Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan
Early Acceptance of Islam:
Umm Habibah, also referred to as Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan, was born seventeen years before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ first received revelation.
Ramlah was married to Ubaydullah bint Jahsh, who was the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
When Ubaydullah accepted Islam, Ramlah also followed him.
However, her father, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb at this time was still a disbeliever and one of the enemies of the Prophet, and he was angered by his daughter’s acceptance of Islam.
Because of this, Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan experienced the severe torture that the Quraysh imposed on the early Muslims for believing in Allah SWT alone.
Eventually, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ allowed these believers to migrate to Abyssinia, and Ramlah and her husband, Ubaydullah migrated there.
Life in Abyssinia:
In Abyssinia, Ramlah had a daughter, called Habibah and this is where she got the title of ‘Umm Habibah’.
After giving birth to her daughter, she was better known as ‘Umm Habibah’, rather than Ramlah.
Her Husband’s Disbelief:
After settling down in Abyssinia with her family, Umm Habibah had a disturbing dream about her husband, and she said to herself: By Allah, he has changed!
The next morning, her dream came true as Ubaydullah bin Jahsh approached her and said: O Umm Habibah! I have thought about religion and I find no better religion than Christianity. As you know, I was a Christian before, then I entered the religion of Muhammad, but now I am returning back to Christianity.
Umm Habibah informed her husband about the dream and tried to convince him to turn away from Christianity, but he refused to listen.
Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh tried to influence Umm Habibah to apostate as well, but she remained firm to the religion of Islam and eventually, she separated from Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh,
After becoming a Christian, Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh became addicted to alcohol and he would often be seen drunk.
He continued drinking in Abyssinia until he passed away.
Another Dream:
After Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh apostated, Umm Habibah focused on worshipping Allah SWT, and caring for her daughter, Habibah.
One night, she had a dream where someone came to her and said: O Mother of the Believers.
Marriage to the Prophet:
This dream eventually came true as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sent Amr ibn Umayyah Ad-Damri to Abyssinia, asking the king, the Negus, to propose marriage to Umm Habibah on his behalf.
The Negus sent a slave called Abrahah to Umm Habibah, informing her that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had asked for her hand in marriage.
Abrahah said: The king says that you should appoint someone to give you in marriage.
Umm Habibah appointed Khalid ibn Sa’id ibn al-A’as to represent her in the marriage.
That same night, the marriage contract was formed and the Negus had informed the residents of Abyssinia that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had asked for Umm Habibah’s hand in marriage.
The Prophet ﷺ gave Umm Habibah four hundred dinars as the dowry.
The Negus then told Sa’id ibn al-A’as (Umm Habibah’s representative): I have responded to the request of the Messenger of Allah and married him to Umm Habibah.
After doing this, the Negus organised a wedding party, where the Muslims ate and celebrated this joyous occasion.
This is how Umm Habibah became one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and one of the ‘Mothers of the Believers.’
Incident With Her Father:
On one occasion, when the Quraysh sent her father, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb to Madinah to renew the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, he entered his daughter’s house.
Abu Sufyan went to sit on the mattress of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, but Umm Habibah folded it up to prevent her father from sitting on it.
After witnessing this, Abu Sufyan said: O my daughter! Is it because the mattress is too good for me, or because I am too good for this mattress?
Umm Habibah replied: It belongs to the Prophet, and you are an unclean polytheist, so I do not like that you should sit on the mattress of the Messenger of Allah.
Umm Habibah’s Death:
Umm Habibah was well-renowned for her sincere devotion to Allah SWT until her death.
As she approached her death, she called for Aisha bint Abi Bakr and said: There has been some friction between us, the kind which are common between co-wives, so please pardon me for them.
Aisha forgave Umm Habibah for any shortcomings and prayed to Allah SWT for her.
Umm Habibah told Aisha: You have made me happy, may Allah make you happy!
Umm Habibah then called for Umm Salamah and asked to be pardoned just like she had asked Aisha and Umm Salamah also forgave her for any shortcomings.
Umm Habibah bint Abi Sufyan then passed away in Madinah, in the year 44 AH and is buried in the Jannat al-Baqi graveyard.