Umm ʿUbays () or Umm ʿUmays was a woman in Arabia who was an early convert to Islam and one of the disciples (Sahaba) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Biography She was a slave in Mecca who became an early convert to Islam. After 614 she was tortured in an attempt to force her to renounce her faith.Muhammad ibn Saad. Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir volume 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995). The Women of Madina, p. 180. London: Ta-Ha Publishers. Abu Bakr bought and manumitted her. It was in response to the purchase of these slaves that Abu Bakr's father protested: "I see that you are freeing weak slaves. Why don't you free powerful men who could defend you and protect you?" Abu Bakr replied, "I am only trying to do what I am attempting for God's sake."Muhammad ibn Ishaq. Sirat Rasul Allah. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). The Life of Muhammad, p. 144. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Umm Ubays had a sister, Harithah bint al-Muammil.
It is sometimes asserted that Umm Ubays was the daughter of Al-Nahdiah. This is apparently due to the ambiguous wording of Ibn Saad.Ibn Saad/Bewley p. 180. However, Ibn Ishaq makes it clear that Umm Ubays and Al-Nahdiah's daughter were two different people, both of whom were purchased and manumitted by Abu Bakr.Ibn Ishaq/Guillaume p. 144.
See also List of non-Arab Sahaba Sunni view of the Sahaba
References
External links https://web.archive.org/web/20050421200507/http://www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/Muhammad/Book/Millennium_Biography/Chapter_030.htm