Assalamu alaikkum,

 

Women of Paradise:Asmaa' bint Abi Bakr

In the first issue, we learnt about the Black woman and her love for
Allaah. Once again we will take a trip back in time and visit another
great woman, Asmaa' bint Abi Bakr , one of the Sahabah (female
Companions) of the Prophet . This journey requires that we free our
minds from the ideas of modernists and pay special attention to the life
this blessed companion led, and compare it to our own lives. As always,
we will make this trip through the authentic narration from the Scholars
of Hadith. Brace yourselves as we now journey back in time to the golden
era at the time of the Prophet .

Asmaa' daughter of Abu Bakr
said: "az-Zubair (Ibn al-`Awwam, the cousin of the Prophet , through
his aunt) married me. He had neither wealth, slave or anything else like
it, except a camel (to get water) and a horse. I used to graze his
horse, [provide fodder to it and look after it, and ground dates for his
camel. Besides this, I grazed the camel], made arrangements for
providing [it with] water and patched up [his] leather bucket and
kneaded the flour. But I was not proficient in baking the bread, so my
female neighbors used to bake bread for me [and they were sincere
women]. And I used to carry on my head the stones (seeds) of the d~tes
from az-Zubair's land which Allaah's Messenger had endowed him, and
it was at a distance of two miles (from Madinah).

"As I was one day
carrying the stones of dates upon my head I happened to meet Allaah's
Messenger along with a group of his Companions. He called me and
said to the camel to sit down so that he should make me ride behind him.
I felt shy to go with men and I remembered az-Zuhair and his gheerah⁽¹⁾,
and he was the man having the most gheerah. When the Messenger of
Allaah understood my shyness, he left. I came to az-Zubair and said:
'The Messenger of Allaah met me as I was carrying the stones of the
dates on my head, and there was with him a group of his Companions, he
said to the camel to sit down so that I mount it, I felt shy from him,
and remembered your gheerah.' Whereupon he (az-Zubair) said: 'By Allaah,
the carrying of dates' stone upon your head is more severe a burden on
me than riding with him.' [And I led this life of hardship] until Abu
Bakr sent afterwards a female servant who took upon herself the
responsibility of looking after the horse and I felt as if she had
emancipated me⁽²⁾." Remember that Asmaa' was the sister in law of the
Prophet !

Asmaa' reported: "I performed the household duties of
az-Zubair and he had a horse, I used to look
after it. Nothing was (more) for me than looking after the horse. I used
to bring grass for it and looked after it, then I got a servant as
Allaah's Messenger had some prisoners of war in his possession. He
gave me a female servant. She then began to look after the horse and
thus relieved me of this burden. A person came and he said: 'Mother of
Abdullah, I am a destitute person and I intend that I should start
business under the shadow of your house.' I (Asmaa') said: 'If I grant
you permission, az Zubair may not agree to that, so you come and make a
demand of it when az-Zubair is also present there.'

He came accordingly
and said: 'Mother of Abdullah, I am a destitute person. I intend to
start small business in the shadow of your house. I said: 'Is there not
in Madinah (any place for starting the business) except my house?' Az-Zubair
said: 'Why is it that you prohibit the destitute man to start
business here?' So he started business and he (earned so much) that we
sold our slave-girl to him. Az-Zubair came to me while the money was
in my lap. He said: 'Give this to me.' I said: '(I intend) to spend it
in charity.'" [Muslim] Notice how Asmaa' had been in favor of
allowing that person to start business under the shadow of their house,
but she did not like to do anything which could be a source of annoyance
or disgust to her husband. She, therefore, posed a question in order to
solicit the opinion of her husband and when his reaction was found
favorable, she agreed to this proposal.

Dear Sister, Allaah (T) has made you a protected jewel in Islam whom the
liberalists are trying to make an object of trade, and the modernists
[among Muslims] are trying to strip you of your modesty and shyness.
Read these ahadith carefully, over and over, and ponder on them very
deeply. They contain a gold mine for both women and men. Asmaa'
had the following credits to her personality (among others):

• She was
  one of the most noble women of Arabia at that time.
  
  
  
• The daughter of
  the pure and the noble Abu Bakr , the leader of his tribe, and the
  first Caliph of Islam.
  
  
  
• The sister-in-law of the best of mankind.
  Mohammad , who named her "Thaatun-Nitaaqayn" (the one with two
  belts), for her heroic act during the Hijrah [migration] of the Prophet
  and Abu Bakr , from Makkah to Madinah.
  
  
  
• The sister of the most
  knowledgeable woman, 'Aishah who is among the only seven Companions
  of the Prophet who narrated more than a thousand ahadith.
  
  
  
• The
  wife of az-Zubair Ibn al-`Awwaam, one of the ten people promised
  Paradise by the Messenger of Allaah . Az-Zubair was brave, courageous
  and defended the Prophet with his sword.
  
  
  
• The Mother of ameerul-mu'mineen 'Abdullah Ibn az-Zubair who was given
  bay`a in Hijaz and
  was killed by al-Hajjaaj⁽³⁾: and
  
  
  
• the mother of 'Urwah, who when he entered in prayer he would
  forget about this life It was 'Urwah who when his leg had to be cut, was
  told to drink wine as an anesthesia but refused to drink wine and
  instead, gave intructions to cut it while he was in prayer. They did,
  and he did not feel anything until he woke up.

