Faatimah bint Al-Munthir ibn Al-Zubayr ibn Al-‘Awwaam, may Allah have mercy upon her

02/04/2009| IslamWeb

Asmaa' may Allah be pleased with her, is a well-known figure in Islamic history; not only was she the daughter of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and the sister of ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, but she was the obedient wife of the great companion Az-Zubayr ibn Al-‘Awwaam, may Allah be pleased with him. Her role in supporting the Prophet, , and her examples of sacrifice and forbearance are ever-alive in the annals of Islamic History. She was named ‘Thaat An-Nitaaqayn’ (the One with the Two Waistbands) due to an incident in which she used two waistbands in order to tie food for the Prophet, , and her father Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. They had left Makkah for Madeenah and were being pursued by the enemy. It was Asmaa’s, may Allah be pleased with her,   job to deliver this food to them with the utmost secrecy; late into her pregnancy she climbed up Mount Thawr. For those who aren’t acquainted with this Mount it should suffice for you to know that even the youth are caught gasping for breath when climbing its rocky tracks. What drove Asmaa', may Allah be pleased with her, with her unborn, to undertake such a dangerous journey? It was no other than the deep love she had for the Prophet, , and her father. Later, when Abu Jahl came to the house of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, full of rage and anger he asked Asmaa', may Allah be pleased with her, the whereabouts of her father and the Noble Messenger, . Standing strong, with faithflowing through every inch of her being, she replied that she did not know. He slapped her across her face; she stood strong and unyieldingly with a heart full of love for this religion.

Her love did not end with the demise of the messenger, , on the contrary, she, may Allah be pleased with her, ignited this deep love into the hearts of her children and grandchildren. One such grandchild that benefited greatly from her company was no other than Faatimah bint Al-Munthir . Allah chose Faatimah to be a light whose name would shine - even today- in the books of Ahaadeeth.

Faatimah bint Al-Munthir is respected as one of the leading Taa’biaat of her time (the generation after the companions). She was a great scholar and was renowned as a Faqeehah (Jurist) and was married to her cousin Hishaam ibn ‘Urwah ibn Al-Zubayr . Hishaam was also a great scholar and narrator. Some of his leading students included: Imaam Abu Haneefah, Imaam Maalik, Shu’bah and Sufyaan Al-Thawri .

Although they were both cousins, Hishaam had not acquired from Asmaa', may Allah be pleased with her, the many Ahaadeeth of the Prophet, , that Faatimah had acquired from Asmaa', may Allah be pleased with her. Hence, he would ask his wife and learn from her the words of the Prophet, , memorizing them and in turn informing his companions and students of what his wife had taught him.

Many have narrated from Faatimah such as Muhammad ibn Is-Haaq (the author of one very famous book of Seerah) and others, yet her husband Hishaam comes as one of the leading figures narrating directly from Faatimah .

The following are just a few examples from the major and unanimously accepted books of narrations, in which Hishaam narrated directly from his wife Faatimah .

1.         Hishaam narrated from his wife Faatimah from her grandmother Asmaa', may Allah be pleased with her, that she said: ‘A woman came to the Messenger of Allah and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I have a daughter who is a bride: she has a disease (measles) that has thinned her hair. Can I join [another’s hair] to it? The Messenger of Allah said: 'The curse of God is on the one who joins [another’s hair in this way] and the one who asks for this [joining another’s hair.’'  [Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Nasaa‘i &  Ibn Maajah]

2.         Hishaam says: ‘Faatimah narrated to me from Asmaa', may Allah be pleased with her, that she said: ‘We ate meat of one of our horses in the time of the Prophet .’ [Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Nasaa‘i &  Ibn Maajah]

3.         Hishaam narrates from Faatimah from Asmaa’, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said: ‘The Messenger of Allah said to me: "Give [of your wealth], spend [from it] and pay out; do not hold it back, otherwise Allah will hold back from you; do not count [it] otherwise Allah will count over you." [Al-Bukhari, Muslim &   Al-Nasaa‘i]

4.         Hishaam also narrated from her the long Hadeeth found in the books of Al-Bukhari and Muslim about the prayer on the occasion of the solar eclipse.

For some of the most leading scholars of Islam, the likes of Imaam Al-Bukhari and Imaam Muslim to record these Ahaadeeeth, in which:

1. Women have narrated the hadeeth

2. A man has narrated from his wife.  

Holds great lessons for those who claim that the Scholars of Islam were misogynist and andocentric. On the contrary the very books that are considered the most reliable sources of Islamic knowledge contain narrations that contain chains which bear the names of women.

 

Further, these examples bear sufficient proof that men would, without embarrassment, narrate from their wives openly.

 

Was it not for Hishaam who learnt from Faatimah who learnt from Asmaa’ may Allah be pleased with her, we may have been bereft of these beautiful pearls of wisdom that were extracted from the sea of Prophet-hood.