Umm Ruman

Umm Rūmān
أم رومان
Personal life
Born	Zaynab bint 'Amir ibn Uwaymir ibn 'Abd Shams ibn 'Attab al-Farasiyya al-Kinaniyya زينب بنت عامر ابن عويمر ابن عبد شمس ابن عتاب الفراسية الكنانية Tihamah, Arabia (present-day Saudi Arabia)
Died	c. 628 or 630 CE, 6 or 8 AH Medina, Hejaz, Arabia (present-day Saudi Arabia)
Resting place	Medina
Spouse	Al-Harith ibn Sakhbarah (until his death) Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (until her death)
Children	Tufayl ibn al-Harith Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr
Parent	'Amir ibn Uwaymir (father)
Era	Early Islamic period
Known for	Female companion and mother-in-law of Muhammad Mother of Aisha Wife of Abu Bakr
Relatives	Muhammad (son-in-law)
Religious life
Religion	Islam

Zaynab bint ʿĀmir ibn ʿUwaymir ibn ʿAbd Shams ibn ʿAttāb al-Farāsīyya al-Kinānīyya, known by her kunya "Umm Rūmān" (Arabic: أمّ رومان زينب بنت عامر ابن عويمر ابن عبد شمس ابن عتاب الفراسية الكنانية)[1] was among the followers or companions of Muhammad. She was a wife of Abu Bakr and the mother of Aisha, which made her the mother-in-law of the Prophet of Islam.[2][3]

Biography

Zaynab was the daughter of Amir ibn Uwaymir, a member of the Al-Harith ibn Ghanam clan of the Kinana tribe.[4] She married two times. First, she became the second wife of al-Ḥārith ibn Sakhbarah of the Azd tribe. Zaynab and al-Ḥārith had one son together, Tufayl ibn al-Harith.[5]

The family migrated to Mecca, where al-Harith became an ally of Abu Bakr. [1] Soon afterwards, al-Harith died, leaving Tufayl and his widowed mother completely dependent on Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr then married Umm Ruman around 601 CE.[5] They had two children together: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Aisha.[5]

Umm Ruman emigrated to Medina in 622, accompanied by her daughter Aisha and also by her stepchildren Asma and Abd Allah (children of Abu Bakr by other wives).[4]

Ibn Sa'd states that Umm Ruman died in Medina in April/May 628.[5][6] However, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani places her death in 630.^[citation needed] As she was being lowered into her grave, Muhammad said, "Anyone who wants to know what a houri looks like should look at Umm Ruman."[5]

References

1. "Companion's Tree". Quran search online. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
2. Talhami, Ghada (2012). Historical Dictionary of Women in the Middle East and North Africa. pp. 632–634.
3. Stone, Caroline (1985). The Embroideries of North Africa. p. 76. ...and perhaps it should not be forgotten that Aisha, the favourite wife of Muhammad, whose name means 'The Living One', was (death 627) the daughter of Umm Ruman, 'The Mother of the Pomegranate'.
4. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. (1998). Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors, pp. 171-172. Albany: State University of New York Press.
5. Muhammad ibn Saad, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 8. J by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina, p. 193. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
6. Nāsikh al-tavārīkh : zindagānī-i Payāmbar vol:2, 1162 ISBN 9643311120

Bibliography

• Great Women of Islam (Dar-us-Salam Publications)