Nusaybah bint Ka'ab

Nusaybah bint Ka'ab (Arabic: نُسَيْبَةُ بِنْتُ كَعْب‎; also ʾUmm ʿAmmarah, Umm Umara^[1]), was one of the early women to convert to Islam, sahabiyyah (known in Arabic as Sahaba or companions) of Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a warrior who participated in the battles of Uhud, Hunain, and Yamamah.^[2][3]

Nusaybah bint Ka'ab نُسَيْبَةُ بِنْتُ كَعْب‎
Other names	Umm 'Ammarah
Spouse	Zayd ibn Asim (until his death)
Children	Abdullah Habib Tameem ibn Amr Khawlah ibn Amr
Parent	Ka'ab
Relatives	Abdullah bin Ka'ab (brother)
Family	Banu Khazraj (tribe)

Life

A member of the Banu Najjar tribe living in Medina, Nusaybah was the sister of Abdullah bin Ka'ab, and the mother of Abdullah and Habib ibn Zayd al-Ansari.^[1]

When 74 leaders, warriors, and statesmen of Medina descended on al-Aqabah to swear an oath of allegiance to Islam following the teaching of the new religion by Mus`ab ibn `Umair in the city, Nusaybah and Umm Munee Asma bint ʿAmr bin 'Adi were the only two women to personally pledge directly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The latter's husband, Ghazyah bin ʿAmr, informed Muhammad that the women also wanted to give them their bayah in person, and he agreed.^[1] She returned to Medina and began teaching Islam to the women of the city. This bayah or pledge was in fact handing over power to Muhammad over the city, by its key figures. Her most prominent role came in the Battle of Uhud, where she defended the prophet. She also participated in the battle of Hunain, Yamamah and the Treaty of Hudaybia.^{[2] [3]}

Her two sons, both later martyrs in battle, were from her first marriage to Zaid bin ʿAsim Mazni. She later married bin ʿAmr, and had another son Tameem and a daughter Khawlah.^[1]

Nusaybah vs Naseebah

Although often referenced in some modern contexts as Nusaybah, the more accurate name attributed to this historical figure is Naseebah. In the book Explaining the Harakat of the hard names of narrators, their ancestry, and kunyas (Arabic: توضيح المشتبه في ضبط أسماء الرواة وأنسابهم وألقابهم وكناهم) by the classic scholar of hadith Ibn Nasir Al-Din Al-Dimashqi (ابن ناصر الدين) ^[4] he mentions the name of Umm 'Ammarah as spelt نَسِيبة بنت كعب (Naseebah bint Kaab) ^[5] with the name Nusaybah attributed instead to Nusaybah Bint al-Harith (also Umm ʾAtiyyah)

See also

• Women in Islam