Inshallah I will try to capture the beauty from the lives of some of the Prophet’s (PBUH) companions on a regular basis. We need to understand the sacrifices they made for the sake of Allah and realize that struggling for the sake of Allah does not come without sacrifices. May Allah give us the Hidayat and the strength to focus on the hereafter and not get lost in the duniya.

I was inspired to blog this after my Islamic history class today. The specific conversation between Asma and her son was so touching to hear I had to quickly shift attention from the passage to stop a defiant tear from escaping my eye. The bravery, the beauty, the absolute faith and trust in Allah the passage captures is worth the tears.

Prophet’s Companions

Asma bint Abu Bakar

A valiant mother who advised her son to get slain rather than surrender before a tyrant ruler.

Among the holy companions of the Prophet Muhammad,(Pbuh) Asma bint Abu Bakar is found at the centre of a galaxy. Her father was Hazrath Abu Bakar. Her sister Ayesha was the wife of the holy Prophet. Her husband Zubair bin Awwam was a close associate of the Prophet. Her son Abdullah bin Zubair was one of the leading lights of early Islam.

Asma was one of the early reverts to Islam. Only 17others preceded her in embracing Islam. She left Madinah a few days after Abu Bakar and the Prophet set out for hijrath (migration) following long years of persecution at Makkah by the non-believers. Asma prepared the food and other material necessary for the journey for the Prophet’s caravan which secreted out of Makkah one night. During her own journey, on the approach to the city, while camping in the Valley of Quba, she delivered his son Abdullah bin Zubair. The Prophet was the first to kiss the child and offer his sputum into its mouth. He blessed the mother and the infant.

Asma had been married to Zubair in Makkah itself. Zubair was poor and had nothing save a horse. Asma tended the horse carefully and used to arrange fodder for it everyday. But such were the blessings of the Prophet, the couple grew rich soon after they set up their business on arrival in Madinah. Yet she never hoarded wealth. Both sisters, Ayesha and Asma, were extremely generous. While Ayesha would collect things to distribute among the poor, Asma gave them as they came to her and never left a farthing with herself.

When Abu Bakar left for Madinah, he took away the entire worth of the material he possessed till then. It all totalled up to 6000 dirhams. Soon after this, his old and blind father Abu Qahafa came to Asma’s house and expressed his dismay that Abu Bakar had left nothing behind for her to sustain herself. But Asma kept a few pebbles in a niche, covered them with a cloth and made grandfather Qahafa to feel them from outside. She told him that Abu Bakar had left enough for her and she desired nothing but his blessings. She did all that lest Qahafa should take pity on her and sent for her something out of his money. She did not want to accept anything from a non-believer for herself as Qahafa had till then not entered the fold of Islam.

Asma chose to lead a life in penury but never compromised on principles. The most moving incident related to her is her advice to her son, Abdullah bin Zubair to accept the death as a martyr but not to accept the caliphate of Malik bin Marwan long after the rightly guided caliphate had come to an end.

When Yazid bin Muawiyah died, Abdullah bin Zubair was declared as the caliph in Madinah. People came from as far as Egypt, Iraq, Khorasan and Syria to vow their allegiance. But Banu Umayyah soon began to challenge him and Hajjaj bin Yousuf was dispatched with a large contingent of army. Though initially Zubair notched up a few victories, his men began to leave him and it became evident to him that he would not be spared for long and would be asked either to surrender or will have to go down fighting. A few hours before the final moment could arrive, he came to mother Asma who was into her 100th year of life. The dialogue went on like this:

Asma: Abdullah, How come you are here when Hajjaj bin Yousuf is leaving nothing to chance to defeat and kill you.

Abdullah: I am here to seek your advice at this crucial juncture. My companions have either been lured by Hajjaj or are too frightened to stand by me. I have been sent a missive from Banu Umayyah offering me whole lot of wealth in lieu of surrender. They are asking me to declare my allegiance to Malik bin Marwan. What do you suggest?

Asma: Abdullah, it is not a matter of life and death. If you think you are on the right path, you should embrace death for the sake of upholding the truth. If indeed you intend to forsake the truth, there could be nothing perverse than that.

Abdullah: Mom, I would sure be slain today.

Asma: It is better to be slain than surrender before the tyrant Hajjaj. The people will only mock at you then.

Abdullah: Death does not scare me. What I fear is that they will mutilate my body.

Asma: Why fear the mutilation. All that matters is your life to you. Once the soul departs the body, you should not bother who does what with your corpse.

Abdullah: Mom, you are really great. This world does not enamour me at all. I am ready to embrace death smiling. Assure me that you would not grieve when the news of my death reaches you.

Asma then called Abdullah to her side, kissed his forehead. Abdullah too kissed Asma’s hands and feet. He took out the iron dress he was wearing on Asma’s advice lest there be any distance between him and his death. Asma lifted her cupped hands skywards and prayed for the welfare of his son.

Abdullah’s death came soon. He was martyred at the hands of the men of Hajjaj before the sunset the same day.

Asma bint Abu Bakar died 10 days later. She was 100 and had lost no teeth and was in perfect health. Nor was there any trace of any physical frailty in her.

(Abridged and translated
by Maqbool Ahmed Siraj
from Suwarum min Hayathus Sahaba
authored by Dr. Abdul Rahman Rafat Pasha).