Na'ila bint al-Furafisa () was the wife of the third

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 ...

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, played a major role ...

(). She narrated many

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

including eyewitness accounts of the

assassination of Uthman Uthman ibn Affan, the third Rashidun caliph, who ruled from 644 to 656, was assassinated at the end of a siege upon his house in 656. This was initially a protest but escalated into a siege following the death of a protester. The protesters-turne ...

Biography

Naila bint al-Furafisa was born into a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

family in

Kufa Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya ...

but was converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

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 ...

. In 28 AH (649 CE), she married Uthman, She gave birth to several children of Uthman; Anbasa, Maryam al-Sughra, Umm Aban al-Sughra, Umm Khalid, Arwa, Umm al-Banin. After the death of second caliph

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 ...

, her husband Uthman was elected to the Caliphate and succeeded to the Caliphate in 644. Naila always supported her husband in household duties. Her husband ruled the Caliphate for twelve years, his reign was peaceful and prosperous however in the last year of his reign 656, after growing discontent with his rule, rebels besieged Uthman in his home in

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, ...

Ali ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...

had earlier rescued Uthman from similar situation on his promise to address complaints made by public. The Caliph, now about 80 years old, sent away any help for fear of blood being shed in his name. After 49 days, the rebels broke in with the intention of killing Uthman. Naila attempted to save her husband, but in raising her left hand to stop a sword falling on him, had her fingers cut off. Uthman was martyred as he read the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

, supposedly while reading the verse (2:137) "And Allah will suffice you for defense against them. He is the Hearer, the Knower." After the body of Uthman had been in the house for three days, Naila approached some of his supporters to assist in his burial, but only about a dozen people responded, including Marwan,

Zayd ibn Thabit Zāyd bin Thābit () was the personal scribe of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, serving as the chief recorder of the Quranic text. He was an ansar (helper), and later joined the ranks of the Muslim army at age 19. After Muhammad's passing in 632 ...

, 'Huwatib bin Alfarah, Jubayr ibn Mut'im, Abu Jahm bin Hudaifa, Hakim bin Hazam and Niyar bin Mukarram. The body was lifted at dusk, and because of the blockade, no shroud could be procured. The body was not washed. Thus, Uthman was carried to his grave in the clothes that he was wearing at the time of his assassination. Again, because of the blockade and the tense situation caused by the rebels, his body was not even buried in the graveyard but behind the graveyard. That is why today when we visit his grave, we will find it very far away from the graves of the other Companions. Naila followed the funeral with a lamp, but, in order to maintain secrecy, the lamp had to be extinguished. Naila was accompanied by some women, including Uthman's daughter.Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. ''Tarikh al-Rasul wa'l-Muluk''. Translated by Humphreys, R. S. (1990). ''Volume 15: The Crisis of the Early Caliphate''. Albany: State University of New York Press. The funeral prayers were led by ''Jabir bin Muta'am'', and the dead body was lowered into the grave with little ceremony. After burial, Naila and

wanted to speak, but were discouraged from doing so due to possible danger from the rioters. Later, after Uthman's death, she remained a widow and did not marry again.

Mu'awiya 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 ...

asked her to marry him twice (it was common for Arabs to marry widows). For the first time she refused verbally and on the second, in reply to his letter she sent along two front teeth of hers which she had broken deliberately signaling that she was no longer beautiful and Muawiya should not ask of her again.

Family

The children of Uthman and Na'ila were; Maryam al-Sughra who married to Amr ibn al-Walid ibn Uqba and then married to Sa'id ibn al-As after the death of her half-sister Umm 'Amr bint Uthman, they had a son named Sa'id. Umm Khalid bint Uthman married Abdallah ibn Khalid ibn Asid after the death of her sister Umm Sa'id bint Uthman (Umm Uthman). Arwa bint Uthman married Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn Uqba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Na'ila bint al-Furafisa Uthman Banu Kalb Tabi‘un hadith narrators 7th-century Muslims 7th-century women 7th-century Arab people Converts to Islam from Christianity People from Khorasan