Stories of Female Companions During the Farewell Haji

Aisha's narration of the Farewell Haji is the most comprehensive single account we have of Nabi's ibadah haji. She described how she began menstruating upon arrival in Sarif, near Mekkah, and wept in distress at not being able to perform Umrah. Nabi (shallallahu alaihi wa sallam) comforted her with extraordinary tenderness, saying, 'This is something that Allah has ordained for the daughters of Adam.' He instructed her to perform all Haji 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 Haji. Her detailed narrations of what Nabi said and did at each stage — at Arafah, Muzdalifah, Mina, during tawaf, and at the stoning — became the foundation upon which scholars built the entire body of Haji jurisprudence.

Asma bint Umays (may Allah be pleased with her), wife of Abu Bakr at the time of the Farewell Haji, gave birth to her son Muhammad at Dhul Hulayfah, the miqat for the people of Madinah. This was the very starting point of the ibadah haji journey. She sent word to Nabi asking what she should do. He instructed her to perform mandi wajib (full ablution), bind herself (to manage the postpartum bleeding), and enter ihram with the rest of the jamaah haji. She was to perform all the Haji rites except tawaf until she became pure from nifas. This remarkable narration established the definitive ruling for women experiencing postpartum bleeding during Haji — 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 Nabi of feeling ill during Haji. He told her to perform tawaf from behind the people while riding her mount. She rode around the Kabah on her camel while Nabi prayed near the wall of the Kabah. This narration established the permissibility of performing tawaf while riding or being carried — a ruling that benefits elderly and disabled jamaah haji to this day. Safiyyah bint Huyayy began menstruating after performing tawaf al-ifadah, and Nabi confirmed that she could depart Mekkah 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 Nabi's compassionate, practical responses continue to guide millions of women performing Haji fourteen centuries later.

The female companions at the Farewell Haji 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 Nabi — 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 Haji 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 ibadah haji possible.