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Mother of the believers Umm Salama
Her Family :
Her father was a prominent master in Quraish. He was called Zad Ar-Rakb (a provision for the passenger) because whenever he traveled he would suffice whoever accompanies him.
Her mother was Atika daughter of Amir Ibn Rabi'ah al-kananiyyah who was from Banu Firas.
Her Struggle :
Umm Salama and Abdal Asad had been among the first people to embrace Islam in the early days of the
Muslim community in Mecca. They had suffered at the hands of the Quraish who had tried to force them
to abandon their new faith, and had been among the first group of Muslims to seek refuge under
the protection of the Negus in Abyssinia.
When they had returned to Mecca, believing that the situation of the Muslims had improved, they had found instead that if anything it was worse. Rather than return to Abyssinia, Abdal Asad and Umm Salama had received the Prophet's permission to immigrate to Medina, but this proved not to be as easy as they might have imagined.
Umm Salama explained narrated her story saying : "When Abu Salama decided to set out for Medina, he prepared his camel to carry me and his son on it. He was leading the camel to Medina when we were seen by men of my tribe, Banu Makhzum, they obstructed us. They said, "We could not control you, Abu Salama? What about your wife? Why did we let you wandering with her in the land? Then, they pulled the camel's rein from his hand and took me back.
Accordingly, enraged by anger, Banu Abdel Asad took my son and said to my husband's family, "By Allah we would not leave our son in her custody after you had taken him from our kin."
So they took him by his arm and pulled him away from me. Suddenly, in the space of a few minutes, I found myself all alone. My husband headed out towards Medina by himself; his tribe had snatched away my son from me; and my own tribe had overpowered me and forced me to stay with them. From the day that my husband and my son were parted from me, I went out at noon every day and sat at the spot where this tragedy had occurred. I would remember those terrifying moments and weep until nightfall.
"I continued like this for a year or so until one day a man from the Banu Umayya passed by and saw my condition. He went to my tribe and said, 'Why don't you free this woman? You have caused both her husband and her son to betaken away from her.' He went on like this, trying to soften their hearts and appealing to their emotions, until at last they said to me, 'Go and join your husband if you wish.'
But how could I join my husband in Medina, and leave my son, part of my own flesh and blood, in Mecca among the Banu Abdul Asad? How could I remain free from anguish, and my eyes free from tears, if I were to reach the place of hijrah not knowing anything of my little son left behind in Mecca?
"Some people realized what I was going through and their hearts went out to me. They approached the Banu Abdul Asad on my behalf and persuaded them to return my son. I had no desire to remain in Mecca until I could find someone to travel with me, for I was afraid that something might happen that would delay me or stop me from reaching my husband."
So I immediately prepared my camel, placed my son on my lap, and set out in the
direction of Medina. Umm Salama was a brave woman. She was not afraid of the dangers of the desert where travelers can easily be misguided by a mirage or attacked by wild animals or sold into slavery by highwaymen. Even experienced men avoided to travel alone for such a long distance. But Umm Salama was more afraid that her relatives could change their minds and use violence to keep her back. She trusted in Allah and set off with her little son.
She continued, "I just had just reached Tan'im (3 miles from Mecca) when I met Uthman ibn Talha (He as in charge of looking after the Ka'ba, but did not embrace Islam until the Conquest of Mecca).
"Were are you going, Bint Zad ar Rakib?" he asked.
'I am going to my husband in Medina.'
'And isn't there anyone going with you?'
'No, by Allah, except Allah and my little boy here.'
'By Allah,' he vowed, 'I will not leave you until you reach Medina.'
He then took the reins of my camel and led us on our way. By Allah, I have never met an Arab more generous and noble than he. Whenever we reached a resting-place, he would make my camel kneel down, wait until I had dismounted and then lead the camel to a tree and tether it. Then he would go and rest in the shade of a different tree to me. When we had rested, he would get the camel ready again and then lead us on our way. This he did every day until we reached Medina.
When we reached a village near Qiba' (about two miles from Medina), belonging to the Banu Amr ibn Awf, he said, 'Your husband is in this village. Enter it with the blessings of Allah.' Then he turned round and headed back to Mecca."
Umm Salama was the first emigrant woman to Medina as was she to Abyssinia
In Medina she devoted her life to her family. Abu Salma, her husband, fought bravely in the battle of Badr and Uhud until he was severely wounded in his forelimb.
