At a glance
Companions- Dates
- Died on the road from Abyssinia to Madinah (the year is not recorded firmly)
- Who
- An early Muslim woman of the Banu Taym, wife of al-Harith ibn Khalid, who migrated to Abyssinia, had four children there, and died on the way to the Prophet ﷺ
- Stages
- The Call in Makkah
ProfileRaytah bint al-Harith
Raytah (may Allah be pleased with her) was the daughter of al-Harith, of the Banu Taym of Quraysh, and the wife of al-Harith ibn Khalid. According to the early biographies, they were among the first forty or fifty people to accept Islam, a young couple without a powerful clan to protect them. According to the early biographies, they migrated to Abyssinia in the party led by Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, and all four of their children, Musa, Zaynab, Aishah and Fatimah, were born there.
According to the early biographies, when they heard of the Hijrah to Madinah, they set out from Abyssinia to join the Prophet ﷺ with their children. According to the early biographies, as they came near Madinah they drank some water on the way, and lay down to sleep, and in the morning al-Harith woke to find his wife and three of their four children dead. Only Fatimah was left. According to the early biographies, he went on to Madinah with her, and stayed with the Prophet ﷺ for the rest of his life.
According to the commentators, the verse that promises the reward to anyone who leaves his home as a migrant for Allah and His Messenger, and whom death overtakes on the way, was revealed about people like them, and some name Khalid ibn Hizam, a nephew of Khadijah, who died of a snake bite on the way to Abyssinia. The reward of such a person, the verse says, is certain with Allah.
WatchA lecture about Raytah bint al-Harith
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