Asma bint Umais

Asma bint Umais (Arabic: أسماء بنت عميس‎) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from the Khathaam tribe.

Family

Her father was Umays ibn Ma'ad,[1] and her mother was Hind bint Awf from the Himyar tribe in Mecca. Her full siblings were Salma bint Umays, wife of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, and Awn ibn Umays. Her maternal half-siblings included two of Muhammad's wives, Zaynab bint Khuzayma and Maymuna bint al-Harith, as well as Lubaba bint al-Harith, the wife of ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, Al-Saayib ibn Al-Harith, Qatn ibn Al-Harith and the community treasurer Mahmiyah ibn Al-Jaz'.[2]

Asma converted to Islam "after the Messenger of Allah had entered the house of al-Arqam in Makka."[3]

She is notable for having been the wife of three of Muhammad's close companions.

First husband

Her first husband was Ja'far ibn Abu Talib from the Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe. In 616 she emigrated with him to Abyssinia, where she gave birth to three sons, Abdullah, Muhammad and Awn.[4] Asma disliked Abyssinia and she later referred "fear" and "harm" that she had suffered there, though she did not enlarge on the nature of these difficulties.[5]

They returned to Medina in 628 at the time of the Muslim conquest of Khaybar.[6][7]

Ja'far fought at the Battle of Mu'tah against Byzantium in September 629 and, along with Zayd ibn Harithah and `Abd Allah ibn Rawahah, was killed there.[8] Mu'tah is in the south of Jordan and Ja'far's tomb is there.

Second husband

After Ja'far's death Asma married Abu Bakr. She gave birth to his son Muhammad in 632 while on the way to The Farewell Pilgrimage. Abu Bakr planned to send Asma and their child back to Medina, but Muhammad told him to let her make the major ablution and then rededicate herself in offering the pilgrimage.[9]

Asma was present at the house of Ali when Fatima bint Muhammad died in December 632. (conflict in the year, as S. Fatima passed away about three years after The Farewell Pilgrimage.)

The dying Abu Bakr left instructions that Asma should wash his corpse and that she should not fast on that day. She only remembered this instruction towards sunset, when she called for water to drink so that she would not have technically disobeyed him. As it was a very cold day, it was agreed that she did not have to perform an ablution after washing the body.[10]

Third husband

When Abu Bakr died, Umar allotted Asma a pension of 1000 dirhams.[11] Soon afterwards, however, she married Ali, who brought up Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr as his own son. Asma bore Yahya and Muhammad al-Asghar ("the Younger") to Ali.[12]

One tradition tells of a squabble that broke out between Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and Muhammad al-Asghar, each of them boasting that his own father was better. Ali told Asma to settle the quarrel. She told the boys: "Ja'far was the best young Arab, and Abu Bakr was the best old Arab." Ali said: "That's a good answer. But you haven't said anything about me!" Asma replied, "Of the three, you are the least to choose."[13]

Legacy

Asma narrated ahadith from Muhammad[14] and she was regarded as a scholar of Islam.

According to a report deemed authentic, she is considered one of the women of Paradise.[15]

Historical Controversy

The following historians state that she was present at Fatima's wedding ceremony in 1AH:

They depend on the narrations of: Abu Abbas Khawarazmi from Al-Hussain Ibn Ali (A), Sayid Jalal al-Din Abu al-Hamid Ibn Fakhr al-Musawi, and Dulabi from Imam Baqir and his father (A)

This is a historical problem that has not yet been solved despite the various attempts made by Sheikh Majlisi in Bihar v.10.

It is also narrated that she was present during the marriage of Aisha.

One theory states that Asma Bint Umais had actually immigrated with her husband to Habashah, but repeatedly returned to Mecca and Medina. The distance between Jedda and Habashah is limited to that of the width of the Red Sea, which in not so difficult for a journey. One narration makes a mentions of Ja'far supporting this stance.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Family Tree Abu bakr". Quran search online. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Tasseron-Landau, E. (1998). Vol. 39, Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors, p. 201. New York: State University of New York Press.
  3. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 196.
  4. ↑ Muhammad ibn Saad, Tabaqat vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina, p. 196. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
  5. ↑ Bukhari 5:59:539.
  6. ↑ Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume p. 526.
  7. ↑ Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi. Translated by Faizer, R., Ismail, A., & Tayob, A. (2011). The Life of Muhammad p. 374. Oxford: Routledge.
  8. ↑ Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume p. 534.
  9. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley p. 197.
  10. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley p. 198.
  11. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley p. 198.
  12. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley p. 198.
  13. ↑ Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 pp. 198-199.
  14. ↑ Tabari/Landau-Tasseron vol. 39 p. 202.
  15. ↑ Shaykh Al-Sadooq. Al-Khisaal, vol. 2 p. 363.
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