Sunday, December 18, 2016

Heroines of Tawheed: Asmaa bint Omays

She was Saahibatul Hijratayn(The companion of the 2 Hijrahs). 
Umm Abdillaah, Asmaa bint 'Omays.  She was from Makkah.  She was the sister in law of the prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) because her sister Maymuna bint al Haarith, was the last among the wives of the Messenger of Allah(صلى الله عليه وسلم).


She was also the sister in law of Hamza ibn AbdulMuttalib because he had married her sister, Salma bint 'Omays. She was also the sister in law of al Abbas ibn AbdulMuttalib because he had married her sister, Lubabah al Kubra also known as Umm Fadhl.

Asmaa accepted Islaam before the Muslims entered Daar al Arqam making her among the very first converts to Islaam. She was the wife of Ja'far ibn Abi Taalib, the paternal cousin of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) . Asmaa and her family fled with their Deen and from the persecution of Quraysh to the land of al Habasha also known as Abysinnia at the time.


Asmaa was a strong, patient and courageous woman. Just to show us an example of her strength and eeman we will look at the incident which took place between her and Umar ibn al Khattab(may Allah be pleased with them both).


Asmaa the Muhaajirah

After the Battle of Khaybar, the Muhajiroon in Abyssinia made hijra to Madinah. Their arrival pleased the Prophet(صلى الله عليه وسلم) so much that he did not know which pleased him more, the victory of Khaybar or their arrival. Subhan Allah!

Asmaa was with this group of muhajireen. They were more than happy to finally be united with the Prophet of Allah(صلى الله عليه وسلم).  However, they were disappointed that they had missed out on most of the battles with Allah's Messenger(صلى الله عليه وسلم) and other historical moments.
Umar entered the house of his daughter, Hafsa, one of the mothers of the believers. He saw a woman sitting with her and asked who she was. Asmaa replied, "I am Asmaa the daughter of Omays." 

So Umar remarked,  "The Habashiya, the sea-faring lady.?" Asma said,  "Yes." 
Umar went on,  "We have beat you to hijrah so we have more right to Allah's Messenger than you!" 
These words really bothered  and upset Asmaa so she daringly replied to the son of al Khattab(radiya Allahu anhu), "No by Allah ya Umar!
You were gifted with the company of Allah's Messenger so he fed the hungry among you and taught the ignorant among you. Whereas we were in a far away, strange land and that was all for the sake of Allah and His Messenger!"

She continued, " And wallahi I will neither eat nor drink until I inform Allah's Messenger about what you have said."

And she walked off. Subhan Allah what a courageous woman to speak to Umar like that! The Umar whom the other women would not even talk when in his presence while not shying away from raising their voices over the Prophet(صلى الله عليه وسلم). 
The Umar whom the Shaytaan would not dare cross paths with! 
As for this brave woman,  she did not fear anyone nor did she fear the blame of the blamers. She was a lioness of Tawheed. 

And how proud was she of the beautiful words of Allah's Messenger(صلى الله عليه وسلم) which refuted Umar's words.

"Umar is not more deserving of my companionship than you..you have two Hijrahs oh people of the ship!"
Later on, the people of the ship(those who made hijrah to Abyssinia) like Abu Musa al Ashari would visit Asmaa just to hear this hadeeth over and over again. 

Asmaa the wife of the Martyr

Ja'far ibn Abi Talib was killed in the Battle of Mutah. He left behind many small children and a widow, Asmaa.

The army returned victorious to Madinah. Asmaa had prepared herself and her children to welcome their father. Little did she know...he was not among them. 

Asmaa saw the figure of a man who very much resembled her husband approaching the house. Her heart skipped a beat, she and her children were very excited. As the figure got closer and became more apparent, Asmaa realized it was not her husband Ja'far but the Prophet of Allah(صلى الله عليه وسلم). Asmaa noticed the sad look on his blessed face and immediately she realized something had happened. 

The children of Ja'far ran to our Habeeb(peace be upon him) and he hugged them,  tears streaming down his glorious face. 
Asmaa asked,"Where is my husband? Where is Ja'far?"
He replied,  "Ja'far is dead. He has been martyred."
Asmaa's heart dropped,  she screamed and began to cry,  turning away.
Imagine the situation. Losing your one and only love, your closest companion and the father of your small children. Asmaa was in pain and shock. 
It was not that she was displeased with the Qadar of Allah but she was human so her reaction was natural. When you love someone so much, the thought of just losing them is very difficult but everything happens for a reason. Allah is Al Hakeem(All-Wise) and Ar-Raheem( The Most Merciful).

When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)saw Asmaa's reaction to the news of her husband's shahaadah, he said,
"For the likes of Ja'far, let women weep."

As the weeks went by, our heroine sought help in Allah through prayer and patience. Once she completed her iddah(waiting period), Abu Bakr al Siddeeq approached her for marriage. Asmaa accepted. And it wasn't long until she bore him a son named Muhammad. 

Later on when Abu Bakr passed away,  Ali ibn Abi Talib married her and she bore him three children. 


May Allah be pleased with Asmaa. What a strong,courageous and patient woman she was!




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