Um-'Atiya

Um Atiya al-Ansariyya (RA), also known as Nusayba bint al-Harith or Nusayba bint Ka'b, was a female Companion of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ from the Ansar of Medina. She is one of the most frequently cited female narrators of hadith, particularly regarding matters of women's worship, ritual purity, and burial rites.

Um Atiya participated in several military expeditions alongside the Prophet ﷺ in a supporting role, treating the wounded and assisting the Muslim army. She is one of the women who pledged allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: "If it is not too difficult, let no woman wash a body except Um Atiya," indicating his high regard for her expertise in ritual washing of the deceased.

Her narrations cover topics including the ritual bath (ghusl), Eid prayers for women, the prohibition on mourning beyond three days (except for a husband), and details of the Prophet's ﷺ daily life. Her hadiths appear in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and all major hadith collections. She is a key source for Islamic rulings pertaining to women's worship and funeral rites, and her narrations have been relied upon by the four madhabs in their legal rulings.