Arwā bint ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib () was an aunt of

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 monot ...

Early life

She was born 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 val ...

around 560, the daughter of

Abd al-Muttalib Shayba ibn Hāshim ( ar, شَيْبَة بْن هَاشِم; 497–578), better known as ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, ( ar, عَبْد ٱلْمُطَّلِب , lit=Servant of Muttalib) was the fourth chief of the Quraysh tribal confederation. He was ...

ibn Hashim and

Fatima bint Amr Fāṭima bint ʿAmr ( ar, فاطمة بنت عمرو; died 576) was the grandmother of the Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who a ...

, who was from the Makhzum clan of the

Quraysh tribe The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the ...

. Her first husband was Umayr ibn Wahb, by whom she had a son, Tulayb. Her second husband was Arta ibn Sharahbil ibn Hashim, by whom she had a daughter, Fatima.

Conversion to Islam

Her son Tulayb became a Muslim in the house of

Al-Arqam Al-Arqam is a Malaysian-based Islamic religious sect, founded by Ashaari Mohammad. The sect was banned by the Malaysian federal government on 21 October 1994. More than 5 Al-Arqam members including Ashaari Mohammad (leader of movement) were ar ...

. Arwa approved of his support for his cousin Muhammad, saying that if only she were a man, she would take up arms to protect her nephew. Tulayb then asked what prevented her from becoming a Muslim. Arwa made the declaration of faith and spoke out in support of Muhammad in Mecca. Her brother Abu Lahab called on her, saying he was astonished that she had abandoned their father's religion. Arwa replied that she was a Muslim and that she advised Abu Lahab to support their nephew, for even if Muhammad's mission failed, Abu Lahab would have the excuse that he was only protecting a family member. Arwa joined the general

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 permanentl ...

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 ...

in 622.

Elegy for Muhammad

She outlived Muhammad, an elegy for whom is attributed to her. ''O Allah's Messenger! Thou wert our hope'' ''and thou wert kind to us and not cruel.'' ''Thou wert kind, merciful and our Prophet.'' ''Whoever weepeth should weep for thee today ...'' ''For Allah's Messenger may my mother and maternal aunt be sacrificed,'' ''my paternal uncle, my maternal uncle and even mine own soul ...'' ''May Allah's peace be in greeting to thee,'' ''and may thou enter the Garden of Aden with joy.''Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir''. Translated by Haq, S. M. (1972). ''Ibn Sa'd's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir Volume I Parts I & II'', p. 414. Delhi: Kitab Bhavan.

References

{{Reflist Family of Muhammad Banu Hashim 6th-century Arabs