Nuṣaybah bint Kaʿb, better known as Umm ʿUmārah, was one of the women of Banū Māzin ibn an-Najjār, while Asmāʾ bint ʿAmr ibn ʿAdī ibn Nābī—of Banū Salamah—was the mother of Manīʿ.

In the version of Ibn Isḥāq related by Yūnus ibn Bukayr, both women are explicitly named along with their lineages. As for the ḥadīths that mention the number as seventy, the Arabs often drop the fractional remainder when counting.

ʿUrwah ibn az-Zubayr and Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah stated that they were seventy men and a single woman. Of these, he said, forty were elders and thirty were young men, the youngest being Abū Masʿūd and Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh. [Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq’s assertion that they totaled seventy-five is the more reliable figure.]

Kaʿb ibn Mālik said: We assembled in the ravine, waiting for the Messenger of God ﷺ, until he came to us accompanied by al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, who was still following the religion of his people that day but wished to attend his nephew’s affair and secure matters for him.

When they were seated, the first to speak was al-ʿAbbās. He said, “People of Khazraj”—and the Arabs used to call this branch of the Anṣār, both its Khazraj and Aws clans, by the single name Khazraj—“Muhammad is one of us, as you know. We have defended him against our own people who oppose him, so he enjoys honor among his clan and safety in his town. Yet he now insists on turning to you and joining your ranks. If you are certain that you will fulfill what you have invited him to and will defend him against anyone who opposes him, then take him and shoulder the burden you have undertaken. But if you foresee that you will hand him over and abandon him after he reaches you, then leave him now, for he still enjoys honor and protection among his people and in his land.”

We replied, “We have heard what you say. Now speak, O Messenger of God, and stipulate for yourself and for your Lord whatever terms you wish.”

The Messenger of God ﷺ then spoke, recited the Qur’an, called people to God, and urged them toward Islam. He said, “I pledge myself to you on the condition that you protect me from whatever you protect your wives and children from.”

Al-Barāʾ ibn Maʿrūr grasped his hand and said, “Yes, by Him who sent you with the truth, we shall indeed protect you from that from which we protect our own waist-cloths. Conclude the pledge with us, O Messenger of God, for by God we are the sons of war and the men of arms—an inheritance handed down from ancestor to ancestor.”

While al-Barāʾ was addressing the Messenger of God ﷺ, Abū al-Haytham ibn at-Tayyihān interrupted: “O Messenger of God, between us and certain men there are bonds that we must sever”—meaning the Jews—“so if we do that and God then grants you victory, might you return to your people and leave us?”

The Messenger of God ﷺ smiled and said, “No—blood for blood, and ruin for ruin …”