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Atiqah bint Abdul Muttalib was an aunt of the Islamic Prophet (Muhammad) Rasulullahﷺ.
She was born in Makkah,
the daughter of Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim and Fatimah bint Amr,
who was from the Makhzum clan of the Quraysh tribe.
She married ’Omar ibn Wahab
ibn ‘Abd al-’Uzza ibn Quayy ibn Kilab and had a son called Zuhair.
She married Abu Umayyah
ibn Al-Mughira of the Makhzum clan, thereby becoming the
stepmother of Umm Salama. Atiqah’s children were Abdullah, Zuhayr, and
Qurayba.
In March 624 she reported a frightening dream to her brother Abbas. She had dreamed that a camel had halted near Makkah and that its rider had shouted: "Come forth, O people, and do not leave your men to face a disaster that will come three days hence!" Then the man had climbed a mountain and thrown down a rock, which had shattered, spraying pieces on every building in the city. Abbas warned Atiqah not to tell anyone about this dream, but he told a friend, who told his father, and soon it was common knowledge in Makkah.
Abu Jahl asked Abbas: "Are you not satisfied that your men should play the prophet, that your women should do so also? Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه has predicted that there will be war in three days. If the three days pass and nothing happens, we will write you down as the greatest liars in Arabia." Three days later, a messenger from Abu Sufyan arrived in the valley, stood up on his camel, and tore his shirt, shouting: "O Quraysh, the merchant-camels, the merchant-camels! Muhammad and his companions are lying in wait for your property, which is with Abu Sufyan.
I do not think that you will
overtake it. Help! Help!" Thus alerted, the Quraysh armed themselves for
the Battle of Badr. However, Saidah Atiqah رضي
الله عنه brother Abu
Lahab did not join the army, saying he was afraid of Saidah Atiqah رضي الله
عنه predictive dream. Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه became
a Muslim in Makkah and joined the general emigration to Madinah.
She outlived Rasulullahﷺ
An elegy for whom is
attributed to her.
O eye! as long as you remain, shed tears
in floods, for the best of mankind, Ahmed.
O eye! prepare thyself to shed tears
and weeping for the light of the land, Muhammad ...
So weep for the blessed, favored by God, man of piety,
supporter of right and guided with guidance ...
Who will be left among us to receive revelations from Allah,
every evening of today and tomorrow?
The Ghazwah of Badr al-Kubra
is one of the most important events in the history of Islam. The Muslim army of
313 men was awarded a landslide victory, defeating the opponents numbering more
than 1000 men. This great battle took place on Friday 17 Ramadan of the 2nd
year of the hijrah coinciding with the first Ramadan prescribed fasting. The
history books do not record the direct involvement of women in this war.
Members of the team who set out with Rasulullahﷺ.
from Madinah on the 8th or 12th of Ramadan of the 2nd year of the hijrah all
men. They did not carry enough equipment for war.
With them were only two horses belonging to Zubayr bin al-‘Awwam رضي الله عنه and Miqdad bin al-Aswadرضي الله عنه, and 70 camels, each of which was shared by two or three people in turn. Rasulullahﷺ shared riding a camel in turns with Saiyidina Ali bin Abi Talib رضي الل and Marthad bin Abi Marthadرضي الل . Although no women were directly involved in this historic battle, there are a number of female names associated with this great event that can be drawn lessons about the position of women in the teachings of Islam. Among the names recorded to be related to Ghazwah Badr al-Kubra are:
Saidah Atiqah Binti Abdul Muttalib رضي الله عنهThree days before the arrival of Dhamdham bin ‘Amru al-Ghifari who was sent by Abu Sufyan to warn the Quraish about the departure of Rasulullahﷺ to block her caravan and seek help, Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه had a terrible dream; a camel rider entered Makkah shouting a voice asking them to prepare for the war that was to take place in three days. The camel rider entered the Masjid al-Haram, climbed the Kaaba, and then climbed to the top of the hill of Abi Quays. Then at the top of the Abi Qubays hill, he took a stone and threw it down. Upon reaching the foot of the hill, the rock shattered. The fragments of stone entered every house and dwelling in the city of Makkah.
No house is an exception. Saidah
Atiqah رضي الله عنه narrated her nightmare to her brother al-‘Abbas bin
Abdul Muttalib. Al-‘Abbas was convinced that it was a dream come true. He asks Saidah
Atiqah رضي الله عنه to keep the dream a secret and not to tell it to
anyone. Outside, al-‘Abbas met his close friend al-Walid bin ‘Utbah. He
narrated Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه 's dream
to al-Walid and asked al-Walid to keep it a secret. Al-Walid told his father,
'Utbah. Then the news spread to all corners of the land of Makkah. When the
news reached Abu Jahal, he arrogantly rejected the dream and said to al-’Abbas:
“O Bani Abdul Muttalib! Isn't it enough that your men claim to be prophets and
that women claim to be prophets? We'll see after three days. If what you claim
is true then it will happen.
