Sahabiyat — Women Companions

Khadijah was the first wife of the Prophet ﷺ and the first person to accept Islam. A noble, wealthy and honoured merchant of Makkah, she chose the Prophet ﷺ for his truthfulness and character. When revelation first came and he returned trembling, it was she who comforted him and affirmed, "Allah will never disgrace you." She stood by him through the hardest years of persecution and spent her wealth for Islam. Jibril conveyed Allah's greeting of peace to her, and the Prophet ﷺ said, "The best of its women is Khadijah."

Aisha, daughter of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, was among the most beloved wives of the Prophet ﷺ and one of the greatest scholars of the Ummah. Sharp of memory and keen of understanding, she narrated over two thousand hadith and taught the Companions matters of Qurʾan, fiqh, medicine and poetry. When she was falsely slandered, Allah declared her innocence from above the seven heavens in Surah an-Nur. The Prophet ﷺ passed away in her house, on the day that was her turn, resting against her chest.

Fatimah, the beloved youngest daughter of the Prophet ﷺ, was the closest to him in manner and guidance. She married Ali ibn Abi Talib and lived a life of simplicity, grinding grain with her own hands until they blistered. She was the mother of Hasan and Husayn. The Prophet ﷺ said, "Fatimah is a part of me; whoever angers her angers me," and named her the leader of the women of Paradise. She was the first of his family to join him after his death.

Asma, elder sister of Aisha, earned the title "She of the Two Belts" when she tore her waistband in two to tie up the provisions for the Prophet ﷺ and her father Abu Bakr during the Hijrah. Pregnant at the time, she carried food to their hiding place in the cave of Thawr and kept their secret from the Quraysh, even when Abu Jahl struck her. She lived to be a hundred and, in her old age, gave her son Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr the courage to stand firm for truth even unto death.

Umm Salamah was among the early Muslims who migrated first to Abyssinia and then to Madinah, enduring painful separation from her family along the way. After the death of her husband Abu Salamah she married the Prophet ﷺ and was known for her wisdom. At Hudaybiyah, when the Companions hesitated to obey, it was her calm advice to the Prophet ﷺ — that he act first himself — that resolved the moment. She was one of the last of the Mothers of the Believers to pass away.

Hafsa, daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab, was known for her devotion to worship — she fasted much and prayed much in the night. She could read and write, a rare accomplishment then. Her greatest honour came after the Prophet ﷺ: the first compiled written manuscript (mushaf) of the Qurʾan was entrusted to her safekeeping, and from her copy Uthman prepared the standard codices sent to the lands of Islam.

Zaynab, the Prophet's cousin, held a unique honour: her marriage to the Prophet ﷺ was decreed in the Qurʾan itself, abolishing the false custom of adopted-son taboos. She used to say proudly that Allah married her from above the seven heavens. Deeply devout, she worked with her own hands — tanning and sewing — and gave all its earnings in charity. The Prophet ﷺ told his wives that the first to rejoin him would be the one "longest in the arm" (most generous), and it was Zaynab.

Umm Ayman cared for the Prophet ﷺ from his infancy and was the closest thing to a mother he had after his own mother died. He honoured her deeply, calling her "my mother after my mother," and she was among the earliest Muslims who migrated for Allah's sake. After the Prophet ﷺ passed away, Abu Bakr and Umar visited her as he used to; she wept, saying she cried not from ignorance of his destiny but because revelation from the heavens had ceased.

Nusaybah went out on the day of Uhud to carry water and tend the wounded, but when the Muslims were scattered and the Prophet ﷺ was exposed, she drew her sword and shield and fought in his defence, taking many wounds — over a dozen — while shielding him with her body. The Prophet ﷺ said that wherever he turned that day, right or left, he saw her fighting for him, and he prayed that they be his companions in Paradise. She later gave the pledge of allegiance and continued to strive in the path of Allah.

Sumayyah, mother of Ammar ibn Yasir, was among the very first to embrace Islam and one of the weak and enslaved believers whom the Quraysh tortured mercilessly in the open sun to force them to recant. She refused to abandon her faith. Abu Jahl killed her, and she became the first person to be martyred for Islam. The Prophet ﷺ used to pass her family in their torment and console them: "Be patient, family of Yasir, for your appointed place is Paradise."

