The honorable lady Umm Habibah, daughter of Abu Sufyan Sakhr Ibn Harb Ibn Umayyah was one of the wives of the Holy Prophet (S). Her mother was Safiyyah Bint Abu al-'As. Her name was Ramlah, but she became well-known as Umm Habibah. Shaykh al-Kulayni has given her name to be Aminah.1

Umm­Habibah became Muslim in the beginning of the Holy Prophet's call and migrated to Abyssinia with her husband 'Ubaydullah Ibn Jahsh. Her husband converted to Christianity in Abyssinia, but Umm Habibah remained a Muslim. 'Ubaydullah died as a Christian, and al-Najashi, the king of Abyssinia, married Umm Habibah to the Messenger of God (S) in year six or seven A.H. after the Holy Prophet authorized him to act on his behalf. The Muslims were present when the marriage contract was read. She then traveled to al-Madinah to join him. Ibn Sa'd and others have described her marriage in their books.2

Before her death, Umm Habibah called each of 'A'ishah and Umm Salamah and asked them to forgive the differences that had been between them in the past. Umm Habibah died in 44 A.H. in al-Madinah, during the rule of her brother Mu'awiyah. Other sources mention the date of her death as 42, 50, 55 and 59 A.H.3

However, Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Khaythamah has said, "She passed away one year before Mu'awiyah. Mu'awiyah died in the month of Rajab in the year 60 A.H."4 According to these words, the year 59 A.H. would be more correct.

Imam 'Ali Ibn al-Husayn al-Sajjad ('a) said, "I entered a certain place in 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib's house and dug up a portion of the floor. There, I found a stone upon which was inscribed, 'This is the grave of Ramlah Bint Sakhr.' I returned the stone to its place.5

Her Merits

Umm al-Mu'minin (i.e., mother of the believers) Ramlah became Muslim in the beginning of the Holy Prophet's call to Islam. She migrated to Abyssinia with her first husband 'Ubaydullah Ibn Jahsh. She was a believing woman who became the wife of the Holy Prophet (S) after the death of her first husband. Her dowry, amounting to four hundred Dinars, was the highest dowry among the wives of the Holy Prophet (S).6

After her marriage to the Holy Prophet (S), she migrated back to al-Madinah from Abyssinia. When she arrived in al­Madinah, the Holy Prophet (S) gave food to the people and said, "It is the tradition of the Prophets to give food to celebrate marriage."7

In the year 8 A.H., Umm Habibah's father, Abu Sufyan, came to al-Madinah from Makkah to extend the time of their treaty. He entered his daughter's room and sat on a rug on which the Holy Prophet (S) usually sat. Umm Habibah took the rug away.

Abu Sufyan asked, "You don't want me to sit on this rug?"

She replied, "Yes. This is the rug on which the God's Messenger (S) sits. You are a pagan and may not sit upon it."8

This conversation demonstrates Umm Habibah's strong faith in God and His Messenger (S). Due to her great respect and love for the Holy Prophet (S), she would not allow her pagan father - who was an enemy of God and His Prophet - to sit on the Prophet's rug. This was in spite of her being far from her father and her natural filial love towards him. The Holy Prophet (S) had saved Umm Habibah from being forced to live among her pagan and Christian family (her father being pagan, and her first husband Christian) through his marriage with her. After the Battle of Khaybar he sent her eighty wasaq of dates and twenty wasaq of barley.9

Shaykh al-'Tusi, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Ibn al-Athir and Ibn Hajar have all included her among the companions of the Holy Prophet (S) and the transmitters of his traditions.10

Shaykh al-Kulayni has related traditions about her in his book.11

Allamah Mamqani has counted her among the women transmitters of traditions and says, "The least I can say about her is that she was a good woman, and God knows best."12

She has related traditions from the Holy Prophet (S) and Zaynab Bint Jahsh. Habibah (her daughter), 'Anbasah and Mu'awiyah (her brothers), 'Abdullah Ibn 'Utbah (her nephew), Abu Sufyan Ibn Sa'id (her nephew), Salim Ibn Sawwar (or Shawwal, her servant), Abu al-Jarrah, Zubayr (her servant), Abu Salih al­Samman, 'Urwah Ibn al-Zubayr, Zaynab Bint Umm Salamah, Safiyyah Bint Shaybah, Shahr Ibn Hawshab, and others have related traditions from her.

Umm Habibah has transmitted 65 traditions from the Holy Prophet (S) and Zaynab Bint Jahsh. Al-Bukhari has quoted four of them in his book, and Muslim has quoted four in his book, two of which are the same.13

Ibn al-Athir, relying on his own sources, quotes 'Anbasah Ibn Abi Sufyan as relating that Umm Habibah said, "The Holy Prophet said: 'He who prays four cycles of prayer before noon and four cycles after noon time, God will save him from the fire of Hell.'"14

Ibn Sa'd, relying on his own sources, quotes Ibn Shawwal as relating that Umm Habibah said, "The Holy Prophet instructed me to leave 'Arafat at night."15

Al-Tabarani quotes Anas Ibn Malik as relating from Umm Habibah as saying that the Holy Prophet (S) said, "I was shown what will befall my followers and what bloodshed there will be after my death, whereupon I asked God to grant me intercession for them and God consented to my request.16

Al-Tabarani transmitted seven traditions from Umm Habibah.17

The al-Sihah al-Sittah have also quoted traditions from Ramlah Bint Abu­Sufyan.18

• 1. Al-Kafi, vol. 5, p 367, tradition no. 1.
• 2. Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 8, pp. 97 - 100.
• 3. A'lam al-Nisa', vol. 1, p. 465.
• 4. Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 4, p. 244; Tahdhib al-Kamal, p. 176.
• 5. Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 5, p. 457.
• 6. Shaykh al-Kulayni, quoting a tradition from Imam al-Sadiq ('a), relates that the Holy Prophet (S) had set the amount of dowry for his wives at 12.5 oka. (However, the dowry of his wife Umm-Salamah was less than this. Each oka is equal to 40 Dirhams. Therefore, 12.5 oka is 500 Dirhams, and more than the 400 Dirhams which was given to Ramlah. Al-Kafi, vol. 5, p. 376).
• 7. Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 8, p. 98; al-Kafi, vol. 5, p. 367 (A similar tradition from Imam al-Ridha ('a) has been recorded, however the name of 'Aminah has been used rather than Umm-Habibah.) al-Barqi, al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 418; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 100, p. 277.
• 8. Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 8, p. 100; A'lam al-Nisa', vol. 1, p 464.
• 9. Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 8, p. 100; A'lam al-Nisa', vol. 1, p 464.
• 10. Rijal al-Tusi, p. 32; al-Isti'ab, vol. 4, pp. 1843 and 1929; al-Jami' fi’l-'Ilal, p. 244; Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 5, p. 457; al-Isabah, vol. 4, p. 298.
• 11. Al-Kafi, vol. 5, p. 367.
• 12. Tanqih al-Maqal, vol. 3, p. 71.
• 13. A'lam al-Nisa',vol. 1, p. 465.
• 14. Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 5, p. 451.
• 15. Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, vol. 8, p. 100.
• 16. Al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, vol. 23, p. 222.
• 17. Ibid, vol. 23, pp. 222 - 224.
• 18. Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 12, p. 419.