Saudah Bint Zam’a (R.A.)

We are going take a look into the life of a virtuous and noble woman . -

Her name was Saudah  Bint Zam’a (R.A.) – Wife of Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W.), daughter of  Shamoos and Zam’a bin Qais bin ‘Abd Shams and member of the famous Quraishi tribe, Amir bin Luwayy.

She was tall, the tallest wife of Rasulallah (S.A.W.), that Aisha (R.A.) said:" Anyone who saw her could not remain hidden from her sight”

She came into the Prophet (S.A.W.)’s life with maturity, kindness and simplicity at a time when he needed her the most for support for his household and as a mother to his young daughters.

As the Prophet (S.A.W.) said “: Allah (S.W.T. has commanded me to marry only with the woman of Paradise”

Her Marriage to Muhammed (S.A.W.)

Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W.) married Saudah (R.A.) in the tenth year of his Prophethood in the month of Ramadaan, after the death of his 1^st wife Khadijah (R.A.) and before the marriage of

 Aisha( R.A.) thus Saudah being named his 2^nd wife.

She had been previously married to her cousin, Sakran bin Amr (R.A.) who passed on  after being sick and  had also  already given birth to 6  children. When the idea of marrying Saudah (R.A.) to run his household and take care of his family was put forward to Rasulallah (S.A.W.) he did not hesitate in choosing her because to him, she was considered one of the most virtuous women of her time, even though she was middle aged and her beauty had already past its youth.

The Humour that Saudah (R.A.) brought into the household of Muhammed (S.A.W.)

The Prophet (S.A.W.) loved Saudah  (R.A.) very dearly too. She had a side to her that was very humorous, which would often make the Prophet( S.A.W.) burst into laughter. Ibn Sa’ad tells us the story of how, one night she were praying behind Muhammed (S.A.W.).  The next day, she couldn’t help but tell him that the long prayer he performed almost made her believe that her nasal vein would burst and her nose would bleed. She then jokingly told him how while she was bowing in prayer she held onto her nose! This image was so amusing to Muhammed (S.A.W.) that he couldn’t help but to burst out laughing.

Another incident is how when she heard about the story of the Dajjal from Rasulallah (S.A.W.) she was very frightened.  As many people were aware of how easily she scared, they would often talk about it when she was around in order to see her reaction. One day Aisha (R.A.) and Hafsa (R.A.) were with Saudah and brought up the topic of the Dajjal. On hearing this, Saudah was terrified and  ran into a dark room full of cobwebs. Rasulallah (S.A.W.) came into the room where the 3 were gathered and asked where was Saudah (R.A.), to which Aisha ( R.A.) told the Prophet (S.A.W.) the joke. He called out to Saudah in the other room, assuring her there was no monster, causing her to come out of hiding with a grin on her face.

Her heart was free from malice

Saudah (R.A.) had a very pure heart which was free from any type of jealousy so much so that when she became old, she feared that the Prophet (S.A.W.) would divorce her and she would not get her wish to be among the wives of Paradise. She graciously gave up her time spending with Rasulallah (S.A.W.) in order that he spent it with Aisha (R.A.) who was in her youth. It was because of this that Aisha (R.A.) became very close with Saudah (R.A.) and was touched by her kind gesture.

Her Passing On

This amazing lady passed on in Madina at the end of Omar bin Al Khattab’s Caliphate and was buried in Jannatul – Baqi.

What I find very interesting about the wives of the Prophet (S.A.W.) is that  as we go further and further into their lives, we realize that they were not perfect and had their moments when they wanted to compete against each other but who chose to adapt to being  such great muslims in manners and speech.

I think the most important lesson we learn from Saudah (R.A.) is how pure our hearts should be and how we should remove all evil thoughts and spitefulness which often creeps into us often causing us to harm other people.

We should also remember that being a muslim doesn’t only mean making your salaah but also starts from within by trying to be kinder people, more understanding as husbands and wives and being gentle in our speech.

May Allah grant us all to be kind sweet virtuous people…

Inshallah, ameen

Love, Ayesha