"respect" of women islamic style - Umm Qirfa's story

Submitted by Margaret (Poland), Oct 6, 2009 at 13:37

Umm Qirfa was an old Arab woman contemporaneous to Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. She belonged to a pagan tribe named Banu Fazara at Wadi Al-Qurra. This old woman who was also a chief of her clan was brutally killed when Muhammad's followers raided her tribe and won over them.

Ibn Ishaq, the first authentic biographer of Muhammad gives the details of incidents in his Sirat Rasul Allah:
Note- Zaid bin Haritha is adopted son of the Prophet...

Zayd B. Haritha's raid on Banu Fazara and the Death of Umm Qirafa

Zayd also raided Wadi-l-Qurra where he met Banu Fazara and some of his companions were killed; he himself carried wounded from the field. Ward b. Amr b. Madash one of B. Sad b. Hudhayl was killed by one of B. Badr whose name Sa'd b. Hudhaym. When Zayd came he swore that he would use no ablution until he raided B. Fazara; and when he recovered from his wounds the apostle sent him against them with a force.

He fought them in Wadi-al-Qura and killed some of them. Qays b. al-Musahhar al-Yamuri killed Mas'ada b. Hakama b. Malik b. Hudhayfa b. Badr and Umm Qirfa Fatima was taken prisoner. She was a very old woman, wife of Malik. Her daughter and Abdulla b. Mas'ada were also taken. Zaid ordered Qays b al-Musahhar to kill Umm Qirfa and he killed her cruelly. [Ibn Ishaq 980]

"And he killed her cruelly". It is of the cruel method holy warriors of Muhammad espoused to kill Umm Qirfa Tabari mentions as: "By putting a rope into her two legs and to two camels and driving them until they rent her in two." [The History of al-Tabari: the Victory of Islam, trans. Michael Fishbein, vol. 8, SUNYP, 1997, pp. 95-97]

Ibn Ishaq continues:

Then they brought Umm Qirfa's daughter and Mas'ada's son to the apostle. The daughter of Umm Qirfa belonged to Salama b. Amr b. al-Akwa who had taken her. She held a position of honor among her people, and the Arabs used to say, "Had you been more powerful than Umm Qirfa you could have done no more". Salama asked the apostle to let him have her and he gave her to him and he presented her to his uncle Hazn b. Abu Wahb and she bare him Abdul-Rahman . Hazn. [Ibn Ishaq 980]

This incident shows not only the brutality of the first muslims, the very companions of the Prophet himself ( or did they distorted / hijacked the religion of peace ?) but olso the fact that Mohammed in fact degraded the position of women- even in his own native Arabian peninsula women enjoyed more rights before his "revelations" poisoned the hearts and minds...

The animated version (with refernces) of this incident is avaliable on youtube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXfZWJTZsrw

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