Umm Salamah! What an
eventful life she had! Her real name was
Hind. She was the daughter of one of the
notables in the Makhzum clan nicknamed
"Zad ar-Rakib" because he was
well known for his generosity
particularly to travelers. Umm Salamah's
husband was Abdullah ibn Abdulasad and
they both were among the first persons
to accept Islam. Only Abu Bakr and a few
others, who could be counted on the
fingers of one hand, became Muslims
before them.
As soon as the news of
their becoming Muslims spread, the
Quraysh reacted with frenzied anger.
They began hounding and persecuting Umm
Salamah and her husband. But the couple
did not waver or despair and remained
steadfast in their new faith.
The persecution became
more and more intense. Life in Makkah
became unbearable for many of the new
Muslims. The Prophet, peace be upon him,
then gave permission for them to
emigrate to Abyssinia. Umm Salamah and
her husband were in the forefront of
these muhajirun, seekers of refuge in a
strange land. For Umm Salamah it meant
abandoning her spacious home and giving
up the traditional ties of lineage and
honor for something new, hope in the
pleasure and reward of Allah.
Despite the protection
Umm Salamah and her companions received
from the Abyssinian ruler, the desire to
return to Makkah, to be near the Prophet
and the source of revelation and
guidance persisted.
News eventually
reached the muhajirun that the number of
Muslims in Makkah had increased. Among
them were Hamzah ibn Abdulmuttalib and
Umar ibn al-Khattab. Their faith had
greatly strengthened the community and
the Quraysh they heard, had eased the
persecution somewhat. Thus a group of
the muhajirun, urged on by a deep
longing in their hearts, decided to
return to Makkah.
The easing of the
persecution was but brief as the
returnees soon found out. The dramatic
increase in the number of Muslims
following the acceptance of Islam by
Hamzah and Umar only infuriated the
Quraysh even more. They intensified
their persecution and torture to a pitch
and intensity not known before. So the
Prophet gave permission to his
companions to emigrate to Madinah. Umm
Salamah and her husband were among the
first to leave.
The hijrah of Umm
Salamah and her husband though was not
as easy as they had imagined. In fact,
it was a bitter and painful experience
and a particularly harrowing one for
her.
Let us leave the story
now for Umm Salamah herself to tell...
When Abu Salamah (my
husband) decided to leave for Madinah,
he prepared a camel from me, hoisted me
on it and placed our son Salamah on my
lap. My husband then took the lead end
went on without stopping or waiting for
anything. Before we were out of Makkah
however some men from my clan stopped us
and said to my husband:
"Though you are
free to do what you like with yourself,
you have no power over your wife. She is
our daughter. Do you expect us to allow
you to take her away from us?"
They then pounced on
him end snatched me away from him. My
husbands clan, Banu Abdulasad, saw them
taking both me and my child. They became
hot with rage.
"No! By
Allah," they shouted, "we
shall not abandon the boy. He is our son
and we have a first claim over
him." They took him by the hand and
pulled him away from me. Suddenly in the
space of a few moments, I found myself
alone and lonely. My husband headed for
Madinah by himself and his clan had
snatched my son away from me. My own
clan, Banu Makhzum, overpowered me and
forced me to stay with them.
From the day when my
husband and my son were separated from
me, I went out at noon every day to that
valley and sat in the spot where this
tragedy occurred. I would recall those
terrible moments and weep until night
fell on me.
I continued like this
for a year or so until one day a man
from the Banu Umayyah passed by and saw
my condition. He went back to my clan
and said: "Why don't you free this
poor woman? You have caused her husband
and her son to be taken away from
her." He went on trying to soften
their hearts and play on their emotions.
At last they said to me. 'Go and join
your husband if you wish."
But how could I join
my husband in Madinah and leave my son,
a piece of my own flesh and blood, in
Makkah among the Banu Abdulasad? How
could I be free from anguish and my eyes
be free from tears were I to reach the
place of hijrah not knowing anything of
my little son left behind in Makkah?
Some realized what I
was going through and their hearts went
out to me. They petitioned the Banu
Abdulasad on my behalf and moved them to
return my son. I did not now even want
to linger in Makkah till I found someone
to travel with me and I was afraid that
something might happen that would delay
or prevent me from reaching my husband.
So I promptly got my camel ready, placed
my son on my lap and left in the
direction of Madinah .
I had just about
reached Tanim (about three miles from
Makkah) when I met Uthman ibn Talhah.
