Al-Shifāʾ bint ʿAbd Allāh ( ar, الشفاء بنت عبد الله), whose given name was Laylā, was a companion of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

Biography

She was the daughter of Abdullah ibn Abdshams and Fatima bint WahbMuhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Madina'', p. 188. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. and a member of the

Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chi ...

clan of the Quraysh in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

.Ahmed ibn Jabir al-Baladhuri. ''Kitab Futuh al-Buldan''. Translated by Murgotten, F. C. (1924). ''The Origins of the Islamic State Volume II'', p. 271. New York: Longmans, Green & Co., & London: P. S. King & Son. She married Abu Hathma ibn Hudhayfa, and they had two sons, Sulayman and Masruq. She had a reputation as a wise woman. Her by-name ''Al-Shifaa'' means "the Healer" and indicates that she practiced folk-medicine.Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. ''Al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba'' vol. 7 #11373. At a time when barely twenty people in Mecca could read-write, Al-Shifaa was the first woman to acquire this skill. She taught calligraphy to many others, including, her relative,

Hafsa bint Umar Ḥafṣa bint ʿUmar ( ar, حفصة بنت عمر; 605–665), was a wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and daughter of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, the second caliph of Islam. In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title ...

, and the two women remained friends. Al-Shifaa became a Muslim in Mecca and was among the first to join the

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

.Bukhari, ''Al-Adab Al-Mufrad'' 42:1023. There she had a house between the

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

and the market.Malik ibn Anas. ''Al-Muwatta'' 8:7. Muhammad used to visit her there and he sometimes consulted her about best practice in business matters. It was narrated that when

Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

became

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

, he sometimes would consult with her regarding some matters of the marketplace. But this narration is not proven by authentic source. She recalled of him: "When Umar talked, he was loud; when he walked, he was fast; when he beat, he hurt." He also used to visit her in her home. On one occasion he asked why her son Sulayman had been missing from morning prayers; she replied that Sulayman had been praying all night and had given way to sleep in the morning.

Legacy

Among the ''

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

'' that she narrated are the origin of Umar's title, ''Amir al-Muminin'', and these words of Muhammad: "'The example of the ''jihad'' warrior in the path of Allah is like the one who fasts and prays and does not stop fasting or praying until the ''jihad'' warrior returns."Tirmidhi 3:20:1619. Her son Masruq became an

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

. By her son Sulayman she had two grandsons, Abu Bakr and Uthman, who were also narrators of ''hadith''.

References

{{reflist Women companions of the Prophet Year of death missing Banu Adi