AtlasIslamica

Ummul Momineen Bibi Maymunah bint Harith رضي الله عنها

Grave of Mother of Believers Bibi Maymunah bint Harith رضي الله عنها

Mecca Sharif, Saudi Arabia

Coordinates: 21.566880, 39.772070

Bibi Maymunah bint al-Harith رضي الله عنها

Bibi Maymunah bint al-Harith رضي الله عنها was a wife of Hz. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Her original name was Barrah, but Hz. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ changed it to Maymunah (رضي الله عنها), meaning”good tidings”, as his marriage to her marked the first time in seven years when he could enter his hometown of Mecca sharif.

She married Hz. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in 629 in Sarif, about ten miles from Mecca, just after the Lesser Pilgrimage. She was in her late 30s when she married him.

Bibi Maymunah bint al-Harith رضي الله عنها lived with Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ for three years until his passing away in 632.

Death

According to Al-Tabari: “Bibi Maymunah bint al-Harith رضي الله عنها died in the year 61 A.H. [680-681] during the caliphate of Yazid I. She was the last of the wives of the Hz. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to die, and her age was then 80 or 81.” However, Al-Tabari asserts elsewhere that Bibi Umm Salama رضي الله عنها outlived Bibi Maymunah bint al-Harith رضي الله عنها.

Ibn Hajar also cites a tradition implying that Bibi Maymunah bint al-Harith رضي الله عنها predeceased Bibi Aisha رضي الله عنها. “We stood on the walls of Medina, looking out … [Bibi Aisha رضي الله عنها said]: ‘By Allah! Maymuna (رضي الله عنها) is no more! She has gone, and you are left free to do whatever you like. She was the most pious of all of us and the most devoted to her relatives.’

After the Hz. Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ passing away , Bibi Maymunah bint al-Harith رضي الله عنها continued to live in Medinah sharif for another 40 years. It is related that at the funeral of Bibi Maymunah bint al-Harith رضي الله عنها, Hz. Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه said, “This is the wife of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ so when you lift her bier, do not shake her or disturb her, but be gentle.”

Her (رضي الله عنها) Grave is located on Hijrah Road, 20 km from Makkah, in a locality named Sarif. This is the same place where She was married with Hz. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in 7 AH.