Zaynab bint ʿĀmir ibn ʿUwaymir ibn ʿAbd Shams ibn ʿAttāb al-Farāsīyya al-Kinānīyya, known by her kunya "Umm Rūmān" (Arabic: أمّ رومان زينب بنت عامر ابن عويمر ابن عبد شمس ابن عتاب الفراسية الكنانية)[1] was among the followers or companions of Muhammad. She was a wife of Abu Bakr and the mother of Aisha, which made her the mother-in-law of the Prophet of Islam.[2][3]
Biography
Zaynab was the daughter of Amir ibn Uwaymir, a member of the Al-Harith ibn Ghanam clan of the Kinana tribe.[4] She married two times. First, she became the second wife of al-Ḥārith ibn Sakhbarah of the Azd tribe. Zaynab and al-Ḥārith had one son together, Tufayl ibn al-Harith.[5]
The family migrated to Mecca, where al-Harith became an ally of Abu Bakr. [1] Soon afterwards, al-Harith died, leaving Tufayl and his widowed mother completely dependent on Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr then married Umm Ruman around 601 CE.[5] They had two children together: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Aisha.[5]
Umm Ruman emigrated to Medina in 622, accompanied by her daughter Aisha and also by her stepchildren Asma and Abd Allah (children of Abu Bakr by other wives).[4]
Ibn Sa'd states that Umm Ruman died in Medina in April/May 628.[5][6] However, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani places her death in 630.[citation needed] As she was being lowered into her grave, Muhammad said, "Anyone who wants to know what a houri looks like should look at Umm Ruman."[5]
^Talhami, Ghada (2012). Historical Dictionary of Women in the Middle East and North Africa. pp. 632–634.
^Stone, Caroline (1985). The Embroideries of North Africa. p. 76. ...and perhaps it should not be forgotten that Aisha, the favourite wife of Muhammad, whose name means 'The Living One', was (death 627) the daughter of Umm Ruman, 'The Mother of the Pomegranate'.
^ abMuhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari. Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by Landau-Tasseron, E. (1998). Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors, pp. 171-172. Albany: State University of New York Press.
^ abcdeMuhammad ibn Saad, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir vol. 8. J by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina, p. 193. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
