Part of Glimpses from the Lives of the Female Companions (Sahabiyyat) (series completed)
· Lesson 5 of 8
Pictures from the lives of female companions - Episode (5) - Nusayba Al-Mazniyah, may God be pleased with her
0:000:00
Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
0:00
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
0:15
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
0:17
to present to you
0:19
"Portraits from the Lives of the Female Companions"
0:23
by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
0:27
may Allah have mercy upon him.
0:31
Nusaybah al-Maziniyyah.
0:49
"You have an appointment to meet the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
0:56
at al-Aqabah,
0:58
at the end of the first third of the night."
1:01
Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr whispered these words
1:04
to one of the Muslims of Yathrib,
1:06
and the news spread among them like a gentle breeze,
1:09
swiftly, discreetly, and quietly.
1:12
The Muslims who had slipped away from Medina were duly informed,
1:16
having blended among the crowds of polytheist pilgrims arriving
1:20
in Mecca from every direction.
1:22
Night fell,
1:24
and the polytheist pilgrims surrendered to slumber,
1:28
sinking into a deep sleep
1:31
after an exhausting, grueling day
1:33
spent circumambulating idols
1:36
and slaughtering sacrifices for false gods.
1:38
Yet the companions of Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr,
1:40
the Muslims of Yathrib,
1:42
did not close an eye.
1:44
And how could their eyelids close
1:47
when their hearts fluttered with joy for the meeting
1:50
for which they had crossed barren deserts and wilderness,
1:54
and their hearts almost took flight from their chests
1:57
out of yearning to see their beloved Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?
2:02
For most of them had believed in him before being blessed with meeting him,
2:07
and had become devoted to him before their eyes had been honored with his sight.
2:11
At the end of the first third of the night,
2:14
in the middle of the Days of Tashriq,
2:16
at al-Aqabah in Mina,
2:18
the momentous meeting took place away from Quraysh's sight.
2:23
Seventy-two men stepped forward to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
2:30
placing their hands in his, one after another,
2:34
pledging allegiance to defend him just as they defended their own women and children.
2:39
When the men had completed their pledge,
2:42
two women stepped forward
2:44
and pledged allegiance to the same terms the men had pledged to,
2:47
but without shaking hands,
2:50
because the Messenger, peace be upon him, did not shake hands with women.
2:55
One of these two women
2:58
was known as Umm Mani',
3:00
while the other
3:01
was Nusaybah bint Ka'b al-Maziniyyah,
3:04
whose kunyah was Umm 'Umarah.
3:07
Umm 'Umarah returned to Yathrib,
3:10
overjoyed with the honor Allah had granted her by meeting the Greatest Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
3:16
fully determined to fulfill the conditions of the pledge.
3:20
Then the days passed swiftly,
3:23
until the Day of Uhud arrived,
3:25
and Umm 'Umarah played an extraordinary role in it.
3:29
Umm 'Umarah set out for Uhud
3:32
carrying her waterskin to quench the thirst of the warriors striving in the cause of Allah,
3:37
with bandages in hand to dress their wounds.
3:41
And this was no surprise,
3:42
for present in the battle were her husband and three dear to her heart:
3:47
the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
3:51
and her two sons, Habib and Abdullah,
3:54
in addition to her Muslim brethren defending the religion of Allah,
3:59
championing the Messenger of Allah.
4:02
Then took place what took place on the Day of Uhud,
4:05
and Umm 'Umarah saw with her own eyes
4:08
how the Muslims' victory turned into a grave defeat,
4:12
and how the killing intensified within the Muslim ranks,
4:16
as they fell on the battlefield, martyr after martyr,
4:20
and how feet trembled,
4:23
and the men scattered away from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
4:27
until no more than ten or so remained with him,
4:32
leading a disbelieving herald to cry out:
4:35
"Muhammad has been killed!"
4:39
At that moment, Umm 'Umarah cast aside her waterskin
4:43
and sprang into battle like a tigress whose cubs were under attack.
4:49
Let us leave the account of these decisive moments to Umm 'Umarah herself,
4:54
for none can depict them with such precision and truthfulness as she.
4:59
Umm 'Umarah said:
5:01
"I went out to Uhud in the early part of the day,
5:03
carrying a waterskin from which I gave drink to the fighters,
5:07
until I reached the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
5:11
while the tide of battle was in his favor and with those beside him.
