Sawda bint Zamʿa

سودة بنت زمعة

Umm al-Aswad

Sawda bint Zamʿa was an early Qurashī Companion from Banū ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy and one of the wives of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. She and her first husband, al-Sakrān ibn ʿAmr, accepted Islam early and joined the second Muslim migration to Abyssinia before returning to Mecca. After al-Sakrān’s death, Sawda was left with several children. Following Khadīja’s death, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ married her in Mecca in the tenth year of Prophethood, around 620 CE; specialist biography presents her as his only wife for roughly three years before his marriage to ʿĀʾisha was consummated in Medina. Canonical hadith preserves several distinctive episodes from her life: her recognizable appearance forms part of reports surrounding the hijab rules; during the Farewell Pilgrimage she received permission to leave Muzdalifa early because movement in the crowd was difficult for her; and when she grew old she gave her marital turn to ʿĀʾisha, a fact preserved independently in Bukhari, Muslim and Ibn Mājah. ʿĀʾisha remembered Sawda with affection. Classical biography also describes her generosity and charitable giving. The chronology of her death is disputed: TDV prefers 23 AH / 644 CE and rejects the later 54 AH report as less reliable, so no single death year is forced into the core record.

Names and variants

Sawda bint Zamʿa· canonicalSawda bint Zamʿa· canonicalسودة بنت زمعة· canonicalUmm al-Aswad· kunyaأم الأسود· kunyaSawda bint Zamʿa ibn Qays· birth nameسودة بنت زمعة بن قيس· birth nameSawda bint Zamʿa ibn Qays al-Qurashiyya· variantسودة بنت زمعة بن قيس القرشية· variantal-Qurashiyya· nisbaالقرشية· nisbaUmm al-Muʾminīn· laqabأم المؤمنين· laqabSauda bint Zama· transliterationSawda bint Zamʿa· transliterationSevde bint Zemʿa· transliteration

Sawda bint Zamʿa

Sawda bint Zamʿa was an early Qurashī Companion, an emigrant to Abyssinia and one of the wives of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Her biography is especially well documented for her marriage, her relationship with ʿĀʾisha, her role in canonical reports surrounding hijab, and her permission to leave Muzdalifa early during the Farewell Pilgrimage.

Name and identity

She is known as Sawda bint Zamʿa ibn Qays al-Qurashiyya. Classical sources also transmit the kunya Umm al-Aswad.

The kunya Umm al-Aswad

Biographical and transmitter sources record Umm al-Aswad as a kunya associated with Sawda. Her personal name, however, remained the form most widely used in hadith literature.

Quraysh and Banū ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy

Sawda belonged through her father to Banū ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy of Quraysh. Specialist biography notes that her paternal lineage met that of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ at ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy.

Her father Zamʿa ibn Qays

Her father was Zamʿa ibn Qays of Banū ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy. The family belonged to the Meccan Qurashī environment in which Sawda first encountered Islam.

Her mother Shamūs bint Qays

Her mother was Shamūs bint Qays, whose lineage was connected with Banū al-Najjār of Medina.

Marriage to al-Sakrān ibn ʿAmr

Sawda first married her cousin al-Sakrān ibn ʿAmr. Classical biography places both husband and wife among the early Muslims.

An early conversion

Specialist and classical biographies count Sawda among those who accepted Islam in the Meccan period before the migration to Medina.

The second migration to Abyssinia

Sawda and al-Sakrān joined the second Muslim migration to Abyssinia because of the pressure directed against the early believers in Mecca.

Return to Mecca

They later returned to Mecca after hearing a false report that leading Qurashites had accepted Islam. The couple therefore re-entered a still-hostile Meccan environment.

Children from the first marriage

Specialist biography reports that Sawda had five children from her first marriage. Details about their individual biographies are much less secure than the general report that she was left with several children.

Widowhood

After al-Sakrān died, Sawda was left in Mecca as a widow with children. Her situation formed the immediate context for the later marriage proposal from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Khawla bint Ḥakīm’s recommendation

Specialist biography reports that Khawla bint Ḥakīm, wife of ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn, suggested Sawda as a possible wife after the death of Khadīja.

The proposal from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ proposed marriage to Sawda after Khadīja’s death. Biographical tradition reports that Sawda expressed concern that her children might inconvenience him, but he accepted the marriage.

Marriage around 620 CE

TDV places the marriage in the tenth year of Prophethood, approximately 620 CE, while Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was still in Mecca.

