Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
5. Muslim women
~ 93 ~
her grandfather that she had conceived of this
idea.
83
83. Ibn Kathir,
As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah
, 2/236.
Before the advent of Islam, Asma’s father had been
one of the richest merchants of Mecca, but when
Asma’ emigrated to Medina with her husband,
Zubayr, they had to live in the harshest of
conditions. Bukhari has recorded Asma’s account of
how her own existence was eked out from day to
day:
When I married Zubayr, he had neither
wealth nor property, nor anything else. He
had no servant, and there was only one camel
to bring water and only one horse. I myself
brought the grass for the camel and crushed
date stones for it to eat instead of grain. I had
to fetch the water myself, and when the water
bag burst I would sew it up myself. As well as
managing the house, I had also to take care of
the horse. This I found the most difficult of all.
I did not know how to cook the bread
properly, so whenever I had to make it, I
would knead the flour and take it to the Ansar