5:14
Soon thereafter, the Muslims were routed away from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
5:19
and none remained with him except a small group of no more than ten.
5:24
So my sons, my husband, and I turned toward him,
5:27
surrounding him just as a bracelet surrounds a wrist,
5:31
and we began defending him with all the strength and weapons we possessed.
5:36
The noble Messenger, peace be upon him, saw me
5:40
without a shield to protect myself from the strikes of the polytheists.
5:45
Then he saw a fleeing man who had a shield and said to him:
5:49
'Give your shield to someone who will fight!'
5:52
The man dropped his shield and ran off,
5:55
so I picked it up and began shielding the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, with it.
6:01
I continued striking with the sword in defense of the Prophet
6:04
and shooting arrows to shield him,
6:06
until wounds finally overwhelmed me.
6:09
While we were in that state,
6:11
Ibn Qami'ah approached like a blazing ember, shouting:
6:15
'Where is Muhammad? Point Muhammad out to me!'
6:19
Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr and I blocked his path,
6:22
and he struck Mus'ab with his sword and struck him down dead.
6:26
Then he struck me a blow that left a deep wound upon my shoulder,
6:31
so I struck him several blows in return,
6:34
but the enemy of Allah was wearing two coats of armor."
6:38
Nusaybah al-Maziniyyah continued, saying:
6:41
"While my son was defending the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
6:46
one of the polytheists struck him a blow that nearly severed his upper arm,
6:51
and blood began gushing from the deep wound.
6:54
I rushed over to him and dressed his wound,
6:57
saying to him: 'Rise, my son, and fight the enemy!'
7:01
The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, turned to me and said:
7:06
'Who could endure what you endure, O Umm 'Umarah?'
7:10
Then the man who had struck my son approached,
7:13
and the Messenger, peace be upon him, said:
7:16
'This is the one who struck your son, O Umm 'Umarah!'
7:19
I quickly intercepted his path
7:21
and struck his leg with my sword,
7:24
bringing him crashing down to the ground.
7:27
We then fell upon him, taking turns striking him with swords
7:30
and piercing him with spears until we finished him off.
7:34
The greatest Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, turned to me,
7:38
smiling, and said:
7:40
'You have avenged him, O Umm 'Umarah!
7:43
Praise be to Allah Who granted you victory over him
7:46
and let you witness your vengeance with your own eyes!' "
7:48
Umm 'Umarah's two sons were no less
7:51
brave and selfless than their mother and father,
7:55
nor were they any less devoted in sacrifice and ransom;
7:58
for a son reflects the spirit of his mother and father,
8:01
and is a true image of them both.
8:03
Her son Abdullah narrated, saying:
8:06
"I was present at Uhud with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
8:10
and when the people scattered from around him,
8:13
my mother and I drew close to him to defend him.
8:16
He said: 'The son of Umm 'Umarah?'
8:19
I replied: 'Yes.' He said: 'Throw!'
8:22
So I threw a stone at a polytheist directly in front of him,
8:25
and the man fell to the ground.
8:27
I kept pelting him with stones
8:30
until I piled a heavy mound upon him,
8:33
while the Prophet, peace be upon him, looked at me and smiled.
8:37
Then he turned
8:40
and saw the wound on my mother's shoulder gushing blood,
8:44
so he said: 'Your mother! Your mother!
8:47
Bind her wound! May Allah bless you, members of this household!
8:51
Your mother's stand is better than the stand of so-and-so and so-and-so.
8:55
May Allah have mercy upon you, members of this household!'
8:58
My mother turned to him and said:
9:01
'Supplicate to Allah for us that we may accompany you in Paradise, O Messenger of Allah!'
9:05
So he said: 'O Allah, make them my companions in Paradise!'
9:10
My mother then said: 'After this, I do not care what befalls me in this worldly life.' "
9:16
Umm 'Umarah then returned from Uhud
9:19
with her deep wound
9:21
and this supplication made for her by the greatest Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
9:27
The Prophet, peace be upon him, returned from Uhud saying:
9:31
"I did not turn right or left on the Day of Uhud
9:35
without seeing Umm 'Umarah fighting in my defense."
9:40
On the Day of Uhud, Umm 'Umarah grew skilled in combat and mastered it,
9:45
tasting the sweetness of striving in the cause of Allah,
9:48
such that she could no longer stay away from it.
