Maymunah bint al-Harith
Maymunah bint al-Harith al-Hilaliyah (Arabic: مَيْمُونَة ٱبْنَت ٱلَحَارِث ٱلْهِلَالِيَّة, romanized: Maymūnah ibnat al-Ḥārith al-Hilālīyah; c. 594–673)[1] was a wife of Muhammad. Her original name was Barrah (Arabic: بَرَّة), but Muhammad changed it to Maymunah, meaning"good tidings", as his marriage to her marked the first time in seven years when he could enter his hometown of Mecca.[2]
Maymunah bint al-Harith al-Hilaliyah "Mother of the Believers" | |
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مَيْمُونَة ٱبْنَت ٱلَحَارِث ٱلْهِلَالِيَّة | |
![]() Maymunah bint al-Harith al-Hilaliyah in Arabic calligraphy | |
Born | Barrah bint al-Harith |
Spouse(s) | Muhammad |
Parents |
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Family
Her father was al-Harith ibn Hazn from the Hilal tribe in Mecca. Her mother was Hind bint Awf from the Himyar tribe in Yemen. Her full sister was Lubaba the Elder. Her paternal half-sisters were Layla (Lubaba the Younger), Huzayla and Azza. Her maternal half-siblings were Mahmiyah ibn Jazi al-Zubaydi, Asma bint Umays (a wife of Abu Bakr), Salma bint Umays (a wife of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib) and Awn ibn Umays.[3] Ibn Kathir also mentions a tradition that Zaynab bint Khuzayma (a wife of Muhammad) was another maternal sister.[4]
Marriage
She married Muhammad in 629 in Sarif, about ten miles from Mecca, just after the Lesser Pilgrimage.[5] She was in her late 30s when she married him.[6]
Maymuna lived with Muhammad for three years until his death in 632.
Death
Maymuna's death date is controversial.
According to Al-Tabari: "Maymuna died in the year 61 A.H. [680-681] during the caliphate of Yazid ibn Muawiyah. She was the last of the wives of the Prophet to die, and her age was then 80 or 81."[7] However, Al-Tabari asserts elsewhere that Umm Salama outlived Maymuna.[8]
Ibn Hajar also cites a tradition implying that Maymuna predeceased Aisha. "We stood on the walls of Medina, looking out … [Aisha said]: 'By Allah! Maymuna is no more! She has gone, and you are left free to do whatever you like. She was the most pious of all of us and the most devoted to her relatives.'"[9][10]
See also
References
Bint Al-Shāṭīʼ (2006). The Wives of the Prophet (Facsimile repr. ed.). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. pp. 222–224. ISBN 978-1-59333-398-0.
- Understanding the Islamic Law, Raj Bhala, Section: Maymuna bint al-Harith.
According to sources Maymuna bint al Harith (594-674) was the last woman whom Prophet Mohammad married.
- Bint Al-Shāṭīʼ 222-224
- Muhammad ibn Jarir Al-Tabari, Tarik ul-Rasul wa'l-Muluk, vol. 39. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. (1998). Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors, p. 201. New York: State University of New York Press.
- Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir, Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya, vol. 3. Translated by Le Gassick, T. (2000). The Life of the Prophet Muhammad, p. 122. Reading, U.K.: Garnet.
- Guillaume/Ishaq p. 531. Tabari vol. 39 p. 186.
- Understanding the Islamic Law, Raj Bhala, Section: Maymuna bint al Harith.
His marriage to Maymuna occurred in 630
- Landau-Tasseron/Tabari, p. 186.
- Landau-Tasseron/Tabari, p. 177.
- Al-Hakim al-Nishaburi, Mustadrak vol. 4 p. 32.
- Ibn Hajar, Al-Isaba vol. 8 p. 192.