THE FOUR GREAT WOMEN OF ISLAM

The Messenger of Allaah salallaahu alaihi wa salam drew four lines on the ground, then he said, “Do you know what this is?” We said, “Allaah and His Messenger know best.” The Messenger of Allaah salallaahu alaihi wa salam said: “The best of the women of Paradise are Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, Faatimah bint Muhammad, Aasiyah bint Mazaahim the wife of Pharaoh, and Maryam bint ‘Imraan – Radhiallaahu anhumaa ajma'een.

(Reported in the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad 2663 and it's Saheeh )

And also what was reported in Sunan at-Tirimdhee and is saheeh:

حسبك من نساء العالمين مريم ابنة عمران وخديجة بنت خويلد وفاطمة بنت محمد وآسية امرأة فرعون 

Sufficient for you among the women of the world are Maryam the daughter of ‘Imraan. Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, Faatimah bint Muhammad and Aasiyah the wife of Pharaoh.

Do you know what makes them so special ??

Why they are known as four greatest women in the entire world??

There is two thing common in all these four women.

1) A solid foundation , Strong Imaan(faith) in ALLAH and Yaqeen.

"Yaqeen" is a state of conviction , where nothing can bring doubt into the heart.

They had more faith in what they believed , than in what they see and hear.

They reached the level of Ihsaan (perfection in the faith in ALLAH).

2) They were either a good wife or good mother.

LET'S KNOW WHY THEY ARE CONSIDERED SO GREAT.

Aasiyah bint Mazaahim the wife of Pharaoh 

Asiyah and Mariyam both raised up the great Anbiya(prophet of ALLAH) i.e., Musa (عليه و سلم) and Eesa (عليه و سلم).

Asiyah was able to deal with ALLAH in the middle of evil.

One of these women was Aasiyah, the wife of Fir’own. Her eman in Allah thrived under the shadow of someone who said, “I am your Lord, Most High!” When news reached Fir’own of his wife’s eman, he beat her and commanded his guards to beat her. They took her out in the scalding noon heat, tied her hands and feet, and beat her perpetually. Who did she turn to? She turned to Allah! She prayed, “My Lord, build for me a home with you in Paradise, save me from Fir’own and his deeds, and save me from the transgressive people.”

It was narrated that when she said this, the sky opened for her and she saw her home in Paradise. She smiled. The guards watched astonished – she’s being tortured and she smiles? Frustrated, Fir’own commanded a boulder to be brought and dropped on Aasiyah( رضي الله عنه) to crush her to death. But Allah took her soul before the boulder was brought and she became an example for all the believing men and women till the end of time:

وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اِمْرَأَةَ فِرْعَوْنَ إِذْ قَالَتْ رَبِّ ابْنِ لِي عِندَكَ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَنَجِّنِي مِن فِرْعَوْنَ وَعَمَلِهِ وَنَجِّنِي مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ

And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Fir’own [Pharaoh] when she said, “My Lord, Build for me a home with You in Paradise, and save me from Fir’own and his deeds, and save me from the transgressive [disbelieving people] (At-Tahreem 66/11). 

Maryam bint ‘Imraan – Radhiallaahu anhumaa ajma'een 

Maryam( رضي الله عنه) accepted the qadar of ALLAH with faith.

And when the angels said: " Maryam, Allah has chosen you and purified you. He has chosen you over all other women. " (Qur'an, 3:42)

ALLAH Subhanahu wa Ta'ala honored Maryam( رضي الله عنه), who lived approximately two millon ago, with the birth of Prophet 'Isa alayhis 'salam.

ALLAH introduces Maryam( رضي الله عنه) as having the ideal Muslim woman's character. 

when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah ]. 

He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous." 

She said, "My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?" [The angel] said, "Such is Allah ; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is. 

And He will teach him writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel 

And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah . And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead - by permission of Allah . And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. 

And [I have come] confirming what was before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey me. 

Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the straight path."

(Quran 3:45-51) 

“And she who guarded her chastity, so We breathed (a spirit) into her through Our angel, and We made her and her son (Jesus) a sign for the worlds.”

 (Quran 21:91) 

And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She said, "Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten."

But he called her from below her, "Do not grieve; your Lord has provided beneath you a stream.

And shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree; it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates.

So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, 'Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.' "

Then she brought him to her people, carrying him. They said, "O Mary, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented.

O sister of Aaron, your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste."

So she pointed to him. They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?"

[Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah . He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.

And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive

And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant.

And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive."

(Quran 19:22-33) 

 Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid 

Khadeejah( رضي الله عنه) was an excellent wife.She supported Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) during his hardest times in life.When people thought that, what he said was strange, she believed in him.She supported him, encouraged him and believed in him with no doubt but Yaqeen!

