Hazrat Khawla bint Tha'laba

The Woman Whose Plea Was Heard

Khawla bint Tha’laba was an Ansari woman married to Aws ibn al-Samit. When, after she had spent her youth and borne his children, her husband pronounced zihar against her (the pagan formula by which a man cast off his wife), she came to the Prophet ﷺ pleading her case and turned to Allah in complaint. Aisha رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَاHazrat Aisha bint Abi Bakrرَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَاWife of the Prophet ﷺ; the most beloved of his wives and a foremost scholar of the UmmahMothers of the Believers · Narrators said she could hear some of Khawla’s words and not others — yet Allah, above the seven heavens, heard them all, and before Khawla had even left, Gabriel brought down the opening of Surah al-Mujadila, “the Pleading Woman.” 1 Hayatus Sahaba · Vol 3 · pp. 66 — Kandhlawi — Khawla's complaint of zihar; Aisha could not hear all her words but Allah heard them; the revelation of Surah al-Mujadila. 2 The Noble Qur'an · pp. Surah al-Mujadila 58:1 — 'Allah has indeed heard the words of her who disputes with you concerning her husband and complains to Allah.' So honoured was her plea that the chapter itself is named for her dispute, and she is remembered as al-Mujadila — the woman who pleaded, and whom Allah answered.