It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that when Sayyidah Ruqayyah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the wife of Sayyiduna Uthman, passed away, Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). He greeted him with salam and found him grief-stricken, so he asked: "Has the death of Ruqayyah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), saddened you? Would you like to marry (my daughter) Hafsah bint Umar?" He gave no reply, so Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Umar! Perhaps Allah Almighty will grant you a son-in-law who is better for you than Uthman (meaning myself)." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married the daughter of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married Sayyidah Umm Kulthum to Sayyiduna Uthman. Before that, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) had also proposed for her, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) had not married her to them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best intercessor for Uthman (is Allah). I do not marry off my daughters (by my own choice); rather, it is Allah Almighty who marries them off."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) met Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) while he was grief-stricken. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "O Uthman! What is the matter with you?" He said: May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah! Has any person suffered the grief that has befallen me? The daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (Ruqayyah) has passed away, may Allah have mercy on her, and the bond of marriage-kinship that was between me and you has ended forever. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Uthman! Do you say this, when Jibril (peace be upon him) has conveyed to me, by the command of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, that I should marry you to her sister Umm Kulthum, with exactly the same dowry and exactly the same provisions?" So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) married her to him.

Ubaydullah bin Abi Ziyad says: I asked Imam al-Zuhri about silk, whether women may wear it or not. He said that Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to him that he saw a striped silk garment on Sayyidah Umm Kulthum (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs did not record it with these words; they recorded it in abridged form from the narration of Ibn Jurayj and Yunus bin Yazid from al-Zuhri.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyidah Umm Kulthum (may Allah be pleased with her), the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), said: "O Messenger of Allah! Is my husband (Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him) better, or the husband of Fatimah (Ali, may Allah be pleased with him)?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent, then said: "Your husband is one of those who love Allah and His Messenger, and whom Allah and His Messenger love." When she turned to go, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Come here. What did I say?" She said: You said that my husband loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes, and I will add something for you: I entered Paradise and saw his dwelling, and I did not find any of my Companions in a place higher than his dwelling."

It is narrated from Urwah bin al-Zubayr, who said: None of the daughters of Abdul Muttalib lived to see (the era of) Islam except Sayyidah Safiyyah. (The narrator) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) allotted her two shares (from the spoils of war), and she was the full sister of Sayyiduna Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib (through both father and mother).

It is narrated from Sa'id bin Kathir bin Ufayr, who said: Sayyidah Safiyyah bint Abdul Muttalib, the mother of Sayyiduna al-Zubayr bin al-Awwam, passed away in the year 20 AH; on the day she died she was seventy-three (73) years old. Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) led her funeral prayer, and she was buried in al-Baqi'.

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Umar (al-Waqidi), who said: The mother of Sayyidah Safiyyah bint Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim was Halah bint Wuhayb bin Abd Manaf bin Zuhrah bin Kilab; she was the maternal sister of Sayyiduna Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib. In the Jahiliyyah she was married to al-Harith bin Harb bin Umayyah bin Abd Shams, from whom her son Sayfi was born. Then after him, al-Awwam bin Khuwaylid bin Asad married her, from whom al-Zubayr, al-Sa'ib and Abd al-Ka'bah were born to her. She accepted Islam, pledged allegiance at the hand of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and emigrated to Madinah. She lived after the passing of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until the caliphate of Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and she narrated hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Safiyyah bint Abdul Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with her) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out for (the Battle of) Uhud, he (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his wives in a fortress called "Fari'" and left Sayyiduna Hassan bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) with them. Then some Jews came to the fortress intending to do some mischief, finding the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) unprotected. One of them climbed the wall of the fortress and came up over us. I said to Hassan: "Get up and kill him." He said: "By Allah! I do not have the courage for that; had I the courage, I would have been with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (on the battlefield)." I said to him: "Tie this sword onto my arm." He tied it, then I rose and struck him on the head and cut it off. I said to Hassan: "Take it by its ears and throw it down towards them (the Jews)." He said: "By Allah! I do not have the courage for that either." So I took hold of his head myself and threw it at them, at which they fell back in confusion, saying: "We knew that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would never leave his womenfolk alone with no (guard) with them." She says: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) charged against the polytheists, Hassan would also charge along with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (through his verses), while he was with us inside the fortress; then, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned back, he would likewise be with him (that is, supporting him in the form of verses). Meanwhile, Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) passed by us; his complexion had turned yellow, and he had been married only a few days before this event. He was reciting these rajaz verses: "Wait a little, so that the brave one may join the battle; there is no harm in death when the appointed time has come." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: "I did not see any man more courageous and more able to bear the burden than him on that day." This is a lengthy and gharib (rare) hadith with this chain, and it has also been narrated with a sahih (authentic) chain.

