Sawdah bint Zam'ah

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Sawdah bint Zam'ah
Mother of the Believers
سَوْدَةُ بنت زَمَعَةَ
تخطيط اسم ��ودة بنت زمعة.png
Born
Sawdah bint Zam'ah

566-580 CE
Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia
present-day Saudi Arabia
DiedShawwal 22 AH ; c. September/October 644 or 674 CE.
Medina, Hejaz, Arabia
(present-day Saudi Arabia)
Resting place
Jannat al-Baqi, Medina, Hejaz, Arabia
(present-day Saudi Arabia)
Known forWife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Mother of the Believers
Titleʾumm ul-mumineen
Spouse(s)As-Sakran ibn Amr (died 619 in Mecca)
Muhammad (m. 619-620; died 632 in Medina)
ChildrenAbdur Rahman ibn Sakran
Parent(s)Zam'ah ibn Qays
Al-Shamus bint Qays (from Banu Najjar)
FamilyBanu Amir (by birth)
House of Muhammad (by marriage)

Sawdah bint Zam'ah (Arabic: سودة بنت زمعة‎) was a wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. There is disagreement as to when she was born.[1] According to R. Bhala her age, when she married Mohammad, was around 50, other sources claim her age during the marriage to be around 50 to 55 years old, which would narrow her birthday to around 566-580 CE.[2][3] Ibn Sa'd puts her date of death to the year 674,[4] though there are sources claiming that she died on the last year of Caliph Omar's reign, which was 644.[5]

Biography[]

Her father, Zam'ah ibn Qays, was from the clan of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca. Her mother, Al-Shamus bint Qays, was from the Najjar clan of the Khazraj tribe in Madina.[6]

She married .[6] They had one son, Abdur Rahman ibn as-Sakran, who died in the Battle of Jalula in 637.[7]

Migration to Abyssinia[]

Sawdah and Sakran emigrated to Abyssinia[6] at the order of Muhammad. Sakran left Abyssinia by sea with Waqqas.[citation needed] They returned to Mecca, where As-Sakran died.[8]

Marriage to Muhammad[]

Sawdah had been one of the first women to immigrate to Abyssinia in the way of Allah. Her husband had died. She was a tall and large dark skinned woman, with a jolly, kindly disposition, and just the right person to take care of Muhammad's household and family.[9]

So Muhammad gave permission to Khawlah to speak to Abu Bakr and to Sawdah on the subject. Khawla went straight to Sawdah and said, "Would you like Allah to give you great blessing, Sawdah?" Sawdah asked, "And what is that, Khawlah?" She said, "The Messenger of Allah has sent me to you with a proposal of marriage!" Sawdah tried to contain herself in spite of her utter astonishment and then replied, "I would like that! Go to my father and tell him that." Khawlah went to Zam'ah, a gruff old man, and greeted him and then said, "Muhammad son of Abdullah son of Abdul Muttalib, has sent me to ask for Sawdah in marriage." The old man shouted, "A noble match. What does she say?" Khawlah replied, "She would like that." He told her to call her. When she came, he said, "Sawdah, this woman claims that Muhammad son of Abdullah son of Abdul Muttalib has sent me to ask for you in marriage. It is a noble match. Do you want me to marry you to him?" She accepted, feeling it was a great honor.[9]

Muhammad married Sawdah in Ramadan in the tenth year after his prophethood (i.e., in April–May 620), a few months after the death of Khadijah.[10] According to Ibn Sa’d, Sawdah died in the year 54 after Hijra, If she lived to become an octogenarian she must have married Muhammad at the age of 27. If she reached the age of 90 then she could not have been older than 37 when she married the prophet who was 50 years old at that time.[11] However there are sources that put her death in the year 644.[12]

Sawdah went to live in Muhammad's house and immediately took over the care of his daughters and household, while Aisha bint Abu Bakr became betrothed to him and remained in her father's house. There was great surprise in Mecca that Muhammad would choose to marry a widow who wasn't beautiful according to society's standards. Muhammad, however, remembered the trials she had undergone when she had immigrated to Abyssinia, leaving her house and property, and crossed the desert and then the sea for an unknown land out of the desire to preserve her deen.[9]

It was after the Hijrah that the first community of Muslims rapidly grew and flowered and bore fruit.[9]

When she was older, Muhammad was worried that Sawdah might be upset about having to compete with so many younger wives, and offered to divorce her. She said that she would give her night to Aisha, of whom she was very fond, because she only wanted to be his wife on the Day of Rising.[9]

Later life, widowhood[]

After the death of prophet Muhammad, Sawdah along with other wives received a gift of money anually from the Caliphate, which she spent on charity.[citation needed] She, Aisha, Hafsa, and Safiya always remained very close.[9] She lived a long life and died in 54 AH in Medina, where she was buried in Jannat-al-Baqi.[13] After her death, Muawiyah I, the reigning first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, bought her house in Medina for 180,000 dirhams.[citation needed] According to another source, she died in Medina towards the end of Umar's reign in 22 AH.[10]

References[]

13.https://www.arabnews.com/node/319781

  1. ^ Understanding the Islamic Law, Raj Bhala, Section: Sawda bint Zama.
  2. ^ Ibid. Understanding Islamic Law, Raj Bhala. pp. Quote. Mohammad next married this older widow, Sawda bint Zama. [...] Sawda was an older woman when she married Mohammad, yet her precise birthdate is unknown. Many sources claim she was older than Mohammad, who was about 50 years at that time.
  3. ^ Le livret de famille du prophète Mouhammad, Damas-Syrie, MR Antique Groupe, page 9.
  4. ^ Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat Vol.8 page 56. Persian translation by Dr. Mohammad Mahdavi Damghani. (1982). Tehran Iran Farhang va Andiheh Publications.
  5. ^ Adil Salih, Mohammad: Man & Prophet/Muhammad sceau des prophètes, Tawhid, pp. 585-586.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa’l Muluk. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. (1998). Biographies of the Prophet’s Companions and Their Successors vol. 39 p. 169. New York: SUNY Press.
  7. ^ Vacca, V. "Sawda Bint Zamʿa." Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition (1913-1936). Brill Online, 2012. Reference. 2 October 2012.
  8. ^ Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa’l Muluk. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. (1998). Biographies of the Prophet’s Companions and Their Successors vol. 39 pp. 169-170. New York: SUNY Press.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Ibn Kathir. "Wives of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)". Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa’l Muluk. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. (1998). Biographies of the Prophet’s Companions and Their Successors vol. 39 p. 170. New York: SUNY Press.
  11. ^ Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat Vol.8 page 56. Persian translation by Dr. Mohammad Mahdavi Damghani. (1982). Tehran Iran Farhang va Andiheh Publications.
  12. ^ Adil Salih, Mohammad: Man & Prophet/Muhammad sceau des prophetes, p. 586.
  13. ^ Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat Vol.8 page 56. Persian translation by Dr. Mohammad Mahdavi Damghani. (1982). Tehran Iran Farhang va Andiheh Publications.

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