Aunt of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
Arwa bint Abd ul-Muttalib supported her nephew, when she was not yet a Muslim. However, while still in Mecca she accepted Islam and was honoured to become one of those who migrated for the sake of the Almighty and His Prophet ﷺ.
She was married twice. First to Umair ibn Wahb, to whom she bore a son Tulayb . Then she married Artat and gave birth to a daughter named Fatima.
Her son Tulayb was one of the first Muslims to accept Islam in the house of Arkam .
One day he came to his mother. “Have you followed Muhammad ﷺ and accepted Islam for the sake of Allah, the Most High?” she asked. “Yes,” Tulayb respectfully replied, “It is right that you support your cousin and assist him,” said Arwa . “By Allah ﷻ! If we could do what men do, we would certainly follow him and protect him.” Tulayb said, “O my mother! What prevents you from accepting Islam and following him? Your brother Hamza has already accepted Islam.”
Thus, he was able to persuade his mother to go to the Messenger of God ﷺ. Arwa testified that there is no deity but Allah ﷻ and Muhammad ﷺ is His slave and Messenger. After that, nothing could stop her from helping the Prophet of Allah ﷺ.
One day, Tulayb , unable to bear mockery of Abu Jahl towards the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, approached him and hit him hard. Thus a conflict broke out between them. People rushed to Arwa and said, “Do you not see what your son Tulayb has brought upon himself because of Muhammad ﷺ?” To which she replied with dignity, “The best day for him is the one in which he defended his cousin, who came with the truth from Almighty Allah.” “Have you followed Muhammad ﷺ?” they asked her in surprise. “Yes,” Arwa answered proudly, thereby demonstrating to everyone her commitment to the religion of Allah ﷻ.
This conversation soon reached her brother Abu Lahab. “It is incredible that you followed Muhammad ﷺ and left the religion of Abd ul-Muttalib,” he told her.
“That is so,” Arwa replied unwaveringly, “Stand up for your nephew. After all, if his case is revealed, you will have a choice in religion. And if he loses, then you will have an excuse before your people, since you helped Muhammad ﷺ, maintaining family ties.” But Abu Lahab did not accept her argument and replied, “Will we be able to resist all the Arabs, because he came with a new religion?” And then he left.
The noble Arwa , who helped the Messenger of God ﷺ in word and deed, migrated to Medina and passed into the next world around the 15th year of the Hijra (Muslim calendar).
