Is the name of the female Companion who used to have epileptic fits, and for whom the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, prayed, Umm Zufar al-Habashiyyah al-Asadiyyah — may Allah be pleased with her — and was she married and had a child?

The story of the woman who suffered from epilepsy is well-established in the Two Sahihs (Bukhari and Muslim). Ibn Hajar mentioned her name as Sa'irah al-Asadiyyah and her kunya (agnomen) as Umm Zufar. 'Ata' said that he saw that Umm Zufar, a tall, dark woman, by the curtain of the Kaaba. There is a difference of opinion as to whether Umm Zufar is the same black woman mentioned or not, but this does not entail any significant consequence. Assuming the authenticity of this kunya, she might have had a son named Zufar, or she might not have; for a kunya does not necessarily mean that the person bearing it is the parent of the named individual. And assuming that the illness she suffered from prevented childbearing for its sufferer, she might have been blessed with children before that. Types of epilepsy vary, and we do not know the true nature of the epilepsy she suffered from, nor do we know whether it affects reproduction or not. We have not known that epilepsy prevents childbearing.