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06. Umm ul-Mumineen Hazrat Umm-e-Salama (رضی اللہ عنھا)

UMM SALAMAH

Mother of the Faithful

Hind the daughter of Zad ar-Rakib, Hudhayfah ibn al Mugheerah al-Makhzoomi. She is of the noble clan of Makhzoom; and of the gracious tribe of Quraysh.

Zad ar-Rakib is a nickname by which her father, Abu Umayyah, J:Iudhayfah ibn al-Mugheerah was known because of his generosity. He was one of the most famous generous men of the pre-Islamic era who lived in the Arabian Peninsula.

But why was Hudhayfah, Umm Salamah’s father called ‘provision of the traveller’? It was said that whenever he travelled, no one who travelled in his company would be allowed to bring their provision with them. He would rather be responsible for that however much their number was and however long the journey would be.

It was therefore in this firm-rooted home where there was gallantry and generosity that Hind was born and raised.

She and her husband, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdul-Asad are among the earliest Muslims, and performed together the first migration to Abyssinia. She was also said to be the first woman to migrate. She remained in Abyssinia until the news that Hamzah ibn ‘Abdul-MuJ+alib and ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab had embraced Islam reached them. Some of the emigrants then strongly yearned to return to their homeland and meet the Messenger of Allah, believing that Islam had being strengthened by the conversion of the two unique men, Hamzah and ‘Umar.

Umm Salamah returned to Madeenah along with those who returned.

And she had already given birth to her first child, Salamah the son of Abu Salamah. But the Qurayshi persecution did not stop nor abated, and it was not concealed.

After the conclusion of Pledge of ‘Aqabah between the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Ansar of Madeenah, the Messenger of Allah gave permission to his Companions to migrate to Madeenah. That was the beginning of the great transformation in the course of the Prophet’s mission. As usual, Umm Salamah was one of the first emigrants.

In this migration she was separated from her husband and son by Quraysh, she waited patiently and prayed, eventually she was let go of and she moved to Madinah with her son to reunite with her Husband Abu Salamah

Abu Salamah was among the favorite Companions of the Prophet ~), because of his early acceptance of Islam and his endurance of immigration and striving in the way of Allah; and his firm Eeman, bravery, worship and righteousness.

He took part in Badr & Uhud, He therefore occupied a place in the eyes of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He had appointed him a leader of some contingents. He sent him to Banu Asad in the month of Safar, 4 A.H. and he succeeded in his mission and fulfilled the trust.

In the battle of Uhud, he was among those who remained firm. He suffered a serious injury in that battle from which he was healed but not totally. For, after some time, the wound decayed and deteriorated until claimed his life.

Abu Salamah then told his wife, “If I die you should remarry.” He then said, “0′ Allah! Provide for Umm Salamah after me a man who is better than me and who will not disgrace her or harm her.” Umm Salamah said, ”When he died I said, ‘Who is that man that will better than Abu Salamah?’ Then after a while, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ married me.”

The Dua of Umm Salamah

Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying, “When a person suffers from a calamity and utters (the below Dua) then Allah surely compensates him with reward and better substitute.”

‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. Allahumma ujurni fi musibati, wakhluf li khairan minha

(We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. O Allah! Compensate me in my affliction, recompense my loss and give me something better in exchange for it),

Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: When Abu Salamah (May Allah be pleased with him) died, I repeated the same supplication as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had commanded me (to do). So Allah bestowed upon me a better substitute than him (I was married to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ). [Sahih Muslim].

 

Her Marriage to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

An-Nasa’i narrated this story in detail. According to him:

“When Umm Salamah finished her period of waiting after the death of her husband, Abu Bakr proposed marriage to her but she did not accept the proposal. So the Prophet ﷺ sent to her proposing marriage to her. She told the person who was sent to her, ‘Tell the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that I am a jealous woman, I have children and none of my guardians is present.’ He sent back to me, ‘Tell her that as for your jealousy, I will ask Allah to remove it; as for your being with children, I will take care of them; and as for the fact that none of your guardians is present, none of them, present or absent, will oppose your marriage to me.’

She then asked her son, ‘Get up and marry (me) to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.’ And he married her to him.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was encouraged to marry Umm Salamah by two things:

  1. The Arab custom of supporting the wife of a friend by marrying her after the death of her husband.
  2. It has to do with the prayer of Abu Salamah that Allah should provide his wife with a husband who would be better than him after his death.

With her entrance into the house of the Prophet ﷺ as one of the mothers of the faithful, she started another phase and role that had their own significance and impacts, especially since she was highly intelligent and had good sense of judgment.

It is true that ‘A’ishah was the dearest wife to the Prophet ﷺ), but Umm Salamah’s entrance as one of the mothers of the faithful had created for her a new place and a grounded status. She was the mediator among the Prophet’s wives. All of them honoured her and respected her status.

One of the memorable actions and advice to the Prophet ﷺ was on the day of Hudaibiyah. It was her turn to go with him on that day.

After the truce of Hudaybiyah, many Companions of the Prophet ﷺ felt frustrated and disappointed. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had brought the sacrificial animals with him. But having made the truce, he decided to terminate his ihram and commanded the people to do the same. The people however failed to comply. This was a dangerous phenomenon!!

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went to Umm Salamah she saw that he was distressed and gloomy. She gently asked him of the reason for his gloominess and he narrated what happened to her. In the best of manners she advised him to go out, invite his barber and have his head shaven publicly. He did so and suddenly people started shaving or cutting their hair.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was very happy and he laughed that his molar teeth were seen. The problem was then solved and the Satan who wanted to cause dissension was defeated. All this is due to Allah’s grace through what He taught Umm Salamah!

After the death of the Prophet ﷺ, Umm Salamah lived for many more decades until she was the last to die of the Prophet’s wives.

Thus did Umm Salamah witness some of the crucial events that the Muslims experienced. There is no doubt that the crisis that emanated from the martyrdom of ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan was the most dangerous and had the farthest impact. But Umm Salamah remained neutral throughout. She rather – according to many reports called to harmony and mutual love among the Muslims.

The love for Allah and His Messenger, and the love for the Prophet’s household had occupied the big heart of Umm Salamah.

May Allah be pleased with her and please her! May He honour her abode and made her a model for our women! He is the All-Hearing, the Responding.

 

 

SOURCE:
https://learn-islam.org

 

 

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