Asmaa', may Allaah be pleased with her, is a well-known figure in
Islamic history; not only was she the daughter ofAbu Bakr, may Allaah
be pleased with him, and the sister of 'Aa'ishah, may Allaah be
pleased with her, but she was the obedient wife of the great
companionAz-Zubayr ibn Al-'Awwaam, may Allaah be pleased with him. Her
role in supporting the Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and her
examples of sacrifice and forbearance are ever-alive in the annals of
Islamic History. She was named'Thaat An-Nitaaqayn')the One with the
Two Waistbands( due to an incident in which she used two waistbands in
order to tie food for the Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and
her fatherAbu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with him. They had
leftMakkahforMadeenahand were being pursued by the enemy. It
wasAsmaa's, may Allaah be pleased with her, job to deliver this food
to them with the utmost secrecy; late into her pregnancy she climbed
up MountThawr. For those who aren't acquainted with this Mount it
should suffice for you to know that even the youth are caught gasping
for breath when climbing its rocky tracks. What droveAsmaa', may
Allaah be pleased with her, with her unborn, to undertake such a
dangerous journey? It was no other than the deep love she had for the
Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and her father. Later, when Abu
Jahl came to the house ofAbu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with him,
full of rage and anger he askedAsmaa', may Allaah be pleased with her,
the whereabouts of her father and the Noble Messenger,sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam. Standing strong, with faithflowing through every
inch of her being, she replied that she did not know. He slapped her
across her face; she stood strong and unyieldingly with a heart full
of love for this religion.
Her love did not end with the demise of the messenger,sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam, on the contrary, she, may Allaah be pleased with
her, ignited this deep love into the hearts of her children and
grandchildren. One such grandchild that benefited greatly from her
company was no other thanFaatimahbintAl-Munthir, may Allaah have mercy
upon her. Allaah choseFaatimah, may Allaah have mercy upon her, to be
a light whose name would shine - even today- in the books ofAhaadeeth.
Faatimah bint Al-Munthir, may Allaah have mercy upon her, is respected
as one of the leadingTaa'biaatof her time )the generation after the
companions(. She was a great scholar and was renowned as
aFaqeehah)Jurist( and was married to her cousinHishaam ibn 'Urwah ibn
Al-Zubayr, may Allaah have mercy upon him.Hishaamwas also a great
scholar and narrator. Some of his leading students included:Imaam Abu
Haneefah,Imaam Maalik,Shu'bahandSufyaanAl-Thawri, may Allaah have
mercy upon them.
Although they were both cousins,Hishaam, may Allaah have mercy upon
him, had not acquired fromAsmaa', may Allaah be pleased with her, the
manyAhaadeethof the Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
thatFaatimah, may Allaah have mercy upon her, had acquired fromAsmaa',
may Allaah be pleased with her. Hence, he would ask his wife and learn
from her the words of the Prophet,sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
memorizing them and in turn informing his companions and students of
what his wife had taught him.
Many have narrated fromFaatimah, may Allaah have mercy upon her, such
asMuhammad ibn Is-Haaq, may Allaah have mercy upon him, )the author of
one very famous book ofSeerah( and others, yet her husbandHishaam, may
Allaah have mercy upon him, comes as one of the leading figures
narrating directly fromFaatimah, may Allaah have mercy upon her.
The following are just a few examples from the major and unanimously
accepted books of narrations, in whichHishaam, may Allaah have mercy
upon him, narrated directly from his wifeFaatimah, may Allaah have
mercy upon her.
1.Hishaam, may Allaah have mercy upon him, narrated from his
wifeFaatimah, may Allaah have mercy upon her, from her
grandmotherAsmaa', may Allaah be pleased with her, that she said:'A
woman came to the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
and said: 'O Messenger of Allaah, I have a daughter who is a bride:
she has a disease )measles( that has thinned her hair. Can I join
]another's hair[ to it? The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi
wa sallam, said:'The curse of God is on the one who joins ]another's
hair in this way[ and the one who asks for this ]joining another's
hair.'']Al-Bukhaari, Muslim, Al-Nasaa'i & Ibn Maajah[
2.Hishaam, may Allaah have mercy upon him, says:'Faatimah, may Allaah
have mercy upon her, narrated to me from Asmaa', may Allaah be pleased
with her, that she said: 'We ate meat of one of our horses in the time
of the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.']Al-Bukhaari, Muslim,
Al-Nasaa'i & Ibn Maajah[
3.Hishaam, may Allaah have mercy upon him, narrates fromFaatimah, may
Allaah have mercy upon her, fromAsmaa', may Allaah be pleased with
her, that she said:'The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam, said to me:"Give ]of your wealth[, spend ]from it[ and pay
out; do not hold it back, otherwise Allaah will hold back from you; do
not count ]it[ otherwise Allaah will count over you."]Al-Bukhaari,
Muslim & Al-Nasaa'i[
4.Hishaam, may Allaah have mercy upon him, also narrated from her the
longHadeethfound in the books ofAl-BukhaariandMuslim, may Allaah have
mercy upon them, about the prayer on the occasion of the solar
eclipse.
For some of the most leading scholars of Islam, the likes ofImaam
Al-BukhaariandImaamMuslim, may Allaah have mercy upon them, to record
theseAhaadeeeth,in which:
1. Women have narrated the hadeeth
2. A man has narrated from his wife.
Holds great lessons for those who claim that the Scholars of Islam
were misogynist and andocentric. On the contrary the very books that
are considered the most reliable sources of Islamic knowledge contain
narrations that contain chains which bear the names of women.
Further, these examples bear sufficient proof that men would, without
embarrassment, narrate from their wives openly.
Was it not forHishaam, may Allaah have mercy upon him, who learnt
fromFaatimah, may Allaah have mercy upon her, who learnt fromAsmaa'may
Allaah be pleased with her, we may have been bereft of these beautiful
pearls of wisdom that were extracted from the sea of Prophet-hood.
