Hazrat Umme Salamah(R.A)

Hadhrat Umme Salamah was the daughter of Hadhrat Abu Ummayyah
(Radhiyallaho anhu). She was first married to her cousin Hadhrat bin
Abdul Asad known as Abu Salamah (Radhiyallaho anhu). The couple
embraced Islam in the verybeginning and emigrated to Abyssinia, due to
the persecutions of Qureysh. A son was born to them in exile, who was
named Salamah. After returning from Abyssinia, the family emigrated to
Madinah . Hadhrat Umme Salamah's (Radhiyallaho anha) story about her
journey to Madinah, has been alreadygiven in the early part of the
chapter. After reachingMadinah, Hadhrat Umme Salmah (Rad laho anha)
got another son 'Umar andtwo daughters Durrah andZainab (Radhiyallaho
anhum).
Hadhrat Abu Salamah (Radhiyallaho anho) was the eleventh man to
embrace Islam. He participated in the battle of Badr as well as in
Uhud. He got a severe wound in Uhud, which did not heal for a long
time. He was sent by the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)
in an expedition in Safar, 4 A. H. When he returned from the
expedition, the old wound again started giving trouble and at last he
died of the same on 8thJamadil-Akhir, 4 A. H. Hadhrat Umme Salamah
(Radi-allaho anha) was pregnant at the time. Zainab was born to her
after the death of her husband. After Umme Salamah had completed her
Iddat (waiting period), Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radlahoanho) proposed to
marry her, but she declined.
Later, the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) offered to
marry her. She said: "O, Prophet of Allah! I have quite a few children
with me and I am very sensitiveby nature. Moreover, a people are in
Mecca, and their permission for getting remarried is necessary."
The Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) said: "Allah will
look after your children and your sensitiveness willvanish in due
course. Noneof people will dislike the proposed marriage".
Hadhrat Umme Salamah then asked her (eldest) sonHadhrat Salamah
(Radhiyallaho anho) to serve as her guardian and give her in marriage
to theProphet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) She was married in
the end of Shawwal, 4 A. H. She says: "I had heard from the Prophet
Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) that a person struck with a
calamity should recite this prayer:
"O, Allah! Recompense me for this affliction by giving me something
better than what I have lost: then Allah would accept his prayer." I
had been reciting this prayer since the death of Hadhrat Abu Salamah
(Radhiyallaho anho), but I could not imagine a husband better than he,
till Allah arrangedmy marriage with the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho
Alaihe Wasallam) ." Hadhrat Aishah (Radhiyallaho anha) says:
"Umme Salamah (Radhiyallaho anha) was famous for her beauty. Once I
contrived to see her. I found her much more beautiful than I had
heard. I mentioned this to Hafsah who said. "In my opinion, she is not
as beautiful as people say." She was the last of the Prophet Mohammad
(Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) wives to die. It was in 59 or 62 A. H.
She was 84 at the time of her death, and as such she wasborn 9 years
before Nubuwwat.
As already been said, the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe
Wasallam) married Hadhrat Umme Salamah after the death of Hadhrat
Zainab Khuzaimah (Radhiyallaho anha). She therefore lived in Hadhrat
Zainab's (Radhiyallaho anha) house. She found a had-mill, a kettle and
some barley in an earthen jar, lying in the house. Hadhrat Umme
Salamah milled some barley and after putting some fat cooked a
preparation , which she served to the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho
Alaihe Wasallam) on the very firstday of her marriage with him.