The reported mahr

Specialist biography reports a mahr of 400 dirhams for the marriage. This amount belongs to biographical tradition rather than to the strongest canonical reports about Sawda.

His only wife for roughly three years

According to specialist biography, Sawda was the only wife living with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for roughly three years after Khadīja’s death, until the marriage with ʿĀʾisha was consummated in Medina.

Care for Fāṭima and Umm Kulthūm

TDV reports that Sawda helped care for Fāṭima and Umm Kulthūm, who were still young after Khadīja’s death. This detail comes from biographical tradition.

Migration to Medina

After Prophet Muhammad ﷺ migrated, Sawda joined the Medinan household and lived there as one of the Mothers of the Believers.

Mother of the Believers

As a wife of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Sawda held the Qurʾānic status of Mother of the Believers. Canonical reports preserve her place within the household across the Medinan period.

A distinctive physical description

Canonical and biographical reports describe Sawda as tall, large-framed and slow in movement. These descriptions are relevant to several hadiths in which she was easily recognized or sought special accommodation in crowds.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical account, [2] Biographical or historical account, [3] Biographical or historical account, [4] Biographical or historical account, [5] Biographical or historical account, [6] Biographical or historical account, [7] Biographical or historical account, [8] Biographical or historical account, [18] Sawda described as tall, [20] Sawda described as slow in movement

The hijab report in Bukhari 146

Sahih al-Bukhari 146 reports that Sawda went out at night and was recognized by ʿUmar because of her height. The narration connects the episode with the revelation of hijab-related rules.

Permission to go out for needs

Sahih al-Bukhari 4795 preserves a related report in which Sawda, after being recognized by ʿUmar, told Prophet Muhammad ﷺ what had happened; revelation followed, and he stated that women had been permitted to go out for their needs.

The Farewell Pilgrimage

Sawda took part in the Farewell Pilgrimage. Her experience there became a canonical precedent concerning the movement of vulnerable or slow pilgrims from Muzdalifa.

Permission to leave Muzdalifa early

Bukhari 1680–1681 and Muslim 1290a–c establish that Sawda asked Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for permission to leave Muzdalifa before the crowd because movement was difficult for her, and he granted it.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical account, [2] Biographical or historical account, [3] Biographical or historical account, [4] Biographical or historical account, [5] Biographical or historical account, [6] Biographical or historical account, [7] Biographical or historical account, [8] Biographical or historical account, [10] Parallel Muslim report, [11] Parallel Muslim report, [12] Parallel Bukhari report, [20] Sawda receives permission to leave Muzdalifa early, [23] Parallel Muslim report

Early departure toward Mina

The canonical reports state that Sawda departed before the main crowd. ʿĀʾisha later said she wished she had sought the same permission because of the hardship of remaining until the general departure.

Giving her marital turn to ʿĀʾisha

When Sawda became old, she gave her allotted day with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to ʿĀʾisha. This is independently preserved in Bukhari, Muslim and Ibn Mājah.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical account, [2] Biographical or historical account, [3] Biographical or historical account, [4] Biographical or historical account, [5] Biographical or historical account, [6] Biographical or historical account, [7] Biographical or historical account, [8] Biographical or historical account, [9] Parallel sahih report, [13] Parallel Bukhari report, [14] Direct marital-turn report, [16] Sawda gives her day to ʿĀʾisha, [21] Sawda gives day and night to ʿĀʾisha

Bukhari 5212

Sahih al-Bukhari 5212 states directly that Sawda gave her turn to ʿĀʾisha and that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then allotted ʿĀʾisha both her own day and Sawda’s day.

Muslim 1463

Sahih Muslim 1463a–b preserves the same act and adds ʿĀʾisha’s affectionate description of Sawda. The report explicitly connects the transfer of Sawda’s day with her old age.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical account, [2] Biographical or historical account, [3] Biographical or historical account, [4] Biographical or historical account, [5] Biographical or historical account, [6] Biographical or historical account, [7] Biographical or historical account, [8] Biographical or historical account, [16] ʿĀʾisha’s praise and transfer of the day, [17] Parallel Muslim report

A legal precedent on marital turns

Later jurists used these reports as evidence that a wife may voluntarily give her allotted marital turn to another co-wife, provided the arrangement is accepted within the marriage.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical account, [2] Biographical or historical account, [3] Biographical or historical account, [4] Biographical or historical account, [5] Biographical or historical account, [6] Biographical or historical account, [7] Biographical or historical account, [8] Biographical or historical account, [14] Canonical precedent for giving a marital turn, [16] Parallel canonical precedent

The reported link with Qurʾān 4:128

Some biographical and exegetical traditions connect Sawda’s concern about possible divorce and her transfer of her day to ʿĀʾisha with Qurʾān 4:128. The canonical hadiths establish the transfer of her day but do not by themselves prove that this verse was revealed specifically about Sawda.

