In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you
"Portraits from the Lives of the Female Companions,"
by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy on him.
Ramlah,
daughter of Abu Sufyan,
may Allah be pleased with them both.
It had never crossed the mind of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb
that anyone among Quraysh possessed the audacity
to defy his authority
or oppose him in any matter of consequence.
For he was the undisputed, obeyed master of Makkah
and its leader to whom total allegiance was pledged.
Yet his own daughter, Ramlah,
known by the kunya Umm Habibah,
shattered this illusion,
when she renounced the idols of her father
and believed, alongside her husband, Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh,
in Allah alone, having no partner,
and affirmed the message of His Prophet, Muhammad ibn Abdillah.
Abu Sufyan strove
with all the power and might at his command
to turn his daughter and her husband back
to his religion and the religion of their forefathers,
but he failed completely.
For the faith deeply rooted in Ramlah’s heart
was too profound to be uprooted
by the tempests of Abu Sufyan,
and far too steadfast to be shaken by his wrath.
Abu Sufyan was consumed with grief and anxiety over Ramlah’s Islam,
for he no longer knew how to face Quraysh
after proving powerless to bend his own daughter to his will
or prevent her from following Muhammad.
When Quraysh realized that Abu Sufyan
was deeply incensed with Ramlah and her husband,
they grew emboldened against them,
and began tightening the noose around them,
subjecting them to the harshest forms of persecution,
until life in Makkah became utterly unbearable for the couple.
When the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, permitted
the Muslims to emigrate to Abyssinia,
Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan,
her young daughter Habibah,
and her husband Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh
were at the forefront of those migrating to Allah for their faith,
fleeing with their religion to the sanctuary of the Negus.
However, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb
and the leaders of Quraysh who accompanied him
could not bear to let
that group of Muslims slip through their fingers
and taste the sweet relief of peace in the land of Abyssinia.
So they dispatched their emissaries to the Negus,
inciting him against the emigrants,
demanding that he surrender them back,
and claiming that they uttered disparaging words
concerning the Messiah and his mother, Mary.
Thereupon, the Negus summoned the leaders of the emigrants
and questioned them about the reality of their religion,
and what they said regarding Jesus, the son of Mary, and his mother,
asking them to recite something of the Qur'an
that was revealed to the heart of their Prophet.
When they explained to him the reality of Islam
and recited some verses of the Qur'an to him,
he wept until his beard was drenched,
and said to them, "Indeed, this which
has been revealed to your Prophet Muhammad,
and that which Jesus, son of Mary, brought,
emanate from the very same niche of light."
Then he proclaimed his faith in Allah alone, without partner,
affirmed his belief in the prophethood of Muhammad,
peace and blessings be upon him,
and pledged his protection to the Muslims who had emigrated to his land,
even though his own bishops refused to accept Islam
and remained upon their Christian faith.
Following this, Umm Habibah thought
that life had finally smiled upon her after a long frown of adversity,
and that her arduous journey
through the corridor of pain had at last led her
to an oasis of peace and security.
Little did she know what destiny had concealed in store for her,
for Allah, blessed be His wisdom, willed
to test Umm Habibah with a severe trial—
one that would baffle the minds of the wisest of men,
and shatter the resolve of people of understanding—
only to bring her forth from that
momentous tribulation
victorious, seated at the pinnacle of triumph.
For one night, Umm Habibah retired
to her bed,
and saw in a dream that her husband, Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh,
was flailing in the depths of a fathomless ocean,
engulfed in layers of darkness, one upon another,
in the most wretched condition.
She awoke from her sleep terrified and deeply distressed,
but chose not to mention to him or to anyone else
anything of what she had seen.
Yet her vision was soon to come to pass,
for before the day following that night had ended,
her husband apostatized and threw himself into taverns,
indulging in the mother of all vices, wine,
unable to quench his thirst or satisfy his craving.
He then gave her a choice between two options,
the sweeter of which was exceedingly bitter:
either to be divorced or to convert to Christianity.
Umm Habibah suddenly found herself
facing three agonizing paths:
she could either yield to her husband
and thereby apostatize from her faith—
Allah forbid!—incurring the disgrace of this world
and the torment of the Hereafter, which was something
she would never do, even if her flesh were raked from her bones
with iron combs;
or she could return to her father’s home in Makkah,
which remained a bastion of polytheism,
where she would live subjugated and forced to abandon her religion;
or she could remain in the land of Abyssinia,
without family, homeland, or supporter.