9:51
It was decreed for her to witness most major expeditions with the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him;
9:57
she was present with him at al-Hudaybiyyah, Khaybar,
10:00
the Compensatory Umrah, Hunayn,
10:03
and the Pledge of Ridwan.
10:05
Yet all of that pales in comparison to what she did on the Day of al-Yamamah,
10:11
during the era of al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with them both.
10:15
Umm 'Umarah's story with the Day of al-Yamamah begins
10:19
back in the lifetime of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
10:23
For the greatest Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had sent her son Habib Ibn Zayd
10:29
with a letter to Musaylamah the Liar.
10:32
Musaylamah betrayed Habib
10:34
and killed him in a horrifying manner that makes the skin crawl.
10:38
Musaylamah bound Habib in chains and said to him:
10:42
"Do you bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?"
10:45
He replied: "Yes."
10:47
Musaylamah then said:
10:49
"Do you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allah?"
10:51
He replied: "I cannot hear what you are saying."
10:54
So he cut off one of his limbs.
10:56
Musaylamah kept repeating the same question to him,
11:00
and he kept giving him the exact same answer,
11:03
neither adding to it nor taking away,
11:06
while with each refusal, a limb was severed from his body,
11:09
until his pure soul departed,
11:12
after enduring torture
11:15
that would make solid rocks tremble.
11:18
The bearer of the tragic news brought word of Habib Ibn Zayd's martyrdom to his mother, Nusaybah al-Maziniyyah,
11:23
and she merely said:
11:26
"For such a stand I prepared him,
11:29
and with Allah I seek his reward.
11:31
He pledged allegiance to the Messenger, peace be upon him,
11:34
on the night of al-Aqabah as a boy,
11:37
and he fulfilled it today as a grown man.
11:39
If Allah grants me power over Musaylamah,
11:42
I will surely make his daughters beat their cheeks in grief over him."
11:46
The day Nusaybah longed for was not long in coming,
11:50
when Abu Bakr's caller made the proclamation in Medina:
11:53
"Rally forth to fight the false claimant to prophethood, the liar Musaylimah!"
11:57
The Muslims hastened their march to confront him,
12:01
and among the army was Umm 'Umarah, that valiant warrior,
12:05
along with her son, 'Abdullah ibn Zayd.
12:08
When the two hosts met
12:10
and the heat of battle raged,
12:13
a group of Muslims lay in wait for Musaylimah,
12:16
foremost among them being Umm 'Umarah,
12:19
who sought vengeance for her martyred son,
12:22
as well as Wahshi ibn Harb,
12:24
the one who had slain Hamzah on the day of Uhud.
12:26
Wahshi wished to slay the worst of men as a believer,
12:30
just as he had slain one of the best of men while a polytheist.
12:34
Umm 'Umarah was unable to reach Musaylimah,
12:38
as her hand was severed in the battle
12:41
and she was severely weighed down by wounds.
12:43
However, Wahshi ibn Harb
12:45
and Abu Dujanah—
12:47
the bearer of the sword of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)—
12:50
reached Musaylimah and struck him together as one.
12:54
Wahshi pierced him with his spear,
12:57
and Abu Dujanah struck him down with his sword,
13:00
so he fell lifeless in the blink of an eye.
13:03
After the Battle of al-Yamamah, Umm 'Umarah returned to Medina
13:06
with only one hand,
13:08
accompanied by her only surviving son.
13:10
As for her other hand,
13:12
she sought its reward with Allah,
13:14
just as she had previously sought the reward for her martyred son.
13:17
And why would she not seek their reward?
13:19
Had she not said to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him):
13:22
"Pray to Allah that we may accompany you in Paradise"?
13:25
To which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) replied:
13:29
"O Allah, make them my companions in Paradise."
13:32
Whereupon she said:
13:34
"After that, I do not care what befalls me in this world."
13:39
May Allah be pleased with Umm 'Umarah and grant her contentment,
13:42
for she was a singular exemplar among the believing women,
13:46
and an extraordinary model among the steadfast female warriors.
13:55
"I did not turn to the right or to the left on the day of Uhud
13:58
without seeing Umm 'Umarah fighting to defend me."
14:02
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
14:13
and can any praise ever do justice to them?