Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Yahya An-Ninowi

THE NOBLE WOMEN OF ISLAM

(Jakallah khair Arshad for the notes)

The shaykh talks about the ayah of the Quran, “We have honoured the offspring of Adam”.

Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala distinguished Adam from the creation, honoured him and gave him prophecy, as well as ordering the Malaika (angels) to bow to him.

Adam [Upon him peace] is the father of all prophets in terms of genealogy, but Rasoolullah (sallalahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam), is the father of all the Prophets in terms of prophecy because of the hadith “I was a prophet when Adam was not created yet”.

Everything that is connected to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) is honoured because of him.

He (sallalahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) is the only one who has the ultimate Maqam of shifa’a (station of intercession). He is the shaf’ee (intercessor) of all the prophets and the creation and yet not in need of anyone’s shifa’a. (intercession)

You eat the dates because he (sallalahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) ate them.

Medina became Munawarra (enlightened) due to his Nur (sallalahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam).

His book became the most honourable book, his Sunna became the most honourable, his Sahaba (Companions) [Radiallahu Anhum] became the most honourable people….

His family became the most honourable family, and his wives became the “mothers of the believers” and that is what we are here to talk about today.

They are amongst the most honourable women to ever put foot on earth.


Sayyida Amina

We do injustice to this noble woman because we do not learn enough about her and don’t talk much about her.

We are often shy to talk about her, because some strange people are eager to make her destiny hellfire.

Abdul Mutalib [Radiallahu anhu] use to have 10 sons and he use to walk with them, and it would appear as the sun and the planets around him.

Abdullah [Radiallahu anhu] went for trading with his father and got use to doing trading and earning for his family…

After Abdullah [Radiallahu anhu] was free from being sacrificed, he was with his father and a woman [Qutaila] approaches him and says that if you leave your father, and marry me, I will give you millions, due to his beauty.

He looks at her and says, “I can not disobey my father”.

Abdul Mutalib [Radiallahu anhu] goes to the Bani Zuhra tribe, very educated people and asked for Sayyida Amina [Radiallahu anha], and the marriage takes place immediately there.

That day, all the women of the city were crying, because they all wanted to marry him.

After 3 days his father informs him that he has to go to Shaam for trading, obeying his father and on the way he sees the same woman who offered him marriage and she ignores him, and he stops and says “How come you are not offering me marriage now and you were before?”.

She replied “Because the light that was between your face has now gone”.

While in Shaam, he dies, and Sayyida Amina [Radiallahu anha] was pregnant and carried that light, and had Rasoolullah (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam).

Amina [Radiallahu anha] was a woman of high morals, well raised, well educated and very sensitive personality.

She hears of the death of her husband [while being 2 months pregnant] and says a few lines of poetry in his honour…

Days of sadness start for her until the beloved is born.

There are many narrations that mention that the angels use to be around her during her pregnancy.

The birth of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) comforts her.

She gave the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) for nursing in the desert, as the tradition of those days.

He (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) had a great relationship with his mother, as you can see in the hadith.

Do you see the pattern, that the women in the family of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) did not live very long… as if Allah Subhanu wa’ ta’ala wants to take her to a better place…

We take many things from her personality, like Sabr (patience) after her husband died, and the difficulties she faced during bringing up the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam).

She once went to Medina, before her death and took the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) with him and she started crying, and the women in Medina, cried with her too.

This family is to sustain lots of hardships and days of sadness, but the price they paid was worth it.

She taught our mothers and wives, so much patience and maturity - that is needed.


Sayyida Aisha

A different personality from the household of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam).

She lived 66 years approximately, and she was a Faqiha (jurist) who taught many of the Sahaba [Radiallahu Anha], she was a Madrassah (school) herself.

She rejected the narration of various Sahaba [Radiallahu Anhum], indicating her vast knowledge.

She once came to the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) and said “ya Rasool-allah, all your wives have their nicknames, yet I don’t have one.
He tells her, “We will call you umm abdullah”.

She says, “I was thin with a light face, and I went with him and he said lets race and see who is going to go ahead, we raced and I went ahead of him and won him, and he smiled. Then few years later when I put weight on, we raced and he beat me and reminded me that this is the revenge for the last defeat”.

He (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) would also take her for night walks many times, and he would teach her Quran and Tafseer etc…

She would ask lots of questions naturally and the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) said to her, I know when you are happy and when you are angry….

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) said, “This life has many things to offer, but the best thing life has to offer is the pious wife. The best of you are those who are best to their wives, and I am the best of you to my wives”.

When the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) was with Sayyida Aisha [Radiallahu Anha], Umm Salama sent a plate, and Aisha [Radiallahu Anha] got a little jealous and pushed the plate and it fell on the floor, but look at the akhlaq (character) of the beloved. He never shouted at her or said anything to her, but he smiles and picks the food and the plate himself, and calls the servant who came with the food, tells him to wait and says “your mother got jealous”. He tells Aisha [Radiallahu Anha] to cook food and gives a plate to the servant and says “tell Umm Salama that this is from Aisha [Radiallahu Anha]”.


A man once came to her and asked her a Mas’ala (issue) about wiping over the socks and she said, “Go to Ali [Radiallahu Anha], and ask him, as he has more knowledge than me”.

She use to cry so much that her veils use to become pitch wet, she was very spiritual…

The eye that pours and cries to Allah Subhanu wa’ta’ala is the eye that is forgiven.