Umm Sulaym was an early Ansari Muslim of firm faith. When Abu Talha proposed to her while still a disbeliever, she refused any gold or silver dowry and asked only that he accept Islam — making his acceptance of faith her mahr, a marriage praised for its blessing. She sent her young son Anas to serve the Prophet ﷺ. Famed for her patience, she once concealed the death of her child until she had gently prepared her grieving husband — trusting Allah's decree completely.

Rufaydah al-Aslamiyyah was skilled in medicine and tending the sick and wounded. She set up a tent within the Prophet's mosque to nurse the injured, and it became the first field hospital in Islam. During the Battle of the Trench, when Saʿd ibn Muʿadh was wounded by an arrow, the Prophet ﷺ ordered that he be placed in Rufaydah's tent so she could care for him. She trained other women in nursing and gave freely of her skill in the service of the community.

Asma bint Umays was among those who migrated to Abyssinia with her husband Jaʿfar ibn Abi Talib and returned years later to Madinah, thus earning the honour of "the people of two migrations." When Jaʿfar was martyred at Muʾtah, the Prophet ﷺ visited to console her and cared for her children. She later married Abu Bakr and then Ali. Known for her knowledge, she narrated hadith and was a source of counsel among the women of the Companions.

Khawla bint Thaʿlaba came to the Prophet ﷺ disputing about her husband, who had wronged her by an unjust pre-Islamic form of divorce. She argued her case and complained to Allah of her hardship. Allah revealed the opening of Surah al-Mujadalah — "the Woman who Disputes" — responding to her and settling the matter with justice: "Allah has certainly heard the speech of the one who argues with you about her husband and complains to Allah." Umar himself, when Caliph, would stop and listen to her with humility.

Umm Habiba, daughter of the Quraysh chief Abu Sufyan, accepted Islam early and migrated to Abyssinia with her husband. There he apostatised and died a Christian, but she held firm to Islam alone in a foreign land. The Prophet ﷺ married her, and the Negus conducted the marriage on his behalf. When her still-pagan father Abu Sufyan later visited her in Madinah and went to sit on the Prophet's bedding, she folded it away from him, unwilling to let disbelief touch the Messenger's place.

Ash-Shifa bint Abdullah was a learned early Muslim woman of the Quraysh who could read and write before Islam and taught others, including Hafsa the Mother of the Believers. The Prophet ﷺ approved of her teaching literacy and beneficial ruqyah. She was so trusted for her sound judgement and knowledge of commerce that Umar ibn al-Khattab, during his caliphate, would consult her and appointed her to oversee affairs of the marketplace in Madinah.

Sawdah bint Zamʿah was among the early Muslims who migrated to Abyssinia. After the death of Khadijah, she was the first woman the Prophet ﷺ married, and for some years she was his only wife, caring for his household and his daughters. Known for her generosity and gentle humour, in her later years she gave up her allotted turn to Aisha so as to remain among the wives of the Prophet ﷺ, seeking to be raised with them on the Day of Resurrection. She was noted for her charity, giving away what came to her.

Juwayriyah, daughter of the chief of the Banu al-Mustaliq, was taken captive when her tribe was defeated. She came to the Prophet ﷺ seeking help with her ransom; he offered better than that and married her. When the Muslims learned that the tribe had become the Prophet's in-laws, they freed all their captives — around a hundred families. Aisha said no woman was ever a greater blessing to her people than Juwayriyah. The Prophet ﷺ once taught her a concise and mighty formula of tasbih to outweigh her long morning remembrance.

Safiyyah, a noblewoman of the Jewish tribe descended from the Prophet Harun, was taken captive at Khaybar. The Prophet ﷺ offered her Islam and freedom, then married her, making her freedom her dowry. When she was once taunted about her lineage, the Prophet ﷺ taught her to answer with dignity: "My father is Harun, my uncle is Musa, and my husband is Muhammad ﷺ." She was patient and forbearing; when a servant once slandered her to Umar, she responded with forgiveness rather than revenge.

Maymunah bint al-Harith was the last woman the Prophet ﷺ married. Aisha described her as among the most God-fearing of them and the most mindful of the ties of kinship. She narrated hadith, and several of her sisters and nieces were also honoured believers, so that the Prophet ﷺ called them "the believing sisters." She died years later at Sarif, near Makkah — the very place where she had been married — and was buried there.

