- Categories: ISLAMIC HISTORY, SAHABAH, SISTERS
- Language: ENGLISH
- Format: PDF
There are countless female Companions of the Holy Prophet SAWS who demonstrated their bravery and courage for Islam. One of these was Hadhrat Safiyyah who was the daughter of Abdul Muttalib, hence a cousin of the Prophet SAWS. She has the privilage and honour of being the only paternal aunt of the Prophet to accept Islam. The pinnacle of her bravery became apparent during the famous battle of the trench. During this battle the women were being protected in the strongest Ansari fort, which belonged to Hadhrat Hassan. This fort happened to be adjacent to the Jewish tribe Banu Quraizah. During the onslaught the Jews turned their attention to this fort. Hadhrat Safiyyah spotted one of the Jews approaching the gate of the fort, intending to attack. Therefore she informed Hadrat Hassaan to confront and kill the Jew but he was not able to carry out his protective duties due to him not being well. At this point the valour and bravery surfaced within Hadhrat Safiyyah as she took a large peg nail off a tent, went down to the gate, and amazingly confronted the Jew herself. Then she struck the Jew in his head with such force that he fell to the ground dead. Having returned to the fort she asked Hadhrat Hassaan to go and bring the clothes, weapons and more importantly the head of the Jew – which he declined. So Hadhrat Safiyyah went herself and returned with the head of the Jew, after severing it herself. She then threw this head amongst the Jews, who became certain that their were fighters inside the fort, not daring to launch another attack.
Another famous Companion of the Holy Prophet was Umme Saleem . She was not only amongst the blessed and honourable women but also amongst the courageous and brave ones whom the Prophet used to take along with him during battles to nurse the injured soldiers of Islam on the battlefield. This in itself requires a great deal of courage as well as conviction. She participated in the battles of Uhud and Khayber where her bravery was not signified as much as it was during the battle of Hunain, where after being asked why she was carrying a dagger, she replied: “If any non-believer comes near me I shall tear open his abdomen with it!”
This is just one more of the numerous incidents highlighting the courage of the Muslim women in self defense and the defense of other women during the time of the Holy Prophet.
