Lubabah (rtaf) – The Respected Aunt of the Muslim Community

Lubabah (rtaf), the wife of Al-Abbas (rtam), the paternal uncle of the Prophet (sa), is better known by her Kunniyat as Umm-al-Fadl. A fearless and wise woman with an independent spirit, she was the first woman after Khadeejah (rtaf) to accept Islam. A highly respected member of the young Muslim community, she was related to many eminent Sahabahs, and as such is known as Akram Ajooz or the Respected Aunt. The Prophet (sa) called Lubabah (rtaf) and her sisters the Akhwaat Al-Mominaat or the Faithful Sisters, who accepted Islam, married the most distinguished Muslims, and spent their lives in the service and support of Islam.

Startling Facts

• She accepted Islam on the same day as Khadeejah (rtaf) and was the first of her sisters to do so. She was very close to Khadeejah (rtaf) and would sit next to her in the Prophet’s (sa) house and in Dar-e-Arqam.
• Abu Rafay (rtam), the freed slave of Al-Abbas (rtam), practiced Islam secretly, but she announced her conversion publicly.
• Umm-al-Fadl (rtaf) gave birth to Abdullah ibn Abbas (rtam) during the boycott. The Prophet (sa) loved him dearly and did his Tehneek. Since there were no dates available during that harsh time, he performed the Tehneek with his own saliva only and prayed for him. As a result of this prayer, her son became a highly respected scholar and was given the title Habl-ul-Ummah or the Rope of the Ummah.
• She was Maimoonah’s (rtaf) full sister, and so the Prophet (sa) was her brother-in-law. She was also Zaynab bint Khuzaimah’s (rtaf) half-sister, and through her marriage to the Prophet (sa), she became his sister-in-law for the second time.
• She was also Asma bint Umais’s (rtaf) sister, who married Jafar (rtam), then Abu Bakr (rtam), and finally Ali (rtam).
• Her half-sister Salma (rtaf) was the wife of the respected martyr Hamzah (rtam), and she later married Shaddad (rtam).
• She was also Khalid bin Walid’s (rtam) aunt, since her sister Lubabah As-Sughrah was his mother.
• She nursed Hussein (rtam), the grandson of the Prophet (sa).
• She narrated thirty Ahadeeth collected by Abdullah bin Abbas (rtam), Umair (rtam), and Anas bin Maalik (rtam).
• She died during the caliphate of Umar (rtam) and is buried in Jannat-ul-Baqee (Madinah’s cemetery)

Points to Ponder

• Lubabah (rtaf) accepted Islam much before her husband Al-Abbas, and she prayed for him to accept Islam. Abbas (rtam) accepted Islam after Hudaibyah, shortly before the conquest of Makkah, two decades after his wife and then he migrated.
• She was especially concerned that he should stop charging interest on the loans he gave. Al-Abbas was famous for charging Riba, so that when the verses about the prohibition of interest were revealed, the Prophet (sa) announced that those who owed Al-Abbas (rtam) were exempt from paying him interest. Her abhorrence of Riba was a testimony to her pure Fitrah.
• Following the news of defeat in the Battle of Badr, Abu Lahab attacked Abu Rafay (a Muslim slave) (rtam), because he had rejoiced at the presence of angels. Lubabah (rtaf), courageous and strong, struck Abu Lahab hard on the head with a pole and cracked his skull, which eventually killed him. Therefore, one of the cruelest enemies of Islam was killed by this fearless woman with a strong sense of justice, who could not tolerate Al-Abbas’s (rtam) slave being beaten in his absence.
• She performed Hajj with the Prophet (sa), and her son Al-Fadl (rtam) rode with the Prophet (sa) during Hajj. She narrates the famous Hadeeth that negates fasting for the pilgrims on the Day of Arafah, as opposed to the Jahiliyah tradition. Since it was exceedingly hot and the other companions were reluctant to interrupt the Prophet (sa), who was supplicating under the open sky, she wisely offered him a glass of milk. The Prophet (sa) accepted it, and this was a signal that the pilgrims were exempt from fasting.
• Lubabah (rtaf) dreamt that a part of the Prophet’s (sa) flesh was in her home. The Prophet (sa) interpreted that both Fatima (rtaf) and herself would have a baby, and she would nurse them both. This was a late birth for Umm-Al-Fadl, but the dream came true and she nursed Hussein (rtam).
• She also narrates another incident, when Hussein (rtam) urinated on the Prophet (sa) and she spanked him. The Prophet (sa) expressed his displeasure by saying: “You have hurt me by hurting my son, may Allah (swt) have mercy on you.” From this Hadeeth we derive the ruling of how to clean the urine of a male infant, who has not been weaned.

Lubabah (rtaf), true to her tough desert training under her tribe Banu Hilal, was a woman with a daunting presence, who instilled fear even in the hearts of such enemies as Abu Lahab. Her legacy in the form of the Hadeeths she narrated and the pious children she bore and brought up remain beacons for Muslims.