Asma bint Umays

Asmāʾ bint ʿUmays was a female disciple (known in Arabic as Sahaba or Companions of the Prophet) of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.

She is known for having married three famous companions of Muhammad, namely, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, Abu Bakr, and Ali.

Early life and family Asma's birth year is unknown, however, being the firstborn of her mother's third marriage, narrows down her birth year to around 597 to 600 CE. She was born apparently in Mecca as the daughter of immigrants. Her father was Umays ibn Ma'ad from the Khath'am tribe, and her mother was Hind bint Awf from the Himyar tribe.

Her full siblings were Salma bint Umays, wife of Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib, and Awn ibn Umais. Her maternal half-siblings included two of Muhammad's wives, Zaynab bint Khuzayma and Maymunah bint al-Harith, as well as Umm Faḍl, the wife of Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib, Al-Sa'ib ibn al-Harith, Qatn ibn al-Harith, and the community treasurer Mahmiyah ibn Al-Jaz'. while "far away and banished,"

Ja'far fought at the Battle of Mu'tah against the Ghassanids, who were aided by the Byzantines, in September 629 and, Ja'far along with Zayd ibn Haritha and Abdullah ibn Rawahah, was killed there.

Death and burial

There is no record about the exact date of her demise. However, 38/658-9 and after 60/679-80 were mentioned in some sources. In an account, it is only mentioned that she was alive after the martyrdom of Imam Ali (a) (40/661).

It is believed that Asma's qabr (, grave) is at the Maqbarah al-Bāb aṣ-Ṣaghīr (, Bab al-Saghir Cemetery) in Damascus, present-day Syria.

Legacy Asma narrated ahadith from Muhammad.

Historical controversy The following historians state that Asma was present at Fatima's wedding ceremony in 1 AH: The author of Kashf Al-Ghummah Hadhrami in Rashfat al-Sadi, p. 10 Ahmad ibn Hanbal in al-Manaqib. Nur al-Din al-Haythami in Majma al-Zawa'id Nisaee in Khasaes, pg 31 Muhib Ad-Din Tabari in Dhakhaer al-Uqbi

They depend on the narrations of: Abu Abbas Khawarazmi from Husayn ibn Ali, Sayid Jalal al-Din Abu al-Hamid Ibn Fakhr al-Musawi, and Dulabi from Imam Baqir and his father. This is a historical problem that has not yet been solved despite the various attempts made by Majlisi in Bihar al-Anwar vol. 10.

One theory states that Asma Bint Umais had actually immigrated with her husband to Abyssinia, but repeatedly returned to Mecca and Medina. The distance between Jeddah and Abyssinia is limited to that of the width of the Red Sea, which is not very difficult for a journey. One narration makes a mention of Ja'far supporting this stance.