Sumayyah bint Khubbat
May 23, 2019Barakah al Habashiyyah
May 23, 2019BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents
Sayyidah Umm Zufar al Habashiyyah
Adversity is abhorred by man and we all fancy prosperity and strive for comfortable lives. Meanwhile, Allah’s subhanahu wa ta ‘ala special servants are those whom He tests the most. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was asked, “Which of the people is tried most severely?” He said, “The Ambiya’, then those nearest to them, then those nearest to them. A man is tried according to his religion. If he is firm in his religion, then his trials are more severe. And if he is frail in his religion, then he is tried according to the strength of his religion. The servant shall continue to be trialled until he is left walking upon the earth without any sins.”[1]
The important aspect is managing the adversity in the correct way. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says in the Qur’an:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ
And We will surely test you with something of fear, hunger, and a loss of wealth, lives, and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient. Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.” Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.[2]
A befitting example of the patient is Sayyidah Umm Zufar al Habashiyyah radiya Llahu ‘anha. Not much is known about her lineage and history, but her name appears in the two most authentic Hadith compilations, Sahih al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
She was a dark-skinned, tall African woman. Her name was Sa’irah[3] or Shaqirah, the freed slave of the Banu Asad.[4] It has been said that she was Umm Zufar, Khadijah’s radiya Llahu ‘anha handmaiden.[5]
Besides these details, many of which are uncertain, nothing else is recorded about her. What is special about her then, one might ask. Well, this much is explicit that she is an inhabitant of Jannat. She was promised Jannat by Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam himself. Many are the people who are obscure in the world, but famous in the heavens.
Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “May I not inform you about the inmates of Jannat? Every obscure, unimportant, humble person, if he were to adjure in the name of Allah, He would fulfil it.”[6]
Sayyidah Umm Zufar radiya Llahu ‘anha suffered from epileptic fits. She would become exposed when in this condition. She approached Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and requested him to invoke Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to cure her. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told her, “If you wish, you can observe patience and Jannat is yours. And if you desire, I can beg Allah to grant you relief.”
Immediately, she responded, “I will observe patience.” She politely asked Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to beg of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala that she would not be exposed when experiencing the epileptic fits. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam prayed for her accordingly.[7]
On the one hand, you see her faith in the promise of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. She is convinced of the guarantee of Jannat and overlooked the suffering that she would experience for the rest of her life. On the other hand, we see her modesty and bashfulness. She is concerned about it, so she begs Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to beseech Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to protect her modesty. A model of patience and modesty for the women of the world.
[1] Jami’ al Tirmidhi, Hadith: 2398; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith: 4023.
[2] Surah al Baqarah: 155 – 157.
[3] Raf’ Sha’n al Hubshan, pg. 330.
[4] Raf’ Sha’n al Hubshan, pg. 330.
[5] Al Isti’ab, vol. 2 pg. 129; Usd al Ghabah, pg. 1610, Biography: 7455; al Isabah, vol. 8 pg. 210, 211.
[6] Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith: 6071; Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2853.
[7] Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith: 5652; Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2576.
BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents
Sayyidah Umm Zufar al Habashiyyah
Adversity is abhorred by man and we all fancy prosperity and strive for comfortable lives. Meanwhile, Allah’s subhanahu wa ta ‘ala special servants are those whom He tests the most. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was asked, “Which of the people is tried most severely?” He said, “The Ambiya’, then those nearest to them, then those nearest to them. A man is tried according to his religion. If he is firm in his religion, then his trials are more severe. And if he is frail in his religion, then he is tried according to the strength of his religion. The servant shall continue to be trialled until he is left walking upon the earth without any sins.”[1]
The important aspect is managing the adversity in the correct way. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says in the Qur’an:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ
And We will surely test you with something of fear, hunger, and a loss of wealth, lives, and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient. Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.” Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.[2]
A befitting example of the patient is Sayyidah Umm Zufar al Habashiyyah radiya Llahu ‘anha. Not much is known about her lineage and history, but her name appears in the two most authentic Hadith compilations, Sahih al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
She was a dark-skinned, tall African woman. Her name was Sa’irah[3] or Shaqirah, the freed slave of the Banu Asad.[4] It has been said that she was Umm Zufar, Khadijah’s radiya Llahu ‘anha handmaiden.[5]
Besides these details, many of which are uncertain, nothing else is recorded about her. What is special about her then, one might ask. Well, this much is explicit that she is an inhabitant of Jannat. She was promised Jannat by Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam himself. Many are the people who are obscure in the world, but famous in the heavens.
Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “May I not inform you about the inmates of Jannat? Every obscure, unimportant, humble person, if he were to adjure in the name of Allah, He would fulfil it.”[6]
Sayyidah Umm Zufar radiya Llahu ‘anha suffered from epileptic fits. She would become exposed when in this condition. She approached Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and requested him to invoke Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to cure her. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told her, “If you wish, you can observe patience and Jannat is yours. And if you desire, I can beg Allah to grant you relief.”
Immediately, she responded, “I will observe patience.” She politely asked Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to beg of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala that she would not be exposed when experiencing the epileptic fits. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam prayed for her accordingly.[7]
On the one hand, you see her faith in the promise of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. She is convinced of the guarantee of Jannat and overlooked the suffering that she would experience for the rest of her life. On the other hand, we see her modesty and bashfulness. She is concerned about it, so she begs Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to beseech Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala to protect her modesty. A model of patience and modesty for the women of the world.
[1] Jami’ al Tirmidhi, Hadith: 2398; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith: 4023.
[2] Surah al Baqarah: 155 – 157.
[3] Raf’ Sha’n al Hubshan, pg. 330.
[4] Raf’ Sha’n al Hubshan, pg. 330.
[5] Al Isti’ab, vol. 2 pg. 129; Usd al Ghabah, pg. 1610, Biography: 7455; al Isabah, vol. 8 pg. 210, 211.
[6] Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith: 6071; Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2853.
[7] Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith: 5652; Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2576.