The Firsts (Sahaba Stories) | The Forerunners of Islam
64 / 152
44
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khawla Bint Hakim & Uthman Ibn Madhun: The Righteous Couple | The Firsts
52
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Al-Shifa bint Abdullah (ra): The Healer and Scholar | The Firsts Shorts
58
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Shurahbil Ibn Hasana (ra): The Scribe and Commander | The Firsts Shorts
125
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Khalid ibn al-Walid (ra): The Legendary Military General | The Firsts
126
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Amr ibn al-As (ra): His Wicked Father and “Better” Brother | The Firsts
146
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Tulayha ibn Khuwaylid (ra): From False Prophet to Shaheed | The Firsts
147
Life of the Prophet (seerah)
Zayd ibn al-Khattab (ra): The Quiet Brother of Omar (ra) | The Firsts
Subay'a Al-Aslamiyya (ra): The Iddah of a Widow | The Firsts Shorts
Subay'a Al-Aslamiyya (ra) was an early convert who, through her example, taught the Ummah about the 'iddah of a widow.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, dear brothers and sisters. Welcome back to the first shorts. Today we are with a companion by the name of Subai'ah bint al-Harith al-Aslamiyyah radiAllahu ta'ala anha. Now, I know that a lot of these names can get jumbled up. And I've said multiple times that I hope people start to name their children inshaAllah ta'ala after some of these lesser known companions of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam. But I do want to say from now inshaAllah ta'ala that a couple of episodes from now, we'll be talking about another bint al-Harith that is not the sister of Subai'ah. But she is a woman subhanAllah who has, you know, one or two prominent incidents about her that give us something important about our faith. Subai'ah radiAllahu ta'ala anha is considered one of the scholars of the companions. Okay, so she's considered one of the fuqaha, the jurists of the companions. And as we've said, not all of the companions were considered amongst the scholars of their generation. Right? So you had categories of people, some that were narrators, some that were considered amongst those that were capable to give fatwa in certain areas. Subai'ah radiAllahu ta'ala anha is referred to as one of the scholars of the companions. Imam ibn Abdul Barr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu rahimahullah, he says that the fuqaha of Medina and Kufa, the jurists, the scholars of Medina and Kufa studied with her, narrated from her, including most prominently Abdullah ibn Umar radiAllahu ta'ala anhumah. So she is a woman who would go on to become a scholar of this deen. And we don't know much about her early history, except that she's one of the first people to embrace Islam alongside her husband, whose name was Sa'd ibn Khawla radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. So Sa'd ibn Khawla radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and Subai'ah bint al-Harith al-Aslamiyya radiAllahu anha are amongst the first couples to embrace Islam.
And they are amongst those who would make hijrah to Abyssinia and to Medina. So they're from the people of the two hijrahs and amongst those that would be very beloved to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam for their early sacrifices. Now, her story is interesting in that, you know, we learn most about her in the subject of the Iddah. And that is because what is most prominent about her husband is his death. So Sa'd ibn Khawla radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, he was, according to some biographers, a Persian man from Yemen, who was a halif, an ally of the tribe of Amr ibn Ru'ay, considered a freed slave and also considered one of the du'afa of Mecca, one of the weak people of Mecca, one of the downtrodden. And in fact, some of the scholars say that he's included amongst that group of people who, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, do not turn away those who call upon their Lord day and night seeking his pleasure. Why? Because the elites wanted the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam to expel some of the downtrodden. And then they said, well, consider your message. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, of course, was being told by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not to turn away al-ladheena yad'uuna rabbahum bilghadati wal'ashi yuriduna wajhah those people that are righteous, those people that are devoted, even if they're considered amongst the weak and insignificant in society, they are significant in the sight of Allah and it is through them that victory will come. So Sa'd ibn Khawla, according to some of the mufassireen, is one of those people that Allah was speaking about amongst the more famous, you know, Miqdad and Bilal and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas and others that are spoken about in that regard. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with them all. So Sa'd radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, when he and Subay'ah radiAllahu anha embrace Islam, they were immediately amongst that very vulnerable group of people in Mecca.
