Sumayya: The First Martyr
Ammar’s mother Sumayya bint Khayyat was an elderly freed woman who converted to Islam in the earliest days in Mecca. When Abu Jahl discovered her conversion, he tortured her to recant — and when she refused, killed her with a spear. She is universally recorded in Islamic tradition as the first martyr of the Muslim community.
Her husband Yasir soon died under similar torture. The Prophet passed by the family being tortured and could not yet protect them — he said: “Be patient, O family of Yasir! Indeed, your promised place is Paradise.”
The Quran’s Permission of Taqiyya (16:106)
When Ammar was forced under extreme torture to speak words against the Prophet, he came to the Prophet weeping, believing he had apostatized. The Prophet asked: “How do you find your heart?” Ammar replied: “Firm in faith.” The Prophet then comforted him.
The Quran then revealed: “Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief — except for one who is compelled while his heart is firm in faith…” (16:106)
This verse established the legal permission of taqiyya (dissimulation under genuine compulsion): the heart’s conviction is the seat of faith, not forced words extracted under threat of death. The doctrine became particularly significant in Shia theology.
The Prophecy of Siffin
The Prophet foretold: “‘Ammar will be killed by the transgressing party (al-fi’a al-baghiya).” When Ammar was killed fighting alongside Ali ibn Abi Talib against Muawiya at Siffin in 657 CE — at an age reported to be over 90 — those fighting with Muawiya faced the devastating implication: they were the transgressing party the Prophet had foretold.
See also: Seerah Ali, Seerah Husayn Ibn Ali, Karbala, Tawhid Divine Unity, Seerah Fatima Zahra, Seerah Bilal Ibn Rabah