Nasibah, the self-sacrificing lady: It is indisputable that jihad is unlawful for women in Islam. It may be mentioned in this connection that a representative of the women of Madina who had the honour of presenting herself before the Prophet spoke to him about this deprivation and complained in these words: “We meet all the needs of life of our husbands and they participate in jihad with a peaceful mind, whereas we women are deprived of this great blessing”.
Thereupon the Prophet sent the following message, through her, to all the women of Madina: “If you are deprived of this great blessing on account of some natural and social reasons you can acquire the blessing of jihad by carrying out the responsibilities of married life”. In this connection he also uttered the following historical sentence:
“Performance of the duties of married life (by a woman) in a proper manner is equal to jihad in the path of Allah”.
At times, however, some experienced women came out of Madina with the mujahids (who were mostly their sons, brothers and kinsmen) to help them, and they assisted the Muslims in achieving victory by providing water to the thirsty, washing the clothes of the warriors and dressing the wounds of the wounded.
Umme ‘Amir, whose real name was Nasibah, says: “I joined (the Battle of Uhud) to provide water to the warriors and saw that the fragrant air of victory was blowing towards the Muslims. But, soon afterwards, the tables were suddenly turned and the defeated Muslims began to flee. I also saw that the life of the Prophet was in danger, and I considered it my duty to save his life even at the cost of my own. I, therefore, placed the water-skin on the ground and began repelling the attacks of the enemy with a sword which had come into my hand. At times I also shot arrows”.
Then she mentions the wound which she had sustained on her shoulder and says: “At the time when the people had turned their backs to the enemy and were running away the eyes of the Prophet fell upon a person who was in the condition of flight and he said to him: “Now that you are running away throw your shield on the ground”. He did so and I picked it up to utilize it myself.
Suddenly I saw a man named Ibn Qumi’ah shouting and saying: ‘Where is Muhammad?’ He recognized the Prophet and rushed towards him with a drawn sword. Mus’ab and I prevented I him from achieving his purpose. In order to keep me back he struck a blow on my shoulder. Although I also gave him some blows but his blow had a serious effect on me; it continued for one year, while my blow had no effect on him as he was wearing two coats of mail.
The blow which I received on my shoulder was very serious The Prophet saw that blood was flowing profusely from my wound. He at once called one of my sons and asked him to bandage my wound. He did so and I again resorted to fighting.
In the meantime I came to know that one of my sons had been wounded. I at once picked up the pieces of cloth which I had brought with me to dress the wounds of the wounded including that of my son. However, as the life of the Prophet was in danger every moment I turned to my son and said to him: “My son! Get up and engage yourself in fighting”.
The Prophet was very much surprised to see the bravery and valour of this self-sacrificing woman. When, therefore, he saw the person who had struck her son he at once pointed him out to her and said: “This is the man who struck your son”.
The cheerless mother who was hovering round the Prophet just as a moth hovers round a candle at once attacked that man like a ferocious lion and struck a blow on his calf which brought him to the ground. This time the surprise of the Prophet about the bravery of the woman increased further and he laughed on account of this in such a manner that his hind-most teeth became visible and then he said to her: “You have avenged the attack made on your son”.
On the following day, when the Prophet made his army corps march towards Hamra’ul Asad, Nasibah wished to go with the army, but the severe wound, which she had sustained, did not permit her to do so. On return from Hamra’ul Asad the Prophet sent someone to the house of Nasibah to enquire about her health and was very much pleased to learn that her condition was better.
As a reward for all these sacrifices this lady requested the Prophet to pray to Allah that she might be allowed to remain in his service in Paradise. The Prophet prayed for her and said; “O Lord! Make them my companions in Paradise”