Umm Salamah

In the era of supermodel influencers and bloggers, o find that young Muslimahs details and history of the Ummahaatul Mu'mineen. Rather, they are mesmerised and have memorised everything there is to know about their western “role models”. It might be that one or two famous stories of the Umahaatul Mu’mineen are known to them, yet, there is no interest to learn more about these dazzling damsels.

Her lineage and early life

Imagine a woman of outstanding beauty, intelligence, and eloquence. A woman who belonged to a noble clan of the Quraysh, one could call her the princess of her tribe. She was endeared to her people and loved immensely by her husband She was none other than Hind Bint Abi Umayyah more famously known as Umme Salamah

. Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ was the daughter of a noble chief Abu Umayyah, who belonged to the Banu Makhzoom Tribe of the Quraysh. He was very well respected was given the title of 'The Her mother's name was Aatikah Bint Aamir ibn Rabi'ah From her tribe, many chieftains of Quraysh hailed, such as Abu Jahal who was her father’s cousin and Khaalid bin Waleed ﻪﻨﻋﷲﻲﺿر, her first cousin Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر accepted Islam in its early days. Her first marriage was to Abdullah bin Asad who was known as Abu Salamah ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر. He was one of the early Muslims in Makkah, and accepted Islam before the days of Darul Arqam, making him either the 10th or 11th person to embrace Islam. Abu Salamah's ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر mother was Barrah Bint Abi Mutallib, the aunt of Rasulullah ﷺ, thus he was the first cousin of Rasulullah as well as his milk brother. Abu Salamah was extremely beloved to Rasulullah ﷺ Abu Salamah and Umme Salamah ﷲ

Most of the hhhhhh incidents that transpired in the court of Najashi were narrated by Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ

ﻲﺿر. Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر forsook her luxurious home and sacrificed her comforts to travel to an unknown distant land for the sake of Allah Ta’aala She lived in a foreign land for many years, away from her birth place and family to preserve her Deen.

A great test

One of the greatest tests that Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر faced was at the time of Hijra to Madinah Munawarrah When Abu Salamah ﻪﻨﻋﷲﻲﺿر resolved to depart for Madinah, he made preparations and set out without any delay. Before they could leave Makkah they were spotted by men from the Banu Makhzoom tribe. These men came forward violently saying to Abu Salamah ﻦﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر, referring to Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر, "She is our daughter, why should we allow you to take her?" They forced Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر and her son away from her husband When Abu Salamah's tribe, Banu Abdil Asad saw her clan seizing her, they flared up in pride and snatched her little son Salamah away, saying that Salamah belonged to them and they would not allow him to leave. In a few moments, Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر was separated from her husband and child Abu Salamah ﻪﻨﻋﷲﻲﺿر found himself in this helpless situation, set out for Madinah alone seeking to preserve his Deen. Umme Salamah ﻪﻨﻋﷲﻲﺿر would go out every morning to the valley and sit down in the very spot where her tragedy had ensued. She would recall her incident and weep unceasingly until nightfall This continued for almost a year until one day her first cousin passed by her and took pity on her condition. He rebuked his people and kept pleading on her behalf until they permitted her to join her husband. Their hearts softened towards her, and soon her son was also returned to her by Banu Abdil asad

Asad Without lingering in Makkah any longer, she set out to Madinah on a camel with her son. In the outskirts of Makkah, in Tan'eem she was seen by Uthmaan bin Talha ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر. Uthmaan ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر was a very noble man of Quraysh, but he was not yet a Muslim. Seeing this vulnerable mother and her young baby travelling alone, Uthmaan ﻪﻨﻋﷲﻲﺿر decided to help them on this journey. Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋﷲﻲﺿر narrates, "By Allah, I have never met a more noble or honourable Arab. Whenever he reached a place, he would make the camel kneel down then he would walk away while I dismounted Then he would draw the camel and go to rest under a tree in the distance" When it was time to mount again, he would bring the camel near her, then move away some distance so that she could climb back on. On this journey, he never looked at her, nor spoke to her, he kept his gaze fixed ahead while Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر sat on the camel. Uthmaan bin Talha ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر maintained this modest and honourable way until they reached Madinah. He was so selfless that he carried out this strenuous journey on foot, without expecting any monetary recompense to help a woman who was not his relative for a cause that he did not believe However, he accepted Islam before the Conquest of Makkah along with Khaalid bin Waleed and Amr bin Aas ﻢﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر. May Allah be pleased with them. Finally Umme Salamah and Abu Salamah ﷲ ﻲﺿر ﺎﻤﻬﻨﻋ were reunited. They lived together in madinah and had 3 more children.

