Her exact birth date is unknown. A report says she was twenty at her marriage in 5 or 6 AH, providing only an approximate early seventh-century estimate.
Juwayriya bint al-Harith
PER-000169
Ahl al-Bayt
Confirmed
Shared cemetery point
Cross-tradition historical
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Juwayriya bint al-Harith, may Allah be pleased with her, was a wife of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and therefore one of the Mothers of the Believers. She belonged to Banu al-Mustaliq of Khuza'a and was the daughter of their leader al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar. After the expedition of al-Muraysi' in 5 or 6 AH, she entered a manumission agreement, sought the Prophet's help, accepted his proposal of marriage and became the occasion for the release of one hundred households from her people. She transmitted reports on remembrance and worship, lived in Medina after the Prophet's death, and died there according to differing reports in 50 or 56 AH before burial in al-Baqi.
Died in Medina according to differing reports in 50 AH or in Rabi al-Awwal 56 AH. Marwan ibn al-Hakam is reported to have led her funeral prayer; the exact age is uncertain.
Buried in al-Baqi cemetery, Medina. No primary shrine or GPS record is linked in this administrative export, and the absence of that optional linkage is not historical evidence against the burial tradition.
Biography and historical profile
Juwayriya was Juwayriya bint al-Harith ibn Abi Dirar al-Mustaliqiyya al-Khuza'iyya. Her father was a leader of Banu al-Mustaliq, a branch of Khuza'a. Ibn Hajar and other biographers record that her earlier name was Barrah and that the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, renamed her Juwayriya. Her birth year is not securely known. Ibn Sa'd preserves a report that she was twenty when the Prophet married her, but later reports about her age and death do not form a completely consistent chronology, so this should be treated as a transmitted estimate rather than an exact birth record.
Her life changed during the expedition against Banu al-Mustaliq at the well of al-Muraysi', dated by early sources to 5 or 6 AH. She had previously been married within her tribe; the sources vary between forms such as Musafi' ibn Safwan and Safwan ibn Malik for the former husband who died around the campaign. After the defeat of Banu al-Mustaliq, Juwayriya was among the captives and fell to the share of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas or a relative of his. She entered a contract of manumission, agreeing to pay for her freedom.
The account transmitted from Aisha states that Juwayriya approached the Prophet and identified herself as the daughter of her people's chief, asking for help with the manumission payment. The Prophet offered to discharge the payment and marry her, and she accepted. The narrative preserves her direct request and consent and should not be embellished with invented dialogue or motives beyond the transmitted report. Through the marriage she entered the Prophet's household and received the Qur'anic public status of a Mother of the Believers.
The marriage had an immediate social consequence. When the Muslims heard that Banu al-Mustaliq had become related to the Messenger of Allah by marriage, they released the captives remaining in their possession. Sunan Abi Dawud and the biographical tradition preserve the figure of one hundred households set free. Aisha consequently described Juwayriya as a woman of exceptional blessing for her people. The sources support this emancipation effect; broader claims that every member of the tribe converted at once should not be stated without separate evidence.
In Medina she became part of the household that transmitted the Prophet's teachings to later Muslims. Al-Dhahabi's biographical notice counts seven reports associated with her and names transmitters including Ibn Abbas, Kuraib, Mujahid and others. The small number does not lessen their influence, because some of her reports became widely used in worship and legal instruction. Her position also preserved a personal link between the Prophet's household and Banu al-Mustaliq after the conflict.
Her best-known report concerns remembrance of Allah. Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet left her after the dawn prayer while she remained engaged in remembrance and returned later in the morning. He taught her a concise formula glorifying Allah according to the number of creation, divine pleasure, the weight of the Throne and the extent of the divine words. Another report in Sahih al-Bukhari records that she was fasting on a Friday and was instructed not to single that day out when it was not joined to Thursday or Saturday. Together these reports show her presence in the transmission of both devotional practice and practical guidance.
She continued to live in Medina after the Prophet's death. The reports of her own death differ: Ibn Sa'd and some later biographers give 50 AH, while another transmitted chronology gives Rabi al-Awwal 56 AH. Both accounts place her death during the rule of Mu'awiya and report that Marwan ibn al-Hakam, then governor of Medina, led the funeral prayer. The differing ages attached to these dates are not fully consistent, so the date variants should be retained without forcing an exact age.
Juwayriya was buried in al-Baqi cemetery with other members of the Prophet's household. Her enduring historical memory rests on three securely transmitted elements: her place among the Mothers of the Believers, the release of Banu al-Mustaliq captives following her marriage, and her contribution to the transmission of worship and legal practice. Her biography also requires careful source handling, because the year of the Muraysi' expedition, the form of her former husband's name, her age and her death year appear in more than one version.
Her life changed during the expedition against Banu al-Mustaliq at the well of al-Muraysi', dated by early sources to 5 or 6 AH. She had previously been married within her tribe; the sources vary between forms such as Musafi' ibn Safwan and Safwan ibn Malik for the former husband who died around the campaign. After the defeat of Banu al-Mustaliq, Juwayriya was among the captives and fell to the share of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas or a relative of his. She entered a contract of manumission, agreeing to pay for her freedom.