Asmaa', may Allaah (T)
be pleased with her, was one of the most noble personalities, yet was
veiled and shy in front of men. She refused to be with men, mingle with
them, ride among them or go with them; and. by Allaah, the men being
talked about were no ordinary men! They were the Messenger of Allaah
, and his Companions. She served her husband as a true wife should,
staying at home to take care of her household. She was very careful at
guarding and preserving her honor, and the honor of her husband. Did she
ever pressure az-Zubair by reminding him of her honorable lineage as the
daughter of the noble Abu Bakr? She was patient for the hardship she
went through, and was loving and respectful towards her husband. Can a
woman be richer than Asmaa'?

Her father, Abu Bakr , was a rich
merchant. Yet, she carried stones of dates on her head, and walked miles
to get water and date seeds. She also dealt with horses and camels
[which she did not do in her father' s house], baked bread, pleased her
husband, yet would not takc decisions without him, even if it were an
obvious decision for the pleasure of Allaah (T).

Dear sister, wake
up! Realize that the modernists and liberalists are leading you to a
path other than the path of the Believers. Allaah (T) says (the meaning
(of which is): And whoever contends with, and contradicts the
Messenger after guidance has been clearly conveyed to him, and chooses a
path other than that of the Faithful Believers, We shall leave him in
the Path he has chosen and land him in Hell, what an evil refuge!" [an
Nisaa 4:115]⁽⁴⁾ .

Which path leads you to happiness of this world and
the hereafter, to the pleasure of Allaah (T) and the company of Asmaa'
in Paradise? Is it the path of tabarruj⁽⁵⁾ and .sufoor⁽⁶⁾ and
Ikhtilaat⁽⁷⁾ or the path of Hijab and Modesty?

Remember the golden
words of Asmaa' when she said: "I felt shy to go with men, and I
remembered az-Zubair and his gheerah." Remember also what the Black
woman said: "But I become uncovered, so please invoke Allaah for me
[make du'a to Allaah for me] that I may not become uncovered." This
illustrates what kind of a pure and clean society it was, and what kind
of amazing women they were. They were the followers of the Qur'an and
the Sunnah, the Salaf that we are proud to follow. We ask you to
think about this, and pray to Allaah (T) to make us all among the pure
women and men whom Allaah (T) is pleased with, and whom the Messenger of
Allaah will be pleased and happy to meet in Paradise, for they
followed his Sunnah. though they never met him: and they followed the
practice of his Companions, though they never met them either.

Imagine, dear sister. that you are among the blessed ones who succeeded in
passing over the Sirat⁽⁸⁾, and found in front of you the Hawdh (pool) of
the Prophet and you drank from it. Imagine yourself entering Jannah?
and findhlg RasoolAllaah who he is happy to see you. Imagine you are
among those whom he called "my brethren"⁽⁹⁾. Imagine yourself
among the blessed ones when the
veil will be withdrawn, and the people of the Paradise "will not have
known anything dearer to them than looking upon the Countenance of their
Lord." [Muslim] Indeed, the reward of Allaah (T) is invaluable; the
reward of Allaah (T) is Paradise; its price is following and practicing
the Qur'an and the Sunnah the way that Asmaa' and az-Zubair and all the
Sahabah did (may Allaah (T) be pleased with them all).

Back home to the
fifteenth century Hijrah [twentieth of the Christian era] ...

We hope
and pray that after journeying through these authentic ahadith with us,
we can put into practice all that we have learnt. We remind you that
our happiness, the pleasure of our eyes and the comfort of our hearts
start with you by your following of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and the
practice of the Salaf:

We hope to see you insha'Allaah in our next
trip to the golden age through some other ayahs of the Qur'an and the
authentic ahadith.

 

 

 

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⁽¹⁾ the feeling of honor a
man has towards the female members of his family.

⁽²⁾ al-Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad; additional narration in brackets "[ ]"
are from Muslim.

⁽³⁾ Abdullah Ibn az-Zubair (R) sought
advice trom his mother Asmaa' in fighting al Hajjaaj and his ameer
AbdulMalik after these two called him to surrender in peace. She
replied: lf you went out [in fighting] to revive the Book of Allaah (T)
and the Sunnah of His Prophet, know that the goat does not get
tortured by slaughtering [i.e. once slain, it does not feel anything
when the skin is removed]. So die on the truth. But if you went out
seeking the worldly life, then there is no goodness in you alive or
dead. My Son! Die with honor and dignity and do not surrender. [Musnad
al Haiku]. After this meeting with Asmaa'. Abdullah went out to fight
...he was killed in Makkah ... May Allaah (T) have Mercy on him and be
pleased with him.

⁽⁴⁾The
faithful believers are the Sahabah [the companions of the Prophet ].
Shaikh-ul-lslam Ibn Taymeeyah commented on this verse "All who
contradict and oppose the Messenger after the right path has been
clearly shown to them. have followed other than the Path of the
believers: and all who follow other than the Path of the believers
have contradicted and opposed the Messenger after the right Path has
been shown to them. If one thinks that he is following the Path of the
Faithful believers and is mistaken, he is in the same position as one
who thinks he is following the Messenger and is mistaken"

⁽⁵⁾Displaying one's beauty

⁽⁶⁾Revealing beauty

⁽⁷⁾Mingling with men

⁽⁸⁾The narrow bridge hanging over hell.

⁽⁹⁾Part of the hadith from
Sahih Muslim which continues: '...the Sahaabah replied "Aren't we your
brethren?'' He said: "You are my companions; my brethren are
people who come later, believe in me (and obviously follow me), even
though they did not see me."' This hadith will be the subject of one of
our future articles, where it will be referenced appropriately. and
mentioned in its entirety, insha'Allaah.