Marriage to Rasūlullah ﷺ

During the battle of Badr and and Uhud, Abu Salamah ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر fought devotedly and bravely alongside Rasulullah ﷺ . In the battle of Uhud he was terribly wounded, for which he was receiving treatment. Outwardly it seemed to have healed but it deteriorated and soon it became inflamed and swollen One day Abu Salamah ﻲﺿر ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ came home with an extreme sense of joy, he said to Umme Salamah, "I heard Rasulullah ﷺ say, when someone is afflicted with any misfortune and recites, 'Indeed we belong to Allah and to Allah shall we return. Oh Allah, I seek the reward for this affliction with You. Oh Allah, grant me something better in return' Then

Allah will certainly grant him that." During his convalescence, Abu Salamah ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر was bedridden and eventually he succumbed to his wound Rasulullah ﷺ was very moved on the death of Abu Salamah ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر, he made dua for his widow and his orphan children. When he passed away, Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر remembered what her husband told her and recited this dua, but thought to herself, 'who could be better than Abu Salamah?' Nevertheless she still acted upon it as it was from the teaching of Rasulullah ﷺ The Muslims were overwhelmed with the grief of Umme Salamah

, they named her Widow of the Arabs They understood their duty towards this weak mother and little children.

First Hadhrat Abu Bakr ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر proposed to her, but she declined him, and then Hadhrat Umar ﻪﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر proposed to her but she declined as well. Finally, Rasulullah ﷺ proposed to her. Nervously she replied, "I posses three faults I am a jealous women, I am advanced in age and I have children."

Rasulullah ﷺ replied, "Regarding the jealousy, I will make dua to Allah to remove it from your heart As for your age, I am in the same position, and your children will be my children." She then accepted his proposal and from then on she was not only Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ

, she became Ummul Mu'mineen

Her merits and virtues

Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋﷲﻲﺿر had unparalleled elegance and beauty Aaisha ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر mentioned that when Rasulullah married Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋ ﷲ ﻲﺿر, she became jealous over the extreme beauty of Umme Salamah

She had a special insight in matters and her eloquence made her outstanding. She had a sense of reason that made her persuasive in the her speech

During the treaty of Hudaibiyyah, the Sahabah were heavily disappointed over the treaty that outwardly went in favour of the disbelievers They were heartbroken that they were not permitted to perform Umrah at that time. Rasulullah ﷺ gave the order command jjjj for them to slaughter the sacrificial animals and shave their hair in order to exit Ihraam Rasulullah ﷺ entered the tent of Umme Salamah and expressed his distress She advised him, "Oh Rasulullah ﷺ this treaty is dreadfully challenging to the Muslims This is why they are so dejected that they are unable to execute your instructions. Do not say anything to anyone You personally go outside, slaughter your animal, and shave off your hair. Inevitably the people are bound to follow suit" This is exactly what happened. When the Sahabah ﻢﻬﻨﻋﷲﻲﺿر saw Rasulullah ﷺ do this, they raced one another to carry out the command. May Allah reward Umme Salamah for her suggestion

Verse thirty-five of Surah Ahzab was revealed as a result of a question that Umme Salamah posed to Rasulullah She asked Rasulullah ﻞﺻ ﻢﻠﺳ ﻪﻴﻠﻋ ﷲ why only the male gender was addressed in the Quran, and not the females. Her question was not a challenge, rather it manifested her zeal and intelligence. Consequently, Allah Ta'ala revealed the verse

Her Demise

Umme Salamah ﺎﻬﻨﻋﷲﻲﺿر was the last wife of Rasulullah ﷺ to pass away in the year 62 A.H. She was 84 years old at the time of her death and she is buried in Jannatul Baqee She was lowered into her grave by her two sons and Her janazah salaah was performed by Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah

May Allah Ta’aala be pleased with her, and may He unite us with her and all the Azwaaj Mutaharrat. Ámin.