Hababah (slave)

Hababah (died 724), was a jarya, slave singer and poet of the Caliph Yazid II.

Hababah was a slave, brought to the harem of the Caliph Yazid II as a concubine. She entertained him as a singer and a poet. Yazid became so much in love with her that he was described as hypnotized by her singing and poetry.^[1]

The chronicles state : 'One day while Hababa was singing, Yazid experienced such great pleasure that he burst out: "I want to fly away!" Hababa told him: "Commander of the Faithful, if you leave the umma and also us, who will take care of us?'"^[1]

She died after choking on pomegranate seeds, (according to another account it was grapes thrown at her by the Caliph) while picnicking in a garden.^[2] Yazid initially refused to bury her and was so affected by her death he refused to see anyone for a week. He neglected his duties and died not long after. Yazid's great love for her and sorrow at her death resulted in his name coming in disrepute for centuries before he was rehabilitated, and his neglect of state affairs and religion caused Hababah to be considered as an enemy of God.^[1]

References

1 2 3 Mernissi, Fatima; Mary Jo Lakeland (2003). The forgotten queens of Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-579868-5.
↑ Ṭabarī (1989). Powers, David Stephan, ed. The History of al-Tabari Vol. 24: The Empire in Transition: The Caliphates of Sulayman, 'Umar, and Yazid A.D. 715-724. SUNY Press. pp. 194–196. ISBN 9780791400739.

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[auto-1] 1 2 3 Mernissi, Fatima; Mary Jo Lakeland (2003). The forgotten queens of Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-579868-5.

[2] Ṭabarī (1989). Powers, David Stephan, ed. The History of al-Tabari Vol. 24: The Empire in Transition: The Caliphates of Sulayman, 'Umar, and Yazid A.D. 715-724. SUNY Press. pp. 194–196. ISBN 9780791400739.