Mariyah al-Qibtiyyah was a Coptic Christian from Egypt sent as a gift to the Prophet ﷺ by the ruler of Alexandria. She accepted Islam and was honoured as the mother of the Prophet's son Ibrahim, whose birth brought him great joy. When Ibrahim died in infancy, the Prophet ﷺ wept for him. The Prophet ﷺ enjoined kindness toward the Copts on account of the ties of kinship and marriage through her. She lived quietly and devoutly and passed away during the caliphate of Umar.

Umm al-Fadl, wife of the Prophet's uncle al-Abbas, was among the first women to accept Islam after Khadijah. She was the mother of Abdullah ibn Abbas, the great scholar of the Ummah, and sister of Maymunah the Mother of the Believers. She narrated hadith directly from the Prophet ﷺ; through her we learn that on the Day of Arafah he was fasting or not — for she sent him milk which he drank while mounted, settling the matter. She was bold in faith, once striking Abu Lahab in defence of a Muslim who brought news of Badr.

Umm Waraqah was a woman of the Ansar who had memorised the Qurʾan. She was so devoted that she wished to go out to Badr hoping for martyrdom; the Prophet ﷺ told her to remain in her home, for Allah would grant her martyrdom there, and he used to call her "the martyr." He appointed a muʾadhdhin for her and directed her to lead the people of her household in prayer. Years later, in the caliphate of Umar, two servants killed her — and so the Prophet's word about her martyrdom came true.

Umm Hani, sister of Ali ibn Abi Talib and cousin of the Prophet ﷺ, accepted Islam on the day of the Conquest of Makkah. She had granted protection to two of her in-laws, and when Ali wished to kill them she went to the Prophet ﷺ, who upheld her protection, saying, "We grant protection to whom you have granted it, O Umm Hani." It was in her house that the Prophet ﷺ prayed and, by many accounts, from near her home that the Night Journey took place. She narrated hadith on prayer and manners.

Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah went out with the Prophet ﷺ on several expeditions, tending the wounded, cooking and caring for the fighters. She is a major source of the Sunnah concerning the washing of the deceased, for the Prophet ﷺ himself instructed the women in how to wash his daughter — in odd numbers, with cleanliness and dignity. She narrated many hadith and taught the women of Madinah the practices of purification, Eid and mourning.

Umm Ruman was the wife of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and the mother of Aisha and Abd al-Rahman. She accepted Islam early and migrated to Madinah. She was a woman of dignity and calm faith; when the slander against her daughter Aisha spread, she stood by her with steadfastness and comforted her. She died during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, and it is reported that he prayed for her and spoke well of her standing.

Umm Kulthum bint Uqbah was among the believing women who migrated from Makkah to Madinah alone, on foot, leaving behind her disbelieving family. When the Quraysh demanded she be returned under the treaty of Hudaybiyah, Allah revealed the ruling that believing women who migrate are not to be sent back to the disbelievers, and are to be tested in their faith. She was one of the earliest to give the pledge of the believing women. She later married and was known for her devotion.

Umm Hakim bint al-Harith accepted Islam on the day of the Conquest of Makkah. Her husband Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl fled toward the sea, but she sought and obtained safety for him from the Prophet ﷺ, then went after him and brought him back to accept Islam, so that he became a devoted believer and later a martyr. She herself is remembered for her firmness and courage; it is reported she fought bravely against the apostates at the Battle of Marj al-Suffar.

Umm Sharik was a woman of the Ansar known for her generosity and hospitality, famed for honouring guests. She was active in secretly calling the women of Quraysh to Islam in the early days of persecution, and was noted for her endurance when she suffered for her faith. She is remembered in hadith relating to hospitality, worship and the trials at the end of time.

Umm Maʿbad was a Bedouin woman whose tent the Prophet ﷺ passed during the Hijrah to Madinah. Her flock had no milk owing to drought, yet at the Prophet's touch a barren ewe gave abundant milk that fed the travellers and herself. When her husband returned, she gave a famous, vivid and beautiful description of the Prophet's appearance and character — one of the most treasured portraits of him. She and her husband later accepted Islam.

