Umm Ubays | |
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أُمُّ عُبَيْسٍ | |
Personal | |
Born | |
Died | |
Resting place | Medina |
Religion | Islam |
Umm ʿUbays ( Arabic: أُمُّ عُبَيْسٍ) or Umm ʿUmays was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
She was a slave in Mecca who became an early convert to Islam. After 614 she was tortured in an attempt to force her to renounce her faith. [1] Abu Bakr bought and manumitted her. It was in response to the purchase of these slaves that Abu Bakr's father protested: "I see that you are freeing weak slaves. Why don't you free powerful men who could defend you and protect you?" Abu Bakr replied, "I am only trying to do what I am attempting for God's sake." [2]
Umm Ubays had a sister, Harithah bint al-Muammil. [3]
It is sometimes asserted that Umm Ubays was the daughter of Al-Nahdiah. This is apparently due to the ambiguous wording of Ibn Saad. [4] However, Ibn Ishaq makes it clear that Umm Ubays and Al-Nahdiah's daughter were two different people, both of whom were purchased and manumitted by Abu Bakr. [5]