longing and trouble ended. The family members rejoined. Umm Salama and Abu Salama served as a model family. They were very happy. Umm Salama did not think of marrying if her husband died before her. Once, she said to her husband the following:
“If a woman of Paradise whose husband is also a person of Paradise does not marry another person after his death, Allah will definitely bring them together in Paradise. Similarly, if a man of Paradise whose wife is also a person of Paradise does not marry another person after her death, Allah will definitely bring him together with his wife in Paradise. Then, let us make a deal. Do not marry anyone if I die first and I will not marry anyone if you die first.”
Abu Salama did not accept her offer and said,
“Obey my word and marry after I die.”
Then, Abu Salama prayed as follows for his beloved wife:
“O Allah! Give Umm Salama a better husband who will not despise or hurt her after me.”[3]
A short while after this talk, Abu Salama’s wound, which he received in Uhud, got worse. He had to stay in bed. Umm Salama looked after him. She did her best. She dedicated herself to him. However, Abu Salama died five months later. When the Prophet heard the death of this devoted Companion, he came and sat near Abu Salama. The Prophet closed his eyes with his hands and said, “When the spirit leaves, the eyes follow it.”
Meanwhile, some of the relatives of Abu Salama were crying. The Prophet did not like it when the women wailed. He said, “Ask only goodness for yourselves because the angels say ‘amin’ to your prayers.” Then, he prayed for Abu Salama as follows:
“"O Allah, grant forgiveness to Abu Salama; elevate him among those who are near to You; take charge of his family at all times; forgive us and him, O Lord of the worlds! Make his grave spacious for him and fill it with light!”[4]"
Umm Salama was a widow after her husband's death. When the period of waiting (iddah) ended after her husband's death, several Companions proposed to her. However, she did not accept any of them. She was going to attain the honor of being the mother of the believers but she did not know about it. She always thought about and said the following words that Abu Salama learned from the Prophet and taught her: The Prophet said,
"Whenever a calamity afflicts anyone he should say, 'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun (Surely from Allah we are and to Him we shall certainly return); and he should pray, 'O Lord, give me in return something good from it which only You can give.' Allah will accept his prayer."
Umm Salama repeated the prayer advised by the Prophet and thought, “Who could be better than Abu Salama?”[5]
The Prophet did not want a mujahida like Umm Salama to be left alone with four children and to live miserably. He wanted to reward this self-sacrificing woman, who suffered a lot in the way of Islam, by marrying her. When Umm Salama saw the person sent by the Messenger of Allah, she realized that her prayer was accepted. She became very happy but she did not give a positive answer because she was worried that her children would disturb the Prophet. Umm Salama said to the Messenger of Allah,
"O Messenger of Allah! I am an old woman. I have children and I am extremely jealous."
Thereupon, the Prophet said, "You say you are an old woman. It is not a shame for a woman to marry a man older than her. You say you have children. Allah and His Messenger will look after your children. You say you will be jealous of my other wives. I will pray Allah to take this characteristic away from you."[6]
Thereupon, Umm Salama accepted the Prophet's proposal and they got married in the month of Shawwal. During, their marriage, the Messenger of Allah gave a feast. Umm Salama descibed this feast as follows:
“The room of Zaynab (the mother of the believers), who had died, was given to me. I found an earthen bowl, some barley in the bowl, a hand mill and a stone pot. I saw some melt butter in the pot. I ground the barley in the hand mill. Then, I made batter. I put some butter in it. This dish was the wedding meal of the Messenger of Allah and his household.”[7]
Hz. Umm Salama had a different place in the eye of the Prophet. The Messenger of Allah regarded her among Ahl al-Bayt, his closest relatives, and the means of continuation of his blessed progeny.
Once, when the Messenger of Allah was near Hz. Umm Salama, Hz. Fatima, Hz. Ali, Hz. Hasan and Hz. Husayn arrived. The Prophet ate a meal with them. Then, he surrounded Hz. Fatima, his son-in-law Hz. Ali, and his grandsons Hz. Hasan and Hz. Husayn with his cardigan and said, “O Lord! They are my Ahl al-Bayt (household) and my relatives; eliminate their sins and purify them. Umm Salama did not want to miss this virtue. She said, “O Messenger of Allah! I am of Ahl al-Bayt, too.” The Prophet honored her by saying, “Yes, I hope so.”[8]
Hz. Umm Salama was known for her closeness to the Prophet. Therefore, when the wives of the Prophet wanted to ask something from him, they asked it through Umm Salama.
