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Prophethood House
Mother of the believers Umm Habeeba
(Ramla Bint Abu Sufyan)
Her Family :
Before the marriage :
She endured patiently the sufferings of alienation until an incident that shook her life took place. She narrated that incident saying, "I saw in a dream my husband Ubaidellah Ibn Jahsh in a bad appearance. It was a horrible dream. In the morning I found out that he converted to Christianity. I told him what I had seen in my dream but he did not care about it"
Ubaidellah Ibn Jahsh did his best to convert his wife, but she refused totally.
She begged him to stay a Muslim but he insisted in converting thinking that that would give him more privileges and credit in Abyssinia which was a Christian country. Then he started to drink wine excessively and died after few days.
Umm Habiba was in an awkward situation, alone with her daughter in a foreign country and she could not return to her family because her father was leading Quraish in their fight against Islam.
Mother of the faithful :
One day, Umm Habiba a maidservant knocked on her door and said that she had been sent by the Negus, the king of Abyssinia, who had a message for her. The message was that the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had asked for her hand in marriage. Naturally Umm Habiba was overjoyed and accepted immediately. "Allah has given you good news! Allah has give you good news!" she cried, pulling off what little jewelry she had and giving it to the smiling girl. She asked her to repeat the message three times since she could hardly believe her ears.
Soon after this, all the Muslims who had sought refuge in Abyssinia were summoned to the palace of the Negus to witness the simple marriage ceremony in which Nagus would conduct the marriage on the Prophet's behalf and Khaled Ibn Sa'id would act in Ramla's behalf.
Nagus handed the dowry to Khaled Ibn Sa'id to give it to Umm Habiba and he held a great wedding feast because it is the habit of the Prophets when marrying to offer food.
Umm Habiba especially could hardly believe her good fortune, and she later
described how eager she was to share her happiness, saying: "When I received the money as my dowry, I sent fifty mithqals of gold to the servant girl who had first brought me the good news, and I said to her, 'I gave you what I did when you gave me the good news because at that time I did not have any money at all.'
"Shortly afterwards, she came to me and returned the gold. She also produced a case which contained the necklace I had given to her and gave it to me, saying, 'The Negus has instructed me not to take anything from you, and he has commanded the women in his household to present you with gifts of perfume.'
"On the following day, she brought me ambergris, saffron and aloes wood oil and said, 'I have a favor to ask of you.'
'I have accepted Islam,' she replied, 'and now I followed the religion of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Please convey my greetings of peace to him, and let him know that I believe in Allah and His Prophet. Please do not forget'.
Later, the emigrants of Abyssinia returned at the same time when Muslims came victorious in Khaybar. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was so happy that he said : " I don't know with what occasion I should be happier! The victory in Khaybar or the advent of Ja'far ? "
(Ja'far was leading Muslim emigrants in Abyssinia back to Medina)
Umm Habiba was among the emigrants. There the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, consummated his marriage with her in the sixth or seventh year of Hijrah calendar.
Umm Habiba relates: "When I met the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, I told him all about the arrangements that had been made for the marriage, and about my relationship with the girl. I told him that she had become a Muslim and conveyed her greetings of peace to him.
He was filled with joy at the news and said, 'Wa alayha as salam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh' - (meaning : And on her be the peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings).
Umm Habeba, may Allah be pleased with her, in the house of Prophethood :
Quraish knew that Prophet Muhamed would not accept this and would surely respond to it strongly.
So they tried to re-negotiate a fresh settlement with the Prophet Muhammad and the Muslims.
He first went to Umm Habiba's room and was about to sit down on the blanket on which the Prophet, peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him, slept when Umm Habiba, who had not seen her father for over six
years, asked him not to sit on it and quickly folded it up and put it away.
Later Abu Sufyan embraced Islam, after the conquest of Mecca. When she
received the news that her father and brother Mu'awiya, who later became the Khalif of the Muslims, had become Muslims after the conquest, she fell down in prostration to Allah out of thankfulness.
Like all the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, Umm Habiba spent much of her time remembering Allah and worshipping Him. She has related that once the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to her, "A house will be built in the Garden for anyone who, in the space of a day and a night, prays twelve voluntary rak'ats (prayers);" and she added, "I have never stopped doing this since I knew it from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Her Role
Soon afterwords a dissolute man attacked and hit him with the sword.
His right hand was cut. He ran with his clothes in his mouth so
his loin was exposed as Umm Habiba prayed.
Her life after the Prophet's death
She was Ramla daughter of Abu Sufyan, the leader of Quraish and the unbeliever's until the great victory, she embraced Islam although her father was an atheist by then.
She married Ubaidellah Ibn Jahsh who embraced Islam as well. When Muslims were tortured in Mecca she emigrated to Abyssinia with her husband where she gave birth to her baby girl Habeeba
One day she dreamt that someone called her by saying, "O mother of the faithful." She interpreted her dream to mean that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would marry her.
Um Habeba dedicated her life to serving the prophet and Islam.
Shortly afterwards, Quraish broke the treaty of Hudaybiyya (in which they both agreed that they would be
in a state of peace and neither Muslims nor Quraish would contribute or support any attack
against the other) when they helped one of their allies against a Muslim tribe and lots of Muslims were killed.
"Am I too good for the bed, or it is the bed too good for me?" he asked.
"How can the enemy of Islam sit on the bed of the Holy Prophet?" she replied.
During the siege of Uthman Ibn Affan, who was then the Muslim Khalif may Allah be plased with him, she visited Uthman.
A man secretly looked at her and described her to the people so she prayed to God to cut
his hand and expose him.
After the Prophet's death, Um Habeeba stayed in her home and would leave it only for prayer.
She never left Medina except for pilgrimage until she died at the age of seventy in 44 AH, may
Allah be pleased with her.
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