Maymunah bint al-Harith al-Hilaliyyah (; ), was the eleventh and final wife of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. Her original name was Barrah (), which she changed to Maymunah—meaning "good tidings"—upon converting to Islam and marrying him, as his marriage to her marked the first time in seven years when he could enter his hometown of

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

from

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

Family

Her father was Al-Harith ibn Hazn from the Hilali tribe of Mecca. Her mother was Hind bint Awf from the

Himyar Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to class ...

i tribe in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. Lubaba the Elder was her full sister. Her paternal half-sisters were Layla (Lubaba the Younger), Huzayla and Azza. Her maternal half-siblings were Mahmiyah ibn Jaz'i al-Zubaydi, Asma bint Umays (a wife of

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

Salma bint Umays Salmā bint ʿUmays () was a companion of the prophet Muhammad, hailing from the southwest Arabian Khath'am tribe. Her father was Umays ibn Maadd, and her mother was Hind bint Awf from the Himyar tribe. Her full siblings were Asma bint Umays a ...

(a wife of

Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib Ḥamza ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf al-Qurashī (; )Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. was a foster brother, ...

) and Awn ibn Umays.

Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...

also mentions a tradition that Zaynab bint Khuzayma (a wife of Muhammad) was another maternal half-sister.

Life

Maymunah was first married to Abu Ruhm ibn Abd al-Uzza who later died. Not much is known about him. In 629,

married her in a place known as Sarif, about from Mecca, just after the Lesser Pilgrimage. She was in her late 30s when she married him. Maymuna lived with Muhammad for three years until his death in 632. Despite her position as a wife of the Prophet, Maymunah lived a humble and ascetic life. She performed

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

annually along with

Umrah The Umrah () is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia. It can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the '' Ḥajj'' (; "pilgrimage"), which has specific d ...

, accumulating around 50 pilgrimages during her lifetime. Her dedication to family ties was also noteworthy;

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

, praised Maymunah as one of the most pious and family-oriented among the wives of the Prophet. Maymunah narrated several hadiths, offering insights into the Prophet’s practices of worship and household life. She described his night prayers, his method of performing ablution and ritual purification (

ghusl ( ', ) is an Arabic term that means the full-body ritual purification which is mandatory before the performance of various Islamic activities and prayers. For any Muslim, it is performed after sexual intercourse (i.e. it is fardh), before Fri ...

), and rules on

sadaqa ' ( , "charity", "benevolence", plural ) in the modern-day Islamic context has come to signify "voluntary charity". Unlike zakat, which is a obligatory form of almsgiving and one of the five pillars of Islam, ''ṣadaqah'' is a voluntary offe ...

. One of her famous contributions includes her narration of an incident where the Prophet consumed milk on the

Day of Arafah The Day of Arafah () is an Islamic holiday that falls on the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic calendar. It is the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage and is followed by the holiday of Eid al-Adha. At dawn of this day, Muslim pilg ...

, clarifying for his companions that he was not fasting that day. Maymunah also played a significant role in the emancipation of slaves, often offering prayers for them before granting their freedom.

Death

Maymuna is believed to have died in the month of

Dhu al-Hijjah Dhu al-Hijjah (also Dhu al-Hijja ) is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. Being one of the four sacred months during which war is forbidden, it is the month in which the '' Ḥajj'' () takes place as well as Eid al-Adha (). T ...

, 51 AH; January 671 CE. Her death date is debated however. According to Al-Tabari: "Maymuna died in the year 61 AH (680–681 CE) during the caliphate of

Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (; 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I () was the first ...

. She was the last of the wives of the Prophet to die, and her age was then 80 or 81." However, Al-Tabari asserts elsewhere that

Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya (, Hind ʾibnat ʾAbī ʾUmayya, 580 or 596 – 680 or 683), better known as Umm Salamah () or Hind al-Makhzūmiyya () was the sixth wife of Muhammad. "Umm Salama" was her '' kunya'' meaning, "mother of Salama". She was ...

outlived Maymuna. Abdullah ibn Abbas, her nephew, led her funeral prayer. Ibn Hajar also cites a tradition implying that Maymuna predeceased

: "We stood on the walls of Medina, looking out … isha said 'By Allah! Maymuna is no more! She has gone, and you are left free to do whatever you like. She was the most pious of all of us and the most devoted to her relatives.'"

References

External links

Al Islam Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maymunah bint al-Harith 594 births 674 deaths Women companions of the Prophet Banu Hilal Wives of Muhammad Muslim female saints

Family

Life

Death

See also

References

External links