Asma bint Umais

Family

She was apparently born in Mecca as the daughter of immigrants. Her father was Umays ibn Ma'ad from the Khathaam tribe, and her mother was Hind bint Awf from the Himyar tribe.

Her full siblings were Salma bint Umais, wife of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, and Awn ibn Umais. Her maternal half-siblings included two of Muhammad's wives, Zaynab bint Khuzayma and Maymuna bint al-Harith, as well as Lubaba bint al-Harith, the wife of ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, Al-Sa'ib ibn al-Harith, Qatn ibn al-Harith and the community treasurer Mahmiyah ibn Al-Jaz'.

Asma and her sister Salma both converted to Islam "after the Messenger of Allah had entered the house of al-Arqam," i.e., between late 614 and early 616.

She is notable for having been the wife of three of Muhammad's close companions.

First husband

Her first husband was Ja'far ibn Abu Talib from the Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe. In 616 she emigrated with him to Abyssinia, where she gave birth to three sons, Abdullah, Muhammad and Awn. Asma loved Abyssiniyah and consider it as a second homeland after Mecca . They returned to Medina in 628 at the time of the Muslim conquest of Khaybar.

Ja'far fought at the Battle of Mu'tah against Byzantium in September 629 and, along with Zayd ibn Harithah and `Abd Allah ibn Rawahah, was killed there.

Asma narrated how she heard the news of her husband's death. "The Prophet came to me. I had prepared forty mann of 'dip' [tanned forty skins] and kneaded the dough. I took my two sons and I washed their faces and put oil on them. The Messenger of God came to me and said, 'O Asma, where are the sons of Ja'far?' I brought them to him and he embraced them and smelt them, then his eyes welled up and he cried. I said, 'Why, Messenger of God, perhaps [you have news] about Ja'far.' He replied, 'Yes, he was killed today.' I stood up and screamed, and the women came to me. The Prophet began to say, 'O Asma, do not speak obscene words or beat your chest!'" Her son Abdullah remembered: "He said, 'O Asma, will you not rejoice? Indeed, God most high has made two wings for Ja'far, that he may fly with them in Paradise!'" Then Muhammad told his daughter Fatimah, "Prepare food for the family of Ja'far, for they are preoccupied today."

Second husband

After Ja'far's death Asma married Abu Bakr. She gave birth to his son Muhammad in 632 at al-Baydaa while on the way to The Farewell Pilgrimage. Abu Bakr planned to send Asma and their child back to Medina, but Muhammad told him to let her make the major ablution and then rededicate herself in offering the pilgrimage.

The dying Abu Bakr left instructions that Asma should wash his corpse and that she should not fast on that day. She only remembered this instruction towards sunset, when she called for water to drink so that she would not have technically disobeyed him. As it was a very cold day, it was agreed that she did not have to perform an ablution after washing the body.

Third husband

When Abu Bakr died, Umar allotted Asma a pension of 1,000 dirhams. Soon afterwards, however, she married Ali, the brother of her first husband Ja'far, who brought up Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr as his own son. Asma bore Yahya and Awn to Ali.

One tradition tells of a squabble that broke out between Muhammad ibn Ja'far and Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, each of them boasting that his own father had been better. Ali told Asma to settle the quarrel. She told the boys: "Ja'far was the best young Arab, and Abu Bakr was the best old Arab." Ali said: "That's a good answer. But you haven't said anything about me!" Asma replied, "Of the three, you are the least to choose."

Legacy

Asma narrated ahadith from Muhammad.

According to a report deemed authentic, she is considered one of the women of Paradise.

Historical Controversy

The following historians state that Asma was present at Fatima's wedding ceremony in 1AH:

They depend on the narrations of: Abu Abbas Khawarazmi from Husayn ibn Ali, Sayid Jalal al-Din Abu al-Hamid Ibn Fakhr al-Musawi, and Dulabi from Imam Baqir and his father.

This is a historical problem that has not yet been solved despite the various attempts made by Majlisi in Bihar al-Anwar vol. 10.

It is also narrated that she was present during the marriage of Aisha.

One theory states that Asma Bint Umais had actually immigrated with her husband to Abyssinia, but repeatedly returned to Mecca and Medina. The distance between Jedda and Abyssinia is limited to that of the width of the Red Sea, which in not so difficult for a journey. One narration makes a mention of Ja'far supporting this stance.