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 upon him.
Nusaybah al-Maziniyyah.
"You have an appointment to meet the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
at al-Aqabah,
at the end of the first third of the night."
Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr whispered these words
to one of the Muslims of Yathrib,
and the news spread among them like a gentle breeze,
swiftly, discreetly, and quietly.
The Muslims who had slipped away from Medina were duly informed,
having blended among the crowds of polytheist pilgrims arriving
in Mecca from every direction.
Night fell,
and the polytheist pilgrims surrendered to slumber,
sinking into a deep sleep
after an exhausting, grueling day
spent circumambulating idols
and slaughtering sacrifices for false gods.
Yet the companions of Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr,
the Muslims of Yathrib,
did not close an eye.
And how could their eyelids close
when their hearts fluttered with joy for the meeting
for which they had crossed barren deserts and wilderness,
and their hearts almost took flight from their chests
out of yearning to see their beloved Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?
For most of them had believed in him before being blessed with meeting him,
and had become devoted to him before their eyes had been honored with his sight.
At the end of the first third of the night,
in the middle of the Days of Tashriq,
at al-Aqabah in Mina,
the momentous meeting took place away from Quraysh's sight.
Seventy-two men stepped forward to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
placing their hands in his, one after another,
pledging allegiance to defend him just as they defended their own women and children.
When the men had completed their pledge,
two women stepped forward
and pledged allegiance to the same terms the men had pledged to,
but without shaking hands,
because the Messenger, peace be upon him, did not shake hands with women.
One of these two women
was known as Umm Mani',
while the other
was Nusaybah bint Ka'b al-Maziniyyah,
whose kunyah was Umm 'Umarah.
Umm 'Umarah returned to Yathrib,
overjoyed with the honor Allah had granted her by meeting the Greatest Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
fully determined to fulfill the conditions of the pledge.
Then the days passed swiftly,
until the Day of Uhud arrived,
and Umm 'Umarah played an extraordinary role in it.
Umm 'Umarah set out for Uhud
carrying her waterskin to quench the thirst of the warriors striving in the cause of Allah,
with bandages in hand to dress their wounds.
And this was no surprise,
for present in the battle were her husband and three dear to her heart:
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and her two sons, Habib and Abdullah,
in addition to her Muslim brethren defending the religion of Allah,
championing the Messenger of Allah.
Then took place what took place on the Day of Uhud,
and Umm 'Umarah saw with her own eyes
how the Muslims' victory turned into a grave defeat,
and how the killing intensified within the Muslim ranks,
as they fell on the battlefield, martyr after martyr,
and how feet trembled,
and the men scattered away from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
until no more than ten or so remained with him,
leading a disbelieving herald to cry out:
"Muhammad has been killed!"
At that moment, Umm 'Umarah cast aside her waterskin
and sprang into battle like a tigress whose cubs were under attack.
Let us leave the account of these decisive moments to Umm 'Umarah herself,
for none can depict them with such precision and truthfulness as she.
Umm 'Umarah said:
"I went out to Uhud in the early part of the day,
carrying a waterskin from which I gave drink to the fighters,
until I reached the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
while the tide of battle was in his favor and with those beside him.
Soon thereafter, the Muslims were routed away from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and none remained with him except a small group of no more than ten.
So my sons, my husband, and I turned toward him,
surrounding him just as a bracelet surrounds a wrist,
and we began defending him with all the strength and weapons we possessed.
The noble Messenger, peace be upon him, saw me
without a shield to protect myself from the strikes of the polytheists.
Then he saw a fleeing man who had a shield and said to him:
'Give your shield to someone who will fight!'
The man dropped his shield and ran off,
so I picked it up and began shielding the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, with it.
I continued striking with the sword in defense of the Prophet
and shooting arrows to shield him,
until wounds finally overwhelmed me.
While we were in that state,
Ibn Qami'ah approached like a blazing ember, shouting:
'Where is Muhammad? Point Muhammad out to me!'
Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr and I blocked his path,
and he struck Mus'ab with his sword and struck him down dead.
Then he struck me a blow that left a deep wound upon my shoulder,
so I struck him several blows in return,
but the enemy of Allah was wearing two coats of armor."
Nusaybah al-Maziniyyah continued, saying:
"While my son was defending the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
one of the polytheists struck him a blow that nearly severed his upper arm,
and blood began gushing from the deep wound.
I rushed over to him and dressed his wound,
saying to him: 'Rise, my son, and fight the enemy!'
The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, turned to me and said:
'Who could endure what you endure, O Umm 'Umarah?'
Then the man who had struck my son approached,
and the Messenger, peace be upon him, said:
'This is the one who struck your son, O Umm 'Umarah!'
I quickly intercepted his path
and struck his leg with my sword,
bringing him crashing down to the ground.
We then fell upon him, taking turns striking him with swords
and piercing him with spears until we finished him off.
The greatest Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, turned to me,
smiling, and said:
'You have avenged him, O Umm 'Umarah!
