Who Was Sayyidah Asma bint Abu Bakr?

Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ bint Abī Bakr al-Siddīq رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا

Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ bint Abī Bakr رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا possessed many good qualities, virtues, and perfections. She was born 27 years before the Migration.^[1] She accepted Islam in the very early days after the Holy Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم announced his Prophethood. It is mentioned that she was the 17th person to accept Islam.^[2] Therefore, she is counted among the early female Companions رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَنَّ.

Love for the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم

Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا was a symbol of love and loyalty. She was the daughter of the First Caliph of the Muslims, Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ. In this way, the love and devotion for the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم was like an inheritance for her. History is full of stories that show her deep love for the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.

When the Holy Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم set out for al-Madinah al-Munawwarah during the Migration with his true devotee Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ, the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidatunā ꜤĀˈisha al-Ṣiddīqah and Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا served them by preparing the travel supplies. When they could not find anything to tie the luggage, Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا, out of her deep love and devotion, tore her waist-belt (niṭāq) into two pieces and used them to tie the travel gear. Because of this, her title became “Dhāt al-Niṭāqayn” (The One with Two Belts).^[3]

Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا had a cloak (jubba) of the Holy Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, which she received after the passing of Sayyidatunā ꜤĀˈisha al-Ṣiddīqah رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا. Whenever someone became ill, this blessed cloak was washed, and the water was given to the sick person to drink for healing.^[4]

Married Life

Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا was married to a noble Companion of the ꜤAsharah Mubashara, Sayyidunā Zubair b. ꜤAwwām رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُما. During her married life, she sometimes faced great financial difficulties, but she never became worried and never complained. She did all the housework herself and never avoided hard work.

Sayyidunā Zubair رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ had a horse and a camel for irrigation. Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا would feed the horse, give it water, repair the buckets, and walk about 3 farsakhs away from home to collect dried dates. After some time, Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ gave her a servant to help with the work, which reduced her burden. She mentions: “My father gave me a servant; he began feeding the horse in my place, and I became free”.^[5]

Love for Islam

Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا had an unmatched love for Islam and a strong dislike for disbelief. Once, her biological mother, Qutaylah, who had not accepted Islam, brought some gifts for her. Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا refused to take them. She asked the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم about this through Sayyidatunā ꜤĀˈisha al-Ṣiddīqah رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا. The Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم gave her permission to accept them, and then she did so.^[6]

Manner of Generosity

Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا was very generous and kind. She was so generous that she did not keep anything for herself; she spent everything on the poor and needy. Her beloved son, Sayyidunā ꜤAbdullāh b. Zubair رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُما, said:

I have not seen anyone more generous than the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidatunā ꜤĀˈisha al-Ṣiddīqah and my noble mother Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا. Their way of giving differed; Sayyidatunā ꜤĀˈisha رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا would collect things and then distribute them when she had amassed a fair amount. However, my noble mother Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا would not keep anything for the next day; as soon as she received something, she would give it away as charity.^[7]

Truthfulness, courage, bravery, patience, and submission were the special qualities of Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا throughout her life. The courage and bravery she showed before the cruel ruler of her time, Ḥajjāj b. Yūsuf, is something rarely found in history. During the reign of ꜤAbd al-Malik b. Marwān, the cruel Ḥajjāj b. Yūsuf al-Thaqafī attacked Makkah Mukarramah. Sayyidunā ꜤAbdullāh b. Zubair رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُما fought against his army. Even during this bloody war, Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا remained in Makkah Mukarramah to encourage her son.

In the end, Ḥajjāj martyred Sayyidunā ꜤAbdullāh b. Zubair رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُما and had his blessed body hung up. The cruel ruler forced Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا to go and see her son’s body. When she saw him, she did not cry or scream. Instead, with great courage, she said: اَمَا آنَ لِلرَّاکِبِ اَنْ یَنْزُلَ (Isn't it time for the rider to dismount?).^[8]

Similarly, Ḥajjāj came to her and spoke the most arrogant and disrespectful sentence that we do not have the courage to write. To this, she showed great bravery and replied: “I see that you ruined his world, but he ruined your Hereafter.”^[9]

Her Passing

While fighting the enemy, Sayyidunā ꜤAbdullāh b. Zubair رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُما was martyred on 17 Jumādā al-Ūlā 73 AH.^[10] According to one view, ten days later (on 27 Jumādā al-Ūlā), Sayyidatunā Asmāˈ رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا also departed this temporary world.^[11] At the time of her passing, she was one hundred years old. Despite her age, she had not lost any of her teeth, and her mind and senses were perfectly sound.^[12]