If not, we will make a record
that your family is the most lying family!” The lesson: Women are often accused
of not being good at keeping secrets. But not all secrets are leaked by women.
And it is not only men who have the right to early information on matters
related to the interests of the people and the country.
The Dream of Atikah bint Abdul Muttalib
Events happening in Makkah before Damdam arrives to set the stage, and that
is the dream of Saidah Atiqah Binti Abdul Mutalib رضي الله عنه the full
sister of Abdullah and Abu Talib, and thus the full aunt of Rasulullahﷺ.
(Tangent: Did Atikah accept Islam or not? Ibn Ishaq mentions the only aunt of Rasulullahﷺ who accepted Islam is Safiyyah RA. However, Ibn Sa'd say
Atikah also accepted Islam. He said she migrated to Madinah after this and died
in Madinah. But truth be told, even Ibn Hajar finds this skeptical, because we
don't have a single report about anything from Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه after this dream - had
she converted, we would have heard of stories like we have heard from Safiyyah.
So Allah knows best. Ibn Sa'd say she converted, but Ibn Ishaq [who is the
earlier and greater authority] says none of the aunts of Rasulullahﷺ accepted Islam other than Safiyyah. One thing is for sure: We never hear of her
after this dream.)
So, Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه had a dream three days before Damdam's arrival, so the Makkans have
no clue what's going on. Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه woke up flustered and agitated, and she called her
brother Abbas (she was closest to him in age and bond), and said to him,
"I saw a dream that I am very concerned about." Abbas asked,
"What happened? Tell me." She said, "In my dream, I saw that in
three days, a crier will come to Makkah, racing on his camel, and he first goes
to the Kaaba and cries out, 'O you, traitors! Meet your death in three days
from now (i.e. 6 days from the point Atikah saw this dream),' and then the
crier is on top of the Kaaba and says the same thing.
Then he's on top of the
mountain of Abu Qubays (جبل أبي قبيس - which was the highest peak in the
immediate vicinity) and says the same thing." So he said the same thing
three times, "O traitor!" Note: Why is the Quraysh called traitors
in the dream? Because for the first time in Arab history, they've betrayed the
foundation of what they considered the most important to them, and that is
blood (tribes); they have not allowed their tribesmen to basically live with
them. Another opinion is that they are called traitors because they are
traitors to the religion of Ibrahim AS - and this is also plausible. Then Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه continues, "This crier picks up a large rock (from the mountain of
Abu Qubays), topples it down the mountain, it cracks up at the base, and it
keeps on rolling until it hits every house in Makkah."
What is the interpretation? It's obvious. Clearly, it's showing that
whatever announcement this man will make will cause the death of these traitors
in three days. And the rock hitting every house is a sign that every house
will be struck with a calamity. What calamity? The death of multiple people in
the household. Not a single household of the Quraysh was spared in the Battle
of Badr.
Abbas became very worried and said to Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه, "This dream is a very dangerous dream, and I am worried that if you tell it to people, you will get into trouble. So keep it to yourself. Don't tell anybody about this dream." (And it is said that Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه used to see true dreams like this regularly. And we know that seeing a true dream is something that Allah blesses some people with. E.g. The king at the time of Yusuf AS wasn't a Muslim, yet he saw these dreams.
[see Quran, 12:46].
These dreams can come to non-Muslims as well.) Abbas said don't tell anyone, yet he couldn't follow his own advice, he tells his best friend al-Walid ibn Utbah (الوليد بن عتبة) and says, "O al-Walid! Please don't tell anyone else." And al-Walid promised not to tell anybody, so Abbas told him of the dream. But then al-Walid goes and tells his father Utbah, and says, "Abbas made me promise not to tell anybody, so please don't tell anybody...," and told his father of the dream, so on and so forth, until within some time, all in Makkah knew about the dream. But Abbas still thinks nobody knows, because he has only told al-Walid.
And however you want to interpret
the dream, there are clear signs of doom and dread. The dream is clearly
against the Quraysh, so they are not too happy about it.
Official-narration:
In March 624, she reported a frightening dream to her brother Abbas. She had
dreamed that a camel had halted near Makkah and that its rider had shouted:
"Come forth, O people! And do not leave your men to face a disaster that
will come three days hence!" Then the man had climbed a mountain and
thrown down a rock, which had shattered, spraying pieces on every building in
the city. Abbas warned Atiqah not to tell anyone about this dream, but he told
a friend, who told his father, and soon it was common knowledge in Makkah.