Umm Salama observed some lofty scenes that many Companions did not attain. Once, while she was with the Prophet, Jibril was there disguised as Dihya al Kalbi, one of the Companions. She thought the person that came was Dihya. However, when the Prophet told her that he was Jibril, not Dihya, she became very happy. For, she had the opportunity to see the angel of revelation.[9]
Hz. Umm Salama, who lived with the Prophet until he died, learned a lot of things from him. She was one of the few Companions that knew Islamic fiqh, especially the issues regarding women, best.[10]
On the other hand, Umm Salama served the science of hadith a great deal. She is only second to Hz. Aisha in terms of narrating hadiths. Some of the hadiths reported by Umm Salama are as follows:
“A woman with whom her husband is pleased with goes to Paradise when she dies.”[11]
“O Allah, who converts hearts. Make my heart stable in your religion.”[12]
Umm Salama loved the blessed grandchildren of the Prophet a lot. When she saw them, she remembered the compassion of the Messenger of Allah to them. She protected them as if they were her own children and did her best to keep them away from any harms. She could not bear it when something happened to them. Once, some Companions saw her crying. They asked why she was crying. Umm Salama said,
“I saw the Messenger of Allah in my dream. He had some soil in his hair and beard. I asked, 'O Messenger of Allah! What happened to you?’ He said, ‘They martyred Husayn a little while ago.’ I am crying due to this dream.”
As a matter of fact, a little while after this dream, it was informed that Hz. Husayn had been martyred.
Umm Salama, who was the last one to die among the wives of the Prophet and who lived 84 years, died in Madinah in the 58th year of the Migration. She was buried in the cemetery of Baqi. Her janazah prayer was led by Abu Hurayra.
May Allah be pleased with her![13]
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The Prophet eliminated the wrong customs of the Era of Jahiliyya (Ignorance) one by one and showed people the legitimate way. Thus, the wrong and unjust practices were replaced by justice.
One of the wrong customs of the Era of Jahiliyya was that slaves and freed slaves were regarded as "lower class". However, Islam regarded all people equal and stated that superiority could only be attained by taqwa: “Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you.”[1] In that case, this wrong custom had to be eliminated too. Therefore, the Prophet asked the noble family of Zaynab, who was the daughter of Umayma b. Abdulmuttalib, to marry her off to his freed slave Zayd.
Zaynab’s mother and brothers did not want this marriage but they could not say 'no' to the Prophet (pbuh). They accepted his wish. Thereupon, the Prophet married Hz. Zaynab off to Hz. Zayd.[2]
Thus, a wrong custom of the Era of Jahiliyya was eliminated and the principle of equality was introduced.
However, there was not a complete harmony between Hz. Zayd and Zaynab. Marital discord occurred. Zaynab started to break Zayd’s heart. Once, Zayd went to the Prophet and said “O Messenger of Allah! I want to divorce my spouse. She maltreats me.” The Prophet (pbuh) did not want a family that he had asked to be established to break off. He said to Zayd, “Keep your spouse; do not divorce her! Fear Allah.”[3]
However, Zayd divorced Hz. Zaynab due to marital discord. Their marriage lasted only one year.
The Prophet became very sorry when Zayd and Zaynab divorced because he had asked them to marry. It was necessary to settle the issue and to appease Hz. Zaynab and her family.
In fact, when the Prophet said to Hz. Zayd, “Keep your spouse; do not divorce her”, he knew that Zayd would definitely divorce Zaynab and that she would marry him when her iddah (waiting period) ended. God Almighty had informed him about it.[4] Besides, Hz. Zaynab had the characteristics to be a wife of the Prophet.
However, the Prophet did not ask Hz. Zaynab, who was divorced from Zayd and whose iddah ended, to marry him because he was worried that the hypocrites (munafiqs) would gossip about it. According to the traditions of the Arabs, a person would not marry the wife of his adopted son's wife. However, it was necessary to eliminate this wrong custom of Jahiliyya like the others. For, an adopted son was not regarded as one's biological child.
