Zunairah al-Rumiya ( ar, زنيرة الرومية, ''Zaneerah the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
'') (other transliterations include Zaneera, Zannirah, Zanira or in some sources Zinra or Zinnirah) was a
companion of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
. She was among the
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
s freed by
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
.
Biography
Zunairah was 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 ...
of the
Banu Makhzum[ .] and a slave of
Umar ibn al-Hashim .
She was amongst the first to embrace
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
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 sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
.
[Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Madina'', pp. 180-181. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.] After her
conversion
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
, she was asked to renounce her new religion but remained steadfast.
[,] When
Abu Jahl knew of her conversion, he beat her.
Abu Bakr bought and freed her, along with her companion in slavery
Lubaynah
Lubaynah (, ) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. She was one of the slaves freed by Abu Bakr.
She was in the possession of the Muammil branch of the Adi clan of the Quraysh.Muhammad ibn Ishaq. ''Sirat Rasul Allah''. Translated by G ...
.
After being manumitted, Zunairah lost her eyesight. The Quraysh claimed, "
Al-lāt and
Al-‘Uzzá
Al-ʻUzzā ( ar, العزى or Old Arabic l ʕuzzeː was one of the three chief goddesses of Arabian religion in pre-Islamic times and she was worshiped by the pre-Islamic Arabs along with al-Lāt and Manāt. A stone cube at Nakhla (near M ...
are the ones that have taken away her sight."
[Muhammad ibn Ishaq. ''Sirat Rasul Allah''. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad'', p. 144. Oxford: Oxford University Press.] But she replied, "No, by the house of Allah, you are lying. Al-Lat and Al-Uzza can neither harm nor heal and they have not afflicted me. This is from Allah."
Later she recovered her eyesight, a healing that the Muslims attributed to Allah.
However, the Quraysh then said, "This is some of Muhammad's magic."
See also
*
Sahaba
*
List of non-Arab Sahaba
*
Sunni view of the Sahaba
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
References
External links
Biodata at MuslimScholars.info
Women companions of the Prophet
Non-Arab companions of the Prophet
Arabian slaves and freedmen
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