Two months after the battle of Uhud, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was informed that Banu Asad were gathering to attack him in Medina, He, therefore, called Abu Salama and appointed him as the leader of a squad of about 150 men including Abu Ubaidah and Saad ibn Abu Waqqas (two of the most famous and brave companions of the prophet) to attack them in Qutn (a mount).
In this battle, Abu Salama's wound was reopened and so he remained in his bed to be treated.
Once while Umm Salama was nursing him, he said to her, "I once heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that whenever a calamity afflicts anyone he should say what Allah has commanded him to say:
'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un!' (Meaning : Surely we come from Allah and surely to
Him we return!) and then he should say, 'O Lord, reward me for my affliction and
give me something better than it in return, which only You, the Exalted the
Mighty, can give.'
Abu Salama remained sick in bed for several days. One morning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to see him. The visit was longer than usual, and while the Prophet was still at his bedside, Abu Salama died. With his blessed hands, the Prophet closed the eyes of his dead Companion with his honorable hands the he looked towards the sky and said:
"O Allah, grant forgiveness to Abu Salama; elevate him among those who are near to You; take charge of his family at all times; forgive us and him, O Lord of the worlds; make his grave spacious for him and fill it with light.
Um Salama received the catastrophe with a faithful heart.
She remembered what her husband narrated on the authority of the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, so she said, "O Allah reward me for my catastrophe...she stopped for a minute then she could continued "and replace it with something better"
She wondered, who could be better than her beloved husband Abu Salama...?
After her mourning period ended, many great companions proposed to marry her. It was the Muslims custom when one died, they would marry the wife so as to look after the deceased's family without causing them any embarrassments. Umm Salama was not the only wife to have been widowed as a result of the battle of Uhud, and thanks to this marriage, many of the Companions followed the Prophet's example, marrying widows and thereby bringing them and their children into the circle of their families, instead of leaving them to struggle on their own.
The Prophet's Proposal :
She was amazed and she soon remembered the Hadith related by Abu Salama : "and replace my catastrophe with something better."
She realized that this was surely the best replacement. She was such an honest woman when she did not hesitate to disclose her defects before the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. "O Messenger of Allah," Umm Salama replied, "I have three main characteristics: I am a woman who is extremely jealous and I am afraid that you will see
something in me that will make you angry and cause Allah to punish me; I am a woman who is already advanced in age; and I am a woman who has many children".
"As for your jealousy," answered the Prophet, "I pray to Allah the Almighty to take it away from you. As for your age, I am older than you. As for your many children, Allah and His Messenger will suffice them".
The Prophet's answered eased her heart, and so they were married in Shawwal, 4 AH, and so it was that Allah answered the prayer of Umm Salama and gave her better than Abu Salama. From that day on, Umm Salama was not only the mother of Salama, but also became the 'Mother of the Believers' 'Umm al Muminin'.
The rational woman :
Later on, he sent Uthman into the city to negotiate with the city council. The council members suggested to Uthman to perform the rituals of the Umra himself before going back to Allah's messenger (s) and his companions because they hoped to win his sympathy. But he refused.
In the meantime, the Muslims had already been worrying because he had stayed away for a long time. They thought that the Quraish had treacherously killed him. All of them, men and women, went to Allah's messenger and vowed to stand by his side in case of a war - which would have been a war between unequal parties because the Muslims had not taken their weapons along while the idolaters had access to their full armour. But finally Uthman came back unharmed, accompanied by a messenger called Suhail who was supposed to make a treaty with the Muslims.
Quraish had vowed not to let the Muslims enter Mecca this year, and they did not want to lose their faces by breaking this vow. The Muslims were very disappointed when Allah's messenger suggested to return and come back next year.
At the same time, the Quraish were ready to make a peace treaty.
At this point, the Muslims would have liked to shout out in protest but Allah's messenger quietly said to Ali, "Write, This is a treaty between Muhammad bin Abdullah and Suhail bin Amr." Ali had tears in his eyes because he felt ashamed at the humiliation for the beloved Prophet, but he controlled himself and went on writing as dictated,
"... they agree not to make war against each other for ten years. During that time people should feel safe
and keep their distance.
Muhammad is obliged to return to the Quraish anyone who comes to him without his
patron's permission, while the Quraish are not obliged to send back anyone coming to
them from Muhammad's side. There should not be any hostility, secret theft or cheating
between us. Anyone is free to make agreements with Muhammad or the Quraish."
The Muslims were bitterly disappointed and sad. They had been looking forward to their Umra, and even
though they felt relieved at the prospect of peace as agreed upon in the treaty they felt that its conditions
were humiliating and unfair.
