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For
women, Islam has been a special blessing. In Arabia,
before the advent of Islam, the birth of a female child
was regarded as a great misfortune and a shame, and
cruel fathers buried them alive: "When news is brought
to one of them of the birth of a female child, his face
darkens, and he is filled with inner grief. With shame
does he hide himself from his people, because of the bad
news he had. Shall he retain it on sufferance and
contempt, or bury it in the dust? Ah! What an evil
choice they decide on."
Prior to Islam, a woman was regarded by her parents as a
threat to family honor and hence worthy of burial alive
at infancy. As an adult, she was a sex object that could
be bought, sold and inherited. From this position of
inferiority and legal incapacity, Islam raised women to
a position of influence and prestige in family and
society.
Islam elevated the position of woman in society and
treated her on an equal footing with man, and in some
cases, as a mother for instance, clearly gave her
precedence over man. Thus, when a man asked the Prophet
(pbuh) "Who deserves most to be treated with the best
companionship by me?” the Prophet told him "Your
mother." The man asked, "Who is next?" The Prophet said,
"Your mother." Again the man asked, "Who is next?" The
Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked for a fourth
time, "Who is next?" The Prophet said "Your father”. On
another occasion when a man came to the Prophet (pbuh)
and expressed the desire to join a military expedition,
the Prophet asked him if he had a mother. When he
replied that he had, the Prophet told him, "Stay with
her, for Paradise is at her feet."
Islam gave woman an independent identity and declared
that her moral and spiritual gains depend solely on her
own performance. Like man, her ultimate failure or
success rests on her own beliefs, attitude, behavior and
conduct. She is a responsible being in her own right and
carries the burden of her moral and spiritual
obligations. The Muslim women were equal partners with
men in all spheres of life.
Nusaybah Bint k’ab Al Maziniyyah was one of those who
embraced Islam with unbelievable strength. History does
not tell us much about her years prior to Islam.
Obviously, she had been contentedly married. With the
advent of Islam, she believed that a woman has the same
duty in defending the new religion. In fact, many
consider her as the most distinguished woman who took
part in the battle of Uhud.
At
the beginning of the battle, she was bringing water to
the thirsty fighters and tending the wounded, as the
other women were doing. When the battle was going in
favour of the Muslims, the archers disobeyed the command
of the Prophet (pbuh), and this turned the victory into
defeat, as the Qur'an described it.
At
this point, Nusaybah went forward, with her sword
unsheathed and her bow in her hand, to join the small
group who were standing firm with the Prophet, acting as
a human shield to protect him from the arrows of the
non-believers. Every time danger approached the Prophet
she hastened to protect him. Mohammed (pbuh) noticed
this, and later said, "Wherever I turned, to the left or
the right, I saw her fighting for me."
Her son 'Umarah also described what happened on that
tremendous day: "On that day, I was wounded in my left
hand. A man, who seemed to be as tall as a palm-tree
struck me, then went away without pursuing me to finish
me off. The blood began to flow copiously, so the
Messenger of Allah told me, 'Bind up your wound.' My
mother came to me, and she was wearing a waist-wrapper,
which she had brought, for the purpose of bandaging
wounds. She dressed my wound, whilst the Prophet was
looking on. Then she told me, 'Get up, my son, and
fight.' The Prophet said, 'Who could bear what you are
putting up with, Umm 'Umarah?' The man who had struck me
came by, and Mohammed said, 'This is the one who struck
your son.' I intercepted him and hit him in the thigh,
and he collapsed. I saw the Messenger of Allah smiling
so broadly that I could see his back teeth. He said,
'You have taken your revenge, O Umm 'Umarah!' Then we
struck him with our weapons until we killed him, and the
Prophet said: 'Praise be to Allah, who granted you
victory over him, gave you the satisfaction of taking
revenge on your enemy, and let you see the vengeance for
yourself."
On
that day, Nusaybah herself received many wounds whilst
she was fighting the non-believers and striking at them.
The Prophet saw her, and called to her son, "Your
mother! Your mother! See to her wounds, may Allah bless
you and your household! Your mother has fought better
than so-and-so." When Nusaybah heard what the Prophet
said, she said, "Pray to Allah that we may accompany you
in Paradise." He said, "O Allah (SWT), make them my
companions in Paradise." She said, " I do not care what
befalls me in this world."
Umm 'Umarah's jihad was not confined to the battle of
Uhud. She was also present on a number of other
occasions, namely the treaty of 'Aqabah, Al-Hudaybiyah,
Khaybar and Hunayn. Her heroic conduct at Hunayn was no
less marvellous than her heroic conduct at Uhud. At the
time of Abu Bakr's Khilafah, she was present at Al-Yamamah
where she fought brilliantly and received eleven wounds
as well as losing her hand.
Nusaybah lived through the rule of Abu Bakr Al Siddique,
and Omar Bin Al Khattab. She was revered by both who
continuously praised her struggle and courage. It is
said that once Omar received a gift from some foreign
place. It consisted mainly of a piece of cloth made from
the finest silk. Some people who were present suggested
that he send it either to his daughter of to his
daughter in law. Omar rejected both suggestions. He said
that there is a woman who deserves that cloth more than
all, and sent it to Nusaybah.
Again, her end is shrouded with ambiguity. All we know
is that this great woman died in the 13 Hijri year, and
was buried in Al Baqi’e, in Meccah Al Mokarrameh. |
