An honorable, distinguished group of sons-in-law

An honorable, distinguished group of sons-in-law Adil Salahi | Arab News

A woman from Makkah who was a contemporary of the Prophet (peace be upon him) married at least three times, giving birth to a number of daughters who were distinguished by their beauty, character and line of descent. All of her daughters were well married. In fact, she earned the title, 'the woman with the most honorable sons-in-law'. This woman is Hind bint Awf ibn Zuhayr. She is often overlooked because of the distinction achieved by her daughters. Let us now look at the list of her sons-in-law. We mention first those who remained unbelievers in Islam. These included Al-Waleed ibn Al-Mugheerah who married the younger Lubabah bint Al-Harith, giving him several sons the most distinguished of whom was Khalid ibn Al-Waleed, one of the greatest military commanders in history. Her two other sons-in-law in this category were Ubayy ibn Khalaf, who married Asmaa bint Al-Harith, and Ziyad ibn Abdullah ibn Malik, who married Azzah bint Al-Harith. Here Muslim sons-in-law are an amazing group. One of these was Al-Abbas ibn Abd Al-Muttalib, the Prophet's uncle who married the elder Lubabah bint Al-Harith. Lubabah was better known by the name Umm Al-Fadl. She was the second woman to adopt Islam, preceded only by Khadijah, the Prophet's wife. Her children included Al-Fadl and Abdullah ibn Abbas. Another son-in-law was Hamzah ibn Abd Al-Muttalib, the Prophet's uncle who was the most distinguished martyr in Islamic history. He married Salma bint Umays. Another of Hind's daughters married three times, and all her husbands were highly distinguished companions of the Prophet. Her first husband was Jaafar ibn Abu Talib, the spokesman of the Muslims at the palace of Negus, the Abyssinian king. She gave Jaafar several children. When Jaafar was killed in the Battle of Mutah, she married Abu Bakr, giving him his son, Muhammad. After his death, she was married to Ali ibn Abu Talib, giving him a son called Yahya. This daughter was Asma bint Umays. Hind had more daughters. One of whom was Zaynab bint Khuzaymah who married Ubaydah ibn Al-Harith ibn Abd Al-Muttalib, a cousin of the Prophet who was the first martyr to fall in the Battle of Badr. She then married the Prophet, but she died a few months after her marriage. There were other daughters, but the one we are more interested in was Barrah bint Al-Harith who had been married to Abu Ruhm ibn Abd Al-Uzza of the Amir clan. Her husband had died when she was only 26. She was close to her elder sister, Umm Al-Fadl. In fact, she said to her sister that she was assigning her future to her, so that she might choose whatever she felt suitable for her. Umm Al-Fadl spoke to her husband, Al-Abbas, requesting him to try and choose a suitable husband for Barrah. Al-Abbas chose the man who could never be excelled, neither as a husband nor as a companion. He chose the Prophet, who accepted the marriage. Al-Abbas then paid her dowry on behalf of the Prophet, giving her 400 dirhams. We will relate how this marriage took place next week, God willing.