At a glance
Companions- Dates
- Lived in Makkah; the year of her death is not recorded
- Who
- A slave woman of Makkah, tortured by Abu Jahl until she lost her sight, and freed by Abu Bakr
- Stages
- The Call in Makkah
ProfileZinnirah
Zinnirah (may Allah be pleased with her) was a slave woman in Makkah, owned by the clan of Makhzum, which was also Abu Jahl's clan, and so lay at his mercy. According to the early biographies, she accepted Islam early, and was one of the slaves whom Abu Jahl tortured, and he beat her so hard and so often that she lost her sight.
According to the early biographies, Abu Jahl said that it was al-Lat and al-Uzza who had blinded her, not him. According to the early biographies, she answered that they lied, that al-Lat and al-Uzza could neither benefit nor harm, and that all power belongs to Allah. According to the early biographies, Allah gave her sight back, and Quraysh said that it was only more of Muhammad's ﷺ sorcery.
According to the early biographies, Abu Bakr bought her and freed her, as he did with many of the slaves who were tortured for their faith, and she is counted among the slaves he freed before the Hijrah. Her later life is not recorded.
WatchA lecture about Zinnirah
Meet them inWhere they appear in the seerah
SourcesSources for this profile
The books, lectures and maps behind this page are listed on our Sources page.