Umm Habibah (Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan): Wives of the Prophet ﷺ

Tribe: Quraysh (Banu Umayyah)
Married: About 6-7 AH (c. 628 CE), contracted in Abyssinia; she reached Madinah about 7 AH
Before this marriage: Widow of Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh, who died in Abyssinia
Children with the Prophet ﷺ: None
Died: About 44 AH (c. 665 CE); reports differ
Buried: Al-Baqi', Madinah

Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan, known as Umm Habibah, accepted Islam in Makkah while her father Abu Sufyan was one of the leaders of the opposition to the Prophet ﷺ. She emigrated to Abyssinia with her husband Ubaydullah ibn Jahsh, who died there (Sunan Abi Dawud 2107). Her faith thus cost her her home, her family and her husband.

The Negus of Abyssinia married her to the Prophet ﷺ and paid her dowry of four thousand on his behalf. He prepared her for the journey and sent her to the Prophet ﷺ in Madinah with Shurahbil ibn Hasanah (Sunan Abi Dawud 2107; Sunan an-Nasa'i 3350). Reports differ on whether the marriage took place in 6 or 7 AH.

She once asked the Prophet ﷺ to marry her sister, the daughter of Abu Sufyan. He asked, 'Would you like that?' She said: 'Yes, I am not alone with you, and the one I most love to share good with me is my sister.' He replied that it was not lawful for him, because two sisters may not be married together (Sahih al-Bukhari 5107; Quran 4:23).

When her father Abu Sufyan died she asked for perfume and put it on, then said she had no need of it, but that she had heard the Prophet ﷺ say that it is not lawful for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for the dead for more than three nights, except for a husband, for four months and ten days (Sahih al-Bukhari 5334).