The Sahabiyat That I Admire The Most

There is no doubt that the sahabiyat are the best ladies in terms of faith. They are exceptional role models to women who are facing tough and countless challenges in this modern life, including me. The sahabiyat that I admire the most is none other than Sumayyah binti Khubath, who is the first woman who obtained shahid or martyrdom in the defence of Islam.  

Sumayyah was a slave and she was married to Yasir and had a son named Ammar. When Islam was first revealed, Sumayyah and Ammar were among the seven earliest people to convert to Islam. As paganism or worshipping idols were majority at that time, the noblemen of Quraisy were exceptionally punishing to those who went against the religion of their forefathers, especially since the Muslims at that time consisted of people of lower-ranks such as the poor and the slaves including Sumayyah and her family.

When the news of their conversion reached the knowledge of Abu Jahal, he had ordered to capture them to be tortured. They were stripped off their clothes and tied tightly to a scalding-hot rock so that they couldn’t move as they endured the merciless scorch and heat. They were left to their sufferings while Abu Jahal just laughed and mocked and urged them to admit that the idols are their Gods, not Allah. When the Prophet pbuh passed in front of Sumayyah and her family, he had said, “Patience O Family of Yasir! Jannah is your meeting place”.

They held on to their faith. Sumayyah watched as her husband breathed his last after a heavy rock was placed on his already old and frail body. Even after seeing the deathly consequence of not following Abu Jahl orders, she still refused. Abu Jahl continued to whip her and stab her straight in the heart until she died a martyr. It was the end of suffering and the start of an ever after rest in the Gardens of Paradise. Her patience was indeed remarkable and she had displayed great strength in the face of tribulations and she was unflinching in her faith.

As a modern woman, there are many new conflicts and ideologies being spread like wildfire. People are more blatant in criticising the words of Allah, even justifying their whims and desires with false statements. It is a saddening reality as even Muslims nowadays have shared support towards ideologies which are clearly prohibited in Islam such as the LGBT movement. They start to normalise what’s not normal. Muslim women are also rallying against hijab, with the dehijabing movement growing each day through social media. It is a worrying state that the ummah is in right now. As the Prophet said in a hadith, “Islam started as ghareeb (isolated) and will end as ghareeb”. Our glory days have long since been gone and nowadays practising true faith is a source of mockery to those open-minded and liberalised generation. We have gone back to that era where Islam is isolated. I pray that our faith is as strong as Sumayyah, and we hold fast to the ropes of Allah, despite the rest of the world trying to make us let go of it.