The account transmitted from Aisha states that Juwayriya approached the Prophet and identified herself as the daughter of her people's chief, asking for help with the manumission payment. The Prophet offered to discharge the payment and marry her, and she accepted. The narrative preserves her direct request and consent and should not be embellished with invented dialogue or motives beyond the transmitted report. Through the marriage she entered the Prophet's household and received the Qur'anic public status of a Mother of the Believers.
The marriage had an immediate social consequence. When the Muslims heard that Banu al-Mustaliq had become related to the Messenger of Allah by marriage, they released the captives remaining in their possession. Sunan Abi Dawud and the biographical tradition preserve the figure of one hundred households set free. Aisha consequently described Juwayriya as a woman of exceptional blessing for her people. The sources support this emancipation effect; broader claims that every member of the tribe converted at once should not be stated without separate evidence.
In Medina she became part of the household that transmitted the Prophet's teachings to later Muslims. Al-Dhahabi's biographical notice counts seven reports associated with her and names transmitters including Ibn Abbas, Kuraib, Mujahid and others. The small number does not lessen their influence, because some of her reports became widely used in worship and legal instruction. Her position also preserved a personal link between the Prophet's household and Banu al-Mustaliq after the conflict.
Her best-known report concerns remembrance of Allah. Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet left her after the dawn prayer while she remained engaged in remembrance and returned later in the morning. He taught her a concise formula glorifying Allah according to the number of creation, divine pleasure, the weight of the Throne and the extent of the divine words. Another report in Sahih al-Bukhari records that she was fasting on a Friday and was instructed not to single that day out when it was not joined to Thursday or Saturday. Together these reports show her presence in the transmission of both devotional practice and practical guidance.
She continued to live in Medina after the Prophet's death. The reports of her own death differ: Ibn Sa'd and some later biographers give 50 AH, while another transmitted chronology gives Rabi al-Awwal 56 AH. Both accounts place her death during the rule of Mu'awiya and report that Marwan ibn al-Hakam, then governor of Medina, led the funeral prayer. The differing ages attached to these dates are not fully consistent, so the date variants should be retained without forcing an exact age.
Juwayriya was buried in al-Baqi cemetery with other members of the Prophet's household. Her enduring historical memory rests on three securely transmitted elements: her place among the Mothers of the Believers, the release of Banu al-Mustaliq captives following her marriage, and her contribution to the transmission of worship and legal practice. Her biography also requires careful source handling, because the year of the Muraysi' expedition, the form of her former husband's name, her age and her death year appear in more than one version.
Historical importance and legacy
Juwayriya's marriage is historically significant because it transformed the aftermath of conflict into a large act of emancipation. The freeing of one hundred Banu al-Mustaliq households is one of the clearest examples in the biographical literature of a marriage creating a new social relationship between the Prophet's community and a recently defeated tribe.
Her transmitted reports gave her an enduring place in Islamic worship and law. The morning remembrance preserved in Sahih Muslim remains widely recited, while the Friday fasting report in Sahih al-Bukhari contributes to legal discussions of voluntary fasting. Her influence therefore extends beyond the political circumstances of her marriage.
Her profile is also important methodologically. Early and classical sources agree on her identity, marriage and broad legacy, but differ over the campaign year, former husband's name, age and death date. Preserving these differences while affirming her burial in al-Baqi produces a more accurate and respectful historical account.
Her transmitted reports gave her an enduring place in Islamic worship and law. The morning remembrance preserved in Sahih Muslim remains widely recited, while the Friday fasting report in Sahih al-Bukhari contributes to legal discussions of voluntary fasting. Her influence therefore extends beyond the political circumstances of her marriage.
Her profile is also important methodologically. Early and classical sources agree on her identity, marriage and broad legacy, but differ over the campaign year, former husband's name, age and death date. Preserving these differences while affirming her burial in al-Baqi produces a more accurate and respectful historical account.
Family relationships
🤝 Spouses and marriage links
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Confirmed
Sources
Al-Isabah fi Tamyiz al-Sahabah | Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani | Entry 11008, vol. 8, p. 73 in the displayed edition | https://shamela.ws/book/9767/3986 | Identity, Banu al-Mustaliq lineage, Muraysi' chronology, manumission contract, marriage, name change and worship reportSunan Abi Dawud | Abu Dawud al-Sijistani | Hadith 3931 | https://sunnah.com/abudawud:3931 | Her request for assistance, marriage and the release of one hundred Banu al-Mustaliq households
Sahih Muslim | Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj | Hadith 2726a-b | https://sunnah.com/muslim:2726a | Morning remembrance transmitted by Juwayriya
Sahih al-Bukhari | Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari | Hadith 1986 | https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1986 | Report concerning fasting Friday by itself
Siyar A'lam al-Nubala | Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi | Vol. 2, biographical entry; pagination varies by edition | https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/60/172/ | Biographical evaluation, narrators, reported hadith count and death traditions
Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra | Muhammad ibn Sa'd | Entry 4134, vol. 8; pagination varies by edition | https://shamela.ws/book/1686/2759 | Lineage, former husband traditions, Muraysi' narrative, marriage and death reports
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