Nusaybah bint Ka'ab (Umm Umarah)

Nusaybah bint Ka'ab, known as Umm Umarah, was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad from the Khazraj tribe of Medina. She was among the early Ansar who pledged allegiance to the Prophet at the Second Pledge of Aqaba (622 CE), and she is one of the most celebrated warrior women in Islamic history.

At the Battle of Uhud (625 CE), Nusaybah initially came to the battlefield to provide water to the fighters. But when the Muslim lines broke under a Qurayshi cavalry charge and the Prophet's safety was threatened, she took up a sword and shield and threw herself into the fighting around him. She fought to defend the Prophet directly, positioning herself physically between him and his attackers.

The Prophet himself bore witness to her courage. He said of her: "Wherever I turned, to the left or to the right, I saw her fighting for me." During the battle she sustained at least twelve wounds, one of them — a deep sword blow to her shoulder — so severe that it did not fully heal for over a year. When one attacker struck the Prophet, she charged him and was struck deeply in the neck; this wound she carried for the rest of her life.

Nusaybah also fought at the Battle of Hunayn (630 CE) and was present at the pledge at Hudaybiyyah. She is most celebrated, however, for her participation in the Battle of Yamama (632 CE) — fought during the Ridda Wars against the false prophet Musaylimah after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. In that ferocious battle, she lost her hand. She is reported to have lost her son Hubayb as well, who was killed by Musaylimah. Despite her wounds, she continued fighting. Musaylimah was ultimately killed, and she declared her satisfaction at having witnessed it.

Nusaybah bint Ka'ab stands as one of the most striking examples of active female participation in the earliest Islamic community — a woman who moved seamlessly from the role of nurse and water-carrier to that of armed defender of her faith and her Prophet.