As a matter of fact, when the Prophet was near Hz. Aisha, he received a revelation. God Almighty stated the following:
“Behold! Thou didst say to one who had received the grace of Allah and thy favour: 'Retain thou (in wedlock) thy wife, and fear Allah.' But thou didst hide in thy heart that which Allah was about to make manifest: thou didst fear the people but it is more fitting that thou shouldst fear Allah. Then when Zaid had dissolved (his marriage) with her, with the necessary (formality), We joined her in marriage to thee: in order that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the Believers in (the matter of) marriage with the wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have dissolved with the necessary (formality) (their marriage) with them: and Allah's command must be fulfilled.
There can be no difficulty to the Prophet in what Allah has indicated to him as a duty.”[5]
When the state of revelation finished, our Prophet (pbuh) smiled and said: “Who will tell Zaynab the good news that Allah has joined her in marriage to me?” Then, he appointed Hz. Zayd to ask Zaynab to marry the Prophet. Hz. Zayd went to Zaynab happily and gave her the glad tiding that God Almighty married her off to the Prophet. Hz. Zaynab became very pleased when she heard it and performed a prostration of thanking. She gave the jewel that she was wearing to Hz. Zayd as a present due to this good news.
Thus, Hz. Zaynab married the Prophet in the 5th year of the Migration when she was 35 years old. She was not given anything as mahr since she was married by Allah.
The Prophet always gave a wedding feast whenever he got married and he ordered Muslims to do so. Therefore, it is sunnah to give a wedding feast.
The Prophet gave a wedding feast for Zaynab, too. However, a miracle of the Prophet occurred in this wedding feast unlike the others.
Anas b. Malik narrates: "My mother, Umm Sulaym, said to me, 'O Anas! The Messenger of Allah is getting married today. I think they do not have any food. Bring me that leather bag of oil.' I took it to my mother. She mixed some Madinah dates with some oil, which will be enough for the Messenger of Allah and his wife. Then, she gave it to me and said, 'O Anas! Take this to the Messenger of Allah. Tell him my mother sent it to you and she greets you and that this is a small present from her.'
“I took it to the Messenger of Allah and told him what my mother had said. The Messenger of Allah said to me, 'Put it here.' Then he told me, ‘Invite Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali.’ He also mentioned some more Companions' names. I was astonished at the Messenger of Allah’s ordering me to invite several people for a little food. However, I could not behave against his order. I invited all of them. Then, the Messenger of Allah said to me: 'Look and invite whoever there is in the mosque.' I went to the mosque and said to everyone praying in the mosque I encountered, 'Come to the Messenger of Allah’s wedding feast.' They came. At last, the table was filled. He asked me, 'Is there anybody left in the mosque?' I said, 'No.' Then, he told me: 'Look and invite whoever there is on the road.' I did so. He told me, 'OK! Bring me the bowl.' He put his hand on the bowl and prayed for abundance with the words that Allah wanted him to utter. After that, he said, 'Tell them to make circles of ten and eat from the front of them.' The first ten people came. They ate until they were satisfied. I was gazing at the food in the bowl. It was increasing like spring-water. After everybody ate, he said to me, “O, Anas! Remove it.” I did not know whether there was more food when I brought the bowl or when I removed it. When I went home, I told my mother the incident. My mother said, 'There is no need for you to be astonished! If Allah had desired all people of Madinah to eat from it, they would all have eaten it and would have been satisfied.'”[6]
As we have mentioned before, in the Era of Jahiliyya, an adopted son was not regarded as one's biological child; so, it was regarded haram for a person to marry the woman that was divorced by his adopted son. Since the Prophet married the woman that was divorced by his adopted son Zayd, the hypocrites used this incident as a means of gossiping. They said, “Muhammad forbade marrying the wife of one's son but he himself married his son Zayd's wife, whom he divorced.” This gossip started to disturb the Prophet and the Muslims.[7]
Thereupon, verses 4 and 5 of the chapter of al-Ahzab were sent down. The verses stated the following:
“Allah has not made for any man two hearts in his (one) body: nor has He made your wives whom ye divorce by Zihar your mothers: nor has He made your adopted sons your sons. Such is (only) your (manner of) speech by your mouths. But Allah tells (you) the Truth, and He shows the (right) Way. Call them by (the names) of their fathers: that is juster in the sight of Allah but if ye know not their father's (names, call them), your Brothers in faith, or your Mawlas. But there is no blame on you if ye make a mistake therein: (what counts is) the intention of your hearts: and Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.”
