The most important act of worship that the Muslim woman
can do is to strive to establish the rule of Allah (swt) on earth,
and to follow the way of life that He has prescribed,
so that Islam will govern the life of the individual,
the family, the community and the nation.
The sincere Muslim woman will feel that her worship is lacking if she does not strive to achieve the purpose for which Allah (swt) created jinn and men, namely promoting the supremacy of the authority of Allah (swt) on earth, which is the only way in which mankind can truly worship Allah (swt):
( I have only created jinns and men, that they may worship me.) (Quran 51:56)
This is the only way in which the true meaning of the words “la ilaha ill-Allah” will be realized in our own lives.
The first Muslim women had a sound grasp of this meaning, which penetrated deep into their souls. They were no less enthusiastic than the men when it came to sacrifice and courage for the sake of Allah (swt). Some of the women of the early generations of this ummah excelled many of the men in this regard.
Asma’ bint ‘Umays, the wife of Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, hastened to embrace Islam along with her husband in the earliest days of Islam, the days of hardship and suffering. She migrated with him to Abyssinia, in spite of the risks and hardships involved, for the sake of Allah (swt) and to support His religion. When ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab joked with her and said, “O Habashiyyah (Abyssinian woman)! We beat you to Madinah,” she said, “You have most certainly spoken the truth. You were with the Messenger of Allah, feeding the hungry and teaching the ignorant, whilst we were far away in exile. By Allah (swt), I shall go to the Messenger of Allah and tell him that.” She came to the Prophet (saas) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, some men are criticizing us and claiming that we were not among the early muhajirin.” The Messenger of Allah (saas) said, “But you have two hijrahs; you migrated to the land of Abyssinia, whilst we were detained in Makkah, then you migrated to me afterwards.”
Asma’ bint ‘Umays was successful in establishing the virtue of those who had migrated to Abyssinia in the early days of Islam, and she understood from the Prophet (saas) that this distinguished group would have the reward of two hijrahs. This was a great honor which was theirs because they had not hesitated to support the Prophet (saas), even though it meant leaving behind their families and homeland for the sake of Allah (swt).
Muslim women were also present at the treaty of ‘Aqabah, which took place in secret, under the cover of darkness, and which played such an important role in supporting the Prophet (saas). Among the delegation of Ansar were two women of status and virtue: Nasibah bint K’ab al-Maziniyyah, and Umm Mani’ Asma’ bint ‘Amr al-Sulamiyyah, the mother of Mu’adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with them); the later was present with the Prophet (saas) at Khaybar, where she performed extremely well.
When the Prophet (saas) began his Mission, calling for pure Tawhid and the abandonment of idol-worship, the mushrikin were very angry with him, and plotted to break into his house at night and kill him. The conspirators kept quiet and vowed to let their plot to kill the Prophet remain a secret amongst themselves. Nobody even sensed that there was a plot, apart from one Muslim woman, who was over one hundred years old. Her name was Ruqayqah bint Sayfi, and she did not let the weakness of old age stop her from hastening to save the Prophet’s life. She made her way to him, and told him what the people were planning to do. He embarked upon his hijrah straight away, leaving the land that was the most beloved to him on earth, and leaving his cousin ‘Ali (raa) sleeping in his bed, so that the conspirators surrounding his house would think that he was there, and this would keep them from following him and killing him on the road.
What a tremendous service this great woman did for Islam and the Muslims! How great was her jihad to save the life of the Messenger of Allah (saas) at the most dangerous time he ever faced.
When the Prophet (saas) and his companion (Abi Bakr) left Makkah, and stayed out of sight in the cave of Hira’ at the top of Mount Thawr, it was a young girl who brought them food and water and the news of the people who were lying in wait for them. Her name was Asma bint Abi Bakr al-Saddiq (may Allah be pleased with her).
This brave young girl used to cover the great distance between Makkah and Mount Thawr at night; the difficulty and isolation of this journey, and the presence of watchful enemies did not deter her. She knew that by saving the life of the Prophet (saas) and his companion, helping them to reach their goal of going to Madinah, she was supporting the religion of Allah (swt), and working towards making His word supreme on earth. So she undertook her difficult mission every day, ever alert and striving to conceal herself as she walked and climbed up the mountain, until she had brought whatever supplies and news she was carrying to the Prophet (saas) and his companion. Then she would go back down to Makkah under cover of darkness.
This mission, which even the strongest of men could have failed to achieve, is not all that Asma’ did to support the Prophet (saas) and Islam. She was tested severely and proved to be as solid as a rock, on the day when the mushrikin surrounded her and asked about her father. She denied knowing anything, and they placed severe pressure on her, so mush so that Abu Jahl struck her a blow that sent her earring flying from her ear. But this did not weaken her resolve or her determination to keep her secret hidden. She kept up her mission of taking food and news to the Prophet (saas) until the time came for them to leave the cave and head for Madinah. She had already brought them provisions for the journey, but when she checked the cloth in which they were wrapped, she found that she had nothing with which to tie it apart from her own girdle. She told her father, who told her to tear it in two and use one piece to tie the water skins and the other to tie the cloth holding the food. Hence Asma’ became known as Dhat al-Nutiqayn (she of the two girdles).
