Ramlah
bint Abi Sufyan
Abu Sufyan ibn Harb could not conceive
of anyone among the Quraysh who would dare challenge his
authority or go against his orders. He was after all, the
sayyid or chieftain of Makkah who had to be obeyed and
followed.
His daughter, Ramlah, known as Umm
Habibah, however dared to challenge his authority when she
rejected the deities of the Quraysh and their idolatrous
ways. Together with her husband, Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh, she
put her faith in Allah alone and accepted the message of
His prophet, Muhammad ibn Abdullah.
Abu Sufyan tried with all the power and
force at his disposal to bring back his daughter and her
husband to his religion and the religion of their
forefathers. But he did not succeed. The faith which was
embedded in the heart of Ramlah was too strong to be
uprooted by the hurricanes of Abu Sufyans fury.
Abu Sufyan remained deeply worried and
concerned by his daughter's acceptance of Islam. He did
not know how to face the Quraysh after she had gone
against his will and he was clearly powerless to prevent
her from following Muhammad. When the Quraysh realized
though that Abu Sufyan himself was enraged by Ramlah and
her husband, they were emboldened to treat them harshly.
They unleashed the full fury of their persecution against
them to such a degree that life in Makkah became
unbearable.
In the fifth year of his mission, the
Prophet, peace be on him, gave permission to the Muslims
to migrate to Abyssinia. Ramlah, her little daughter
Habibah, and her husband were among those who left.
Abu Sufyan and the Quraysh leaders found
it difficult to accept that a group of Muslims had slipped
out of their net of persecution and was enjoying the
freedom to hold their beliefs and practice their religion
in the land of the Negus. They therefore send messengers
to the Negus to seek their extradition. The messengers
tried to poison the mind of the Negus against the Muslims
but after examining the Muslims beliefs and listening to
the Quran being recited, the Negus concluded: "What
has been revealed to your Prophet Muhammad and what Jesus
the son of Mary preached came from the same source."
The Negus himself announced his faith in
the one true God and his acceptance of the prophethood of
Muhammad, peace be on him. He also announced his
determination to protect the Muslim muhajirin.
The long journey on the road of hardship
and tribulation had finally led to the oasis of serenity.
So Umm Habibah felt. But she did not know that the
new-found freedom and sense of peace were later to be
shattered. She was to be put through a test of the most
severe and harrowing kind.
One night, it is related, as Umm Habibah
was asleep she had a vision in which she saw her husband
in the midst of a fathomless ocean covered by wave upon
wave of darkness. He was in a most perilous situation. She
woke up, frightened. But she did not wish to tell her
husband or anyone else what she had seen.
The day after that ominous night was not
yet through when Ubaydallah ibn Jahsh announced his
rejection of Islam and his acceptance of Christianity.
What a terrible blow! Ramlah's sense of peace was
shattered. She did not expect this of her husband who
presented her forthwith with the choice of a divorce or of
accepting Christianity. Umm Habibah had three options
before her. She could either remain with her husband and
accept his call to become a Christian in which case she
also would commit apostasy and - God forbid - deserve
ignominy in this world and punishment in the hereafter.
This was something she resolved she would never do even if
she were subjected to the most horrible torture. Or, she
could return to her father's house in Makkah - but she
knew he remained a citadel of shirk and she would be
forced to live under him, subdued and suppressing her
faith. Or, she could stay alone in the land of the Negus
as a displaced fugitive - without country, without family
and without a supporter.
She made the choice that she considered
was the most pleasing to God. She made up her mind to stay
in Abyssinia until such time as God granted her relief.
She divorced her husband who lived only a short while
after becoming a Christian. He had given himself over to
frequenting wine merchants and consuming alcohol, the
"mother of evils". This undoubtedly helped to
destroy him.
Umm Habibah stayed in Abyssinia for
about ten years. Towards the end of this time, relief and
happiness came. It came from an unexpected quarter.
