Page 12 - issue_1

The Islamic Bulletin Volume I No. 1 Page 12
Women In Islam
The Story of Asma bint Abu Bakr
Asma-bint Abu Bakr (raa) was the daughter of Abu Bakr
(raa), mother of Abdullah bin Zubair (raa) and the step-sister
of Aisha (raa). She is one of the most famous women of her
time. She was the eighteenth person to embrace Islam. She
was twenty-seven years old at the time of Hijrat.
After the migration from Mecca, when the Prophet (pbuh)
and Abu Bakr (raa) reached Madinah safely, they sent Zaid
(raa) and some other Sahabahs to bring their families from
Mecca. Asma (raa) came to Madinah with Abu Bakr’s fam-
ily. When she reached Quba, she gave birth to Abdullah bin
Zubair (raa), the first Muslim baby born since Hijrat. Asma
(raa) says:
“When I was married to Zubair, he had neither money nor
property of any kind. He had only one camel for carrying wa-
ter and one horse. I would bring fodder for the animals and
date-stones to feed them in lieu of grass, bring water from the
well, mend bucket myself when needed and attend to other
domestic duties.Attending to the horse was the most diffi-
cult of all jobs. I was not good at baking and therefore, after
kneading the flour, I would take it to the Ansar women in my
neighborhood, who would bake the bread for me.
When we arrived in Madinah, the Prophet (saw) allotted a
piece of land to Zubair (raa) about two miles away from the
town. I would bring date stones from there on my head. One
day when I was coming in this fashion, I met the Prophet
(saw) with a group of Ansar in the way. The Prophet (saw)
stopped his camel. I quite well understood that he intended
to give me a lift. I felt shy of accompanying him, and I also
remembered that Zubair (raa) was also very sensitive in such
matters. The Prophet (saw) understood my hesitation and
left me alone. When I reached home, I narrated the story to
Zubair (raa) and told him that, due to my own shyness and
his sensitiveness, I did not avail of the offer of the Prophet
(saw). At this Zubair (raa) said, ‘By Allah, I am more sensitive
about your carrying the load over such a long distance but I
cannot help it.” (In fact, Sahabah remained occupied striving
in the Allah’s Path and all other such jobs had to be done by
their womenfolk.) Sometime later, Abu Bakr (raa) transferred
to us a servant that the Prophet (pbuh) had given him. I was
thus relieved of attending to the horse, which had been really
hard for me.
The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said in a famous narration:
’Paradise lies at the feet of your mother’ [Musnad Ahmad,
Sunan An-Nasâ’i, Sunan Ibn Mâjah]
In this well-loved hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) is reported to
have said, “Paradise lies at the feet of mothers.” This means
that we gain admission to Jannah (Heaven) through the
treatment we give to our mothers. We can also be denied
admission through mistreatment of mothers. It is said that no
person will ever be granted access to Paradise if his mother
died while angry with him. Now, obviously, there are many
other factors that determine whether or not a person will ever
see Jannah. This hadith simply shows the importance of being
kind to our mothers.
When you have been blessed with a loving, nurturing mom,
you should celebrate her every day. Do not wait for a circle
on your calendar. A true mother is a divine gift and should be
treated as such year-round.
paradise lies at the feet of your mother