Who is Umm Kulthum bint Uqba?
She is one of the
noble women who converted to Islam. She is the one whom Allah immortalized and
gave her Surah Al-Mumtahana to narrate her story. So that we may follow it,
follow its example, and emulate its values and certainty. She is the only
Quraysh woman who left her parents as a Muslim, migrating to Allah and His
Messenger. She is an example of believing women who should be followed.
In which house did Umm Kulthum bint Uqba grow up?
Umm Kulthum grew up
in an infidel household. A house extremely hostile to Islam and the Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Her father is Uqba bin Abi Muait. In
pre-Islamic times, he was nicknamed “Abu Muait,” and he was very harmful to
Muslims and the Messenger when the call appeared. He would fight Islam fiercely
and bring people together to plot against him and fight him. The intensity of
his anger and hatred for Islam and its Messenger was such that one of the times
he harmed the Messenger, he wanted to strangle him. He was captured on the day
of Badr and killed, then crucified, the first to be crucified in Islam
(Al-A`lam 36:5).
Allah willing - Glory
be to Him - that Umm Kulthum would be the only one from Bayt Uqba whose heart
was open to the light of Islam and its blessed values. She would be one of the first to convert to
Islam, and one of the first Muslims to pray in the direction of the two
qiblahs.
How did Umm Kulthum bint Uqba migrate to Medina?
Umm Kulthum concealed
her conversion to Islam. She hid her conversion from her family, where
disbelief in Allah and hatred for Islam was nestled in every corner of it. She
also hid it from the people of Mecca who were lurking for evil against Islam
and Muslims. But keeping her Islam a secret, preserving it, and continuing life
in her home became difficult. She was struggling with fear for her religion and
fear of her being exposed. She was struggling with fear for the resulting harm
of the infidels of Quraish and forcing her to leave her religion. Between these
two fears, she made the difficult decision. She decided to go out to Medina to
join the first forefathers, the Muhajireen and the Ansar. This decision was not
only difficult because she was a single girl who set out to travel the long
road from Mecca to Medina with its mountains and valleys without protection or
comfort. But it was also difficult because of the timing she chose for
migration. This time was the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. This treaty required
the Prophet to repel anyone who came to him as an immigrant from Mecca, even if
he was a Muslim.
She did good planning
and camouflage, or what is now known as strategic deception, and this is what a
Muslim should do. One of her plans was to go out to a desert where her family, and
stay for three or four days, then return to her father’s house. So they would
not deny her going to the desert. When she decided to go to Medina, she left
Mecca as if she wanted to go into the desert. None of her family doubted her
departure, as they had become accustomed to that many times.
Who helped Umm Kulthum bint Uqba to migrate?
She took the road to
Medina, relying on Allah (and whoever trusts in Allah is sufficient for him),
but she felt someone following her. So she slowed down in her walk until he
returned. Then she continued walking with caution and anticipation. Then a man
from Khuza'a said to her: Where do you want? She said: Why do you ask? And who are you? He said:
A man from Khuza’a. When he mentioned Khuza’a, she was reassured by him.
Because Khuza’a entered into the era of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace. She said: I am a woman from Quraysh. And I want to
join the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, but I have no knowledge of the way. He said: I am
your companion until I take you to Medina. Then he brought her a camel and she
rode it until they reached the city. She says about this man, as she narrates
the story of her migration: He was the best man, a friend, so may Allah reward
him well.
What did Umm Kulthum bint Uqba do when she arrived in Medina?
Upon her arrival in
Medina, she entered upon the Mother of the Believers, Umm Salamah. She
introduced herself to her. She told Umm Salamah that she feared that the Messenger
would return her to her family in compliance with the condition of
reconciliation with his friends. She only stayed for a short time and the
Messenger of Allah entered upon Umm Salamah. Umm Salamah informed him of the presence of
Umm Kulthum. He welcomed her. She said to him: “O Messenger of Allah, I have
fled to you with my religion, so prevent me and do not return me to them. They
will tempt me and torture me, and I have no patience for the torment.”
In which surah of the
Qur’an does Allah mention Umm Kulthum bint Uqba?
So Allah responded to
her from above the seven heavens, and revealed in it a Qur’an that would save
her. Allah said “O you who have believed when the believing women come to you
as emigrants examine them Allah is most knowing as to their faith And if you
know them to be believers then do not return them to the disbelievers. They
neither are not lawful [wives] for them nor are they lawful [husbands] for them
But give the disbelievers what they have spent And there is no blame upon you
if you marry them when you have given them their due compensation. And hold not
to marriage bonds with disbelieving women but ask for what you have spent and
let them ask for what they have spent. That is the judgement of Allah; He
judges between you. And Allah is Knowing and Wise” Surah Al-Mumtahana: 10.
These verses were a reason for excluding women from this unfair condition in
Reconciliation. She continued her life in Medina and married there, and she was
also one of the hadith narrators
What did her brothers do when they learned of her secret migration?
After Umm Kulthum was
late to return to her father’s house, her family felt her absence, so they went
out to look for her. One of the women told them that she had seen her taking
the road leading to the city. So they knew that she had migrated to the city.
When its people learned of her migration, they immediately remembered the
condition of the Hudaybiyyah Treaty. They said: “There is no harm. There is a
treaty and reconciliation between us and Muhammad, and no one is more loyal
than Muhammad. We go to him and ask him to fulfill our pledge”. Her brothers,
Amara and Al-Walid, went out to the city to retrieve their sister. When they
reached Medina, heaven had decided the matter. And its return to its people had
become impossible, in accordance with the ruling of Allah Almighty, in whose
hand is creation and command, blessed be Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Who among the companions did Umm Kulthum bint Uqba marry?
When she settled in
Medina, she married Zaid bin Haritha, who was martyred on the Day of Mu'tah.
Al-Zubair bin Al-Awwam succeeded her as his wife. She boren him Zainab, then he
divorced her. Then our master Amr ibn al-Aas married her. She stayed with him
for a month and then she died, may Allah be pleased with her and her family
(Asad al-Ghabah 7: 386).
Umm Kulthum bint Uqba is an example of honesty and steadfastness
Umm Kulthum is an example of honesty and steadfastness in principle and blessed values. She was sincere in her migration to Allah and His Messenger. She found on earth abundant resources and abundance, and in the afterlife gardens under which rivers flow, good dwellings in the Gardens of Eden, and satisfaction from Allah is greater. She knew the truth, sacrificed everything she possessed for its sake, and left the house of disbelief without resorting to anything. Allah is good and lasting, and the obstacle is for those who fear.
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