The women of the Sahaba
Women of the Companions
Women of his family and the Companions: the wives of the Prophet ﷺ, his daughters and relatives, and the women who believed in Makkah, migrated, taught, nursed the wounded and gave what they had. Here are 43 of them, with a link to each life.
This page gathers the women on Prophetic Footsteps in three groups: the 11 wives of the Prophet ﷺ, the women of his family, and the women Companions. Some believed in Makkah when it cost them everything, some migrated to Abyssinia and Madinah, and some were teachers of the early community.
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was the first person to believe in his message, and Sumayyah bint Khayyat is remembered as the first martyr. Hafsah and al-Shifa bint Abdullah could read and write, and al-Shifa taught Hafsah.
His wives, the Mothers of the Believers
11 peopleKhadijah bint Khuwaylid
First wife · first to believe
Died 619 CE
خديجةRead profileSawdah bint Zam'ah
Kind-hearted · early believer
Married the Prophet ﷺ c. 620 CE
سودةRead profileAishah bint Abi Bakr
The scholar of the household
Died 58 AH (678 CE)
عائشةRead profileHafsah bint Umar
Keeper of the Quran's first pages
Married the Prophet ﷺ c. 3 AH
حفصةRead profileZaynab bint Khuzaymah
Mother of the Poor
Married the Prophet ﷺ c. 3 AH; died c. 4 AH
زينب بنت خزيمةRead profileUmm Salamah, Hind bint Abi Umayyah
Wise counsellor
Married the Prophet ﷺ c. 4 AH
أم سلمةRead profileZaynab bint Jahsh
Generous with her own hands
Died 20 AH (641 CE)
زينب بنت جحشRead profileJuwayriyah bint al-Harith
A blessing to her people
Married the Prophet ﷺ c. 5 or 6 AH
جويريةRead profileUmm Habibah, Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan
Faithful in exile
Married the Prophet ﷺ c. 6 or 7 AH
أم حبيبةRead profileSafiyyah bint Huyayy
Dignity after loss
Married the Prophet ﷺ 7 AH
صفيةRead profileMaymunah bint al-Harith
The last wife
Married the Prophet ﷺ 7 AH; died c. 51 AH
ميمونةRead profileWomen of his family
3 peopleFatimah bint Muhammad
Daughter of the Prophet ﷺ
Died 11 AH (632 CE)
فاطمةRead profileAminah bint Wahb
The Prophet's ﷺ mother, who was widowed before he was born and died when he was six
Died at al-Abwa, when the Prophet ﷺ was about six
آمنة بنت وهبRead profileHalimah as-Sa'diyyah
The Prophet's ﷺ foster mother, who took the orphan no one else wanted
Lived among the Banu Sa'd, and met him again after Hunayn (8 AH)
حليمة السعديةRead profileWomen Companions
29 peopleSumayyah bint Khayyat
The first martyr
Killed in the early years of the call in Makkah
سميةRead profileAsma bint Abi Bakr
She of the two belts
c. 595 CE to 73 AH (692 CE)
أسماءRead profileUmm Sulaym
Her dowry was Islam
Died in the time of Uthman (the year is not certain)
أم سليم بنت ملحانRead profileNusaybah bint Ka'b
Umm Umarah, who fought for the Prophet ﷺ
Lived to the caliphate of Umar (the year is not certain)
نسيبة بنت كعبRead profileUmm Haram bint Milhan
The martyr of the sea
Died in Cyprus, on the first Muslim naval expedition, about 27 to 28 AH (sources differ)
أم حرام بنت ملحانRead profileAsma bint Yazid
The spokeswoman of the women of Madinah
Lived in Madinah and Syria; the year of her death is not recorded firmly
أسماء بنت يزيدRead profileUmm Waraqah bint Abdullah
Memorised the Quran, called the martyr
Killed in Madinah in the time of Umar (before 23 AH)
أم ورقة بنت عبد اللهRead profileKhawla bint Hakim
She carried the Prophet's ﷺ proposals
Lived in Makkah and Madinah (the year of her death is not recorded)
خولة بنت حكيمRead profileUmm Ma'bad
The Bedouin woman who gave the best-known description of the Prophet ﷺ
Lived in the Prophet's ﷺ time (the dates of her birth and death are not recorded)
أم معبدRead profileUmm Mahjan
The woman who swept the Prophet's ﷺ mosque
Died in the Prophet's ﷺ lifetime (the year is not recorded)
أم محجنRead profileFatimah bint Qays
The woman whose divorce became a source of law
The year and place of her death are not clearly recorded
فاطمة بنت قيسRead profileUmm Ayman
The Prophet's ﷺ nurse, who he called his mother after his mother
Died in Madinah, in the time of Umar or Uthman (sources differ)
أم أيمنRead profileSafiyyah bint Abdul-Muttalib