Relationship with ʿĀʾisha

Sawda and ʿĀʾisha were co-wives, and the strongest reports indicate a warm relationship. Sawda’s gift of her day to ʿĀʾisha became one of the most memorable episodes connecting them.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical account, [2] Biographical or historical account, [3] Biographical or historical account, [4] Biographical or historical account, [5] Biographical or historical account, [6] Biographical or historical account, [7] Biographical or historical account, [8] Biographical or historical account, [16] Affectionate description and marital-turn transfer

ʿĀʾisha’s praise of Sawda

Sahih Muslim 1463a records ʿĀʾisha saying that she found no woman whose character she more wished to resemble than Sawda.

The honey episode

Bukhari 6972 and Muslim 1474b include Sawda in the household episode in which ʿĀʾisha coordinated a response concerning honey and the smell of maghāfīr. The episode belongs to the transmitted background of the opening of Sūrat al-Taḥrīm.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical account, [2] Biographical or historical account, [3] Biographical or historical account, [4] Biographical or historical account, [5] Biographical or historical account, [6] Biographical or historical account, [7] Biographical or historical account, [8] Biographical or historical account, [15] Sawda participates in honey episode, [19] Parallel Muslim honey report

Sawda’s reaction after the honey episode

The canonical report portrays Sawda as reluctant at first and later regretful that the arrangement had deprived Prophet Muhammad ﷺ of the honey he liked.

Charitable giving

Classical biography repeatedly associates Sawda with generosity toward poor and vulnerable people. These reports form an important part of her later ethical memory.

Leatherwork

Ibn Ḥajar and specialist biography report that Sawda was skilled in working leather, including a style associated with Ṭāʾif, and that she used earnings to help others.

The purse sent by ʿUmar

Ibn Saʿd preserves a report that during his caliphate ʿUmar sent Sawda a purse of dirhams and that she directed the money to be distributed in charity.

Memory of generosity

Later biography presents Sawda’s generosity as a stable trait rather than a single episode. Care is needed, however, not to confuse her charitable reputation with reports specifically identifying Zaynab bint Jaḥsh as the first wife to die after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Few reports despite long companionship

Although Sawda lived close to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ from the Meccan period onward, relatively few hadiths are transmitted directly from her.

Approximately five hadiths

TDV, following Ibn Ḥazm, states that only about five hadiths are transmitted from Sawda.

Those who transmitted from her

Classical sources list transmitters including Abū Hurayra, Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr, ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār and ʿIkrima.

Travel after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Biographical tradition reports that after the Farewell Pilgrimage Sawda avoided long journeys, even for pilgrimage, in response to advice attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that his wives were better remaining in their homes.

Care in following Prophetic instruction

Later Muslim biography remembered Sawda for strictness in following instructions she understood from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, including her reluctance to undertake later travel.

Life after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Sawda survived Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and continued to live in Medina. The exact length of this post-Prophetic period is one of the disputed points in her chronology.

Preferred death date: 23 AH

TDV prefers 23 AH for Sawda’s death and treats the later chronology as less reliable.

Approximate CE equivalent: 644

The preferred 23 AH chronology corresponds approximately to 644 CE.

The alternative 54 AH chronology

Some later sources place Sawda’s death in 54 AH / 674 CE, during the Umayyad period. The specialist TDV biography explicitly considers this later date inaccurate.

Why the death chronology remains visible as disputed

Because authoritative biographical sources preserve conflicting chronologies, the later date should not simply be erased. The preferred record is 23 AH / 644 CE, while 54 AH / 674 CE remains a disputed alternative.

Funeral prayer attributed to ʿUmar

Under the preferred 23 AH chronology, biographical tradition reports that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb led Sawda’s funeral prayer.

Burial at al-Baqīʿ

Specialist biography reports that Sawda was buried in al-Baqīʿ cemetery in Medina.

