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Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr (Arabic: أسماء بنت أبي بكر; c. 594/595 – 694-695CE) nicknamed Dhat an-Nitaqayn (meaning she with the two belts) was one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and half-sister of his third wife Aisha. Her nickname Dhat an-Nitaqayn was given to her by Muhammad during the migration to Medina. She is regarded as one of the most prominent Islamic figures, as she helped Muhammad during the Hijrah from Mecca to Medina.

Family

She was Abu Bakr's daughter. Her mother was Qutaylah bint Abd al-Uzza, and she was the full sister of Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr. Her half-sisters were Aisha and Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr, and her half-brothers were Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr and Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr. She also had a stepmother from the Kinana tribe, Umm Ruman bint Amir, and a stepbrother, al-Tufayl ibn al-Harith al-Azdi. The historians Ibn Kathir and Ibn Asakir cite a tradition that Asma was ten years older than Aisha; but according to Al-Dhahabi, the age difference was thirteen to fifteen years.

Biography

Early life: 603/604–610

Asma's parents were divorced before Muhammad started preaching the message of Islam. Because of this she remained at her father's house.

Islam in Mecca: 610–622

Asma was one of the first to accept Islam, being listed fifteenth on Ibn Ishaq's list of those who accepted Islam at the invitation of Abu Bakr.

She was married to Zubayr ibn al-Awwam shortly before the Hijra. She joined him in Medina a few months later.

When Muhammad and Abu Bakr sought refuge in Jabal Thawr outside Mecca on their migration to Medina in 622, Asma used to carry food to them under cover of dark. When the two men left the cave, Asma tied the goods with the two belts of her cover, and for this ingenuity she received from Muhammad the title Dhat an-Nitaqayn, meaning "She of the Two Belts".

After it was discovered that Muhammad and Abu Bakr had escaped, Abu Jahl, one of the biggest enemies of Islam, marched to Asma's house, demanding her to reveal the location of her father and the Prophet. Asma, then heavily pregnant, refused to respond. Out of rage, Abu Jahl violently slapped her so hard that the earring she was wearing fell off. Despite this, she did not stagger and Abu Jahl left in anger.

Medina: 623 onwards

Asma found her new neighbours to be "sincere women". She was a poor baker, and they used to make bread for her. She and Al-Zubayr arrived in Medina with "neither property nor slave nor any possession in the earth other than his horse." Asma used to feed the horse, taking it out to graze and grinding date-stones for it. Muhammad gave Al-Zubayr some date-palms in Medina, and Asma used to carry date-stones on her head from the garden to their home, a journey of about two miles. One day she passed Muhammad, who offered her a lift home on his camel, but fearing her husband's jealousy, she modestly refused. Al-Zubayr told her, however, that it hurt him more that she had been carrying such a heavy load than if she accepted Muhammad's offer. When Abu Bakr eventually gave them a slave, Asma said that "it was as if he had set me free".

Her mother Qutaylah came to visit her in Medina, bringing gifts of dates, ghee, and mimosa leaves. Asma would not admit her to the house or accept the gifts until she had sent her sister Aisha to consult with Muhammad. Muhammad advised that it was correct for Asma to show hospitality to her mother”

Asma and Al-Zubayr had eight children.

1. Abd Allah
2. al-Mundhir.
3. Asim.
4. al-Muhajir.
5. Khadija.
6. Umm al-Hasan.
7. A’isha.
8. Urwah, a major transmitter of ahadith.

Asma at one point had marital issues with Zubayr, as he was rigid and "the most jealous of people". She complained to her father, who advised her: "My daughter, be patient. When a woman has a righteous husband and he dies and she does not remarry after him, they will be reunited in the Garden ". Another of al-Zubayr's wives, Umm Kulthum bint Uqba, also complained of his "harshness" and pestered him into divorcing her after only a few months.

Al-Zubayr eventually divorced Asma "and took Urwa, who was young at that time".

The Battle of Yarmouk

The Battle of the Yarmuk in 636 is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history. The Muslims were hugely outnumbered by the Byzantines but, with the help of the women and the young boys amongst them, they drove the Byzantine Empire out of Syria.

Women like Hind bint Utbah and Asma bint Abi Bakr were instrumental in the Battle of the Yarmuk. The earliest histories pay great tribute to Asmā's bravery there. Al-Waqidi wrote that the Quraysh women fought harder than the men. Every time the men ran away, the women fought, fearing that if they lost, the Byzantines would enslave them.

Asma's opposition to Yazid

Asma's son, Abdallah, and his cousin, Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, were both grandsons of Abu Bakr and nephews of Aisha. When Husayn ibn Ali was martyred in Karbala, Abdallah, who had been Husayn's friend, collected the people of Mecca and rose up against Yazid. When he heard about this, Yazid had a silver chain made and sent to Mecca with the intention of having al-Walid ibn Utbah arrest Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr with it. In Mecca and Medina Hussein's family had a strong support base, and the people were willing to stand up for them. Hussein's remaining family moved back to Madina. Eventually Abdullah consolidated his power by sending a governor to Kufa. Soon Abdullah established his power in Iraq, southern Arabia, the greater part of Syria and parts of Egypt.

Yazid tried to end Abdallah's rebellion by invading the Hejaz, and he took Medina after the Battle of al-Harrah followed by the siege of Mecca. His sudden death ended the campaign and threw the Umayyads into disarray, with civil war eventually breaking out. After the Umayyad civil war ended, Abdullah lost Egypt and whatever he had of Syria to Marwan I. This, coupled with the Kharijite rebellions in Iraq, reduced his domain to only the Hejaz.

Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr was finally defeated by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, who sent Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. Abdallah asked his mother what he should do, then left to take on Hajjaj. Hajjaj's army was defeated and Abdallah died on the battlefield in 692 CE. The defeat of Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr re-established Umayyad control over the Empire.

A few years later in 740 CE the people of Kufa called Zayd ibn Ali, the grandson of Hussein, over to Kufa. Zaydis believe that in Zayd's last hour, he was also betrayed by the people of Kufa,."

692: Death

Asma died a few days after her son who was killed on Tuesday 17 Jumada al-Ula in 73 AH". Asma died when she was 100 years (lunar) old.

Asma was 17th person who became Muslim and she was 10 years older than her sister, Aisha. She passed away ten days after death of her son while she was 100 years old and all of her teeth were healthy. It was in the year 73 AH

See also

• List of Sahabah
• Sunni view of the Sahaba
• Aisha
• Second Fitna

References

1. Muhammad ibn Saad, Tabaqat, vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina, p. 193. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
2. Dameshghi, Ibn Kasir. Albedayat wa Alnahaya. pp. chapter 8, page 345.
3. Asqalani, Ibn_Hajar. al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba. p. 1810.
4. Ibn Hajar Asqalani, Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, p. 654, Arabic, Bab fi’l-nisa’, al-harfu’l-alif
5. Al-Dhahabi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad. Siyar a'lam al-nubala'. pp. Vol 2, 289.
6. Kathir, Ibn (1986). "the Beginning and the End". Archived from the original on 2016-10-27. Retrieved 2015-11-29. Original text: وكانت هي وأختها عائشة وأبوها أبو بكر الصديق، وجدها أبو عتيق، وابنها عبد الله، وزوجها الزبير صحابيين رضي الله عنهم. وقد شهدت اليرموك مع ابنها وزوجها، وهي أكبر من أختها عائشة بعشر سنين.
   English translation: She, her sister Aisha, her father Abu Bakr, her grandfather Abu Atiq, her son Abdullah, and her husband al-Zubair were Companions – God bless them -. She participated in the Battle of Yarmouk with her son and her husband, and she is ten years older than her sister Aisha.
7. 'Asakir, Ibn (1998). History of Damascus. p. 8.
8. Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Dhahabi. Siyar a'lam al-nubalaa (The Lives of Noble Figures) vol. 2 #143.
9. ^ Bewley/Saad p. 178.
10. Al-Tabari vol. 39 p. 172.
11. Guillaume, A. (1955). A Translation of Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 116. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
12. "Family Tree Abu bakr". Quran search online. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
13. ^ Bewley/Saad p. 177.
14. "Asma Bint Abi Bakr (ra) : The Possessor of Two Waist Belts". Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
15. Bewley/Saad p. 176.
16. Bewley/Saad p. 163.
17. Bewley/Saad p. 179.
18. Nafziger, George F.; Walton, Mark W. (2003). Islam at war: a history. Westport (Conn.): Praeger. pp. 6, 30. ISBN 978-0-275-98101-3.
19. Islamic Conquest of Syria: A translation of Fatuhusham by al-Imam al-Waqidi Translated by Mawlana Sulayman al-Kindi Pages 325, 331-334, 343–344, 352–353 "Kalamullah.Com | the Islamic Conquest of Syria (Futuhusham) | al-Imam al-Waqidi". Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
20. al-Baladhuri 892 from The Origins of the Islamic State, being a translation from the Arabic of the Kitab Futuh al-Buldha of Ahmad ibn-Jabir al-Baladhuri, trans. by P. K. Hitti and F. C. Murgotten, Studies in History, Economics and Public Law, LXVIII (New York, Columbia University Press, 1916 and 1924), I, 207–211 "Medieval Sourcebook: Al-Baladhuri: The Battle of the Yarmuk (636)". Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
21. Islamic Conquest of Syria: A translation of Fatuhusham by al-Imam al-Waqidi Translated by Mawlana Sulayman al-Kindi Page 331-332 "Kalamullah.Com | the Islamic Conquest of Syria (Futuhusham) | al-Imam al-Waqidi". Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
22. Najeebabadi, Akbar Shah (2001). The History of Islam vol. 2, p. 110. Riyadh: Darussalam. ISBN 9960892883.
23. Brelvi, Mahmud (1979). Islam Re-defined: An Intelligent Man's Guide Towards Understanding Islam. Brelvi. p. 54.
24. Fadl, Khaled Abou El (2001). Rebellion and Violence in Islamic Law. Cambridge University Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-521-79311-7.
25. Al-Tabari, The waning of the Umayyad Caliphate, Carole Hillenbrand, 1989, pp. 37, 38.
26. The Encyclopedia of Religion Vol.16, Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, Macmillan, 1987, p243. "They were called "Rafida by the followers of Zayd”
27. Bewley/Saad 8, p. 180.
28. Ibn Kathir, Al-Bidayah wa’l-nihayah, Vol. 8, p. 372, Dar al-fikr al-`arabi, Al-jizah, 1933
29. Ibn Hajar Asqalani, Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, p. 654, Arabic, Bab fi’l-nisa’, al-harfu’l-alif, Lucknow
30. Siyar A’lama-nubala, Al-Zahabi, Vol. 2, pg 289, Arabic, Muassasatu-risalah, 1992
31. Al_Qari, Ali. Merghah Almafatih : Sharh Meshkat Almasabih. p. 331.

Further reading

• Asma bint Abu Bakr (RadiAllahu anha) on Ummah.co

• Women companions of the Prophet
• Family of Abu Bakr
• Daughters of caliphs
• Children of Rashidun caliphs
• 590s births
• 692 deaths
• 7th-century Arab people
• Sahabah hadith narrators