Therefore they hesitated to follow the Prophet's instruction to slaughter their sacrificial animals and to
cut their hair as if they had performed the Umra. Allah's messenger was exhausted and went into his tent.
Umm Salama thought for a while. She was very sad herself, and she knew that the Prophet was disappointed and sad.
But then she thought that Allah would certainly turn it into something good for the Muslims and that he probably
had thought about that because he was an experienced man who would not let himself be persuaded to make a
treaty that gave away all the advantages to the others. And certainly a long peace was better than a short pilgrimage.
Finally she said, "If you want them to follow your instructions, why do you not go out yourself and do not talk
to anyone until you have slaughtered your animal, and then call someone to cut your hair?" So Allah's messenger
followed this advice, and then the Muslims followed his example by slaughtering their sacrificial animals and
having their hair cut. Then they set off for Medina. At that time, the following verses were revealed:
"You and your daughter are among the People of the House " :
Umm Salama began to weep and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) looked at her
and asked tenderly, "Why are you weeping?"
A'isha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him, married Umm Salama, I felt very unhappy when he mentioned her beauty
to us. I waited until I saw her and she was even more beautiful than her description."
She was also from a very noble family and known for her keen intelligence.
On more than one occasion, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, asked her advice in
tricky situations.
Like A'isha and Hafsa, Umm Salama learned the whole of the Qur'an by heart, and an indication
of her high station with Allah can be found in the fact that she was permitted to see the angel
Jibril in human form: It has been related by Salman that Jibril came to the Messenger of Allah, peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him, while Umm Salama was with him, and had a conversation with him.
After Jibril had left, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to Umm
Salama, "Do you know who that was?"
Zaynab, her daughter, grew up in the care of the Messenger of
Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and become one of the most intelligent women of her time.
Once Zaynab came in while the Prophet was bathing and he splashed water in her face.
Afterwards face retained its youthfulness even into her old age.
Her son Salama later married Umama, the daughter of Hamza, the martyred uncle of the Prophet.
Umm Salama was married to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, for seven
years until his death in 10 AH and accompanied him on many of his expeditions: Hudaybiyya, Khaybar, the
Conquest of Mecca, the siege of Ta'if, the expedition against Hawazin and Thaqif, and the Farewell Hajj.
She continued to live for a long time, outliving all the other wives of the Prophet, may
Allah be pleased with them, until she died in 59 AH, at the age of eighty four, may Allah
be pleased with her, and Abu Hurairah said the funeral prayer over her.
She was Hind, the daughter of Abu Umayya Ibn Al-Mugeerah al-Makhzumiah.
She was married to Abdullah Ibn Abdel-Asad al Makhzumi (Abu Salama).
One day as she was tanning a hide of an animal, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked her permission to enter. She permitted him and offered him a pillow on which he sat down. He, then, proposed to her.
When the pilgrims had arrived near Mecca, they were met by representatives of the Quraish and told to go back because they would not be permitted to enter the city. Allah's messenger wanted to prevent an armed conflict. He asked the Muslims to set up a camp and negotiated with the Quraish.
Allah's messenger called Ali to set up the text, and he dictated, "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful."
"Stop!" Suhail interrupted, "I do not know of any Beneficent and Merciful. Write instead, In Your Name, O Allah.
Then Allah's messenger went on, "This is a treaty between Muhammad, Allah's messenger, and Suhail bin Amr ..."
"Stop!" Suhail interrupted again, "If I were convinced that you are Allah's messenger, I would not have
participated in any war against you. Write your name and your father's name."
"What is the matter with you?" Umm Salama asked.
"Well," he said, "they are too disappointed to listen to me."
We have granted you an obvious victory so that Allah may protect you against your earlier and later
faults, and that He may perfect His grace towards you and guide you on the straight path, and that
Allah may help you with a powerful help. He is the One who sends tranquility into the hearts of the
faithful, adding faith to their faith - and to Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allah
is knowing, wise."
(Surah 48:1-4)
She also had a home for her four children: Salama, Umar, Zaynab, and Durra who ere the foster children of the Prophet. Once she was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with her daughter Zaynab when Fatima came with al Hasan and al Husayn. He embraced his two grandsons and said, "may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you, People of the House. He is Praiseworthy, Glorious."
She replied, "O Messenger of Allah, you singled them out and left me and my daughter!"
He said, "You and your daughter are among the People of the House."
and she replied that it was a man called Dihya al Khalbi. "By Allah," said Umm Salama, "I didn't think it was
anyone else until the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, told me who it really was."
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