So persecuted heavily and needed to get away from Mecca to escape the persecution. He makes the hijrah to Abyssinia along with Subay'ah. They wait there and then they are amongst the first to make the hijrah to Medina. As soon as they hear the call to make the migration to Medina, they are considered amongst the very first people that arrived in Medina from the community of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam. And they stayed with a very famous Ansari that we will be speaking about, Kulthum ibn al-Hadim radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. So the fact that they stayed at his place actually says something about how early they made their way to Medina because Kulthum is one of the first people to receive the muhajireen, the migrants from Mecca in Al-Medina. So he goes on and he attends Badr and he was only 25 years old at the Battle of Badr, which tells you that this was a relatively young couple when they embraced Islam. So young couple, we don't know of any children from them and they devote themselves to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam. They don't have the protection of any particular tribe in Mecca, which is the case of some of the people we've spoken about. And as Sa'd ibn Khawla dedicates himself to the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam in all of the battles, his incident becomes prominent in Fath Makkah, in the conquest of Makkah. So when they're coming back to Makkah, it's very interesting. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas, if you remember, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas radiAllahu anhu fell ill and the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam visited him and Sa'd thought, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas thought he was going to die. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam prayed for him and he, you know, did ruqya on him and as a result of that, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas lived much longer than the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam, right? So the narration about the death of Sa'd ibn Khawla actually is in the narration of the illness of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas.
And basically as it goes, it's a long hadith, it's actually in Bukhari. As the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam is visiting Sa'd radiAllahu anhu, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqas, the more famous Sa'd, and giving him advice on how to, you know, divide his inheritance should he die and comforting him, reading upon him and healing him ultimately by the power of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. At the end of that hadith, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam says, Allahuma amdi li ashaabi hijratahum wala taruddahum ala aqabihim. Oh Allah, complete the hijrah for my companions and do not turn them on their heels. And what that means is that the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam hated that those who migrated from Mecca to Medina would come back to Mecca and die in Mecca. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam wanted them to be able to go back to Medina where they had now settled and that their hijrah would be completed and that they would also die in Al-Madina rather than in Mecca in this situation. But subhanAllah, the end of this hadith says, Lakin alba'isu Sa'd ibn Khawla, that, you know, unfortunately, Sa'd ibn Khawla radiAllahu ta'ala anhu died in Fath Mecca. And the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam was very saddened by the death of Sa'd ibn Khawla and tawufiya bi Mecca that he passed away in Mecca. So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam, you know, wanted Sa'd ibn Khawla to have that opportunity to go back to Medina as well. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala decreed that he would die in Hajjatul Wada' which is, of course, a noble death in and of itself. Right. So subhanAllah, it comes full circle. Right. He's considered amongst the weak people of Mecca. He goes to Abyssinia. He goes to Medina. He fights all the battles alongside the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam. He comes back to Mecca in the conquest of Mecca and then the Hajj that came afterwards, Hajjatul Wada' the farewell Hajj and he dies during Hajjatul Wada'
during the farewell Hajj with the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam. Now, where does Subai'a come into this? It's very interesting, subhanAllah. Subai'a radiAllahu ta'ala anhu was pregnant when he died and she gave birth just two weeks after his death. Just two weeks after his death. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, of course, mentions that the iddah, the waiting period of the widow is four months and ten days. Okay. Now the discussion becomes, okay, when you're pregnant and you deliver, does your iddah stop with the delivery or does it stop with the longer term of four months and ten days? So her story is going to show up as sort of the deciding factor in some of the confusion or the, you know, the seeking of understanding how to deal with the situation when a widow is pregnant and gives birth. Does she observe the iddah to four months and ten days or does she observe the waiting period when the child is born? So Subai'a radiAllahu ta'ala anhu is the case that the sahaba went back to when they would later on discuss this to say, well, this is actually how we know that it is in fact the shorter of the two terms, not the longer. So if she gives birth, then her iddah ends when she gives birth. She does not have to wait for an entire four months and ten days. So she gave birth two weeks after the death of Sa'ad ibn Khawla. So her iddah was very quick. And subhanAllah, she, you know, she immediately after she gave birth, she prepared herself for marriage. OK. And I do want to actually make this point here that a lot of times it's sort of look down upon when someone is a widower or widowed that they get married very soon afterwards. And, you know, there's some sort of judgment that is made on their love for their deceased spouse.
