Stories of Female Companions During the Farewell Hajj

Aisha's narration of the Farewell Hajj is the most comprehensive single account we have of the Prophet's pilgrimage. She described how she began menstruating upon arrival in Sarif, near Makkah, and wept in distress at not being able to perform Umrah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) comforted her with extraordinary tenderness, saying, 'This is something that Allah has ordained for the daughters of Adam.' He instructed her to perform all Hajj rites except tawaf until she was pure, and later sent her with her brother Abdul Rahman to perform Umrah from Tan'im after she had completed her Hajj. Her detailed narrations of what the Prophet said and did at each stage — at Arafat, Muzdalifah, Mina, during tawaf, and at the stoning — became the foundation upon which scholars built the entire body of Hajj jurisprudence.

Asma bint Umays (may Allah be pleased with her), wife of Abu Bakr at the time of the Farewell Hajj, gave birth to her son Muhammad at Dhul Hulayfah, the miqat for the people of Madinah. This was the very starting point of the pilgrimage journey. She sent word to the Prophet asking what she should do. He instructed her to perform ghusl (full ablution), bind herself (to manage the postpartum bleeding), and enter ihram with the rest of the pilgrims. She was to perform all the Hajj rites except tawaf until she became pure from nifas. This remarkable narration established the definitive ruling for women experiencing postpartum bleeding during Hajj — a situation that many women throughout history have faced and found guidance through Asma's precedent.

Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that she complained to the Prophet of feeling ill during Hajj. He told her to perform tawaf from behind the people while riding her mount. She rode around the Kaaba on her camel while the Prophet prayed near the wall of the Kaaba. This narration established the permissibility of performing tawaf while riding or being carried — a ruling that benefits elderly and disabled pilgrims to this day. Safiyyah bint Huyayy began menstruating after performing tawaf al-ifadah, and the Prophet confirmed that she could depart Makkah without performing tawaf al-wada (farewell tawaf), establishing the ruling that menstruating women are exempted from the farewell tawaf. Each of these narrations from the female companions addressed a real situation faced by real women, and the Prophet's compassionate, practical responses continue to guide millions of women performing Hajj fourteen centuries later.

The female companions at the Farewell Hajj were not merely present — they were active participants whose questions, experiences, and narrations shaped Islamic practice. They asked questions when they were uncertain, reported their challenges honestly (including intimate health matters), and transmitted the knowledge they gained with precision and dedication. Their courage in raising gender-specific questions with the Prophet — questions that other women might have been too shy to ask — provided answers that have benefited countless women across fourteen centuries and every corner of the globe. When you perform Hajj or Umrah as a woman, you walk in the footsteps of Aisha, Asma, Umm Salamah, Safiyyah, and dozens of other remarkable women whose faith, courage, and service to knowledge made your pilgrimage possible.