Badiuzzaman Said Nursi, an interpreter of the last century, interprets the verse above as follows in summary:
Also, rulers looking to their subjects and prophets looking to their communities and addressing them in fatherly fashion, is due to the function of prophethood. A great ruler looks on his subjects with paternal compassion. If he is a spiritual king holding both outward and inward rule, since his compassion is a hundred times greater than that of a father, his subjects look on him as his father, as though they were his real sons. With the purpose of repelling such a doubt, the Quran says: “On account of Divine mercy the Prophet has compassion for you, he deals with you in fatherly fashion, and in the name of prophethood you are like his children. But in regard to his human personality he is not your father so that it should be inappropriate for him to take a wife from among you! And if he calls you “Son,” in respect of the rulings of the Shari’a, you cannot be his children.[8]
Then, it can be said in conclusion that this marriage took place due to the order of Allah; God Almighty found Hz. Zaynab appropriate for the Prophet and married her off to him. Thus, the decree that an adopted child would not prevent marriage like one's biological child was imposed and it was shown that the decree regarded as haram (forbidden) was actually halal (permissible).
Hz. Zaynab was a pious and righteous person. She performed prayers and fasting frequently. Once, the Prophet went to the mosque. He saw a rope tied between two poles. He asked, “What is this rope for?” They said it was Zaynab’s rope. They said, “Zaynab held that rope when she felt tired while performing prayers.” Thereupon, the Prophet said,
“No, such difficulty is not preferred in worshipping. Untie this rope. Perform prayers standing as long as you are strong.”[9]
Zaynab was very generous and abstinent; she did not give importance to worldly things. She gave away the money that she earned by sewing and weaving to the poor and helpless people for Allah's sake.
Once, Hz.Umar sent her the annual money he allocated to her. When Hz. Zaynab saw so much money, she said, “May Allah forgive Umar! Are the shares of my other brothers and sisters in it?" When she found out that all of the money belonged to her, she covered it with her scarf saying, “Subhanallah!” She said to her maid,
“Put your hand in the money and take one handful of money to such and such a person and another handful to such and such a person.”
Thus, the maid distributed the money that Hz. Umar had sent as Zaynab wished. When there was nothing left to take with the hand under the scarf, the maid said to Hz. Zaynab, “O mother of believers! May Allah forgive you! I swear by Allah that we also have the right to get some.” Zaynab told her to get what was left under the scarf. There were five dirhams left. The maid got them. Hz. Zaynab did not get even one dirham from it. Then, she opened her hands and prayed as follows:
“O Allah! Do not make me get Umar's grant again. For, the worldly properties are mischief.”[10]
God Almighty accepted her prayer. Hz. Zaynab died before she received the allocation next year. She was the first among the wives of the Prophet to rejoin the Prophet after his death. Thus, another miracle of the Prophet occurred. Once, he said, “The one among you who will rejoin me first is the one who had the longest arm.” The wives of the Prophet did not get what he meant by it and started to measure their arms. When Hz. Zaynab was the first one to die after him, they understood that he meant generosity by the long arm. For, none of them could catch up with Zaynab in terms of generosity.[11]
Hz. Aisha, who always praised Hz. Zaynab, stated the following about her generosity:
“I have never seen a woman better than Zaynab in religion, fearing Allah more than her, more honest than her, caring for her relatives more than her and giving away money (sadaqah) to attain the consent of Allah more than her.”
Hz. Zaynab died in the 20th year of the Migration when she was 53 years old. Her janazah prayer was led by Hz. Umar.
May Allah be pleased with them!
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Hz. Zaynab was married to Tufayl bin Harith. When Tufayl divorced her, she married Ubayd bin Harith, Tufayl's brother. Hz. Ubayd died due to the wound he received at the Battle of Badr after the battle. Thus, Hz. Zaynab became a widow.
Hz. Zaynab was very generous. She always helped the poor and the needy;she treated them compassionately and mercifully. She was like that before becoming a Muslim, too. Therefore, she was nicknamed “Umm’l-Masakin,” (The mother of the Poor) during the Era of Jahiliyya.
The Prophet married this generous Companion, whose husband sacrificed herself in the way of Allah, in the 3rd year of the Migration in order to console her.
Hz. Zaynab became very pleased when she was included among the wives of the Prophet. However, her coupling with the Prophet lasted very short. She died three months after her marriage with the Prophet. She was about 30 years old then. The Prophet led her janazah prayer. She was buried in the cemetery of Baqi.
May Allah be pleased with her![1]
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