Hababah ( ar, حبابة; died 724), was a ''

jarya Jarya, also called jariyah and jawaris, was a term for a certain type of slave girl in the medieval Islamic world. They were "slaves for pleasure" (muṭʿa, ladhdha) or “slave-girls for sexual intercourse” (jawārī al-waṭ), who had receive ...

'' slave singer and poet of the Caliph

Yazid II Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, يزيد بن عبد الملك, Yazīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; — 28 January 724), also referred to as Yazid II, was the ninth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 9 February 720 until his death in 724. Early life Yazid was b ...

. Hababah was a slave, brought to the

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

of the Caliph Yazid II as a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

. She entertained him as a singer and a poet. Yazid became so much in love with her that he was described as hypnotized by her singing and poetry.Mernissi, Fatima; Mary Jo Lakeland (2003). The forgotten queens of Islam. Oxford University Press. . The chronicles state: :'One day while Hababa was singing, Yazid experienced such great pleasure that he burst out: "I want to fly away!" :Hababa told him: "Commander of the Faithful, if you leave the

umma Umma ( sux, ; in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, formerly also called Gishban) was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell J ...

and also us, who will take care of us?'" She died after choking on

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall. The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...

seeds, (according to another account it was grapes thrown at her by the Caliph) while picnicking in a garden. Yazid initially refused to bury her and was so affected by her death he refused to see anyone for a week. He neglected his duties and died not long after. To his enemies Yazid's great love for her and sorrow at her death resulted in his name coming in disrepute for centuries before he was rehabilitated, and his neglect of state affairs caused Hababah to be considered as an enemy of God.

References

724 deaths Year of birth unknown 8th-century women 8th-century Arabic poets 8th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate 8th-century women musicians Arabian slaves and freedmen Slave concubines Women poets from the Umayyad Caliphate Slaves from the Umayyad Caliphate Qiyan {{singer-stub