Sayyidah Umm Ḥabībah (RA), whose name was Ramlah bint Abī Sufyān, was one of the honoured wives of Nabi Muhammad ﷺ and therefore a Mother of the Believers.…
Sayyidah Umm Ḥabībah (RA), whose name was Ramlah bint Abī Sufyān, was one of the honoured wives of Nabi Muhammad ﷺ and therefore a Mother of the Believers. She was among the early Muslims who migrated to Abyssinia, where she remained firm upon Islam despite the difficult circumstances she faced. Nabi Muhammad ﷺ later married her while she was in Abyssinia, with the marriage arranged through the Negus. She was also the sister of Sayyiduna Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān (RA) and narrated several hadith from Nabi Muhammad ﷺ. A small domed shrine within Bāb al-Ṣaghīr Graveyard in Damascus is traditionally attributed to her and was restored during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II. However, established historical accounts state that Sayyidah Umm Ḥabībah (RA) died in Madinah around 44 AH/664 CE and was buried in Jannat al-Baqīʿ. The Damascus site should therefore be described as a historic commemorative maqam traditionally associated with her rather than her confirmed grave.