THE WOMAN WHO ASKED

 FAJR REMINDER: THE WOMAN WHO ASKED

By: Umm Affān

Rabī' Al-Awwal 23, 1448 (5-September-2026)

Let us talk about a woman whose biography is barely known to many Muslims—a woman whose name may not immediately come to mind when we think of the noble women who surrounded the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ).

Her name was Umm Sharīk Ghuzayyah Bint Jābir Ibn Ḥākim Ad-Dawsiyyah (Raḍiyallāhu ʿAnha). Although very little of her life has been preserved for us, what has reached us is enough to show that she was a woman who asked questions, narrated knowledge, and participated in Prophetic teaching.

Umm Sharīk was a Companion who directly narrated from the Prophet (ﷺ). She reported that she consulted Allāh's Apostle (ﷺ) regarding the killing of geckos, and he commanded her to kill them. Umm Sharik is one of the women of Banī ‘Āmir Ibn Lu’ayy. [Ṣaḥiḥ Muslim 2237] This narration gives us a glimpse of her relationship with the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ). She did not merely hear matters of religion; she sought clarification and guidance from him.

In another Ḥadīth, Umm Sharīk asked the Prophet (ﷺ) an important question concerning the Dajjāl. She narrated that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: “The people will flee from the Dajjāl such that they will go to the mountains.” Umm Sharīk said: “O Messenger of Allāh! Where will the Arabs be that day?” He said: “They will be few.” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2945]

Notice something beautiful here. Umm Sharīk was not merely present in the gathering. She was listening to what the Prophet (ﷺ) was saying. She was thinking about what she heard. And then she asked a meaningful question that naturally arose from his warning. This is a beautiful example of actively listening to religious knowledge. It teaches us that seeking knowledge is not simply about hearing words; it is about paying attention, reflecting upon what we hear, and asking beneficial questions when something requires clarification.

Moreover, Ibn Ḥajar (Raḥimahullāh) mentions that three reports have been narrated from her: “Her report concerning the Dajjāl; her report concerning the killing of geckos; and a report that she was among the women who offered themselves in marriage to the Prophet (ﷺ).” [al-Iṣābah fī Tamyīz aṣ-Ṣaḥābah, vol. 8, p. 419]

Subḥānallāh! Umm Sharīk was not merely a name appearing in an obscure historical account. Her narrations became part of the Ḥadīth corpus, allowing generations after her to hear something of what she heard from the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ). And this gives us something profound to reflect upon. A person's contribution to Islām is not always measured by how much of their biography has been preserved. Sometimes Allāh preserves only a few moments from a person's life—but those moments are enough to preserve their name among the Companions forever.

We may know very little about Umm Sharīk. We may not know the details of her daily life, her private struggles, or many of the things she did throughout her years. But we know that she asked. We know that she listened. We know that she narrated. And because she preserved what she learned from the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ), her voice still reaches us centuries later.

Umm Sharīk asked a question—and the Ummah preserved it. She heard a warning—and the Ummah preserved it. She sought guidance from the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ)—and the Ummah preserved it. Perhaps this should make us pause and ask ourselves: What are we doing today that will still benefit someone tomorrow? Perhaps the deed that seems small to us today may be the very thing that Allāh causes to benefit people long after we have returned to Him.

I beseech Allāh (ﷻ) to be Especially Merciful to Umm Sharīk (Raḍiyallāhu ʿAnha), reward her for what she preserved and transmitted, and allow us to follow the example of the Companions in seeking, preserving, and spreading beneficial knowledge. Aameen