Nusaybah bint Ka’b, seeing the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) unprotected during the Battle of Uhud, ran to shield him with her sword alongside her husband and son. She received many wounds, and the Prophet (PBUH) himself said that wherever he turned, whether to the right or to the left, he saw her defending him. She was present at a number of battles and, at the age of 60, fought at al-Yamama, receiving 11 wounds and also losing her hand.
When Khawla bint al-Azwar’s brother was taken captive by the Byzantines, she put on armour and charged into the Byzantine troops to rescue him. Taken captive at the Battle of Marj al Saffar, she fended off the Byzantines with a tentpole, killing seven.
Muslim women were an important part of every battle — rallying their men or tending to the wounded, sometimes taking up arms or composing taunting poetry. Ghazala al-Haruriyya called out to the fleeing Umayyad general during a battle, “You are a lion against me but were made into an ostrich which spreads its wings and flees on hearing the chirping of a sparrow.”