Age at marriage

TDV reports that Sawda was over fifty when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ married her. This age is biographical rather than fixed by a canonical hadith date.

Different layers of evidence

Sawda’s biography combines strong canonical reports about household turns, hijab-related episodes and pilgrimage accommodation with classical biographical material about her early migration, children, charity and death chronology.

What is most securely established

The strongest evidence establishes Sawda as a wife of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, a participant in the Farewell Pilgrimage, the woman given permission to leave Muzdalifa early, and the co-wife who voluntarily gave her marital turn to ʿĀʾisha.

Historical significance

Sawda’s life links the earliest Meccan converts and the Abyssinian migration with the Prophetic household in Medina. Her canonical reports also became important evidence in later discussions of marital rights, women’s movement and pilgrimage accommodation.

Early migrant and Mother of the Believers

Sawda bint Zamʿa should be remembered as an early Muslim migrant, widow and mother who entered the Prophetic household after Khadīja’s death, maintained a warm relationship with ʿĀʾisha, and appears in several legally significant canonical reports. Her death date remains source-sensitive and is therefore presented with an explicit preferred chronology and alternative tradition.

Source-sensitive points

established

Classical genealogy and specialist biography establish Sawda bint Zamʿa as a Qurashī woman from Banū ʿĀmir ibn Luʾayy.

reported

Specialist and classical biographies report that Sawda and her first husband al-Sakrān ibn ʿAmr accepted Islam during the early Meccan period.

reported

Biographical sources report that Sawda and al-Sakrān joined the second Muslim migration to Abyssinia and later returned to Mecca.

reported

Specialist biography reports that after al-Sakrān’s death Sawda remained a widow in Mecca with several children, conventionally reported as five.

probable

TDV places Sawda’s marriage to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the tenth year of Prophethood, approximately 620 CE, after Khadīja’s death.

reported

Specialist biography reports that Sawda was the only wife living with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for roughly three years before his marriage with ʿĀʾisha was consummated in Medina.

reported

TDV reports that Sawda helped care for Fāṭima and Umm Kulthūm after Khadīja’s death; this is a biographical report rather than a canonical hadith claim.

established

Sahih al-Bukhari 146 and 4795 preserve episodes in which Sawda was recognized by ʿUmar because of her distinctive appearance, within reports concerning hijab and women going out for their needs.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical assessment, [2] Biographical or historical assessment, [3] Biographical or historical assessment, [4] Biographical or historical assessment, [5] Biographical or historical assessment, [6] Biographical or historical assessment, [7] Biographical or historical assessment, [8] Biographical or historical assessment, [18] Sawda recognized by ʿUmar in hijab-related report, [22] Related post-hijab outing report

established

Sahih al-Bukhari 4795 explicitly preserves Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stating, after Sawda reported being recognized outside, that women had been permitted to go out for their needs.

established

Bukhari 1680–1681 and Muslim 1290a–c establish that Sawda received permission from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to leave Muzdalifa early because movement in the crowd was difficult for her.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical assessment, [2] Biographical or historical assessment, [3] Biographical or historical assessment, [4] Biographical or historical assessment, [5] Biographical or historical assessment, [6] Biographical or historical assessment, [7] Biographical or historical assessment, [8] Biographical or historical assessment, [10] Parallel Muslim report, [11] Parallel Muslim report, [12] Parallel Bukhari report, [20] Permission to leave Muzdalifa early, [23] Parallel Muslim report

established

Bukhari 2593, 2688 and 5212, Muslim 1463a–b and Ibn Mājah 1972 establish that Sawda voluntarily gave her marital turn to ʿĀʾisha.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical assessment, [2] Biographical or historical assessment, [3] Biographical or historical assessment, [4] Biographical or historical assessment, [5] Biographical or historical assessment, [6] Biographical or historical assessment, [7] Biographical or historical assessment, [8] Biographical or historical assessment, [9] Parallel sahih report, [13] Parallel Bukhari report, [14] Direct marital-turn report, [16] Parallel Muslim report, [17] Parallel Muslim report, [21] Sawda gives day and night to ʿĀʾisha

established

Sahih Muslim 1463a preserves ʿĀʾisha saying that she knew no woman whose character she more wished to resemble than Sawda.