On her death bed, Ibn Abbas [Radiallahu Anhu], asked to come and give her salams, but she says, “Tell him not to come, because he will say good things about me, and I wish I was forgotten”. But he goes in and says good things about her…

We learn that the wives role is not just to be in the kitchen, look at the roles of Aisha [Radiallahu Anha] as a wife, she was doing many other things, including taking place in battles, and serving the Mujahideen in the wars…

Sayyida Khadija

A very unique woman, who was very beloved to the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) and he said in a (authentic) sahih hadith “Allah gave me the love of Khadija”.

There is a difference between saying, “I love her” and “her love was given to me”.

The first Muslim/Muslima and one of the 4 perfect women, and they are “Asiya, Maryam, Khadija, Fatima”. So if you want to be a perfect woman, then they are your examples.

She is the supporter of Islam and Muslimeen, and many scholars say, if it was not for the money of Khadija [Radiallahu Anhu] and the Sword of Ali, Islam would not have spread.

She was a billionaire, owning thousands and thousands of camels, and after her marriage she put everything before Quraish, and said, “Be a witness that everything I own, is owned by Muhammad,” (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam).

A very mature and very balanced woman, with her sight on the future..

Look at the Imaan (faith) of Khadija that when the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) came back from Hira, she never asked him, “What were you doing alone in the cave etc” rather supported him and said “Allah will never abandon you”.

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) was sitting and Jibreel came to him and Khadija was walking with food in her hand. Jibreel said, “Ya Rasoolallah, tell Khadija that Allah sends her salam and also give her my salam too”.

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) tells her that Allah sends you his salam, and she smiles and says “Allah is salam” and Jibreel can take the salam from me. Jibreel then says “ Take the good news that there is a house waiting for you in Jannah where there is no noise and no trouble”.

She was also one of those who was put in jail for 3 years, and as a result of that , shortly after she died.

After her passing away, he would have food slaughtered and send it to her friends

Aisha [Radiallahu Anha] says that, “Why do you keep mentioning you her when you have someone better than her.” He replied, “No, she believed in me, when everyone abandoned me, she gave me, when people took from me, she protected me, when people wanted to kill me. And Allah gave me from her offspring and he didn’t give me children from any other woman.”

So Aisha [Radiallahu Anha] said, “I will never mention Khadija [Radiallahu Anha] in front of you again.”


Sayyida Fatima

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) said, “Fatima is a piece of me.”

Everybody is something else, except Fatima, she is a piece of me.

Opinion of Umar [Radiallahu Anhu] said, “Nobody is better than Fatima [Radiallahu Anha] because the Prophet (sallalalahu alaihi wa’alihi wassalam) said “Fatima is a piece of me.”

She was born on a Friday, another blessing of the day of Friday.

Fatima as a name comes from Fatama, which means “when you breast feed a baby for 2 years and then you stop feeding and prevent it from milk”. So Fatima is prevented but from what? She is protected from the hellfire.

Khadijas nick name was “Tahira”, but Fatimas nick names were “As-Siddiqa”, “Radia” , “Mardiya” , “Zakiya” also “ummu abeeha [the mother of her father]”.

Also she was called “Zahra”, and that comes from “glooming or shining”, so she is glooming and shining. Imam Baqer said, “When she stands for salah, her light shines from there to the heavens”.

The wife of Abu Talib [Radiallahu Anha] use to love the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wassalam) more than her own kids, and he use to call her “Mother after my mother”. She was called Fatima Bint Assad, and when she died “The Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wassalam) went into her grave and lay there first, and then came out and said , now bury her”. Due to her name being Fatima, he also called his daughter Fatima.

After the death of Khadija [Radiallahu Anha] and all the close ones to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wassalam), Fatima was the one who use to take care of his needs, hence called “the mother of his father.” yet she was only 8 years old or so.

Umm Salama [Radiallahu Anha] says, “No person of the family resembled him (sallalahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) more than Fatima, and when the Sahabiyyas (companions) wanted to see a glimpse of the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam), they would just look at Fatima [Radiallahu Anha], because they saw him (sallalalahu alaihi wa alihi wassalam) in her.

Aisha [Radiallahu Anha] said, “Nobody is close to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa’alihi wassalam) in talk, in speech and walk than Fatima [Radiallahu Anha].

Look as the way she raised her son Hassan [Radiallahu Anhu], and sees him making duas (supplication) and says “Did you make dua (supplication) for the neighbours too?”

She comes to the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa’alihi wassalam) once and her hands are not smooth due to the grinding of wheat etc…. and says, “Can you spare us a khadim (servant) who can help us?” The Prophet (sallalalahu alaihi wa alihi wssalam) says, “I will give you something that is better than a servant and tells her to recite Allah o akbar 34 times, Subhanllah 33 times, Alhamduillah 33 times, so that Allah will alleviate all her pains for her.

The Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa’alihi wassalam) use to kiss her hands and forehead, and she would get up for him and seat him vice versa….



"I looked at all friends, and did not find a better friend than safeguarding the tongue. I thought about all dresses, but did not find a better dress than piety. I thought about all types of wealth, but did not find a better wealth than contentment in little. I thought of all types of good deeds, but did not find a better deed than offering good advice. I looked at all types of sustenance, but did not find a better sustenance than patience." Umar(May Allah be pleased with him)