One morning bright and early, there was
a loud knocking on her door. It was Abrahah, the special
maid-servant of the Negus. Abrahah was beaming with joy as
she greeted Umm Habibah and said: "The Negus sends
his greetings and says to you that Muhammad, the Messenger
of God, wants you to marry him and that he has sent a
letter in which he has appointed him as his wakil to
contract the marriage between you and him. If you agree,
you are to appoint a wakil to act on your behalf."
Umm Habibah was in the clouds with
happiness. She shouted to herself: "God has given you
glad tidings. God has given you glad tidings." She
took off her jewelry- her necklace and bracelets - and
gave them to Abrahah. She took off her rings too and gave
them to her. And indeed if she had possessed all the
treasures of the world, she would have given them to
Abrahah at that moment of sheer joy. Finally she said to
Abrahah: "I appoint Khalid ibn Said ibn al-Aas to act
as wakil on my behalf for he is the closest person to
me."
In the palace of the Negus, set in the
midst of beautiful gardens and luxuriant vegetation and in
one of the lavishly decorated, sumptuously furnished and
brightly lit halls, the group of Muslims living in
Abyssinia gathered. They included Jafar ibn Abi Talib,
Khalid ibn Said, Abdullah ibn Hudhafah as-Sahmi and
others. They had gathered to witness the conclusion of the
marriage contract between Umm Habibah, the daughter of Abu
Sufyan, and Muhammad, the Messenger of God. When the
marriage was finalized, the Negus addressed the gathering:
"I praise God, the Holy, and I declare that there is
no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Servant and His
Messenger and that He gave the good tidings to Jesus the
son of Mary.
"The Messenger of God, peace be on
him, has requested me to conclude the marriage contract
between him and Umm Habibah the daughter of Abu Sufyan. I
agreed to do what he requested and on his behalf I give
her a mahr or dowry of four hundred gold dinars." He
handed over the amount to Khalid ibn Said who stood up and
said: "All praise is due to God. I praise Him and
seek His help and forgiveness and I turn to Him in
repentance. I declare that Muhammad is His servant and His
Messenger whom He has sent with the religion of guidance
and truth so that it might prevail over all other forms of
religion even if the disbelievers were to dislike this.
"I have agreed to do what the
Prophet, peace be upon him, has requested and acted as the
wakil on behalf of Umm Habibah, the daughter of Abu
Sufyan. May God bless His Messenger and his wife.
"Congratulations to Umm Habibah on
account of the goodness which God has ordained for
her."
Khalid took the mahr and handed it over
to Umm Habibah. The Sahabah thereupon got up and prepared
to leave but the Negus said to them: "Sit down for it
is the practice of the Prophets to serve food at
marriages."
There was general rejoicing at the court
of the Negus as the guests sat down again to eat and
celebrate the joyous occasion. Umm Habibah especially
could hardly believe her good fortune and she later
described how she was eager to share her happiness. She
said: "When I received the money as mahr, I sent
fifty mithqals of gold to Abrahah who had brought me the
good news and I said to her: 'I gave you what I did when
you gave me the good news because at that time I did not
have any money.'
"Shortly afterwards, Abrahah came
to me and returned the gold. She also produced a case
which contained the necklace I had given to her. She
returned that to me and said: 'The King has instructed me
not to take anything from you and he his commanded the
women in his household to present you with gifts of
perfume.'
"On the following day, she brought
me ambergris, safron and aloes and said: 'I have a favor
to ask of you.' 'What is it?' I asked. 'I have accepted
Islam ,' she said, 'and now follow the religion of
Muhammad. Convey to him my salutation of peace and let him
know that I believe in Allah and His Prophet. Please don't
forget.' She then helped me to get ready for my journey to
the Prophet.
"When I met the Prophet, peace be
on him, I told him all about the arrangements that were
made for the marriage and about my relationship with
Abrahah. I told him she had become a Muslim and conveyed
to him her greetings of peace. He was filled with joy at
the news and said: 'Wa alayha as-salam wa rahmatullahi was
barakatuhu and on her be peace and the mercy and blessings
of God. "
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