Abu Jahal asked Abbas:
"Are you not satisfied that your men should play the prophet, that your
women should do so also? Atikah has predicted that there will be war in three
days. If the three days pass and nothing happens, we will write you down as the
greatest liars in Arabia!" Three days later, a messenger from Abu Sufyan
arrived in the valley, stood up on his camel, and tore his shirt, shouting:
"O Quraysh! The merchant-camels, the merchant-camels! Muhammad and his
companions are lying in wait for your property, which is with Abu Sufyan! I do
not think that you will overtake it! Help! Help!" Thus alerted, the
Quraysh armed themselves for the Battle of Badr. However, Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه's brother Abu
Lahab did not join the army, saying he was afraid of Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنه's predictive dream.
In any case, Abbas goes to sleep, and by the time he wakes up, everyone in the
city is gossiping. But he still doesn't know. So he goes about his business,
then as was their custom, does tawaf after Asr. But he sees Abu Jahal,
surrounded by his minions, and he says, "Ya Abbas, when you're done,
come here." So he does tawaf and then comes to Abu Jahal. Abu Jahal says,
"O children of Abdul Muttalib, since when did you get a female
prophetess?" He is being sarcastic. Abbas says, "What do you
mean?" He says, "Are you not satisfied that you have a man who claims
to be a prophet? Do you now want women to be predicting the future as well? If
it's true that a crier will come after three days, then it will happen; but if
it doesn't happen, then by Allah, we will make a sign and place it on the door
of the Kaaba that the Banu Abdul Muttalib are the most lying of the Arabs
known to men!" i.e. "We will publicly shame you!" Abbas narrates
this hadith himself later on, and he says he was caught off guard so he denied
everything.
But the news of what Abu Jahal did to Abbas humiliated the whole Banu Hashim
tribe. Thus the Banu Abdul Muttalib are fuming. Before Abbas even gets back to
his house, the women have already heard of what just happened (how news spreads!), so when he comes back, they begin lashing out at him, "Are
you not a man?! Could you not defend your own women? Have you no shame? You and
your sister and your tribe were dissed and you just stand there and take
it?" Until finally Abbas said he decided the next day to publicly refute
Abu Jahal. Now it's no longer a matter of dream, it's now a matter of
tribalism. And Abbas later narrates, "For the rest of the day, all the
women of Banu Abdul Muttalib came and had it out with me." So now he is
thinking, "What can I say tomorrow."
He wakes up the next day and goes to find Abu Jahal. And he narrates this first
person in the Mustadrak of al-Hakim, "When I came to the Kaaba, I saw Abu
Jahal in the distance. But as soon as he saw me, he turned pale, turned his
back to me, and walked away. I said, 'What is the matter with him? Doesn't he
have the courage to face me now?' I went to go face him when I finally saw what
had caused him to go pale." It's the third day. The crier has arrived and
Abu Jahal has already heard him. So Abu Jahal is so embarrassed he cannot even
face al-Abbas now. And of course, the crier is none other than Damdam - and to
give a dramatic effect.
Dammam mutilated his own camel (in one narration it's said he chopped its nose off, a'udhubiLlah!) and smeared the blood over the camel, had torn his clothes, looked disheveled, and entered Makkah riding backward - all of this to give the impression that he himself had also been attacked. And then he cried out, "O Quraysh, your caravan! O Quraysh, your caravan! Your property and money with Abu Sufyan are being attacked by Muhammad and his companions right now! And you will not be able to defend it unless you act immediately! S.O.S! S.O.S!" (And of course it is all a lie because as of yet, there is no actual attack happening.)
His announcement was
"come and fight," but Saidah Atiqah رضي الله عنهis saying, rather, this means "come
and meet your death."
1. ^ Muhammad
ibn Hisham Nota 97. Traducido por Guillaume, A. (1955). La vida de
Mahoma . Oxford: Prensa de la Universidad de Oxford.
2. ^ Al-Jibouri,
Yasin T. "Descendientes de los tíos paternos del
profeta". Muhammad, Mensajero de Paz y Tolerancia . Qum : Publicaciones
Ansariyan.
3. ↑ a b c Muhammad
ibn Saad, Tabaqat vol. 8. Traducido por Bewley, A.
(1995). Las mujeres de Medina . Londres: Ta-Ha Publishers.
4. ^ Muhammad
ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah . Traducido por Guillaume, A.
(1955). La vida de Mahoma . Oxford: Prensa de la Universidad
de Oxford.
5. ^ Muhammad
ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir . Traducido por Haq, SM
(1972). Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir Volumen II Partes I y II ,
págs. 416-417. Delhi: Kitab Bhavan.
- Atika
bint Aseed عاتكة بنت أسيد
- Atika
bint Khalid عاتكة بنت خالد
- Atika
bint Zayd عاتكة بنت زيد
- Atika
bint Abdul Muttalib عاتكة بنت عبد المطلب
- Atika
bint Awf عاتكة بنت عوف
- Atika
bint Nu`aim عاتكة بنت نعيم
- Atika bint al-Waleed عاتكة بنت الوليد
