Asma' Bint 'Umais Khathamiyah' (May Allah be pleased with him)

Asma' was married to three great men one after the other. After the martyrdom of Jafar ibn Abi Talib in the Battle of Mu'tah, she married Abu Bakr Siddiq and, after him, Ali.

 

Once there was an argument between 'Umar Farooq and Asma' about who was closest to Allah's Messenger. 'Umar was insisting that because of their migration (hijrat) to Medinah, he and his people were more entitled to Allah's Messenger's nearness, while Asma' argued that because of their hijrat first to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and then to Madinah, her people held a closer position to Allah's Messenger. When the Prophet heard this, he told Asma': "He is not more entitled to me than you are. 'Umar and his Companions have made one hijrat and you (the people of the boat) have made two hijrat (one from Makkah to Ethiopia and the second from Ethiopia to Medinah). Hearing this from the lips of the Prophet, Asma' was so happy and excited that instantaneously the words of the takbir and tahlil came into her mouth.

 

When this incident was known to the Muhajirun of Ethiopia they came to her in batallions and separately asked her to narrate the whole thing again. Asma' said that to the Muhajirun of Ethiopia there was nothing more pleasing and encouraging than these words of the Prophet.

 

At the death of Jafar in the Battle of Mu'tah, Allah's Messenger went to Asma's house and kissed her children's foreheads and held them to his breast. Asma', seeing the Prophet in tears, became very upset and said: "O Allah's Messenger, my parents be sacrificed for you, why are you grieved? Have you received any news about Jafar?" The Prophet said, "Yes, he has been martyred." Hearing this awful news, Asma' screamed and the neighbouring women came to comfort her. The Prophet went home and advised his household to look after Jafar's family. On the third day after Jafar's martyrdom, Allah's Messenger again went to Asma's house and advised her to bear this shock with patience and perseverance.

 

Afterwards, the Prophet married her to Abu Bakr Siddiq. She was at Makkah on Pilgrimage when her son Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr was born. She asked the Prophet, "O Allah's Messenger! What should I do?" The Prophet replied, "Take a bath and put on Ihram for the Pilgrimage." When Abu Bakr Siddiq died in 13 A.H., she married Ali.

 

Asma' is regarded as among the most distinguished of the women Companions who were intelligent, rightly-guided and close to Allah's Messenger. The Prophet was very kind to her and she also loved the Prophet immensely. It is narrated in the Musnad of Ahmad b.Hanbal that she directly benefited (spiritually) from the Prophet. Once the Prophet taught her a supplication (dua') and asked her to read at the time of pain and suffering.

 

The Prophet loved her children very much. It is narrated by Hakim in Mustadrak that once her young son was playing with children when the Prophet passed that way. He lifted him up and made him ride with him.

 

It is narrated that once when the Prophet found Asma's children looking very lean and weak, he asked her why they were like that. She said, "O Allah's Messenger, they are prone to an evil eye very quickly." The Prophet said, "Read something to dispel this." Asma' then read out some special words and told the Prophet that these words were said to be very useful against the evil eye, but should she read them for this purpose? As there was no admixture of shirk (polytheism) in it, the Prophet said that there was no harm in doing so (Muslim).

 

Hafiz Ibn Hajar says that Asma' was expert in the interpretation of dreams and 'Umar often asked her for the interpretation of his dreams (Isabah). Asma' has narrated sixty ahadith from the Prophet.