WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:17.640 The Mawaddah Association is pleased 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:19.640 to present to you 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:22.640 "Portraits from the Lives of the Female Companions" 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:26.769 by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha, 00:00:26.769 --> 00:00:28.769 may Allah have mercy on him. 00:00:28.769 --> 00:00:34.390 Asma' bint Abi Bakr, 00:00:34.390 --> 00:00:36.390 may Allah be pleased with them both. 00:00:48.200 --> 00:00:57.329 This female Companion of ours encompassed glory from every side: 00:00:57.329 --> 00:00:59.329 her father was a Companion, 00:00:59.329 --> 00:01:01.329 her grandfather was a Companion, 00:01:01.329 --> 00:01:03.329 her sister was a female Companion, 00:01:03.329 --> 00:01:05.329 her husband was a Companion, 00:01:05.329 --> 00:01:07.420 and her son was a Companion; 00:01:07.420 --> 00:01:09.420 that alone suffices her in nobility and honor. 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:11.459 As for her father, 00:01:11.459 --> 00:01:15.459 he was al-Siddiq, the intimate companion of the Noble Messenger during his lifetime, 00:01:15.459 --> 00:01:17.459 and his successor after his death. 00:01:17.459 --> 00:01:19.459 As for her grandfather, 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:21.459 he was Abu Atiq, the father of Abu Bakr. 00:01:21.459 --> 00:01:23.459 As for her sister, 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:25.459 she was the Mother of the Believers, Aisha, 00:01:25.459 --> 00:01:27.459 the pure and exonerated. 00:01:27.459 --> 00:01:29.459 As for her husband, 00:01:29.459 --> 00:01:31.459 he was the disciple of the Messenger of Allah, 00:01:31.459 --> 00:01:33.459 al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam. 00:01:33.459 --> 00:01:35.459 And as for her son, 00:01:35.459 --> 00:01:37.459 he was Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, 00:01:37.459 --> 00:01:39.459 may Allah be pleased with him and with them all. 00:01:39.459 --> 00:01:41.489 She is, in brief, 00:01:41.489 --> 00:01:45.489 Asma' bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq—and that suffices! 00:01:45.489 --> 00:01:49.680 Asma' was among the earliest converts to Islam, 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:53.680 for no one preceded her in this immense virtue 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:57.680 except seventeen people, both men and women. 00:01:57.680 --> 00:01:59.680 She was given the title "Dhat al-Nitaqayn" (She of the Two Girdles) 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:03.680 because she prepared food for the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:07.680 and for her father on the day of their migration to Medina, 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.680 and she prepared a waterskin for them. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:11.680 When she could find nothing with which to tie them, 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:13.680 she tore her girdle into two pieces, 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:17.680 binding the provision bag with one and the waterskin with the other. 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:21.680 Thereupon, the Prophet, peace be upon him, prayed for her 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:25.680 that Allah would replace them with two girdles for her in Paradise, 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:27.680 and so she was titled "Dhat al-Nitaqayn." 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:31.900 Al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam married her 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:33.900 when he was a poor young man, 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:36.900 having no servant to attend to his needs, 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:39.900 nor wealth to provide abundantly for his household, 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:41.900 except for a single horse he owned. 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:44.900 She was the best of righteous wives to him: 00:02:44.900 --> 00:02:46.900 serving him, grooming his horse, 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:49.900 tending to it, and grinding date-stones for its fodder, 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:51.900 until Allah bestowed abundance upon him 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:54.900 and he became one of the wealthiest of the Companions. 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:58.969 When the opportunity came for her to migrate to Medina, 00:02:58.969 --> 00:03:00.969 fleeing with her faith to Allah and His Messenger, 00:03:00.969 --> 00:03:04.969 she was full-term in her pregnancy with her son Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr. 00:03:04.969 --> 00:03:08.969 Yet that did not prevent her from enduring the hardships of the long journey, 00:03:08.969 --> 00:03:12.969 and no sooner had she reached Quba' than she gave birth to her child. 