When the Prophet ﷺ set out to fight at Badr, she said, "Messenger of Allah, give me permission to go to battle with you, that I may tend to your sick, perhaps Allah will grant me martyrdom."He replied, "Stay in your home, for Allah Most High will grant you martyrdom."So she came to be called "the Martyr."She had memorized the Quran, and she asked the Prophet ﷺ for permission to appoint a muezzin in her house. He granted her permission.She had freed a male slave and a female slave of hers by tadbir, meaning they would become free upon her death. The two of them came to her at night and smothered her with a velvet cloak of hers until she died, then they fled.In the morning, Umar stood before the people and said, "Whoever has any knowledge of these two, or has seen them, let him bring them forward."They were brought, and he ordered that they be crucified. They were the first persons crucified in Medina.In another narration, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to visit her at her home. He appointed a muezzin to call the prayer for her, and instructed her to lead the people of her household in prayer.Abdul Rahman said, "I myself saw her muezzin as a very old man."
أن النبي ﷺ لما غزا بدرا، قالت: يا رسول الله! ائذن لي في الغزو معك، أمرض مرضاكم، لعل الله أن يرزقني شهادة، قال: قري في بيتك، فإن الله تعالى يرزقك الشهادة. قال: فكانت تسمى الشهيدة. قال: وكانت قد قرأت القرآن، فاستأذنت النبي ﷺ أن تتخذ في دارها مؤذنا. فأذن لها، قال: وكانت قد دبرت غلاما لها وجارية، فقاما إليها بالليل فغماها بقطيفة لها حتى ماتت وذهبا. فأصبح عمر فقام في الناس، فقال: من فقام في الناس، فقال: من كان عنده من هذين علم، أو من رآهما فليجيء بهما، فأمر بهما فصلبا. فكانا أول مصلوب بالمدينة. وفي رواية: وكان رسول الله ﷺ يزورها في بيتها، وجعل لها مؤذنا يؤذن لها، وأمرها أن تؤم أهل دارها. قال عبد الرحمن: فأنا رأيت مؤذنها شيخا كبيرا.
Abu Dawud (591), Ahmad (27283), and Daraqutni (1/403) all narrated it from the hadith of Walid bin Abdullah bin Jami, who said, "My grandmother and Abdul-Rahman bin Khallad Ansari told me, from Umm Waraqa bint Nawfal," and he related the hadith.This is how Abu Dawud mentioned it, with Abdul-Rahman bin Khallad joined alongside the grandmother. The second narration he related from Hasan bin Hammad Hadrami, who said, "Muhammad bin Fudayl narrated to us, from Walid bin Jami, from Abdul-Rahman bin Khallad alone, from her."Walid bin Jami was deemed reliable by Ibn Main and Ajli, and Ahmad and Abu Zura said, "There is no harm in him," and he is among the narrators used by Muslim. Walid's grandmother, whose name was Layla bint Malik, is unknown, and Abdul-Rahman bin Khallad is also unknown, but each of them strengthens the other.Nawawi said in Khulasa (2346), "Abu Dawud narrated it and did not declare it daif."Ibn Khuzayma narrated it in his Sahih (1676), and Hakim (1/203), both of them through the route of Walid bin Jami with the same wording, and both of them named Walid's grandmother as Layla bint Malik. Hakim said, "Muslim relied on Walid bin Jami as evidence, and this is a rare sunnah, I do not know of any other properly connected hadith on this subject besides this one, and we have related from the Mother of the Believers Ayesha that she used to give the call to prayer, give the call to start it, and lead the women in prayer." End of quote.The hadith about Ayesha leading the prayer was recorded by Abdul-Razzaq (3/141), Daraqutni (1/404), and Bayhaqi (3/131), all of them through the route of Sufyan Thawri, who said, "Maysara bin Habib narrated to me, from Raita Hanafiyya, who said, 'Ayesha led us in prayer, and she stood among us during the obligatory prayer.'" And from Hujayra, who said, "Umm Salama led us in the Asr prayer, and she stood among us."Nawawi said in Khulasa (2358, 2357), "Daraqutni and Bayhaqi narrated both of them with two sahih chains."Hakim narrated it (1/203–204) through another route, from Layth, from Ataa, from Ayesha. I say, it contains Layth, who is Ibn Abu Salim, and he is daif. However, he was corroborated.On this subject there are other traditions that Zaylai mentioned in Nasb Raya (2/31–32). See for more, Minna Kubra (2/107–110).Imam Ahmad recommended that a woman lead women in congregational prayer, and this is the view of Ayesha, Umm Salama, Shafii, Ishaq, and others. Mughni (3/37).As for women leading men in prayer, no scholar has held this view, and as for what has occurred in our time of women leading men in prayer, it is a reprehensible innovation.