Stories of Female Companions During the Farewell Hac

Aisha's narration of the Farewell Hac is the most comprehensive single account we have of Hz. Peygamber's hac ibadeti. She described how she began menstruating upon arrival in Sarif, near Mekke, and wept in distress at not being able to perform Umre. Hz. Peygamber (sallallahu aleyhi ve sellem) comforted her with extraordinary tenderness, saying, 'This is something that Allah has ordained for the daughters of Adam.' He instructed her to perform all Hac rites except tavaf until she was pure, and later sent her with her brother Abdul Rahman to perform Umre from Tan'im after she had completed her Hac. Her detailed narrations of what Hz. Peygamber said and did at each stage — at Arafat, Muzdelife, Mina, during tavaf, and at the stoning — became the foundation upon which scholars built the entire body of Hac jurisprudence.

Asma bint Umays (may Allah be pleased with her), wife of Abu Bakr at the time of the Farewell Hac, gave birth to her son Muhammad at Dhul Hulayfah, the miqat for the people of Medine. This was the very starting point of the hac ibadeti journey. She sent word to Hz. Peygamber asking what she should do. He instructed her to perform gusul (full ablution), bind herself (to manage the postpartum bleeding), and enter ihram with the rest of the hacilar. She was to perform all the Hac rites except tavaf until she became pure from nifas. This remarkable narration established the definitive ruling for women experiencing postpartum bleeding during Hac — 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 Hz. Peygamber of feeling ill during Hac. He told her to perform tavaf from behind the people while riding her mount. She rode around the Kabe on her camel while Hz. Peygamber prayed near the wall of the Kabe. This narration established the permissibility of performing tavaf while riding or being carried — a ruling that benefits elderly and disabled hacilar to this day. Safiyyah bint Huyayy began menstruating after performing tavaf al-ifadah, and Hz. Peygamber confirmed that she could depart Mekke without performing tavaf al-wada (farewell tavaf), establishing the ruling that menstruating women are exempted from the farewell tavaf. Each of these narrations from the female companions addressed a real situation faced by real women, and Hz. Peygamber's compassionate, practical responses continue to guide millions of women performing Hac fourteen centuries later.

The female companions at the Farewell Hac 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 Hz. Peygamber — 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 Hac or Umre 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 hac ibadeti possible.