00:03:12.969 --> 00:03:15.969 The Muslims proclaimed the greatness of Allah and rejoiced with "La ilaha illa Allah," 00:03:15.969 --> 00:03:20.969 for he was the first child born to the Emigrants in Medina. 00:03:20.969 --> 00:03:24.969 She carried him to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:03:24.969 --> 00:03:26.969 and placed him in his lap. 00:03:26.969 --> 00:03:30.969 The Prophet took a little of his saliva and put it into the baby's mouth, 00:03:30.969 --> 00:03:32.969 then performed tahnik for him and prayed for him. 00:03:32.969 --> 00:03:38.969 Thus, the first thing to enter his stomach was the saliva of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:43.099 Asma' bint Abi Bakr combined such qualities of goodness, 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:46.099 noble traits, and sound intellect 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:50.099 as are rarely found except in a precious few men. 00:03:50.099 --> 00:03:52.099 She was so generous 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:55.099 that her generosity became proverbial. 00:03:55.099 --> 00:03:58.129 Her son Abdullah narrated, saying: 00:03:58.129 --> 00:04:00.129 "I have never seen two women 00:04:00.129 --> 00:04:03.129 more generous than my maternal aunt Aisha and my mother Asma'. 00:04:03.129 --> 00:04:06.129 Yet their ways of giving differed: 00:04:06.129 --> 00:04:10.129 as for my aunt, she would gather thing upon thing, 00:04:10.129 --> 00:04:15.129 and once enough had accumulated, she would distribute it among the needy; 00:04:15.129 --> 00:04:19.129 whereas my mother would not keep anything until the morrow." 00:04:19.129 --> 00:04:25.379 Asma' was also deeply wise, conducting herself impeccably in critical situations. 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:30.379 An example of this occurred when al-Siddiq set out on the migration accompanied by the Messenger of Allah; 00:04:30.379 --> 00:04:35.379 he took all his wealth with him, amounting to six thousand dirhams, 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:38.379 leaving nothing behind for his family. 00:04:38.379 --> 00:04:41.379 When his father, Abu Quhafah, learned of his departure— 00:04:41.379 --> 00:04:44.379 and he was still a polytheist at the time— 00:04:44.379 --> 00:04:47.379 he came to his house and said to Asma': 00:04:47.379 --> 00:04:50.379 "By Allah, I see that he has distressed you with his wealth 00:04:50.379 --> 00:04:52.379 after having already distressed you by leaving himself!" 00:04:52.379 --> 00:04:53.379 She said to him: 00:04:53.379 --> 00:04:55.379 "Not at all, grandfather! 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:58.379 He has left us abundant wealth." 00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:00.379 Then she took some pebbles 00:05:00.379 --> 00:05:04.379 and placed them in the niche where they used to keep their money, 00:05:04.379 --> 00:05:06.379 covering them with a cloth. 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:08.379 Then she took her grandfather by the hand— 00:05:08.379 --> 00:05:10.379 and he was blind— 00:05:10.379 --> 00:05:11.379 and said: 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:12.379 "Grandfather, 00:05:12.379 --> 00:05:15.379 feel how much wealth he has left for us." 00:05:15.379 --> 00:05:17.379 He placed his hand on it and said: 00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:18.379 "There is no harm then; 00:05:18.379 --> 00:05:22.379 if he has left you all of this, he has done well." 00:05:22.379 --> 00:05:26.379 By doing so, she intended to reassure the old man's heart 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:29.379 and prevent him from offering her any of his own money, 00:05:29.379 --> 00:05:33.379 for she detested being beholden to a polytheist, 00:05:33.379 --> 00:05:36.420 even if he was her grandfather. 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:41.420 And if history were to forget all the stances of Asma' bint Abi Bakr, 00:05:41.420 --> 00:05:45.420 it would never forget the soundness of her judgment, her resolute determination, 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:47.420 and the strength of her faith 00:05:47.420 --> 00:05:51.509 when she met her son Abdullah for the very last time. 00:05:51.509 --> 00:05:54.509 For her son, Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, 00:05:54.509 --> 00:05:58.509 had been pledged allegiance as caliph after the death of Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah, 00:05:58.509 --> 00:06:01.509 and the Hijaz, Egypt, Iraq, 00:06:01.509 --> 00:06:04.509 Khurasan, and most of the Levant had submitted to his rule. 00:06:04.509 --> 00:06:09.509 But the Umayyads soon dispatched a massive army to wage war against him, 00:06:09.509 --> 00:06:12.509 led by al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi. 00:06:12.509 --> 00:06:15.610 Fierce battles raged between the two sides, 00:06:15.610 --> 00:06:21.610 in which Ibn al-Zubayr displayed forms of heroism befitting a valiant warrior of his stature. 