(He was a keeper of the Kabah in pre-lslamic
times and was not yet a Muslim.)
"Where are you
going, Bint Zad ar-Rakib?" he
asked.
"I am going to my
husband in Madinah."
"And there isn't
anyone with you?"
"No, by Allah.
Except Allah and my little boy
here."
"By Allah. I
shall never abandon you until you reach
Madinah," he vowed.
He then took the reins
of my camel and led us on. I have, by
Allah, never met an Arab more generous
and noble than he. When we reached a
resting place, he would make my camel
kneel down, wait until I dismounted,
lead the camel to a tree and tether it.
He would then go to the shade of another
tree. When we had rested he would get
the camel ready and lead us on.
This he did every day
until we reached Madinah. When we got to
the village near Quba (about two miles
from Madinah) belonging to Banu Amr ibn
Awf, he said, "Your husband is in
this village. Enter it with the
blessings of God. "
He turned back and
headed for Makkah. Their roads finally
met after the long separation. Umm
Salamah was overjoyed to see her husband
and he was delighted to see his wife and
son.
Great and momentous
events followed one after the other.
There was the battle of Badr in which
Abu Salamah fought. The Muslims returned
victorious and strengthened. Then there
was the battle of Uhud in which the
Muslims were sorely tested. Abu Salamah
came out of this wounded very badly. He
appeared at first to respond well to
treatment, but his wounds never healed
completely and he remained bedridden.
Once while Umm Salamah
was nursing him, he said to her: "I
heard the Messenger of God saying.
Whenever a calamity afflicts anyone he
should say, "Surely from Allah we
are and to Him we shall certainly
return." And he would pray, 'O
Lord, give me in return something good
from it which only You Exalted and
Mighty, can give."
Abu Salamah remained
sick in bed for several days. One
morning the Prophet came to see him. The
visit was longer than usual. While the
Prophet was still at his bedside Abu
Salamah passed away. With his blessed
hands, the Prophet closed the eyes of
his dead companion. He then raised these
hands to the heavens and prayed:
"O Lord, grant
forgiveness to Abu Salamah. 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. Widen his grave and make it
light for him."
Umm Salamah remembered
the prayer her husband had quoted on his
deathbed from the Prophet and began
repeating it, "O Lord, with you I
leave this my plight for consideration .
. ." But she could not bring
herself to continue . . . "O Lord
give me something good from it",
because she kept asking herself,
"Who could be better than Abu
Salamah?" But it did not take long
before she completed the supplication.
The Muslims were
greatly saddened by the plight of Umm
Salamah. She became known as "Ayyin
al-Arab"-- the one who had lost her
husband. She had no one in Madinah of
her own except her small children, like
a hen without feathers.
Both the Muhajirun and
Ansar felt they had a duty to Umm
Salamah. When she had completed the
Iddah (three months and ten days), Abu
Bakr proposed marriage to her but she
refused. Then Umar asked to marry her
but she also declined the proposal. The
Prophet then approached her and she
replied:
"O Messenger of
Allah, I have three characteristics. I
am a woman who is extremely jealous and
I am afraid that you will see in me
something that will anger you and cause
Allah to punish me. I am a woman who is
already advanced in age and I am a woman
who has a young family."
The Prophet replied:
"Regarding the jealousy you
mentioned, I pray to Allah the Almighty
to let it go away from you. Regarding
the question of age you have mentioned.
I am afflicted with the same problem as
you. Regarding the dependent family you
have mentioned, your family is my
family."
They were married and
so it was that Allah answered the prayer
of Umm Salamah and gave her better than
Abu Salamah. From that day on Hind al
Makhzumiyah was no longer the mother of
Salamah alone but became the mother of
all believers, Umm al-Mumineen.
Sheikh Abdulfattah Abu-Abdullah Adelabu (Ph. D. Damas),
a West African Islamic Academic founded AWQAF Africa, of
which he's the first al Amir (i.e. President).
Sheikh Dr. Adelabu was studying Postgraduate Degrees in
Damascus early 1990's during when Syria reviewed its
national security after an �Oslo Accord'...
Syria like many other countries around the world
witnessed, during this period, the flood of refugees
from war troubled nations like Somalia, arrival of
people from Algeria during the brutal struggling between
the Mujahidun and the government, resettlement of the
Palestinians fleeing from sophisticated guns of the
Israelis as well as adventure of African migrants for
reasons uncountable�
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