Praise be to Allah Who granted you victory over him
and let you witness your vengeance with your own eyes!' "
Umm 'Umarah's two sons were no less
brave and selfless than their mother and father,
nor were they any less devoted in sacrifice and ransom;
for a son reflects the spirit of his mother and father,
and is a true image of them both.
Her son Abdullah narrated, saying:
"I was present at Uhud with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and when the people scattered from around him,
my mother and I drew close to him to defend him.
He said: 'The son of Umm 'Umarah?'
I replied: 'Yes.' He said: 'Throw!'
So I threw a stone at a polytheist directly in front of him,
and the man fell to the ground.
I kept pelting him with stones
until I piled a heavy mound upon him,
while the Prophet, peace be upon him, looked at me and smiled.
Then he turned
and saw the wound on my mother's shoulder gushing blood,
so he said: 'Your mother! Your mother!
Bind her wound! May Allah bless you, members of this household!
Your mother's stand is better than the stand of so-and-so and so-and-so.
May Allah have mercy upon you, members of this household!'
My mother turned to him and said:
'Supplicate to Allah for us that we may accompany you in Paradise, O Messenger of Allah!'
So he said: 'O Allah, make them my companions in Paradise!'
My mother then said: 'After this, I do not care what befalls me in this worldly life.' "
Umm 'Umarah then returned from Uhud
with her deep wound
and this supplication made for her by the greatest Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, returned from Uhud saying:
"I did not turn right or left on the Day of Uhud
without seeing Umm 'Umarah fighting in my defense."
On the Day of Uhud, Umm 'Umarah grew skilled in combat and mastered it,
tasting the sweetness of striving in the cause of Allah,
such that she could no longer stay away from it.
It was decreed for her to witness most major expeditions with the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him;
she was present with him at al-Hudaybiyyah, Khaybar,
the Compensatory Umrah, Hunayn,
and the Pledge of Ridwan.
Yet all of that pales in comparison to what she did on the Day of al-Yamamah,
during the era of al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with them both.
Umm 'Umarah's story with the Day of al-Yamamah begins
back in the lifetime of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
For the greatest Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had sent her son Habib Ibn Zayd
with a letter to Musaylamah the Liar.
Musaylamah betrayed Habib
and killed him in a horrifying manner that makes the skin crawl.
Musaylamah bound Habib in chains and said to him:
"Do you bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?"
He replied: "Yes."
Musaylamah then said:
"Do you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allah?"
He replied: "I cannot hear what you are saying."
So he cut off one of his limbs.
Musaylamah kept repeating the same question to him,
and he kept giving him the exact same answer,
neither adding to it nor taking away,
while with each refusal, a limb was severed from his body,
until his pure soul departed,
after enduring torture
that would make solid rocks tremble.
The bearer of the tragic news brought word of Habib Ibn Zayd's martyrdom to his mother, Nusaybah al-Maziniyyah,
and she merely said:
"For such a stand I prepared him,
and with Allah I seek his reward.
He pledged allegiance to the Messenger, peace be upon him,
on the night of al-Aqabah as a boy,
and he fulfilled it today as a grown man.
If Allah grants me power over Musaylamah,
I will surely make his daughters beat their cheeks in grief over him."
The day Nusaybah longed for was not long in coming,
when Abu Bakr's caller made the proclamation in Medina:
"Rally forth to fight the false claimant to prophethood, the liar Musaylimah!"
The Muslims hastened their march to confront him,
and among the army was Umm 'Umarah, that valiant warrior,
along with her son, 'Abdullah ibn Zayd.
When the two hosts met
and the heat of battle raged,
a group of Muslims lay in wait for Musaylimah,
foremost among them being Umm 'Umarah,
who sought vengeance for her martyred son,
as well as Wahshi ibn Harb,
the one who had slain Hamzah on the day of Uhud.
Wahshi wished to slay the worst of men as a believer,
just as he had slain one of the best of men while a polytheist.
Umm 'Umarah was unable to reach Musaylimah,
as her hand was severed in the battle
and she was severely weighed down by wounds.
However, Wahshi ibn Harb
and Abu Dujanah—
the bearer of the sword of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)—
reached Musaylimah and struck him together as one.
Wahshi pierced him with his spear,
and Abu Dujanah struck him down with his sword,
so he fell lifeless in the blink of an eye.
After the Battle of al-Yamamah, Umm 'Umarah returned to Medina
with only one hand,
accompanied by her only surviving son.
As for her other hand,
she sought its reward with Allah,
just as she had previously sought the reward for her martyred son.
And why would she not seek their reward?
Had she not said to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):
"Pray to Allah that we may accompany you in Paradise"?
To which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) replied:
"O Allah, make them my companions in Paradise."
Whereupon she said:
"After that, I do not care what befalls me in this world."
May Allah be pleased with Umm 'Umarah and grant her contentment,
for she was a singular exemplar among the believing women,
and an extraordinary model among the steadfast female warriors.
"I did not turn to the right or to the left on the day of Uhud
without seeing Umm 'Umarah fighting to defend me."
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
and can any praise ever do justice to them?