Umm Hisham bint Harithah was a woman of the Ansar whose home neighboured the Prophet's, sharing one oven with his household for a time. She reported that she learned Surah Qaf only from hearing the Prophet ﷺ recite it from the pulpit every Friday, week after week, until she had memorised it. Her narration is a proof of the Sunnah of reciting Surah Qaf in the Friday sermon.

Umm al-Darda was a learned jurist and worshipper of the generation following the Companions, wife of the Companion Abu al-Darda. She was so grounded in knowledge that she taught in the mosque of Damascus, and men of learning — including the caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan — sat as her students. She combined deep worship with fiqh and hadith, and her sayings on sincerity and remembrance were preserved by the scholars.

Fatimah bint al-Khattab, sister of Umar ibn al-Khattab, accepted Islam early together with her husband, keeping it secret in fear of her fierce brother. When Umar burst in upon them as they were reciting Surah Ta-Ha, he struck her, but she declared her faith boldly and would not recant. Moved by her courage and by the words of the Qurʾan he then read, Umar's heart was softened, and he went straight to the Prophet ﷺ and accepted Islam — a turning point that strengthened the Muslims.

Safiyyah bint Abd al-Muttalib was the paternal aunt of the Prophet ﷺ and the mother of the great Companion al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam. During the Battle of the Trench, the women and children were kept in a fortress; when an enemy scout approached to spy on them, she took a tent-pole and struck him dead, then threw his head down to alarm the enemy into thinking the fort was well defended. She was a woman of poetry, courage and faith.

Zaynab was the eldest daughter of the Prophet ﷺ and Khadijah. She married her cousin Abu al-As ibn al-Rabiʿ before Islam. When she accepted Islam and he did not, she was patient and loyal; captured at Badr, he was freed on her intercession, and she waited faithfully until he too embraced Islam and they were reunited. Her migration to Madinah was hard — she suffered harm on the way — and she died a few years later. The Prophet ﷺ praised her as the best of his daughters for what she endured for his sake.

Ruqayyah, daughter of the Prophet ﷺ and Khadijah, married Uthman ibn Affan and migrated with him twice — to Abyssinia and then to Madinah — enduring exile for her faith. She fell gravely ill around the time of the Battle of Badr, and the Prophet ﷺ ordered Uthman to stay and nurse her rather than march out. She died of that illness on the very day the good news of victory at Badr reached Madinah. The Prophet ﷺ counted Uthman's staying with her as a share in the reward of Badr.

Umm Kulthum was a daughter of the Prophet ﷺ and Khadijah. After the death of her sister Ruqayyah, the Prophet ﷺ married her to Uthman ibn Affan, for which he was given the title Dhu al-Nurayn — "the one of the two lights" — having married two daughters of the Messenger ﷺ. She accepted Islam and gave the pledge of allegiance. She died during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, and he was present at her burial, grieved for her.

Umm Kulthum bint Ali was the daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah, and thus a granddaughter of the Prophet ﷺ, sister of Hasan and Husayn. She grew up in the household of the Prophet's family and lived a life of dignity in Madinah. She is counted among the noble women of the Prophet's house whose descent and standing were honoured by the Muslims of her time.

Atikah bint Zayd was an early Muslim, sister of the Companion Saʿid ibn Zayd (one of the ten given glad tidings of Paradise). She was known for her piety, her devotion to prayer, and her eloquent poetry. She was married in turn to several noble Companions, a number of whom were honoured with martyrdom, and she composed moving elegies for them. She is remembered for combining beauty of faith with steadfastness through repeated loss.

Umm al-Mundhir bint Qays was a woman of the Ansar who gave the pledge of allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ. She narrated a well-known hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ, recovering from illness along with Ali, guided them in what foods to eat and avoid, teaching wise moderation and care for health. Through her the Ummah preserved prophetic guidance on wholesome eating and gentle care of the body.

Al-Rubayyi bint Muʿawwidh was a young woman of the Ansar whose father was martyred at Badr. She used to go out with the army to give water to the fighters, tend the wounded and bring the slain and injured back to Madinah. She narrated hadith on marriage, the wedding feast, ablution and the Prophet's practice. Through her the Companions learned details of how the Prophet ﷺ performed wudu and of the manners of celebrating a marriage.