The Bravest and Faithful Muslim Woman: Naila, daughter of al-Farasif
Naila, daughter of al-Farasif bin al-Ahwas bin Amr bin Salabat bin al-Harith al-Qalbiyyah was born into a Christian family in Kufa (a city in Iraq). Under the influence of Aisha, she accepted Islam in the 28th year of Hijri and married the companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ Uthman bin Affan.
After the murder of Uthman, Naila harshly criticised the rebels who rose up against her husband. She also condemned the people of Medina who had lost heart in their resistance and she wrote a letter to Muawiyah, son of Abu Sufyan, the ruler of Sham (present-day Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine, including all of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory) and a close associate of Uthman. In this letter, she reproached him for failing to save Uthman during the siege, when he most needed support.
She stood firm with him and exposed herself to the sword to protect him. And when the enemy began to climb over the fence and burst into the house, she ran, causing her hair to fall loose. Seeing this, Uthman shouted at her, “Put on a scarf, I am more concerned about your honour than my life!”
When one of the enemies attacked Uthman and raised his sword over him, she covered it with her hand, and as a result, she lost the tips of her fingers. Rabah, a slave whom she called for help, rushed to that man and killed him. Meanwhile, Naila hurried to grab the sword of the second murderer, but he managed to cut off the fingers of her other hand and plunge the sword into Uthman.
When the villains intended to behead her husband’s body, she covered it with herself, but this did not stop them from carrying out their plan, they beheaded and dismembered him. Seeing this, she cried out, “The Commander of the Faithful has been killed!” Her hands were bleeding.
The murderer
At this time, another man entered Uthman’s house, and saw that the head of the owner of the house was wrapped in the hem of his wife’s dress, and he demanded to see it. When asked why he did this, he replied that he had sworn to slap him. Upon hearing this, Naila asked, “Do you disagree with what the Messenger of God ﷺ said about him?!” He again demanded that she show him her head, then he pounced on the woman, snatched the head of Uthman and hit him in the face. Then Naila cursed the villain, “May your hands wither and your eyes go blind!” The man had not yet crossed the threshold of the house, when his hands withered and his eyes went blind.
Uthman”s body lay in the same place for a long time, no one daring to perform the funeral ceremony. Naila approached Huwaytib bin Abd al-Uzza and Jubayr bin Mut’im, Abu Jahm bin Huzaifah and Hakim bin Hizamah (may God be pleased with them) asking them to wash the body and prepare it for burial. They told her that it was impossible to do so during the day. When it got dark, under the cover of night, between the evening and night prayers, they carried the body of Uthman to the cemetery of al-Baqi’. Naila walked ahead, lighting their way with a lamp. There, the body of Uthman was buried, Jubayr bin Mut’im and several other Muslims performed the funeral (janazah) prayer. Naila mourned her husband, “I do not weep for my property, I weep for my relatives, for those worthy of Abu Amr have left us.”
After the funeral, Naila addressed the people thus, “Muslims, do not exaggerate my achievements and words, I am saddened by the great trial and death of my beloved husband Uthman bin Affan, the third righteous caliph of the Messenger of God ﷺ.” Indeed, people changed their opinions and decisions when Uthman appeared, there was no one equal to him and even sinners did not doubt his merits.”
Then the courageous woman sent Muawiya a letter with a torn and blood-stained shirt of Uthman. And on one of the buttons of the shirt, she tied several hairs from his beard, cut off by one of his killers, and five of her severed fingers.
She asked him to place all this in the Damascus Mosque and read out her letter to the congregation. It also contained the following words, “To Muawiya, son of Abu Sufyan. I call you to submission to Allah, Who has blessed you, taught you Islam and protected you from error, saved you from unbelief, gave you victory over your enemies and bestowed upon you many blessings, obvious and hidden. I ask for the sake of the Almighty and remind you of your duty to Him and to His Caliph, that you help the Caliph. Allah ﷻ said, “If two communities of believers fight each other, then reconcile them. But if one of them attacks the other and refuses to make peace, then fight them until they submit to the commands of Allah. And if they submit, then accept them with justice and be just in reconciliation, for Allah loves the just.” (Sura Al-Hujurat, ayah 9).
This preaching was heard by 50,000 people, they cried near the shirt of Uthman and the fingers of his wife.
Naila kept the memory of her late husband Uthman bin Affan all her life and remained devoted to him until the end of her life. She never married again, despite the fact that she was a beauty. Every time they came to her to ask for her hand in marriage, she refused. She also refused Muawiyah when he came to ask her to become his wife. She asked the women why so many people were asking for her hand in marriage. They replied that it was because of her beautiful teeth. Then she pulled them out and sent them to Muawiyah. When asked why she did this, she replied: so that no one would desire her after Uthman.
Naila, the daughter of al-Farasif bin al-Ahwas, was an example of courage and fortitude, possessed of an excellent upbringing, eloquence and oratory. Uthman bin Affan married her, she became his sincere wife, faithful and submissive. Uthman, knowing her wisdom and foresight, always consulted with her. She enjoyed great authority in her husband’s house. She was married off by her brother Zabb, a Muslim; it was he who brought her to Medina to Uthman. Her father was a Christian.
Naila accepted Islam in marriage with Uthman and bore him three children: Umm Khalid, Arwa and Umm Aban al-Sughra (the youngest). Naila also narrated some hadiths from Aisha. She died after the great war in the service of Islam.
