Umm Sulaym (r.anha). Part2

• With this act, Hz. Umm Sulaym set an example to other women. 

She attracted attention to the fact that a Muslim girl or woman should not marry an unbeliever or a believer who did not practice his religion no matter how rich, famous or handsome that person was. She also showed in practice that it was necessary to make material sacrifices in order to save the eternal life of a person.

• A little while after Umm Sulaym’s marriage with Abu Talha, the Prophet migrated from Makkah to Madinah. 

Everybody, young and old alike, was outside to welcome the Prophet. They welcomed him. Everybody knew that he left his house and hometown and migrated here in order to revive the religion of Islam. Therefore, everybody gave him a present based on their wealth. Umm Sulaym also wanted to give the Messenger of Allah a present, a different one from the others’: her only son Anas, whom she protected for years, whom she devoted her life to and for whom she faced a lot of difficulties. Hz. Umm Sulaym preferred her son’s serving the Messenger of Allah to serving her. She also wanted Anas to be educated by the Messenger of Allah.

Hz. Anas was 10 years old then. She held his hand and took him to the Prophet. She said,

“O Messenger of Allah! All of the men and women of Ansar gave you presents. I am giving my son as a present to you. I want him to serve you.” 

She also asked the Prophet to pray for him.

The Prophet was pleased with her present. He accepted Hz. Anas and prayed for him as follows:

“O Lord! Increase his children and wealth. Make what you give him blessed.”

Hz. Anas lived very long thanks to this prayer; he had a lot of property and children.

• Anas (r.a.) served the Prophet (pbuh) until he passed away. 

He benefited from the knowledge and abundance of the Messenger of Allah. He became the third person who narrated the most hadiths from the Prophet. Today, we learn many hadiths from the narrations of this great Companion.

• Umm Sulaym led a happy life with Abu Talha. 

One year after their marriage, they had a child. They called him “Uwaymir”. This baby amused his mother and father and brought joy to the house. When the Prophet visited this family, he caressed and loved the baby. Days passed like that.

However, this lively child became ill one day. His parents did their best to cure him but they could not cure him. For, Allah Almighty wanted to take this child from the dungeon of the world to the gardens of Paradise. It was impossible to find a cure. As a matter of fact, he passed away a few days later. His father was not at home when he died.

Whenever Abu Talha came home, he would ask about Uwaymir first. Umm Sulaym knew about this but she did not panic. For, her calm, unhurried and resigned state prevented her from panicking. She believed in qadar fully. She would consent to all kinds of misfortunes from qadar. She believed that a child was something entrusted to his parents by Allah Almighty and that He could take him whenever He wanted. She promised to the Messenger of Allah that she would not scream and cry for a dead person. She was determined to keep her promise.

With these thoughts, she washed the child and enshrouded him. She put him aside. She said to the people in the house,

“Do not tell his father that he died before I tell him.” 

When Abu Talha came home, he wanted to know how the child was. He wondered where the boy was since he could not see him around. Umm Sulaym did not want to tell him about the child’s death at once. She did not want her husband to panic and be distressed. She said,

“He probably felt easy and relieved. He slept.” 

After that, she brought the meal she had prepared to her husband. Hz. Talha thought that the child really got well because of Umm Sulaym’s words and her calm state. They ate the meal together and talked.

Umm Sulaym wanted to give her husband the bad news but she did not want to say, “your son died” all of a sudden. Instead, she said,

“O Abu Talha! Have you heard about such and such family? When I went to them to ask the thing that I had given them to use, they felt sorry and did not want to return it to me.” 

Hz. Abu Talha said,

“Really? They did not act appropriately.” 

After preparing her husband for what she wanted to say, she spoke as follows:

“O Abu Talha! You are the such and such person I mention. Your son was something entrusted to you by Allah. He took the child back.”

Abu Talha was astounded. However, he could not say anything. He showed that he surrendered to qadar. They buried the child.

The next day, Abu Talha went to the Prophet and told him about the situation. The Prophet (pbuh) prayed for Abu Talha and his wife as follows:

“May Allah Almighty make that night blessed for you!”

• They had another child one year after the death of Uwaymir. 

They gave this good news to the Prophet. The Prophet named him “Abdullah”.Abdul­lah had nine children. Thanks to the blessing of the Prophet’s prayer, all of them memorized the whole Quran.

What a person loves most is their own life. Man does their best to protect their life. However, love of Allah and His Messenger is such a thing that a person who is a real believer does not hesitate to sacrifice their life for the sake of this love. Umm Sulaym was one of those who had this belief though she was a woman. She was a brave mujahid of Islam. She did not hesitate to risk her life in the way of Islam.

During the Battle of Uhud, the news that mujahids were defeated and that the Messenger of Allah was martyred saddened the Muslims in Madinah. The female Companions were astounded. They hoped this news was not true. Umm Sulaym ran toward the battlefield with a few other women. She asked the first Companion she met about the Messenger of Allah. When she found out that he was alive, she became very happy. She would not be so happy even if the whole world were given to her.

There were some things to do at the battlefront for Umm Sulaym as a woman. As a matter of fact, she fulfilled her duty in the best way. She took care of the wounds of the mujahids who shed their blood for the sake of Allah. She gave them water.

• Umm Sulaym made her body a shield for the Prophet at the Battle of Hunayn. 

She took part in this battle to serve behind the battlefront with the permission of the Messenger of Allah. The Prophet (pbuh) allowed a few more women with her.

The beginning of the battle was the most severe moment. The enemy forces were very strong. The mujahids who had just become Muslims and whose hearts had not been fully loyal to Islam left the Messenger of Allah alone. The Prophet was facing a big danger. The ferocious polytheists were looking for an opportunity. They could have harmed the Messenger of Allah.  Umm Sulaym saw this danger. She got very angry when the mujahids left the Prophet alone. She wanted to use her body as a shield against the attacks of the polytheists. She stepped into action facing all kinds of dangers. She reached the Messenger of Allah thanks to the help of Allah. Suddenly, she saw something that made her happy; she smiled. Her husband Abu Talha, was next to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and was protecting him. The husband and wife started to protect the Messenger of Allah from the enemy together.

The Prophet saw Umm Sulaym. He asked,

“Umm Sulaym! Is that you?” 

Umm Sulaym, who had such a strong belief as to sacrifice herself and her property in the way of Allah and His Messenger, answered:

“Yes, it is me. O Messenger of Allah! May my mother and father be sacrificed for you!” 

Her eyes were bright; she was so happy. Allah enabled her to be near His beloved Prophet. Could there be greater happiness than this?

Abu Talha was moved by the courage of his wife. Talha asked,

“O Messenger of Allah! Have you seen the dagger in Umm Sulaym’s hand?” 

The Prophet smiled. He asked Umm Sulaym what she was going to do with it. This heroic mujahid said,

“I prepared this dagger for days like these. If any polytheist comes close to me, I will stab him with it.” 

Then, she said,

“O Messenger of Allah! If you let me, I will kill the Muslims who left you alone.” 

The Prophet did not allow this. He said,

“O Umm Sulaym! The help of Allah Almighty reached us.” 

After a while, the Muslims pulled themselves together. The battle was won by the Muslims.