00:06:21.610 --> 00:06:26.670 However, his supporters began to desert him little by little, 00:06:26.670 --> 00:06:28.670 so he retreated to the Sacred House of Allah 00:06:28.670 --> 00:06:32.670 and took refuge, along with those remaining with him, within the sanctuary of the Venerated Ka'bah. 00:06:32.670 --> 00:06:35.670 A few hours before his death, 00:06:35.670 --> 00:06:37.670 he entered upon his mother, Asma', 00:06:37.670 --> 00:06:41.670 who was then an elderly woman advanced in years and blind. 00:06:41.670 --> 00:06:46.670 He said: "Peace be upon you, mother, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings." 00:06:46.670 --> 00:06:50.670 She replied: "And upon you be peace, O Abdullah. 00:06:50.670 --> 00:06:53.670 What brings you at this hour, 00:06:53.670 --> 00:06:58.670 while the stones launched by al-Hajjaj's catapults at your troops in the Sanctuary 00:06:58.670 --> 00:07:00.670 are violently shaking the houses of Mecca?" 00:07:00.670 --> 00:07:03.740 He said: "I have come to consult you." 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:08.740 She asked: "To consult me about what?" 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:11.740 He said: "The people have deserted me 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:14.740 and turned away, either out of dread of al-Hajjaj 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:16.740 or coveting what he has to offer. 00:07:16.740 --> 00:07:19.740 Even my own children and family have dispersed from me, 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:23.740 and none remain with me except a small band of my men. 00:07:23.740 --> 00:07:25.740 Yet no matter how great their endurance may be, 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:29.740 they cannot hold out for more than an hour or two. 00:07:29.740 --> 00:07:31.740 Meanwhile, the emissaries of the Umayyads are negotiating with me, 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:34.740 offering to give me whatever worldly wealth I desire 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:36.740 if only I lay down my arms 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:39.740 and pledge allegiance to Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:40.740 What do you think?" 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:42.740 Her voice rose as she said: 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:45.740 "The matter is yours, O Abdullah, 00:07:45.740 --> 00:07:47.740 and you know yourself best. 00:07:47.740 --> 00:07:50.740 If you believe that you are upon the truth 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:52.740 and calling to the truth, 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:57.740 then endure and fight valiantly, just as your companions who were killed beneath your banner endured! 00:07:57.740 --> 00:07:59.740 But if you only sought worldly gain, 00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:01.740 then what a wretched servant of Allah you are— 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:04.740 you have destroyed yourself and destroyed your men!" 00:08:04.740 --> 00:08:05.740 He said: 00:08:05.740 --> 00:08:08.740 "Yet I am surely to be killed this day." 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:09.740 She said: 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:14.740 "That is better for you than surrendering yourself to al-Hajjaj voluntarily, 00:08:14.740 --> 00:08:17.740 only for the Umayyad youths to toy with your head!" 00:08:17.740 --> 00:08:18.740 He said: 00:08:18.740 --> 00:08:20.740 "I do not fear death; 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:23.769 I only fear being mutilated." 00:08:23.769 --> 00:08:24.769 She replied: 00:08:24.769 --> 00:08:27.769 "There is nothing after death for a person to fear, 00:08:27.769 --> 00:08:30.769 for a slaughtered sheep feels no pain from being skinned!" 00:08:30.769 --> 00:08:33.899 His face beamed with joy, and he said: 00:08:33.899 --> 00:08:35.899 "May you be blessed as a mother, 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:38.899 and may your noble virtues be blessed! 00:08:38.899 --> 00:08:41.899 For I did not come to you at this hour 00:08:41.899 --> 00:08:44.899 except to hear from you precisely what I have heard. 00:08:44.899 --> 00:08:47.899 Allah knows that I have neither faltered nor weakened, 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:49.960 and He is my witness 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:54.960 that I did not undertake what I did out of love for this worldly life and its adornments, 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:58.960 but out of anger for the sake of Allah that His sacred boundaries should be violated. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:01.960 Here I am, proceeding toward what you desire! 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:03.960 So if I am killed, 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:05.960 do not grieve over me, 00:09:05.960 --> 00:09:07.960 and surrender your affair to Allah." 