The Prophet's ﷺ aunt, who brought a shroud for her brother Hamzah
Died in Madinah, about 20 AH (641 CE; sources differ)
صفية بنت عبد المطلبRead profileAl-Shifa' bint Abdullah
The Companion who could write, and who taught the Prophet's ﷺ wife Hafsah
Died in Madinah, in the time of Umar (sources differ)
الشفاء بنت عبد اللهRead profileMariya al-Qibtiyyah
The Copt from Egypt who bore the Prophet's ﷺ son Ibrahim
Died in Madinah, about 16 AH (637 CE; sources differ)
مارية القبطيةRead profileSubay'ah bint al-Harith
The widow whose question to the Prophet ﷺ settled the waiting period of a pregnant widow
Widowed at the Farewell Hajj, 10 AH (632 CE); the year of her death is not recorded here
سبيعة بنت الحارث الأسلميةRead profileAtikah bint Zayd
Daughter of Zayd ibn Amr, married in turn to five men of the first generation
Died in Madinah, in the caliphate of Mu'awiyah (sources differ)
عاتكة بنت زيدRead profileRaytah bint al-Harith
The woman who died with three of her children on the road from Abyssinia to Madinah
Died on the road from Abyssinia to Madinah (the year is not recorded firmly)
ريطة بنت الحارثRead profileHamnah bint Jahsh
The sister of Zaynab, who lost her brother, uncle and husband at Uhud and fell into the slander against Aishah
Died in Madinah (the year is not recorded firmly)
حمنة بنت جحشRead profileSalma Umm Rafi
The midwife of the Prophet's ﷺ household, freed by him
Lived in Madinah; the year of her death is not recorded
سلمى أم رافعRead profileZinnirah
The slave woman beaten blind by Abu Jahl, whose sight was given back
Lived in Makkah; the year of her death is not recorded
زنيرةRead profileZaynab bint Muhammad
The Prophet's ﷺ eldest daughter, who stayed with her husband until he came to Islam
Died in Madinah, 8 AH (629 CE)
زينب بنت محمدRead profileZaynab bint Ali
The granddaughter of the Prophet ﷺ who stood firm after Karbala
Born about 5 AH (626 CE); the year and place of her death are disputed
زينب بنت عليRead profileUmm Kulthum bint Ali
The granddaughter of the Prophet ﷺ who married Umar
Died in Madinah, in the time of Mu'awiyah (sources differ)
أم كلثوم بنت عليRead profileAsh-Shayma bint al-Harith
The Prophet's ﷺ foster sister, who cared for him in the desert and met him again at Hunayn
Alive at Hunayn, 8 AH (630 CE)
الشيماء بنت الحارثRead profileDurrah bint Abi Lahab
Abu Lahab's daughter, who left her father's house for the Prophet ﷺ, and was defended by him from the pulpit
Emigrated to Madinah after the battle of Badr
درة بنت أبي لهبRead profileUmm Kulthum bint Uqbah
The daughter of one of the Prophet's ﷺ worst enemies, who left home alone for Madinah at the time of Hudaybiyyah
Died in Madinah, in the caliphate of Uthman
أم كلثوم بنت عقبةRead profileLubabah bint al-Harith
Umm al-Fadl, the wife of al-Abbas and mother of Ibn Abbas, one of the first women to accept Islam
Died in Madinah, in the caliphate of Uthman
لبابة بنت الحارثRead profileAnisah bint Adi
A daughter of the Abyssinian migrants, who came to Madinah on the Negus's boats after Khaybar
Came to Madinah from Abyssinia after Khaybar, 7 AH (628 CE)
أنيسة بنت عديRead profileMore on How to Muslim
Questions & answers
Questions about the women Companions
Short answers from this page, each with a link to read more.
Who was the first woman to accept Islam?
Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the first wife of the Prophet ﷺ, was the first person to believe in his message.
Read more: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Who was the first martyr in Islam?
Sumayyah bint Khayyat is remembered as the first martyr. She was killed in the early years of the call in Makkah, and her son was Ammar ibn Yasir.
Read more: Sumayyah bint Khayyat
Which women Companions could read and write?
Hafsah bint Umar, the Prophet’s ﷺ wife, was one of the few women of Makkah who could read and write. Al-Shifa bint Abdullah could write too, and she taught Hafsah.
Read more: Hafsah bint Umar Al-Shifa' bint Abdullah
Which women Companions are profiled on this site?
43 women, in three groups: his eleven wives, the women of his family, and the women Companions, such as Asma bint Abi Bakr, Nusaybah bint Ka’b and Umm Sulaym.
Read more: Women Companions