Eminent Muslim Personalities of African Origin

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents   Sayyidina Anjashah   Sayyidina Anjashah radiya Llahu ‘anhu was an Abyssinian slave of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. His agnomen was Abu Mariyah.[1] He accompanied Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam on his journey to Makkah for the Farewell Pilgrimage, steering the camels carrying the wives of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.[2] He had a melodious voice and would urge on […]

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents   A Pious Sahabi   An unidentified man from Abyssinia approached the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with a heart filled with remorse and regret. He had wasted away his life in rebellion and disobedience to his Creator. He committed all types of immoralities and shunned righteousness and virtue. The winds of divine mercy and guidance just begun to blow in […]

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents   Female Sahabah of African Origin Sayyidah Umm Ayman[1]   A foreigner in Makkah, Barakah bint Tha’labah, commonly known as Umm Ayman, hailed from Abyssinia and lived as a slave in Makkah. She was taken captive from the army of Abrahah―who planned to destroy the Ka’bah―after the army was pelted with stones from above.[2] Even her date of birth is not recorded because no […]

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents   Sayyidah Barirah   Barirah[1] bint Safwan.[2] Her name appears in the six canonical works, viz. Sahih al Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Jami’ al Tirmidhi, Sunan Abi Dawood, Sunan al Nasa’i, and Sunan Ibn Majah. Why should it not? She is, after all, the freed slave of the greatest female scholar, Umm al Mu’minin Sayyidah ‘Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha, whose narrations have reached more than […]

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents   Sayyidah Sumayyah bint Khubbat [1]   Life is treasured by all. In fact, had eternity been a commodity to buy, everyone would have sacrificed every other bounty to secure it. But we all must die. Some will die natural deaths, while others will sacrifice their lives for a noble cause. It is the latter who, in essence, has given his earthly life in […]