So she chose that which brought the pleasure of Allah, Mighty and Majestic,
above all else,
and resolved to remain in Abyssinia
until Allah brought forth relief from Him.
Umm Habibah’s wait did not last long,
for no sooner had her waiting period ended following the death of her husband—
who lived only a short time after embracing Christianity—
than divine relief arrived,
and happiness descended upon her,
flapping its vibrant green, emerald wings
over her sorrowful home unexpectedly.
On a bright, luminous morning,
pleasant and cheerful, there came a knock at her door.
When she opened it, she was surprised to find Abrahah,
the maidservant of the Negus, King of Abyssinia.
She greeted her with utmost courtesy and joy,
asked permission to enter, and said,
"The King conveys his greetings to you and says:
'Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has sought your hand in marriage,
and has sent him a letter appointing him as his proxy
to conduct the marriage contract with you;
so appoint whomever you wish as your guardian.'"
Umm Habibah was overjoyed and exclaimed,
"May Allah bring you glad tidings of good!
May Allah bring you glad tidings of good!"
She immediately began taking off her jewelry:
she gave her two bracelets to Abrahah,
followed by her anklets,
and then added her earrings and rings;
had she possessed all the treasures of the world,
she would have given them to her at that moment.
Then she said to her, "I have appointed as my guardian
Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-'As,
for he is the closest of people to me."
In the palace of the Negus, perched atop a hill
overlooking one of the lush, blooming meadows of Abyssinia,
and within one of its spacious halls,
adorned with vibrant carvings,
illuminated by gleaming brass lamps,
and furnished with the most luxurious furnishings,
the prominent Companions residing in Abyssinia assembled.
Foremost among them were Ja'far ibn Abi Talib,
Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-'As,
and Abdullah ibn Hudhafah al-Sahmi,
among others, to witness the marriage contract of Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan
to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
When the gathering was complete,
the Negus presided over the assembly and delivered a sermon,
saying: "All praise is due to Allah, the Sovereign, the Holy,
the Source of Peace, the Omnipotent.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah,
and that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger,
and that he is the one whom Jesus, the son of Mary, foretold.
To proceed:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him,
has requested me to marry him to Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan,
and I have consented to his request,
granting her on his behalf a mahr
of four hundred gold dinars,
in accordance with the Sunnah of Allah and His Messenger."
Then he poured the gold dinars before Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-'As.
At this, Khalid stood up and said,
"Praise be to Allah, I praise Him, seek His aid,
ask His forgiveness, and repent to Him.
I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger,
whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth,
that He may make it prevail over all religions,
even if the disbelievers detest it. To proceed:
I have agreed to the request of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him,
and have given in marriage my ward,
Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan.
May Allah bless His Messenger with his wife,
and congratulations to Umm Habibah for the abundant good
that Allah has decreed for her."
Then Khalid took the money and intended to take it to her,
and his companions stood up with him
intending to leave as well.
But the Negus said to them, "Sit down,
for it is the Sunnah of the Prophets, whenever they marry,
that they share a meal.
Umm Habibah said:
"When the wealth reached me,
I sent to Abrahah, the maidservant who had brought me the glad tidings,
fifty mithqals of gold.
I told her: 'I gave you what I gave you when you brought me the good news
only because I possessed no money at the time.'
But before long,
Abrahah came back to me and returned the gold,
and she brought out a small casket containing the jewelry
and returned that to me as well.
She said: 'The King has strictly bidden me
not to accept anything from you,
and he has instructed his wives to send you
all the perfume they possess.'
The next day, she brought me yellow scent (wars),
agarwood, and ambergris, and then said to me:
'I have a favor to ask of you.'
I asked: 'And what is that?'
She said: 'I have embraced the religion of Muhammad;
so convey my greetings of peace to the Prophet,
and inform him that I have believed in Allah and His Messenger,
and do not forget this.'
Then she helped prepare me for my journey.
Later, when I was brought to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and met him, I told him all about the marriage proposal
and how I had interacted with Abrahah,
and I conveyed her greetings of peace to him.
He said: 'And upon her be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.'
Umm Habibah
prioritized Allah and His Messenger above all else,
and hated to return to disbelief
just as one would hate to be cast into the Fire.
The historians