Laylā bt. Abī Murra b. ʿUrwa b. Masʿūd al-Thaqafī (Arabic: لیلیٰ بنت أبي مرّة بن عروة بن مسعود الثقفي) was Imam al-Husayn's (a) wife and the mother of 'Ali al-Akbar (a). She is paternally from the Thaqif tribe and maternally from Banu Umayya. Some people took her to be the best-known lady of her time. The name, Layla, is well-known in the common Shiite culture, because she was Ali al-Akbar's (a) mother. There is a disagreement about whether she was present in Karbala.
| Wife of Imam al-Husayn (a) | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Layla bt. Abi Murra b. 'Urwa b. Mas'ud al-Thaqafi |
| Religious Affiliation | Shi'a |
| Lineage | Thaqif tribe |
| Well-known Relatives | Imam al-Husayn (a) (Husband), 'Ali Akbar (a) (son) |
| Place of Residence | Medina |
| Era | Umayyad |
| Known for | Wife of Imam al-Husayn (a), Mother of Ali Akbar (a) |
Name
In most sources, her name is mentioned as "Layla", but in his al-Tabaqat al-kubra, Ibn Sa'd mentioned her as Amina (Arabic: آمنة),[1] and according to some contemporary scholars, her name was Umm Layla.[2] This is why in some rawda meetings she is referred to as Umm Layla.
Lineage
Layla's father was Abu Murra b. 'Urwa b. Mas'ud b. Mu'attib, from Thaqif tribe.[3] Abu Murra was born in the period of the Prophet (s). Both Abu Murra and 'Urwa were from the Prophet's (s) Sahaba. Abu Murra went to the Prophet (s) together with his brother and converted to Islam.[4] 'Urwa b. Mas'ud was one of the al-Sadat al-Arba'a (the Four masters in Islam) and a great figure of Arab. He is assimilated to Sahib Yasin and the most similar person to Jesus.[5] Layla's mother, Maymuna, was the daughter of Abu Sufyan from Banu Umayya, and was known as Umm Shayba.[6]
Marriage and Children
Imam al-Husayn (a) married Layla, and she gave birth to 'Ali al-Akbar (a).[7] She is mostly known by Shiites because she is mentioned in rawdas regarding 'Ali al-Akbar (a).
Presence in the Event of Karbala
There is no evidence of Layla's presence in the Event of Karbala in early sources, but some later sources referred to her presence in Karbala. On this account, Layla was praying for her son, Ali al-Akbar (a), when he was martyred, and she witnessed the mutilation of his corpse by the enemies.[8]
Another Layla
Imam Ali (a) also had a wife called Layla bt. Mas'ud. She was the mother of Abu Bakr b. al-Imam 'Ali (a), a martyr of Karbala.[9] Sometimes she is confused with Layla, the mother of Ali al-Akbar (a).[10]
Notes
- ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, vol. 5, p. 470.
- ↑ Maḥallātī, Rayāḥīn al-sharīʿa, vol. 5, p. 295.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 3, p. 1066.
- ↑ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, al-Iṣāba, vol. 7, p. 306.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 3, p. 1067.
- ↑ Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, p. 86.
- ↑ Maqrizī, Imtāʿ al-asmāʾ, vol. 6, p. 269.
- ↑ Samāwī, Ibṣār al-ʿayn, p. 224.
- ↑ Mufīd, al-Ikhtiṣāṣ, p. 82.
- ↑ Tamīmī, al-Sīra al-nabawīyya, vol. 2, p. 559.
References
- Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn. Edited by Sayyid Aḥmad Ṣaqar. Second edition. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1408 AH.
- Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Yūsuf b. ʿAbd Allāh. Al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb. Eidted by Muḥammad ʿAlī al-Bajāwī. Beirut: Dār al-Jail, 1412 AH.
- Maḥallātī, Dhabīḥ Allāh. Rayāḥīn al-sharīʿa. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, [n.d].
- Maqrizī, Taqī al-Dīn. Imtāʿ al-asmāʾ bi-mā li-l-nabīyy min al-aḥwāl wa l-amwāl wa l-ḥafda wa l-matāʿ. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1420 AH.
- Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Ikhtiṣāṣ. Qom: Kungira-yi Shaykh al-Mufīd, 1413 AH.
- Samāwī, Muḥammad b. Ṭāhir al-. Ibṣār al-ʿayn fī anṣār al-Ḥusayn (a). Qom: Dānishgāh-i Shaḥīd Maḥallātī, 1419 AH.
- Tamīmī, Abū Ḥātam al-. Al-Sīra al-nabawīyya wa akhbār al-khulafāʾ. Third edition. Beirut: al-Kutub al-Thiqāfīyya, 1417 AH.