Mention of the arrival of the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ foster sister to him at al-Jiʿrānah; her name was Shaymāʾ.

Ibn Isḥāq (1) said: Some men of the Banū Saʿd ibn Bakr told me that on the Day of Hawāzin the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If you manage to capture Bijād—a man from Banū Saʿd ibn Bakr—do not let him escape.” He had committed a serious offence, and when the Muslims overpowered him they drove him and his family along, and with them they brought Shaymāʾ bint al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā, the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ foster sister.

He continued: They were rough with her while driving the captives, so she said to the Muslims, “Know, by Allah, I am your companion’s foster sister.” They did not believe her until they brought her to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

Ibn Isḥāq also said: Yazīd ibn ʿUbayd al-Saʿdī—who is Abū Wajzah—told me: When she was brought before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ she said, “Messenger of Allah, I am your foster sister.” He asked, “What sign proves that?” She replied, “The bite you gave me on my back when I was riding on your hip.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ recognised the mark, spread his cloak for her and seated her upon it. Then he offered her a choice, saying, “If you wish, you may stay with me, honoured and cherished; or, if you prefer, I will provide for you and send you back to your people.” She said, “Rather provide for me and send me back to my people.” So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave her provisions and returned her to her people. The Banū Saʿd say that he gave her a male servant named Makhḥūl and a female servant, whom she later married to one another, and from their offspring a line remained among them.

Al-Bayhaqī (2) reports, through al-Ḥakam ibn ʿAbd al-Malik from Qatādah: On the day Hawāzin was conquered a young woman came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “Messenger of Allah, I am your sister—Shaymāʾ bint al-Ḥārith.” He said to her, “If you are truthful, then you bear a trace of mine that does not fade.” She uncovered her upper arm and said, “Yes, Messenger of Allah; when you were a child you bit me here with that bite.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ spread his cloak for her and then said, “Ask and you will be given; intercede and your intercession will be accepted.”

Al-Bayhaqī (3) also said: Abū Naṣr ibn Qatādah informed us, as did Abū ʿAmr Ismāʿīl ibn Nujaid al-Sulamī; Abū Muslim narrated to us; Abū ʿĀṣim narrated to us; Jaʿfar ibn Yaḥyā ibn Thawbān informed me; my uncle ʿUmārah ibn Thawbān told me that Abū al-Ṭufayl informed him: “I was a young boy carrying a camel’s shoulder-bone, and I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ distributing meat at al-Jiʿrānah. Then there came to him …”