Hisham bin Urwah narrates from his father, and he from Sayyidah Safiyyah bint Abdul Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with her). Urwah heard her say: "I am the first woman who killed a man. I was in Hassan bin Thabit's fortress 'Fari'', and when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) dug the trench, Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) was with us among the women and children." Sayyidah Safiyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) related: "A Jew passed by us and began circling the fortress, so I said to Hassan: 'This Jew is circling the fortress, as you can see, and I fear that he will inform (the enemy) of our weak points, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions are occupied (in battle); so get up and kill him.'" Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "O daughter of Abdul Muttalib! May Allah forgive you. By Allah! You know that I am not the man for this task." Sayyidah Safiyyah says: "When he said that and I saw no (means of defence) in him, I tightened my waist-wrapper, took up a post of the fortress, went down, and struck that Jew with it again and again until I killed him. Then I came back into the fortress and said: 'O Hassan! Go down and strip him of his belongings (as spoils); nothing prevented me from stripping him except that he was a strange man.'" He said: "I have no need of his belongings." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it. An account of Sayyidah Arwa bint Abdul Muttalib, the paternal aunt of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); I have not found mention of her acceptance of Islam anywhere except in the book of Abu Abdullah al-Waqidi.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Barrah bint Abi Tajrah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: Quraysh did not object to the Duha (forenoon) prayer; rather, they objected to its timing. It was the way of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that when the time of Asr came, the Companions would disperse into the mountain passes and pray there alone or in twos. Once, Talib bin Umayr and Hatib bin Abd Shams were praying in the pass of Ajyad, keeping watch over one another, when suddenly Ibn al-Asda' and Ibn al-Ghaytalah, both of whom were extremely foul-mouthed and obscene, attacked them. They pelted them with stones for a long while until the two of them came out of there and, running swiftly, went to Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab and Uqbah bin Abi Mu'ayt and told them the whole story. Then these people devised a plan to ambush them in the morning. The Companions used to go out in the darkness before dawn, perform ablution and pray. While they were in a mountain pass, Abu Jahl, Uqbah, Abu Lahab and some of their ruffian companions suddenly attacked them, dealt harshly with them and beat them. On this occasion the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) openly declared their Islam and spoke about it with clear insight; they firmly confronted the polytheists and defended themselves fully, and Talib bin Umayr went for Abu Jahl and struck him such a blow that his head was split open. The polytheists seized Talib and tied him up, whereupon Abu Lahab stood up in his defence until he had him released, because he was his sister's son. Then it was said to Sayyidah Arwa bint Abdul Muttalib: "Do you not see your son Talib, that he has started following Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and is becoming a target (of hostility) for his sake?" Sayyidah Arwa had already accepted Islam, and she replied: "The best days of Talib are those in which he defends the son of his maternal uncle (peace and blessings be upon him), when he has brought the true religion from Allah Almighty." The people asked: "Have you too followed Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)?" She said: "Yes." Then some of them went to Abu Lahab and informed him. He came to her in anger and said: "I am amazed at you, that you have followed Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and abandoned the religion of Abdul Muttalib!" She said: "So it has happened. Now you too should stand up for your nephew (peace and blessings be upon him) and help and support him. If his cause prevails, you will have the choice to join him or remain on your religion; and if (Allah forbid) he does not succeed, then at least you will have discharged your excuse by standing by your nephew." Abu Lahab said: "Do we have the strength to face the entire Arab nation?" Then they began saying: "He has brought a new religion," and saying this, Abu Lahab went away. Mention of the acceptance of Islam of Sayyidah Arwa bint Abdul Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with her) is found only in the book of Imam al-Waqidi.