She is known to us as Mother of the Believers (Ummul Momineen). And was the first person ever to accept Islam after it had been revealed to him by Jibreel (Angel Gabriel).

Khadija ( رضي الله عنه) was an "eye-witness" of the birth of Islam. She nursed it through its infancy, through its most difficult, and through its most formative years. Islam was given shape and design in her home. If any home can be called the cradle of Islam, it was her home. She "reared" Islam. If any home can be called the "axis" of Islam, it was her home; Islam revolved around her home. Her home was the "home" of Glorious Qur'an - the Book of Allah (SWT), and the religious and political code of Islam. It was in her home that Jibreel (Angel Gabriel) was bringing Revelations from Heaven for ten years. 

When Islam came under mounting pressure from its enemies,  Khadijah( رضي الله عنه) sacrificed her comforts, her wealth and her home for it; and now it would appear that she sacrificed her life too, in the way of Islam. Without a doubt, if she had lived in her palatial house in Makkah, surrounded by her maid-servants, she might have lived for many more years. But she preferred to stand by her husband and his clan, and to share the hardships of life with them. During the siege, she had to endure not only the pangs of hunger and thirst but also the extremes of heat in summer and cold in winter; yet she never complained to her husband about them. Whether times were good or bad, whether she had plenty or she had nothing, she was always cheerful. Austerity and privation never soured her. It was this temperament that was an unfailing source of comfort, courage and strength for her husband during the blackest and trying moments of his life. 

Prophet Muhammad (saw) forever remembered  Khadija ( رضي الله عنه) with love, affection and gratitude. Her death filled his heart with deep pain and sorrow. Khadija ( رضي الله عنه) expired on the 10 Ramadhan of the 10th year of the Proclamation of Islam at the age of 65 in 619 CE, and was laid to rest in Al-Hujun, Makkah al-Mukarramah.

Prophet Muhammad (saw) himself dug the grave and descended into her grave to lay in it for a few moments. He (saw) smoothed the earth on her grave after the burial.  

Faatimah bint Muhammad 

She was born five years before her father was sent as a Prophet. Mohammed was 35 years old when she was born. She was born during the year when the Ka’bah was being rebuilt. She became a Muslim when she was 5 years old, as soon as her father was sent as a Prophet. She was the youngest Muslim in Islam. 

What does the name Fatima mean? It comes from the word ‘fitam’ which means the one that is kept away from evil and bad character. Fatima has four nicknames. Does anyone know them? They are ‘Zahraa’, ‘Batuul’, ‘Umm al-hasan wal-husayn’ and the last is the nicest nickname ‘Ummu Abeeha’.

From the extent of her love and affection for the Prophet, and the fact that she was always with him and trying to defend him, just as a mother has these feeling towards her child, so she became known as ‘Umm Abeeha’ by the Sahaba and scholars. She was called Zahraa because she greatly resembled the Prophet in that she was white and her cheeks were a rosy, pink colour, or as some scholars say it is because she is the flower of the Prophets peace be upon him life. Why is she called Batuul? The word Batuul is used to refer to Maryam the mother of Jesus peace be upon him. Fatimas worship resembled Maryams worship as well as her modesty and so she was called Batuul. The Prophet said that, ‘Fatima is the sayidat of the women of Paradise after Maryam’.

When Fatimah( رضي الله عنه) come of age, there come forward a number of aspirants to ask for her hand in marriage. The Holy prophet was awaiting the Divine order in this respect, till Imam ` Ali approached him and asked for her hand in marriage. The Holy Prophet come to Hadrat Fatimah and asked, " My daughter ! Do you consent to be wedded to ` Ali, as I am so commanded by Allah ? " Hadrat Fatimah thereupon bowed her head in modesty. Umm Salamah narrates: " The face of Fatimah( رضي الله عنه) bloomed with joy and her silence was so suggestive and conspicuous that the Holy Prophet stood up reciting ` Allahu Akbar' ( Allah is most great ) . 

Hazrat Fatimah( رضي الله عنه) inherited the genius and wisdom, the determination and will - power, the piety and sanctity, the generosity and benevolence, the devotion and worship of Allah, the self - sacrifice and hospitality, the forbearance and patience, and the knowledge and nobility of disposition of her illustrious father , both in words and deeds. " I often witnessed my mother, "says Imam Husayn, " absorbed in preayer from dusk to down. "Her generosity and compassion for the poor was such that no destitute or beggar ever returned from her door unattended. 

She was a very loving daughter, an exceptional wife and a great slave of ALLAH.

This is what made these four women as the best women of the WORLD.They were not great because of their beauty. They were great with relationship with ALLAH, they were active, supporting, and were able to deal at times of trial. It's true that knowledge is important , if so, then Ayesha was greater in knowledge than khadija and Fathima.Yet it wasn't enough to make her one of the greatest women in the WORLD!.

We must think about our priority. We must understand where the greatest reward is.