Question

Respected Shaikh, assalamu alaykum. Is there any evidence/proof in hadiths that

can confirm that any one of the Companions had ever gone out with his wife for D
a'wah (proselytization) or Islah (Preaching of Islam)? Best regards.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is
none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi w
a sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.
It is confirmed in the religious texts that women can travel with their husbands
to do righteous acts such as Hijrah (migration), jihaad and Hajj, and they used
to go out in jihad to serve the mujaahideen. They are even permitted to fight i
n battle when that is needed.
Anas ibn Maalik
hu `alayhi wa
tary expeditions
rovide water (to

may Allaah be pleased with him said, The Prophet sallallaa

sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) used to go out on mili
with Umm Sulaym and some women from the Ansaar, so they would p
the Mujaahids) and treat the wounded. [Muslim]

Also, Umm Atiyyah Al-Ansaariyyah may Allaah be pleased with her said, I went
out with the Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaa
h exalt his mention ) in seven battles. I would look after their belongings, coo
k food for them, treat the wounded, and take care of the sick. [Muslim]
Besides, Ar-Rubayyi bint Mu
awwith may Allaah be pleased with her said, We u
sed to go out in battles with the Prophet sallallaahu
alayhi wa sallam ( ma
y Allaah exalt his mention ); we would provide water to the people and serve th
em, and we took back the dead and the wounded to al-Madeenah. [Al-Bukhaari]
Anas ibn Maalik may Allaah be pleased with him reported from his maternal
aunt Umm Haraam bint Milhaan:
Once upon a time, the Prophet sallallaahu
alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exa
lt his mention ) was sleeping not far from where she was, then he woke up smilin
g. She said, What made you smile? He sallallaahu
alayhi wa sallam ( may Alla
ah exalt his mention ) replied, Some people from my nation were shown to me saili
ng on this sea like kings on thrones. She said, Supplicate Allaah to make me among
st them. So he supplicated for her to this effect. Then he put his head down and
slept again. He woke up again smiling, so she asked him again and he gave the sa
me answer and she said, Supplicate Allaah to make me amongst them. He replied, You
are amongst the first group (he saw in the dream). She later traveled with her hu
sband by sea during the reign of Mu
aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan may Allaah be pl
eased with him and when she disembarked, she fell off her horse and died. [Al-B
ukhaari]
In another narration by Anas may Allaah be pleased with him he said that U
mm Sulaym had a dagger with her on the day of the Battle of Hunayn. Abu Talhah s
aw her and said, O Messenger of Allaah, Umm Sulaym has a dagger. Thereupon, the Pr
ophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) asked
her, What is this dagger? She said, I will make use of it, if any polytheist comes
near me, I will tear out his belly with it. So the Prophet sallallaahu
alayhi
wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) started to laugh." [Muslim]
Also, Ibn Abbaas may Allaah be pleased with them narrated that he heard th
e Prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) sa
y, No man should stay in seclusion with a woman, and no woman should travel excep
t with her Mahram. A man stood up and said, O Messenger of Allaah, I enlisted to t
ake part in the Battle of such-and-such, and my wife went out for Hajj. So the Pr

ophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said, G
o and perform Hajj with your wife. [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
There are many other authentic ahaadeeth about this, and the era of the Companio
ns was full of such incidents.
Shaykh Al-Albaani may Allaah have mercy upon him stated in Ar-Rad Al-Mufhi
m that Asmaa bint Yazeed Al-Ansaariyyah witnessed the battle of Yarmouk with the
people, and she killed seven of the Romans with the pole of a tent that was shad
ing her. This hadeeth was reported by Saeed ibn Mansoor in As-Sunan and by At-Tab
araani in Al-Mujam Al-Kabeer with a good chain of narrators.
Khalid ibn Sayhaan said, I took part in (the battle of) Tustar with Abu Moosa, an
d there were four women with us who used to treat the wounded, and he allocated
shares (of the war spoils) for them. This was reported by Ibn Abu Shaybah and by
Al-Bukhaari in At-Taareekh with a chain of narrators that is likely to be classi
fied as good.
Abdullaah ibn Qurt al-Azadi said, I took part in the battle against the Romans wit
h Khaalid ibn Al-Waleed, and I saw the wives of Khaalid ibn Al-Waleed along with
the wives of his companions carrying water for the Muhaajireen, and they were c
hanting Islamic songs. It was reported by Saeed with a sound chain of narrators.
Also, Sharh As-Sunnah authored by Al-Baghawi, reads:
Chapter of setting out in battles along with women
Then he mentioned some of the previous ahaadeeth, and after that he said, The had
eeth is evidence that it is permissible to set out with women in battles as a ty
pe of help and service, but if it is feared that the enemy is of a large number
and is strong, or if it is feared that men will be tempted by them due to their
beauty, or young age, then the Imaam should not set out with them in battles.
However, we have not come across a special story about women going out with thei
r husbands just for preaching among the people, but all that is permissible in I
slam, it is permissible for a woman to travel for it while being accompanied by
her husband provided that she abides by the teachings of Islam in this regards.
The fatwa of the Standing Committee received a question about the verse {And abi
de in your houses} [Quran 33:33] and about women going out for a need, and it pr
ovided the following answer:
The verse does not mean to absolutely prevent women from going out; rather, they
may go out for a need, such as them going out to mosques to pray, to listen to s
ermons, and to attend the Islamic celebration on the day of
Eed Al-Fitr and
Ee
d Al-Adhha in the praying area, and to fulfill their needs, such as them going o
ut for treatment and keeping ties with kinship, provided that they wear their hi
jaab and do not reveal their beauty or put on perfume and not walk in an attract
ive manner or speak in an attractive manner. The wives of the Prophet sallallaa
hu alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) and all the women of t
he believers used to go out after the revelation of this verse to the mosque for
prayers, to Hajj and Umrah, to fulfill their needs, and for visiting each other
and keeping ties with kinship, and the wife would go out to travel with her husb
and if drawing lots was in her favor if her husband had other wives, and the Pro
phet sallallaahu
alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) did not
deny this from them, and things continued to be like this without anyone to den
y it as far as we know.
Allaah knows best.