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Hind bint Utba — The Woman Who Ate a Liver: Enmity, Loss, Conversion, and Complexity

هِندُ بِنتُ عُتبَة — المَرأَةُ الَّتِي أَكَلَتِ الكَبِد: العَدَاوَةُ وَالخَسَارَةُ وَالإِسلَامُ وَالتَّعقِيد
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Hind bint Utba (هِندُ بِنتُ عُتبَة; died after 636 CE; wife of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb; mother of Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan) is the most dramatically complex female figure in the early Islamic historical sources — a woman of fierce intelligence and equally fierce enmity toward the Prophet, whose father Utba, uncle Shayba, and brother al-Walid were killed by Ali ibn Abi Talib and Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib at the Battle of Badr (624 CE). At the Battle of Uhud (625 CE), motivated by grief and vengeance, she paid the enslaved warrior Wahshi to kill Hamza specifically — and after the battle, she mutilated his body and is traditionally reported to have eaten a piece of his liver in an act that became one of the most disturbing events of the Seerah. She later converted to Islam at the Conquest of Mecca.

The Losses at Badr and the Vow

Hind’s father Utba ibn Rabi’a, her uncle Shayba ibn Rabi’a, and her brother al-Walid were killed at the Battle of Badr by Ali ibn Abi Talib and Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The grief she carried was immense and became personal vendetta.

At Uhud, she organized the financial and moral support for the Meccan counterattack: hiring Wahshi ibn Harb, an enslaved man known for his javelin skill, with the specific condition that he kill Hamza — “the destroyer of my heart” — in exchange for his freedom.

Wahshi killed Hamza with a javelin thrust during the battle.

The Mutilation

After the Meccan victory at Uhud, Hind — according to multiple early sources — mutilated Hamza’s body: cutting off his ears, nose, and reportedly eating or attempting to eat a piece of his liver. The Prophet, on seeing what had been done to his uncle Hamza, wept and swore revenge. A revelation then came: “And if you punish [an enemy, O believers], punish with an equivalent of that with which you were harmed. But if you are patient — it is better for those who are patient.” (16:126)

The Prophet chose patience and forgiveness rather than retribution in kind.

The Conversion

At the Conquest of Mecca (630 CE), Hind came to the Prophet in disguise as part of a group of women seeking to accept Islam. The Prophet gave the women their allegiance on conditions — no stealing, no fornication, no killing children. Hind asked questions that pushed back at each condition. The Prophet recognized her and she took her oath of Islam.

See also: Seerah Abu Sufyan, Seerah Ali, Seerah Umar Ibn Khattab, Karbala, Seerah Husayn Ibn Ali, Hijra

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