And even sometimes, you know, judgment about their righteousness and things of that sort. And, you know, you have these misconceptions about sabr, about what patience is and sort of cast those upon them. But none of this is in Islam. You find some companions that never got married again and you find some companions they are remarried right away. And that's not because of a lack of love for their deceased spouses. And so you find both of these categories within the deen. And that's OK. You should not look down upon these people. So Subai'a radiAllahu ta'ala anha, despite her love for Sa'ad ibn Khawla radiAllahu anhu, who passed away, was ready to get married while she was still in nifas, postnatal bleeding. So it's very interesting. Now, she's clearly a very beautiful woman and someone who was, you know, looked for because immediately after two weeks of the death of Sa'ad and she just gave birth, you have two men that came to propose to her. OK, so follow the story. It's very interesting. Both of the men were young. However, one man was a little older than the other. And the description is he was kahal, which is above the age of 33. OK, so you have one man that might have been in his 20s and you have another man that was in his 30s or maybe even 40s. And Subai'a radiAllahu anha is considering these two proposals now after the death of Sa'ad. Now, she particularly, she was going to accept the proposal of the younger man. OK, the younger of the two. The older of the two is a man by the name of Abu Sanabir radiAllahu ta'ala anhum. Now, he wanted to delay her a bit because he wanted to wait. You know, one of the narration says he wanted her family to come back so they could convince her to marry him instead.
So he said, you know, how is it that I see you, tajammalti lil khutab, that you have made yourself available to those that are proposing marriage to you and you still have not finished your iddah. OK, you still have to finish your four months and 10 days. So he's basically saying that to her. And of course, again, this was a discussion that you'll find even years later, they'll go back to her case. So Subai'a radiAllahu anha, when she heard that, she went to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam to ask him. OK, so Subai'a hears from a man who is proposing to her that actually when he realized that she's going to propose that she might accept the proposal of the other, that your iddah might not even be done yet. So she goes to the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam and the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam confirms to her that her iddah ended in fact when she gave birth. Now, who do you think she married out of the two? Right. Is it the younger man or is it Abu Sanabir? She actually ended up marrying Abu Sanabir radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. So it's very interesting. So for whatever reason, it worked and she chose him out of the two suitors that came to her. So SubhanAllah, it's a very interesting case with her radiAllahu ta'ala anha. And there is one hadith that I'll end with in her situation, which is very unique, and it sort of ties into her life story. The Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam wanted his companions to make their way back to Medina and to die in Medina, hoped that for them. But of course, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has his plans and has his reward for each one of them in whatever circumstances they are. So in the narration of the hadith, man istata'a an yamuta bil madina fal yamut biha fa inni ashfa'u liman yamutu biha. The Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam said that whoever amongst you can die in Medina, then let them do so because I will intercede on behalf of whoever dies in Medina. So this is narrated by Ibn Umar radiAllahu anhu from Subai'a radiAllahu ta'ala anha.
So it shows you that connection, and of course, the implication of the hadith is that a person should try to live in Medina if they could, or a person should stay in Medina. And a person should try to visit it as much as possible, pray in the masjid of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam. And this is something to actually ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for, to make dua for. As Umar bin Khattab radiAllahu ta'ala anhu would make dua that Allah would bless him with death in Medina, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala granted him shahada, martyrdom in Medina. So this woman whose husband died in Hajjatul Wada' and that sat in the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam because the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam knew that he had left Mecca to go to Abyssinia and to Medina. And she is the narrator of this special hadith as well, that whoever amongst you can die in Medina, then let them do so because that is a way of gaining the intercession of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam. Of course, as for Sa'd bin Khawla, what more do you want, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu? A person who made both hijras, a person who was in Badr and all of the battles of the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam, and a person who dies in Hajjatul Wada' in the farewell Hajj with the Prophet salAllahu alaihi wasalam. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala be pleased with Sa'd bin Khawla and Subay'ah and all of the companions. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala send his peace and blessings upon our beloved messenger salAllahu alaihi wasalam and allow us to dwell and to die in his city and to gain his intercession. Allahumma ameen. JazakumAllahu khayran. I'll see you all next time inshaAllah. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Welcome back!
Bookmark content
Download resources easily
Manage your donations
Track your spiritual growth
1 items
1 items
1 items
25 items
50 items
9 items
