Zubaidah bint Jafar – Visionary of water Canals in Mecca and Medina | Author: Tamanna Hazarika

Zubaidah bint Jafar – Visionary of water Canals in Mecca and Medina

By Tamanna Hazarika


Zubaidah bint Ja‘far ibn al-Mansur was an Arabian queen and one of the most prominent women of the Abbasid era. She was the granddaughter of the famous Caliph al-Mansur¹ and wife of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who ruled from 786 to 809 CE. Their son, al-Amin, also later became caliph.² Zubaidah was known for her intelligence, generosity, and political influence, continuing the legacy of women’s active roles in early Islamic society.

Highly favored by her grandfather for her charm and liveliness, she was affectionately nicknamed Zubaidah—meaning “little butter ball.” She was probably born around 763–764 CE at Mosul (in modern day Iraq), being about a year younger than Harun al-Rashid.¹Her exact birth year is not known to us.

After Harun al-Rashid’s death, a civil war broke out between their two sons. Although Zubaidah tried to mediate peace, her son al-Amin was killed during the conflict. Despite this tragedy, she refused to seek revenge and instead showed kindness and generosity toward her stepson al-Ma’mun and his wife Buran, helping restore peace within the family.

Zubaidah was a renowned patron of poetry, music, and architecture. She lived in great luxury, yet used her wealth for public welfare projects.³ Her most famous contribution was the construction of the Ain Zubaidah Canal—a remarkable underground water system that provided fresh water to pilgrims traveling from Baghdad to Mecca. She also financed the building and maintenance of roads, wells, and rest stops along the 900-mile pilgrimage route, using her own waqf (charitable endowment) funds. The technology they used was far beyond human thought of those times. ⁴

She made six pilgrimages to Mecca, and her last public appearance was during her sixth journey. Zubaidah spent her later years in retirement and passed away in Baghdad in 831 CE.⁵ Her legacy lives on through her charitable works, and several towns and places were named Zubaidiyah In her honor.

Sources :

1. Abbott, Nabia (1946) Two Queens of Baghdad. Chicago : The University of Chicago Press. Pg. 30

2. Ibn Habib, Mohammad (1942 edition) Al-Muhabbar. Beirut : Dar al-Afaq al-Jadida. Pg. 405

3. Edited by Maggy Hendry (2005 edition) Dictionary of Women’s Biography. New York : Palgrave Macmillan. Pg. 643

4. S. Ismail, M.K. Hassan & S. Rahmat (2023) Islamic social finance : Waqf, endowment and SMEs. Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Pg. 39

5. Edited by Bosworth (1989) The History of Al-Tabari Volume XXX. New York : State University of New York. Pg. 326