Asma' bint Amr: Witness To Two
Momentous Pledges - Umm Manee', Very True To Her
Pledge
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim Journals
Arab News & Information - By Adil Salahi
One of the most momentous events in the history of
Islam was the pledge given by the Ansar to the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) at Aqabah in Mina. They
pledged to him that when he would join them in Madinah,
they would defend him and protect him like they
protect their women and children. They were aware that
their pledge meant giving their word of honor that
they would spare nothing in providing him with such
protection. They were ready to sacrifice their all in
his defense. That pledge facilitated the immigration
of the Prophet and his Makkan companions to Madinah,
where he established the first Muslim state. That
pledge was given by 73 men and two women from the
Ansar. When those who gave the pledge to the Prophet
finished their pilgrimage and returned home, the
Prophet told his companions to immigrate to Madinah.
They began to travel in small groups or individually,
and when almost all those who could travel left Makkah,
the Prophet himself immigrated with his companion Abu
Bakr.
The two women who witnessed this momentous event were
Naseebah bint Kaab, known as Umm Imarah, and Asma'
bint Amr of the Sulaym clan of the Ansar. Asma' is the
lesser known of the two. She converted to Islam in its
early days in Madinah. In fact, the first Muslims from
Madinah accepted Islam only two years earlier, when
six of its people met the Prophet during the
pilgrimage season in Makkah and he presented Islam to
them. Asma' was a young lady, married to Khadeej ibn
Salamah. Theirs was still a young family, but both
husband and wife were eager to meet the Prophet. So
they traveled with their people to perform the
pilgrimage during which that pledge of protection was
given to the Prophet.
By normal standards, Asma' was an unlikely traveler
because she was advanced in pregnancy. However, her
eagerness to meet the Prophet made her overlook the
problems that she might encounter on her journey. It
so happened that she gave birth to her son, Shabab ibn
Khadeej, during the day preceding the night when the
Ansar met the Prophet to give him their pledge.
However, having just given birth was not to deter Asma'
from attending that meeting. She wanted to be among
those who witnessed that momentous event.
All those from Madinah who attended the meeting gave
their pledges of loyalty to the Prophet, making clear
that they would defend him like they would defend
their own women and children. How did the two women
give their pledges? The other lady, Naseebah, reports:
"The men placed their hands on the Prophet hand when
they gave their pledges at Aqabah. Al-Abbas, the
Prophet's uncle, was holding his hand. When I and Umm
Manee', i.e. Asma', were left, my husband, Ghuzayyah
ibn Amr, called out, saying to the Prophet: ‘Messenger
of God, here are two women who have attended with us
to give you their pledges'. The Prophet said: ‘I
accept their pledges on the same terms as I have
accepted yours, but I do not shake hands with women.'
Asma' bint Amr, Umm Manee', was very true to her
pledge. She served Islam well. When the Prophet
traveled to Makkah for his first umrah, 1400 of his
companions were with him. However, the Quraysh, the
unbelievers who lived in Makkah, tried hard to stop
them. Eventually, the Al-Hudaybiyah peace agreement
was signed by the two parties. Prior to negotiating
the terms of the agreement, the Muslims gave the
Prophet another pledge, to fight to the finish, should
there be a battle. Asma' was with the women who gave
that pledge. She also joined the Prophet on his
expedition to Khaybar, which took place a couple of
months later.
We do not know when Asma' died, but it was enough
honor for her to witness these two momentous pledges.
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