Asmaa bint Yazeed, The Women's
Representative, Reporting No Less Than 81 Hadiths
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim Journals
Arab News & Information - By Adil Salahi
She came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he
was sitting with a group of his men companions. She
said: "Messenger of God, I am sent by a group of
Muslim women and we all share the same view and have
the same concern. God has sent you to both men and
women. We believe in you and follow you. Yet we,
women, have to stay at home. We are the object of
men's desire and we bear their children. Nevertheless,
men have privileges, such as the obligatory Friday
prayer, attending funerals and going on jihad
campaigns. When they leave for jihad, we look after
their property and we rear their children. Messenger
of God, do we have a share of reward for doing so?"
The Prophet turned to the men attending him and said:
"Have you ever heard a more eloquent woman putting a
case concerning her faith?" They said: "We never
thought that a woman can be so expressive." The
Prophet said to her: "Asmaa, go and tell women that
when any of you is a goodly wife, giving her husband a
pleasant life and cutting out friction, she earns a
reward equal to all that you have mentioned of men's
reward." She went away glorifying God and praising
Him. The woman was Asmaa bint Yazeed ibn Al-Sakan, a
distinguished figure among the women of the Ansar. She
belonged to the clan of Abd Al-Ashhal of the Aws,
whose chief was Saad ibn Mu'adh. She and Kabshah bint
Rafi, Saad's own mother, were the first women of the
Ansar to pledge their loyalty to the Prophet after he
arrived in Madinah.
The story we related about her question to the Prophet
tells us that she was outspoken and highly expressive,
which suggests that she was well educated. Indeed, she
was a most distinguished reporter of the Prophet's
Hadiths, reporting no less than 81 Hadiths. This puts
her among the top Ansari women in reporting Hadith, if
not the top one. In one report she speaks of the
revelation of Surah 5 of the Qur'an, Al-Ma'idah or the
Repast. She reports: "I was holding the rein of Al-Adbaa,
the Prophet's she-camel, when the Surah Al-Ma'idah was
revealed to him in full. It was so heavy, that it
almost broke the limbs of the she-camel." This is a
reference to the fact that the revelation was a hard
experience for the Prophet, as it involved
communication with the archangel Gabriel.
Asmaa belonged to a family of brave fighters. In the
Battle of Uhud, when the Muslim army was in disarray,
her brother, Imarah ibn Yazeed, was one of the few who
remained steadfast and defended the Prophet until he
was killed. Her father and uncle were also killed in
the same battle. Their bravery made her eager to
follow their suit. Therefore, she went out with the
Muslim army on several occasions during the Prophet's
lifetime. She was also with the Prophet and his
companions when they aimed to visit Makkah, but
Quraysh, the Arab tribe living in Makkah and opposed
to Islam, stopped them. At one stage, the Prophet
asked his companions to pledge to fight to the finish
if the need arose. Asmaa was among the Muslims who
gave the Prophet that pledge. Three years after the
Prophet had passed away, Asmaa joined the Muslim army
heading to Syria to fight the Byzantine army. She took
part in the fighting, using the pole of her tent to
defend herself and the women with her. She was able to
kill nine of the enemy soldiers. After the battle and
when Syria came under Muslim rule, Asmaa stayed in
Syria, teaching women about Islam. She lived until an
advanced age. According to good reports, she died in
Damascus in year 69, which means that she was around
90 or even older when she died. She is buried in Bab
Al-Sagheer graveyard in Damascus.
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