established

Bukhari 6972 and Muslim 1474b preserve Sawda’s participation in the honey and maghāfīr episode alongside ʿĀʾisha and other wives of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Sources: [1] Biographical or historical assessment, [2] Biographical or historical assessment, [3] Biographical or historical assessment, [4] Biographical or historical assessment, [5] Biographical or historical assessment, [6] Biographical or historical assessment, [7] Biographical or historical assessment, [8] Biographical or historical assessment, [15] Honey episode, [19] Parallel Muslim honey report

reported

Classical biographies portray Sawda as notably generous and report that she distributed gifts and money to the poor.

reported

Ibn Ḥajar and specialist biography report that Sawda practiced leatherwork and used earnings from it in charitable giving.

reported

The TDV specialist biography, following Ibn Ḥazm, states that approximately five hadiths are transmitted directly from Sawda.

uncertain

Some biographical and exegetical traditions connect Sawda’s concern about divorce and her transfer of her day to ʿĀʾisha with Qurʾān 4:128, but the canonical reports establishing the transfer do not themselves prove that the verse was revealed specifically about Sawda.

probable

The TDV specialist biography prefers 23 AH / 644 CE for Sawda’s death in Medina and treats this as stronger than the later chronology.

disputed

Some sources transmit 54 AH / 674 CE as Sawda’s death date; TDV explicitly judges this later chronology inaccurate, so it is retained only as a disputed alternative.

reported

Under the preferred 23 AH chronology, specialist biography reports that ʿUmar led Sawda’s funeral prayer and that she was buried in al-Baqīʿ cemetery in Medina.

Relationships

Muhammad ﷺ

spouse · established

ʿAʾisha bint Abi Bakr

other · established

ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab

other · established

Fatima al-Zahra

other · reported

ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbas

student · reported

Contributions

Witness to the earliest Muslim migration experience

Sawda’s biography preserves the experience of an early Qurashī couple who accepted Islam, migrated to Abyssinia under pressure and later returned to Mecca. Her later widowhood and remarriage connect that migration history directly with the Prophetic household.

social · reported

Canonical precedent for voluntarily giving a marital turn

Bukhari, Muslim and Ibn Mājah independently preserve Sawda giving her allotted day to ʿĀʾisha. The episode became a clear juristic precedent concerning voluntary transfer of a marital turn between co-wives.

religious · established

A canonical precedent for pilgrimage accommodation

Bukhari and Muslim establish that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ allowed Sawda to leave Muzdalifa before the main crowd because movement was difficult for her. The report became evidence for accommodating vulnerable or slow pilgrims.

religious · established

Charitable generosity in later biographical memory

Classical biographies repeatedly remember Sawda for generosity, including reports that she used earnings from leatherwork and gifts received from ʿUmar for charitable distribution.

social · reported

A small but legally significant hadith legacy

Only a small number of reports are transmitted directly from Sawda, but several concern matters with lasting legal significance, especially marital turns, pilgrimage movement and women’s need to go outside.

scholarly · reported

Sources

[1]
Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ
al-Dhahabī · Classical biographical source
[2]
Al-Iṣāba fī tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba
Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalānī · Classical companion biographical source
[3]
Usd al-ghāba fī maʿrifat al-ṣaḥāba
Ibn al-Athir · Classical companion biographical source
[4]
Ansāb al-ashrāf
al-Baladhuri · Classical historical-genealogical source
[5]
al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā
Ibn Saʿd · Classical biographical source
[6]
al-Muʿjam al-kabīr
al-Ṭabarānī · Classical hadith-biographical source
[7]
Asmāʾ al-ṣaḥāba al-ruwāt
Ibn Ḥazm · Classical biographical source
[8]
SEVDE
Aynur Uraler · TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi · 2009
[9]
Sunan Ibn Majah 1972
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[10]
Sahih Muslim 1290 b
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[11]
Sahih Muslim 1290 c
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[12]
Sahih al-Bukhari 1681
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[13]
Sahih al-Bukhari 2688
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[14]
Sahih al-Bukhari 5212
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[15]
Sahih al-Bukhari 6972
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[16]
Sahih Muslim 1463 a
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[17]
Sahih Muslim 1463 b
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[18]
Sahih al-Bukhari 146
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[19]
Sahih Muslim 1474 b
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[20]
Sahih al-Bukhari 1680
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[21]
Sahih al-Bukhari 2593
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[22]
Sahih al-Bukhari 4795
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[23]
Sahih Muslim 1290 a
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus

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