Atika bint Zayd al-Adawiyya () was a woman in 7th century Arabia who was an Islamic scholar and poet. She was a disciple ( Sahaba) of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. She was one of the wives of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second

Caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. She was a poet who is notable for having married three Muslim men who died martyrs (

shaheed ''Shahid'' ( , , ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); the latter sense acqui ...

Early life

She was the daughter of Zayd ibn Amr, a member of the Adi clan of the

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, and of Umm Kurz Safiya bint al-Hadrami.Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). ''The Women of Madina''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. ''Al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba'' vol. 8 #11448. Sa'id ibn Zayd was her brother.Muhammad ibn Saad. ''Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir'' vol. 3. Translated by Bewley, A. (2013). ''The Companions of Badr''. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. Their father was murdered in 605.Muhammad ibn Ishaq. ''Sirat Rasul Allah''. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). ''The Life of Muhammad''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Atika was probably still a child when Muhammad declared himself to be a prophet in 610. Sa'id was among the early converts, and Atika became a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

too.

Personal life

Atika married several times in her lifetime.

First marriage

Her first husband was her cousin, Zayd ibn al-Khattab, who was at least twenty years older than herself. He was also a Muslim, and it was presumably in his company that Atika 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, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

in 622. This marriage apparently ended in divorce, for Atika had already remarried by the time of Zayd's death at the Battle of Yamama in December 632.

Second marriage

Her second husband was Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr.Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. ''Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk''. Translated by Smith, G. R. (1994). ''Volume 14: The Conquest of Iran''. Albany: State University of New York Press. It was said that Abdullah deferred to Atika's judgment and that he spent so much time with her that he was too busy to fight in the Islamic army.

Divorce

Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Abi Quhafa (23 August 634), better known by his ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Bakr, was a senior Sahaba, companion, the closest friend, and father-in-law of Muhammad. He served as the first caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruli ...

punished his son by ordering him to divorce her. However,

Al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī () was a 9th-century West Asian historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the caliph al ...

says that the reason Abu Bakr ordered the divorce was because Atika was barren.Shuraydi, H. (2014). ''The Raven and the Falcon: Youth versus Old Age in Medieval Arabic Literature''. Leiden: Brill. Abdullah did as he was told but was grief-stricken. He wrote poetry for her: ''I have never known a man like me divorce a woman like her,'' ''nor any woman like her divorced for no fault of her own.'' In the end Abdullah was allowed to take Atika back before her waiting period was completed.Abbott, N. (1942). ''Aishah - the Beloved of Mohammed''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Death of Muhammad

When Muhammad died in 632, Atika composed an elegy for him. ''His camels have been lonely since evening;'' ''he used to ride them and he was their adornment.'' ''I have been weeping for the Chief since evening,'' ''and tears are flowing in succession.'' ''Thy wives are still lying in swoons'' ''because of grief that grows greater moment by moment;'' ''they turned pale like a javelin'' ''that becomes useless and changes its colour;'' ''they are remedying chronic sorrow,'' ''but the pain reacts on the heart;'' ''they beat their fine faces with their palms,'' ''for that is what happens at times like this.'' ''He was excellent and the chosen Chief.'' ''Their religion was united on truth.'' ''How can I live longer than the Messenger,'' ''who died at his appointed hour?''

Death of Abdullah

Abdullah settled a large amount of property on Atika on condition that she would not remarry after his death.Ahmed, L. (1992). ''Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate'', p. 76. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. He died in Medina in January 633 from an old battle-wound originally incurred at the Siege of Ta'if.Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti. ''History of the Caliphs''. Translated by Jarrett, H. S. (1881). Calcutta: The Asiatic Society. Atika composed an elegy for him. ''I vow that mine eye will not cease to weep for thee'' ''and my skin will be covered with dust''. She refused several suitors in the following months.

Third marriage

Courtship

Umar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mu ...

, the future second

and Atika's first cousin, told her that she had been wrong to renounce her right to remarry, "denying yourself what

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

has permitted."

The broken vow

After Umar became Caliph,Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. ''Tarikh al Rusual wa'l-Muluk''. Translated by Blankinship, K. Y. (1993). ''Volume 11: The Challenge to the Empires''. Albany: State University of New York Press. when

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

learned that Atika had broken her vow of celibacy, she sent her a message: ''I vow that mine eye will not cease to be dry for thee,'' ''and my skin will be yellow with dye.'' Return our property to us!" When Ali also recited this poem to them, Umar told Atika to return the land. He settled an equivalent sum of money on her, which she distributed in alms to expiate the breaking of her vow to Abd Allah.

Married life

From her marriage to Umar, Atika gave birth to a son named Iyad. Atika used to ask Umar's permission to attend public prayers at the mosque. Umar preferred his wives to remain at home and expressed his displeasure with silence. Atika told him that she was not going to stop asking permission, and that she would go to the mosque unless he specifically forbade her. He remained silent, presumably because he could not forbid something that the Prophet Muhammad had permitted, and so Atika continued to attend.Holmes Katz, M. (2013). ''Prayer in Islamic Thought and Practice'', p. 191. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Death of Umar

She was present at the Mosque when Umar was assassinated there in November 644. She composed elegies for him. ''Eye! let thy tears and weeping be abundant'' ''and weary not - over the noble chief.'' ''Death hath afflicted me in the fall of a horseman'' ''Distinguished in the day of battle ...'' ''Compassionate to those closest, tough against his enemies'', ''someone to trust in times of bad fortune and answering'', ''whenever he gave his word, his deeds did not belie his word'', ''swift to good deeds, and not with a frown''.

Fourth marriage

Courtship

After Umar's death, Atika married Zubayr ibn al-Awwam. She made it a condition of their marriage contract that he would not beat her, that he would continue to permit her to visit the mosque at will and that he would not withhold "any of her rights".

Death of Zubayr

Zubayr was killed at the Battle of the Camel in December 656. Atika also composed an elegy for him. ''If he could have been awakened, he would have been found'' ''not shaking with a quivering heart or hand.'' ''You will be lucky to find anyone like him'' ''among those who remain, who come and go ...'' ''If you have killed a Muslim, then you must suffer the penalty for murder.''Sallabi, A. H. (2010). ''Biography of Ali Ibn Abi-Talib: A Comprehensive Study of His Personality and Era'', volume 2, p. 88. Riyadh: Darussalam. It was at this point that people began to say: "Let a man who wants to be a ''shahid'' marry Atika bint Zayd!" Afterwards, the fourth caliph of Islam Ali himself proposed to her, but she told him, "I would not want you to die, O cousin of the Prophet." Despite that, Ali ended up dying a shaheed anyway, which changed her as well as people's views.

Last marriage

Atika's fifth and final husband was Ali's own son, Husayn, who was over twenty years younger than she was. He was also reckoned a ''shahid'' because he was killed at the

Battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala () was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 Hijri year, AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad caliph Yazid I () and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, th ...

in October 680; However, Atika apparently predeceased him.

Death

Atika died in 672 during the reign of Umayyad caliph

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

References

{{authority control 672 deaths 7th-century Arabic-language poets Women companions of the Prophet Umar