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It was reported that Sawdah b. al-Kahinah. was, the aunt of Wahbe 1ý the father of 'I'minah, the mother of the Pr9phet) was sent to a place called al-7HujTn because when she was born, her father, noticed that she was black (clearly as a result, of illness). So. she was , sent there to be buried alive, but the digger could not bury her because he heard a voice saying.. "Do,, not, kill her. " When her father knew that. he, spared her to become in, time the priestess of Quraysh: ,1 It is also interesting to, find some sources suggesting that some Arabs killed their daughters if they had some disease because it was thought unlucky. 4. The fourth motive for infanticide might be descended from an old kind of, worship in which females were offered as human sacrifice or oblations. 2 3 This suggests that the practice of infanticide was due to a religious motive, but most of the historical sources do not mention this, except in the story of Abd al-M! jttalib, who vowed, to kill one of his children when he had ten sons and offered the last one as a sacrifice to, God. 4 Since pagan sacrifices involved the shedding of. blood, which was the, main purpose in such an offering, it is unlikely to be the, true source of the custom under discussion by which daughters were buried alive without any. blOodshed. How old were these girls ? There are different opinions about the age at which parents buried their daughters alive. Was it done at the first moment after 1. al-SI37af eki, op. cit. Vol* 19. P*50* 2. Ali, op. cit., P. 88 3. Ibid and Bint al-Shati, Taragim Sayyid; t--BaVt I-NubC; wwah, P. 449 4. Ibn Histram. Vol. 1, P. 140 5. Ali, Vol. 5, P. 97 ,,, 55 5
Or was it at any' specific age ? The Qurlan (16: 57.58.59) suggests that the girl was an unwanted person from the first moment. So, they committed this practice in such a, way that no blood was shed. Commenting T on Q. 81: 8. al-Zamakhshari states: "The grave was ready by -the side of the bed on which a daughter was born. " 1 But sometimes she was buried when she was six years old. Al ZamakhsharT' gives a graphic description - "It was common that whenever a man had a baby girl whom he wanted to keep alive, he dressed her in a coat made from the wool of sheepwhich had been bred in the wilderness for that purposee However, if he wanted to kill her, he would leave her until she was six years old and then say to her mother, "Dress her up and perfume the girl that I may bring her to A-Umaeha. In the meantime. he prepared a hole in the desert for her. Then he would take her to it, and as they reached that hole, he would ask her to look at the hole. While she was doing so, he pushed her from behind into the hole, and put sand on the girl's body until the hole was level with the ground. Other methods of infanticide are recorded, including throwing the girl from the top of a high mountain or drowning her, or slaying her. However. burying daughters alive was more common. 3 Nevertheless. although the hideous practice of burying daughters alive was known to most Arab tribes, certain tribal chiefs went out of their way to save the lives of those innocent girls. It was said that the famous Sa Sala saved as many as three hundred or four hundred girls 4 from that by paying compensatory money to their fathers. Al-Farazdaq expressed his pride about his grandafather Salsa who prevented such burials. 1- al-- Zamak-hahari j al-ýKisti; af ; Vol. 2, quoied by Smith-, o. ci P. 2931V 2. Ibid Aghftiqý992ýýo 3. Ibid and al-trufr. op. cit., P. 297 4. Ali, op. cit% Vol. 5, Po 97 2 56
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- Page 11 and 12: funcultivatable valley', although i
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It was reported that Sawdah b. al-Kahinah. was, the aunt <strong>of</strong> Wahbe<br />
1ý<br />
the father <strong>of</strong> 'I'minah, the mother <strong>of</strong> the Pr9phet) was sent to a<br />
place called al-7HujTn because when she was born, her father, noticed<br />
that she was black (clearly as a result, <strong>of</strong> illness). So. she was ,<br />
sent there to be buried alive, but the digger could not bury her<br />
because he heard a voice saying.. "Do,, not, kill her. " When her<br />
father knew that. he, spared her to become in, time the priestess <strong>of</strong><br />
Quraysh:<br />
,1<br />
It is also interesting to, find some sources suggesting<br />
that some Arabs killed their daughters if they had some disease<br />
because it was thought unlucky.<br />
4. The fourth motive for infanticide might be descended from an<br />
old kind <strong>of</strong>, worship in which females were <strong>of</strong>fered as human<br />
sacrifice or oblations.<br />
2<br />
3 This suggests that the practice <strong>of</strong><br />
infanticide was due to a religious motive, but most <strong>of</strong> the historical<br />
sources do not mention this, except in the story <strong>of</strong> Abd al-M! jttalib,<br />
who vowed, to kill one <strong>of</strong> his children when he had ten sons and<br />
<strong>of</strong>fered the last one as a sacrifice to, God. 4 Since pagan sacrifices<br />
involved the shedding <strong>of</strong>. blood, which was the, main purpose in such an<br />
<strong>of</strong>fering, it is unlikely to be the, true source <strong>of</strong> the custom under<br />
discussion by which daughters were buried alive without any. blOodshed.<br />
How old were these girls ?<br />
There are different opinions about the age at which parents<br />
buried their daughters alive. Was it done at the first moment after<br />
1. al-SI37af eki, op. cit. Vol* 19. P*50*<br />
2. Ali, op. cit., P. 88<br />
3. Ibid and Bint al-Shati, Taragim Sayyid; t--BaVt I-NubC; wwah, P. 449<br />
4. Ibn Histram. Vol. 1, P. 140<br />
5. Ali, Vol. 5, P. 97<br />
,,,<br />
55<br />
5