NUSAYBAH BINT KA'B [radhiallaahu anha]

A Gem who fought at the side of the Prophet

Nusaybah's life and example as a Muslimah, wife and mother can be surpassed
only by a few other women in the history of Islam.

She was one of only two women who traveled with seventy-three men to Makkah,
and pledged allegiance to the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, to believe in
Allah alone and not to associate others with Him. They also pledged themselves to
jihad in complete obedience to the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, in ease
and hardship and harsh circumstances. That historical meeting is known as the
second pledge of al-Aqabah.

NuSaybah, known as Um Imarah, was a rare kind of Muslim. A pious and noble
woman, Um Imarah was also a daring courageous fighter in the cause of Allah,
and she proved more than once to be truthful to her pledge.

Hearing that the Makkan pagans were preparing for a great battle to take revenge
for their heavy losses during the battle of Badr, and that they were moving towards
Uhud, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, mobilized the Muslim men in
Madinah. Um Imarah went out with her husband and her two sons, Abdullah and
Habib, to join the fighters. In the beginning she brought water to the wounded and
tended to their needs, but as the battle raged, and the Muslims were being
defeated, she saw that some were fleeing the enemy leaving the Prophet, sallallahu
alayhe wasallam without protection. She tied her belt around her waist so that she
would not trip, brandishing a sword at times and throwing arrows at others, she cut
through the ranks of the enemy and took sides with the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe
wasallam. She fought fiercely that day, striking fatal blows to her opponents until
she suffered many wounds, one of them left a deep gash in her shoulder, which
took a whole year to heal. She herself related some of what had happened during
that battle. "I realized that people fled leaving the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe
wasallam, exposed," she said, "So less than ten men remained to protect him,
while the others were passing by, defeated. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe
wasallam, saw me without a shield and saw a man leaving the battlefield carrying
his shield, he said, 'Surrender your shield to the one who is fighting.’ He
surrendered it and I picked it up and used it to shield the Messenger of Allah. But
those who gave us the hardest time were the horsemen, if they were on foot like
us; we would have defeated them, insha'Allah. A cavalier came towards me, but he
was unable to strike at me because I protected myself with the shield. As he was
turning back I dealt a blow to his horse's hamstring and he fell on his back. The
Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, cried out, 'O son of Um Imarah, your mother,
your mother!' So he helped me kill the horseman."
Her own son related later more of her heroic behavior during the battle. He said, "I
was wounded during the battle of Uhud, and the blood would not stop. The
Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, said, 'Bandage your wound.' My mother was
busy fighting the enemy, but when she heard the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe
wasallam, she came toward me carrying bandages tied to her side, she bandaged
my wound while the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, was standing by. She
then told me, 'Get up my son, and fight’ The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam,
said, 'Who can endure what you are enduring, Um Imarah!' A short time later, the
man who hit me was coming our way, so the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam,
said, 'Here is the man who hit your son, O Um Imarah.' She went up to him and hit
him in the leg; she left him kneeling on the ground. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe
wasallam, smiled at what she has done so broadly that his molar teeth were
showing and said, 'You avenged yourself, Um Imarah.' Then more men came and
struck the man and killed him. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, said to
her, 'Praise is due to Allah Who gave you victory over your enemy and satisfied
you by showing you his death'."

A few months later when the call was announced to prepare for the battle of
Hamra-ul-Asad, Um Imarah got ready but she was not able to continue in her way
because her wound got worse and she was bleeding profusely.

The battle of Uhud was not the only occasion when Um Imarah showed her
bravery. She was among those who gave the pledge of ar-Ridhwan, to fight until
martyrdom. She also witnessed the battle of Hunayn.

When the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wasallam passed away, some of the Arab
tribes apostatized, at their head was Musaylimah The Liar. Khalifah Abu Bakr
rallied the Muslims to fight the renegades. Um Imarah asked permission from Abu
Bakr to join the army, accompanied by her two sons. "We knew your bravery
during the war," he said, "Come on in the name of Allah."

This battle was a great test for Um Imarah. The fight was hard and the two parties
adamantly set to win it. She held her grounds, always advancing. Now she heard
that her son Habib fell prisoner to Musaylimah the liar. He asked him, "Do you
testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?" When he said that he did, he
went on, "And do you testify that I am the messenger of Allah?" he answered, "I
do not hear." So Musaylimah began to cut him to pieces, organ by organ until he
died. He asked him the same questions over and over, but he could not get a
different answer. Um Imarah went to al-Yamamah with the Muslims and took part
in the war against Musaylimah. She was eager to see the end of Musaylimah, and
it was the will of Allah that he be slain by her other son Abdullah, and another
companion. Um Imarah returned from the war having suffered twelve wounds
inflicted by spear and sword, and having lost an arm, and her beloved son.
Um Imarah, Nusaybah bint Ka'b, was a woman who was true to her words, a
woman who occupies a special place in the history of Islam.