A Woman More Knowledgeable Than a Man

3069—“Umm Tulayq spoke the truth. Had you given her the camel, it would have been in Allah’s cause; had you given her your she-camel, she and you would have been in Allah’s cause; and had you given her some of your provisions, Allah would have replaced it for you.”

Al-Dūlābī narrated it in al-Asmāʾ wa al-Kunā (1/41): Ibrāhīm ibn Yaʿqūb narrated to us: ʿUmar ibn Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth narrated to me: my father narrated to us: al-Mukhtār ibn Fulful narrated to me: Ṭalq ibn Ḥabīb al-Baṣrī narrated to me that Abū Tulayq informed them:

His wife, Umm Tulayq, came to him and said, “The time for Hajj has come, Abū Tulayq!” He had a camel and a she-camel: he performed Hajj on the she-camel and went out to fight on the camel. She asked him to give her the camel so that she could perform Hajj upon it. He replied, “Do you not know that I have set it aside for Allah’s cause?!” She said, “Hajj is part of Allah’s cause, so give it to me—may Allah have mercy on you!” He said, “I do not wish to give it to you.”

She said, “Then give me your she-camel, and perform Hajj on the camel.” He said, “I will not give you preference over myself with it.” She said, “Then give me some of your provisions.” He said, “I have nothing beyond what I need for myself and my dependants, both for what I take with me and what I leave for you.” The original wording has: “what I bring down.” She said, “If you gave me something, Allah would replace it for you.”

He said: When I refused her request, she said, “When you come to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, convey my greetings of peace to him on my behalf, and tell him what I said to you.”

He said: So I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, conveyed her greetings of peace to him, and told him what Umm Tulayq had said. He then mentioned it.

He said: “And she asks you, O Messenger of Allah: What is equivalent to Hajj [with you]?” He replied, “An ʿumrah in Ramadan.”