Jamila bint Thabit

Jamila bint Thabit (Arabic: جميلة بنت ثابت‎), originally named Asiya, was a wife of Umar and a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Biography

She was the daughter of Thabit ibn Abi al-Aflah and Al-Shamus bint Abi Amir, who were both from the 'Amr ibn Awf clan of the Aws tribe in Medina.^[1][2] Her brother Asim was among those who fought at Badr.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Jamila was one of Medina's first converts to Islam. She her mother were among the first ten women to pledge allegiance to Muhammad in 622.^[8] On hearing that her name was Asiya ("disobedient"), Muhammad renamed her: "No, you are Jamila" ("beautiful").^[9]

She married Umar about five years later, between May 627 and May 628.^[10] They had one son, Asim.^{[11][12][13][14][15]} On one occasion, Jamila asked Umar for money, and, as he afterwards reported to Muhammad: "I slapped her with a blow that floored her, because she asked me for what I did not have."^[16] The marriage ended in divorce.^[17][18][19]

Jamila and Asim returned to her family in the suburb of Quba. One day Umar arrived in Quba and saw Asim playing in the mosque courtyard. He picked him up and placed him on his mount. Jamila’s mother Al-Shamus saw that that Umar was taking her grandson away and came up to protest. They could not agree who should have custody of Asim and so they brought their dispute before Abu Bakr. When Abu Bakr ruled, "Do not interfere between a child and its mother," Umar dropped his case and allowed Jamila to keep her son.^[20]

Later Jamila was married to Yazid ibn Jariya, and they had one son, Abdulrahman.^[21][22]

References

1. Muhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). The Companions of Badr, p. 204. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
2. Muhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina, pp. 7, 235, 236. London/Ta-Ha Publishers.
3. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 3 p. 362.
4. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 235.
5. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarik al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Fishbein, M. (1997). Volume 8: The Victory of Islam, p. 95. Albany: State University of New York Press.
6. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarik al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Smith, G. R. (1994). Volume 14: The Conquest of Iran, pp. 100-101. Albany: State University of New York Press.
7. But see Bukhari 4:52:281 and similar traditions, where Asim ibn Thabit is described as the "grandfather" of Jamila's son Asim. According to the biographical traditions, they should have been uncle and nephew.
8. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 7.
9. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 3 p. 204.
10. Tabari/Fishbein vol. 8 p. 95.
11. Malik ibn Anas. Al-Muwatta 37:6.
12. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 3 p. 204.
13. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 236.
14. Tabari/Fishbein vol. 8 p. 95.
15. Tabari/Smith vol. 14 pp. 100-101.
16. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 131.
17. Muwatta 37:6.
18. Tabari/Fishbein vol. 8 p. 95.
19. Tabari/Smith vol. 14 pp. 100-101.
20. Muwatta 37:6.
21. Tabari/Fishbein vol. 8 pp. 94-95.
22. Ibn Saad/Bewley vol. 8 p. 236.