Queen Arwa of Yemen: Epitome of Grace and Power
by Farida HajiIslam has a history of women of faith and courage, be it Khadija, the revered wife of Prophet Muhammed ﷺ or the women of the Prophet’s ﷺ family. Through this article, we share the timeline of a lesser-known Queen of Yemen.
Queen Arwa of Yemen
When we think of Yemen, we tend to remember the magnificent Pre-Islamic Arab queen, Queen of Sheba, Bilqis, who ruled the South Arabian kingdom of Saba in present-day Yemen and Ethiopia.
We share a glimpse of one more impressive figure in Yemeni history: the last ruler of the Sulayhid Dynasty. Queen Arwa of Yemen exercised exceptional political and religious authority, ruling the country for more than 50 years as Islam flourished through the Golden Age.
She was the first woman to be accorded the prestigious title of hujja by the Isma’ili branch of Shi’a Islam. She ruled for over fifty years and never lost support from the Yemeni people. She was affectionately titled Malikat Sabaʾ Aṣ-Ṣaghīrah (Little Queen of Sheba), As-Sayyidah Al-Ḥurrah, Al-Malikah Al-Ḥurrah, and Al-Ḥurratul-Malikah.
1048 CE:
Queen Arwa was born as Arwā bint Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Mūsā aṣ-Ṣulayḥī in the city of Haraz in Yemen. Orphaned at a young age, she was adopted by her paternal uncle King Ali and aunt Queen Asma of Yemen.
Queen Asma, her future mother-in-law, enriched and educated Arwa with soulful poetry and an in-depth understanding of the Qur’an.
1065 CE:
Queen Arwa married her cousin, the crown prince Ahmad al-Mukarram bin Ali, acquiring the title of Sayyada Arwa when she was 18. In a series of traumatic events King Ali, her father-in-law was killed and Queen Asma was captured. After Queen Asma was rescued, the crown prince suffered from paraplegia. His poor health put Queen Arwa in a position of power at a very young age. She co-ruled with her mother-in-law until Queen Asma died in 1074, after which she took sole charge of her kingdom.
1088 CE:
Queen Arwa persuaded her husband, King Ahmad al Mukarram to shift his capital to Dhu Jiblah from Sana’a for two primary reasons. Firstly, her political and strategic insight of Dhu Jiblah, as the city, lay between the upper and lower regions of Yemen. It made it easy to manage the affairs of the kingdom.
Secondly, the foresight of the type of people of the regions. She asked her husband to call upon the people of Sana’a and its neighboring villages. When they gathered, the king saw none but all carrying either a sword or a spear. After the king migrated to Dhu Jiblah with his wife, he summoned the inhabitants of Dhu Jiblah. Where he saw none but either all carrying gifts in their hands or loaded on the backs of animals.
The Queen commented, “Indeed, life should be lived amongst these,’ and thus, Dhu Jiblah was made the capital. Dar al-Izz was chosen as the royal residence due to its strategic position. The ruins of the fortress exist to date. She ruled trade routes within the country and those across the Gulf of Aden into East Africa.
Her contemporary al-Sultan al-Khattab said of her praise: “ She was the Banu Sulayhi’s pearl, who brought light to a place of darkness.
1138 CE:
As an efficient and remarkable Muslim sovereign, she held court, minted coins, fought wars, negotiated peace treaties, and built cities and trade routes. She set up several madrasas for cultural and religious studies. She built roads and numerous mosques.
Queen Arwa passed away and is buried in the Queen Arwa Mosque or Friday Mosque in Dhu Jiblah, which has become an important pilgrimage site for pious Yemenis.
Queen Arwa Mosque or Friday Mosque in Yemen
The magnificent masjid’s construction began in 1056. It was meant to be a palace but was repurposed as a mosque by the Queen after she shifted her capital from Sana’a to Dhu Jiblah. This masjid and numerous other monuments in Yemen are an architectural testimony to her legacy.
Very enlightening story and thanks for sharing.
MASHAALLAH
Amazing!!
Very well written 👌
I enjoyed reading this, for I revelled in the sentence structure the author opted for the flow of the history.
It was a beautiful read. Thank you!
It was an interesting article to read I love history it was my favorite subject in high school
Nicely done
Masha’ALLAH so informative! Always good to learn more and more Alhamdulillah !
Beautiful ❤️
Very beautiful and interesting story. Shukran Wajazakallahu kheir.
Masya Allah
Loved it.. Well written and so informative.. Thank you😍
MashaaAllah!I never heard of Queen Area in my life!We need to tell these stories to our young girls who need Islamic Role Models to emulate
Salaam to my Muslim Bro. And Sisters. Alhamdu Lillaah. May Allah (swt) reward you for posting this story. I am 80 years old and never heard about Queen Arwa. Stories like this need to be told to encourage our Muslimah to try and emulate, to educate themselves and to be leaders of tomorrow. Very fascinating.
Please keep up the good work, Inshaa Allah
Maa Shaa Allah 🙏
Allah Akbar,This is indeed a great and wonderful story we to be heard for the encouragement of our generation.
Amazing !
Jazakallah khair
Enlightening and
This is indeed a great and wonderful story we to be heard for the encouragement of our generation.
Good to know the heroes of Islam who put great efforts (fisabillillah)
Jazak’Allahu khairyan for sharing.
Masha allah
Very informative and in depth history of the queen and yemen it andteaches us all muslim courage and how to rule the brave people of Yemen thanks a lot
very interesting and educational. I need more information of this kind. History is so often over looked , and we need it so bad to inform as to where we are today.
Salaam, Daan-Oji.
Informative and very interesting
That was very useful and strategic planned by a brilliant Queen
It was very englightening to know about our Muslim heritage and cultures,would love to know more especially the ones dominated by a woman to highlight the fact that in Islam women also have hierarchy and place as compared to our common beliefs
Masha Allah,,,it’s glory of Islam which gives full authority to oll women’s,,, and also shame for those who criticized Islam,,, for giving not proper rights to them,,,
Amazing! Thanks for sharing I had not heard about queen Arwa
Enjoyable read
Thank you for sharing