Maymunah bint al-Harith

Maymunah bint Al-Harith Al-Hilaliyyah
Mother of the Believers
Maymunah bint Al-Harith Al-Hilaliyyah; Mother of the Believers
مَيْمُونَة بِنْت ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْهِلَالِيَّة
Born	Barrah bint al-Harith ; بَرَّة بِنْت ٱلْحَارِث; c. 594 CE; Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia (present-day KSA)
Died	Dhu al-Hijjah, 51 A.H.; c. January 671 CE; Sarif, Hejaz, Umayyad Caliphate; (present-day KSA)
Resting place	Sarif, Hejaz
Known for	Eleventh wife of Muhammad
Title	Ummul-Muʾmineen
Spouses	Abu Ruhm ibn Abdul Uzza (widowed); Muhammad ibn Abdullah (m. 629 – till his death in 632);
Parents	Al-Harith ibn Hazn (father); Hind bint Awf (mother);
Relatives	Umm Fadl (full sister); Zaynab (maternal half-sister); Asma (maternal half-sister); Salma (maternal half-sister); Ibn Abbas (sororal nephew); Khalid ibn al-Walid (sororal nephew);
Family	Banu Hilal (by birth); Ahl al-Bayt (by marriage);

Maymunah bint al-Harith al-Hilaliyyah (Arabic: مَيْمُونَة ٱبْنَت ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْهِلَالِيَّة, romanized: Maymūnah ibnat al-Ḥārith al-Hilālīyah; c. 594–671),^[1] was the eleventh and final wife of Muhammad.^[2] Her original name was Barrah (Arabic: بَرَّة), which 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 from Medina.^[3]

Family

Her father was Al-Harith ibn Hazn from the Hilali tribe of Mecca. Her mother was Hind bint Awf from the Himyari 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 Jaz'i 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.^[4]^: 201 Ibn Kathir also mentions a tradition that Zaynab bint Khuzayma (a wife of Muhammad) was another maternal half-sister.^[5]

Marriage

Maymunah was first married to Abu Ruhm ibn Abd al-Uzza who later died. Not much is known about him. In 629, Muhammad married her in a place known as Sarif, about 10 mi (16 km) from Mecca, just after the Lesser Pilgrimage.^[4]^: 186^[2]^: 531 She was in her late 30s when she married him.^[1] Maymuna lived with Muhammad for three years until his death in 632.

Death

Grave of Maymunah in Sarif (21°34′00.66″N 39°46′19.45″E / 21.5668500°N 39.7720694°E), next to the road from Mecca to Medina (Highway 15)

Maymuna is believed to have died in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, 51 AH; January 671 CE.^[2] Her death date is debated however. According to Al-Tabari: "Maymuna died in the year 61 AH (680–681 CE) during the caliphate of Yazid I. She was the last of the wives of the Prophet to die, and her age was then 80 or 81."^[4]^: 186 However, Al-Tabari asserts elsewhere that Umm Salama outlived Maymuna.^[4]^: 177

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.'"^[2]^: 192^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Raj Bhala. "Maymuna bint al-Harith". Understanding the Islamic Law. According to sources Maymuna bint al Harith (594-674) was the last woman whom Prophet Mohammad married.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ibn Hajar. Al-Isabah fi tamyiz al Sahabah (in Arabic). Vol. 8. pp. 192–531.
^ Bint Al-Shāṭīʾ (2006). The Wives of the Prophet (Facsimile repr. ed.). Piscataway, New Jersey, the U.S.A.: Gorgias Press. pp. 222–224. ISBN 978-1-59333-398-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (1998). "Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors". Tarik ul-Rasul wa'l-Muluk (History of the Prophets and Kings). Vol. 39. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. New York: State University of New York Press. pp. 177–201.
^ Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir (2000). Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (The Life of the Prophet). Vol. 3. Translated by Le Gassick, T. Reading, Berkshire, England, the U.K.: Garnet. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-8596-4142-2.
^ Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Hakim Al-Nishapuri. Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn (in Arabic). Vol. 4. p. 32.

External links

Al Islam Dictionary

[Bhala-1] Raj Bhala. "Maymuna bint al-Harith". Understanding the Islamic Law. According to sources Maymuna bint al Harith (594-674) was the last woman whom Prophet Mohammad married.

[IbnHajar-2] Ibn Hajar. Al-Isabah fi tamyiz al Sahabah (in Arabic). Vol. 8. pp. 192–531.

[3] Bint Al-Shāṭīʾ (2006). The Wives of the Prophet (Facsimile repr. ed.). Piscataway, New Jersey, the U.S.A.: Gorgias Press. pp. 222–224. ISBN 978-1-59333-398-0.

[Landau-Tasseron-Tabari_1998-4] Al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (1998). "Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors". Tarik ul-Rasul wa'l-Muluk (History of the Prophets and Kings). Vol. 39. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. New York: State University of New York Press. pp. 177–201.

[LeGassick-IbnKathir_2000-5] Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir (2000). Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (The Life of the Prophet). Vol. 3. Translated by Le Gassick, T. Reading, Berkshire, England, the U.K.: Garnet. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-8596-4142-2.

[Al-Nishapuri-6] Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Hakim Al-Nishapuri. Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn (in Arabic). Vol. 4. p. 32.

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