Biography of the UMM 'IMARAH NUSAYBAH (رضي الله عنها)

Bint Ka'b bint 'Amr bin 'Awf bin Mabdhul (THE WARRIOR) 

She is Umm 'Imarah Nusaybah bint Ka'b bin Mabdhul, the Warrior from the Ansar of Madinah.

Her brothers are 'Abdullah bin Ka'b al-Mazini, who fought in the Battle of Badr, and 'Abdur-Rahman. 

Her Marriages:

She married Zayd bin 'Asim and gave birth to their two sons Habib and Abdullah.

When he died, she married Ghaziyyah bin Amr and gave birth to their children Tamim and Khawlah. 

The Pledge:

Umm 'Imarah was one of two women who were physically present at the Pledge of Aqabah.' 

Her Bravery:

Umm 'Imarah participated in the Battle of Uhud.

She witnessed the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.

She participated in the Battle of Hunayn and the Battle of Yamamah.

She fought in these battles and performed bravely. 

The Battle of Uhud:

Nusaybah bint Ka'b fought in the Battle of Uhud alongside her husband Ghaziyyah and her two sons from her previous marriage, Habib bin Zayd and Abdullah bin Zayd.

She would go out with a waterskin to retrieve water and she would fight, and she fought capably. 

Her grandson Damrah bin Sa'id spoke about his grandmother, saying,

"She said she heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying:

لَمُقَامُ نُسَيْبَةَ بِنْتِ كَعْبِ الْيَوْمَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ مُقَامِ فَلَانٍ وَفُلَانٍ 

"Surely, the stance of Nusaybah bint Ka'b today was better than the stance of so-and so." 

She was seen that day fighting fiercely. She would hold her garment up by the middle as she fought, such that she suffered 12 significant injuries during the Battle of Uhud.

She fought Ibn Qami'ah and he srabbed her in her shoulder, causing her a severe injury which she treated for a year. 

The Prophet ﷺ said,

"I did not look to my right or to my left except that I saw Umm 'Imarah fighting beside me."

Nusaybah bint Ka'b said,

"I saw the people dispersing from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so there only remained 10 fighters to protect him.

I was there with my two sons and my husband standing in front of the Prophet, defending him.

I was fighting without a shield.

As the people were fleeing, I saw a man fleeing the battlefield with a shield.

I said to him,

"Throw your shield to someone who will fight!'

He threw his shield and I caught it and began shielding the Prophet with it.

It was only the horsemen that gained the upper hand on us.

If they had been on foot like us, we would have defeated them inshaAllah.

I engaged a horseman and he attempted to strike me, but I blocked him with the shield so he couldn't do anything.

Thus, he turned away.

As he tried to ride away, I struck his horse on its hamstring, causing it to fall on its back.

The Prophet ﷺ began yelling,

'O Ibn 'Imarah your mother, your mother!'

So my sons helped me finish the soldier." 

Abdullah bin Zayd said,

"She (Nusaybah) was severely injured that day and her blood would not cease to flow.

The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Bandage your wound.'

My mother turned to me and began to bandage her wounds. 

The Prophet ﷺ was standing and he said,

Attack, my sons, strike them.'

And he said, 'Who can endure what you can endure, O Umm 'Imarah?!" 

Nusaybah said,

"The man who injured my son came towards me.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

"That is the man who injured your son.'

So I attacked him and hit him in his leg, causing him to kneel down.

I saw the Prophet smiling such that I saw molar teeth.

He said, 'Retaliate, O Umm 'Imarah.'

Then we striking him with the sword until he died.

The Prophet said, 'All praises belong to Allah, Who has made you victorious.'" 

'Abdullah bin Zayd said,

"I fought in the Battle of Uhud.

When the people abandoned the Prophet ﷺ, my mother and I stood next to him, defending him.

He said to me, '(Is that) Ibn Umm 'Imarah?' I said, 'Yes.'

He said, "Throw,' so I threw a rock at a horseman in front of me and it hit his horse in the eye, causing the horse to flip and land on top of its rider.

So I struck the man with another rock while the Prophet ﷺ smiled.

The Prophet ﷺ looked at my mother's injury to her shoulder and said,

"Your mother, your mother!

Bandage her wound!

O Allah, make them my companions in Paradise!'

I said, 'I don't care what happens to me in this world (due to his supplication)."

The Battle of Yamamah:

Muhammad bin Yahya bin Hibban said, "Umm 'Imarah received 12 injuries during the Battle of Uhud and her hand was cut off during the Battle of Yamamah.

Other than her hand, she suffered 11 injuries.

When she arrived in Madinah with her injuries, Abu Bakr would check on her.

This was during his caliphate." 

Her Sons:

Her son Habib bin Zayd was cut into pieces by Musaylimah the Liar. 

Her son 'Abdullah, who narrated the hadith concerning the wudu' of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, is also the Companion who delivered the death blow to Musaylimah the Liar with his sword.

He was killed in the Battle of al-Harrah. 

Her Ahadith:

Umm 'Imarah Nusaybah bint Ka'b narrated a number of aḥadith. 

Umm Imarah said: 

فَقَرَّبْنَا إِلَيْهِ طَعَامًا، وَكَانَ بَعْضُ مَنْ عِنْدَهُ صَائِمًا، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِذَا أُكِلَ عِنْدَ الصَّائِمِ الطَّعَامُ، صَلَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ. 

We brought some food to him and some people with him were fasting.

The Prophet ﷺ said,

"If someone eats in the presence of the fasting person, the angels send salutations upon him." 

Musaylimah the Liar & Umm Imarah's Sons:

When Musaylimah the Liar claimed prophecy, the Prophet ﷺ authored a letter and sent it to him by way of Habib bin Zayd.

Musaylimah did not respect the code of not harming the messengers.

Thus, he captured Habib and punished him.

Musaylimah said to Habib,

"Do you bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?"

Habib replied, "Yes."

Musaylimah said, “Do you bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allah?"

Habib replied, "I'm deaf, I can't hear you."

Musaylimah continued to question him in this manner, with Habib giving the same answer.

Musaylimah the Liar would cut off one of Habib's limbs each time he answered.

Until Habib died as a martyr. 

During the Battle of Yamamah, the noble Companion Wahshi bin Harb from Ethiopia who had previously killed Hamzah, the uncle of the Prophet, before he embraced Islam threw a spear and fatally wounded Musaylimah the Liar.

'Abdullah bin Zayd dealt the final blow to Musaylimah with his sword.

When Umm Imarah learned that her son had dealt the final blow, she prostrated in gratitude towards Allah. 

End...

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Some Notes from the book 📙

Chapter Umm 'Imarah Nusaybah:

- During the Battle of Uhud, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed the archers at the rear to guard the Muslims from attack.

He commanded them to never leave their position, even if they saw the Muslims collecting the spoils of war, unless told to do so by him.

The Muslims won the initial battle and the pagans fled.

Upon seeing this, many of the archers left their position to collect the spoils of war.

Khalid bin al-Walid, who was a pagan at this time, noticed that most of the archers had left their position, so he attacked the rear flank, killing the remaining archers and inflicting heavy casualties upon the Muslims.

The pagans surrounded the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims while other Muslim fighters fled.

- After the death of the Prophet ﷺ, some of the Arab tribes apostated from Islam.

Some of them followed Musaylimah the Liar.

Thus, Abu Bakr waged war against them. 

- In the story of umm 'imarah you read about the pledge of 'Aqabah.

This was  the pledge to listen, to obey, to support and defend the prophet in good times and difficult times.

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