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:08.960 She said: 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:13.019 "I would only grieve over you if you were killed upon falsehood." 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:14.019 He said: 00:09:14.019 --> 00:09:19.019 "Rest assured that your son never deliberately committed a vile deed, 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:21.019 nor ever engaged in an immorality, 00:09:21.019 --> 00:09:23.019 nor ever deviated from the judgment of Allah, 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:25.019 nor ever betrayed a covenant of safety, 00:09:25.019 --> 00:09:28.019 nor ever intentionally wronged a Muslim or a non-Muslim under covenant, 00:09:28.019 --> 00:09:33.019 nor was anything dearer to him than the pleasure of Allah, Glorified and Exalted. 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:36.059 I do not say this to praise myself, 00:09:36.059 --> 00:09:38.059 for Allah knows me better than I know myself, 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:42.059 but I only said it to bring comfort to your heart." 00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:43.059 She said: 00:09:43.059 --> 00:09:48.059 "Praise be to Allah Who has made you as He loves and as I love! 00:09:48.059 --> 00:09:50.059 Come close to me, my son, 00:09:50.059 --> 00:09:53.059 so that I may smell your scent and touch your body, 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:56.059 for this may well be my final moment with you." 00:09:56.059 --> 00:10:01.059 Abdullah bent over her hands and feet, kissing them profusely, 00:10:01.059 --> 00:10:05.059 while she passed her face over his head, face, and neck, 00:10:05.059 --> 00:10:07.059 smelling him and kissing him. 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:10.059 She stretched out her hands, feeling his body, 00:10:10.059 --> 00:10:14.059 but soon pulled them back, saying: 00:10:14.059 --> 00:10:17.059 "What is this you are wearing, O Abdullah?" 00:10:17.059 --> 00:10:18.059 He said, 00:10:18.059 --> 00:10:20.059 "My coat of mail." 00:10:20.059 --> 00:10:21.059 She replied, 00:10:21.059 --> 00:10:24.059 "O my son, this is not the attire of one seeking martyrdom!" 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:25.090 He explained, 00:10:25.090 --> 00:10:30.149 "I only put it on to comfort you and put your heart at ease." 00:10:30.149 --> 00:10:31.149 She said, 00:10:31.149 --> 00:10:33.149 "Take it off! 00:10:33.149 --> 00:10:35.149 For that will ignite your zeal even more, 00:10:35.149 --> 00:10:37.149 make your charge more formidable, 00:10:37.149 --> 00:10:39.149 and allow you greater agility of movement. 00:10:39.149 --> 00:10:42.149 Instead, put on doubled lower garments, 00:10:42.149 --> 00:10:45.149 so that if you fall, your private parts will not be exposed." 00:10:45.149 --> 00:10:48.440 'Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr took off his coat of mail, 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:50.440 tightened his lower garments firmly, 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:54.440 and headed toward the Sacred Sanctuary to resume fighting, calling out: 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:57.440 "Do not cease praying for me, mother!" 00:10:57.440 --> 00:11:01.629 So she raised her hands to the heavens and prayed: 00:11:01.629 --> 00:11:06.629 "O Allah, have mercy on his lengthy standing in prayer and his intense weeping in the darkness of the night, 00:11:06.629 --> 00:11:08.629 while the people were fast asleep. 00:11:08.629 --> 00:11:14.659 O Allah, have mercy on his hunger and his thirst in the scorching midday heat of Medina and Mecca while fasting. 00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:17.659 O Allah, have mercy on his devotion and filial piety toward his father and mother. 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:20.789 O Allah, I have truly surrendered him to Your command, 00:11:20.789 --> 00:11:23.789 and I am pleased with whatever You have decreed for him, 00:11:23.789 --> 00:11:26.789 so grant me for him the reward of the patient." 00:11:26.789 --> 00:11:29.950 The sun of that day had not yet set 00:11:29.950 --> 00:11:33.950 before 'Abdullah Ibn al-Zubayr had departed to the presence of his Lord. 00:11:33.950 --> 00:11:37.950 Barely a dozen or so days had passed after his death 00:11:37.950 --> 00:11:41.950 before his mother, Asma' bint Abi Bakr, also followed him. 00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:44.950 She had reached a hundred years of age, 00:11:44.950 --> 00:11:47.950 yet not a single incisor or molar of hers had fallen out, 00:11:47.950 --> 00:11:50.950 nor had she lost any of her mental faculties. 00:11:50.950 --> 00:11:56.700 Asma' lived for a hundred years, 00:11:56.700 --> 00:11:59.700 without losing a single front tooth or molar, 00:11:59.700 --> 00:12:02.700 and without suffering any decline in her intellect. 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:05.090 The historians record: 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.039 Not a single tooth had fallen from her mouth.