Sayyidatuna Umayma bint Ruqayya رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا

Pious Women

Sayyidatunā Umayma bint Ruqayya رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا

Mawlana Wasim Akram Attari Madani

Sayyidatunā Umayma رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا is from the noble female Companions who pledged allegiance to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and migrated to Madina.^[1] The daughter of ʿAbdullah b. Bijād and Ruqayya bint Khuwaylid,^[2] she is more often attributed to her mother with the matronymic surname “bint Ruqayya.”^[3]  Explaining the reason for this, Imam ʿAbd al-Raʾūf al-Munāwī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه states, “Her mother, Ruqayya, is the sister of Sayyidatunā Khadīja رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا. It is because of this honour that Sayyidatunā Umayma رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا is attributed to her mother instead of her father.”^[4]

Family: Hailing from the Taym clan of Quraysh, she married Ḥabīb b. Kʿab al-Thaqafī.^[5]  Together, they had a daughter, Sayyidatunā Hukayma رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا, who faced many challenges after embracing Islam in the early Meccan period.^[6]

Qualities: She is from the noble women who migrated to Madina^[7] and pledged allegiance to the Prophet      صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. She participated in the Battle of Mutah. Later in life, she visited Damascus where Sayyidunā Amīr Muʿāwiyya رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ ^[8]  gifted her a house and servants for her sojourn.^[9]

Pledge of Allegiance: When men pledged their allegiance to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, he would hold their hands, but as he never touched the hand of a non-mahram woman, the women would only verbally pledge their allegiance. Sayyidatunā Umayma bint Ruqayya رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا mentions:

I was with the Muslim women who pledged their allegiance to the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. I said, “O Messenger of Allah! We pledge allegiance to you, ˹promising˺ that we will not associate partners with Allah, steal, engage in immoral acts, kill our children, falsely accuse others of immorality, or disobey the injunctions.” The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said, “According to your ability.” We replied, “Allah Almighty and His Messenger صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم are more kind to us than we are to ourselves. O Messenger of Allah! Accept our pledge.” The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم declared, “Go! Your pledge has been accepted. For me to tell one woman is akin to telling one hundred women.”

Sayyidatunā Umayma رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهَا states that the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم did not touch our hands when we pledged allegiance.^[10]

Narration of Hadith: She reported hadith from the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and his pure wives رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهُّنَّ ^[11]  Sayyidunā ʿAbdullah b. ʿAmr, Muhammad b. Munkadir, and her daughter, Hukayma, relate hadith from her.^[12]

Death: Her date of death could not be found, but she was present during Sayyidunā Muʿāwiyya’s final illness when he passed away.^[13]