The Mothers of The Believers: Umm Salamah Bint Abu Umayah

Hakim states that Umm Salamah's given name was Hind. She was the daughter of Abu Umayyah and Atikah Bint Amr, and belonged to a noble and respected family. She married Abdullah bin Abdulassad, also known as Abu Salamah, who was one of the Prophet's paternal cousins.

Umm Salamah and her husband were among the first to embrace Islam and migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) when persecution in Makkah intensified. Allah blessed them with four children: Zainab, Salamah, Umar, and Durrat.

Umm Salamah and her family returned to Makkah before migrating to Madinah in the second Hijrah. Several sources recount Umm Salamah's narration of her migration, detailing her separation from her husband and children. She described the hardships she endured and how, eventually, her tribe allowed her to leave and reunite with her family. This period became known as the year of grief and longing.

After the death of her first husband, Umm Salamah became one of the Mothers of the Believers and she and her children joined the household of the Prophet (ﷺ).

According to some accounts, she was older than the other wives of the Prophet (ﷺ) at that time. Umm Salamah was known for her wisdom, intelligence, and patience, and she narrated numerous hadiths.

The Death of Abu Salamah:

Umm Salama reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: "Whenever you visit the sick or the dead, supplicate for good because angels say "Amen" to whatever you say. She added: When Abu Salama died, I went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: Messenger of Allah, Abu Salama has died. He told me to recite: "O Allah! forgive me and him (Abu Salama) and give me a better substitute than he." So, I said (this), and Allah gave me in exchange Muhammad, who is better for me than him (Abu Salama)." (Muslim, 919)

Her Marriage to the Prophet (ﷺ)

Umm Salama reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: "If any Muslim who suffers some calamity says, what Allah has commanded him, "We belong to Allah and to Him shall we return; O Allah, reward me for my affliction and give me something better than it in exchange for it," Allah will give him something better than it in exchange. When Abu Salama died, she said: What Muslim is better than Abu Salama whose family was the first to emigrate to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). I then said the words, and Allah gave me God's Messenger (ﷺ) in exchange. She said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent Hatib b. Abu Balta'a to deliver me the message of marriage with him. I said to him: I have a daughter (as my dependent) and I am of a jealous temperament. He (the Prophet) said: So far as her daughter is concerned, we would supplicate to Allah, that He may free her (of her responsibility), and I would also supplicate to Allah to do away with (her) jealousy (temperament)." (Muslim, 918) 

"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ married Umm Salamah, whose name was Hind bint Abi Umayyah ibn Al-Mughirah ibn Abdullah ibn Umara ibn Makhzum, before the Battle of Badr in the second year of the Hijri calendar. The first of the Prophet's ﷺ wives to pass away was Zainab, and the last of them to pass away was Umm Salamah. (Hakim, 6763)

Abd al-Malik b. Abi Bakr reported from his father on the authority of Umm Salamah: "When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) married Umm Salamah, he stayed with her three night and said: Your people (i.e. clan) are not being humbled for you in my estimation. If you wish I shall stay with you seven nights; and if I stay with you seven nights, I shall stay with my other wives seven nights." (Abu Dawud, 2122)

The Broken Dish

It was narrated from Umm Salamah that "She brought some food in a dish of hers to the Messenger of Allah and his Companions, then Aishah came, wrapped up in a garment, with a stone pestle and broke the dish. The Prophet (ﷺ) gathered the broken pieces of the dish and said: "Eat; your mother got jealous," twice. Then the Messenger of Allah took the dish of Aisha and sent it to Umm Salamah and he gave the dish of Umm Salamah to Aishah." (An-Nasai, 3956)

The Prophet (ﷺ) performing salah in the house of Umm Salamah. Umar bin Abi Salamah narrated that he saw: "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)  performing Salat in the house of Umm Salamah wrapped in one garment." (Tirmidhi, 339)

The Gifts:

Narrated Aishah: "The people used to give their gifts [to the Prophet (ﷺ)] on Aishah's day." She said: "So my companions gathered with Umm Salamah and they said 'O Umm Salamah! The people give their gifts on Aishah's day, and we desire good as Aishah desires, so tell the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to order the people to give (their gifts to) him no matter where he is.' So Umm Salamah said that, and he turned away from her. Then he turned back to her, and she repeated the words saying: 'O Messenger of Allah! My companions have mentioned that the people give their gifts on Aishah's day, so order the people to give them no matter where you are.' So, upon the third time she said that he said: 'O Umm Salamah! Do not bother me about Aishah! For Revelation has not been sent down upon me while I was under the blankets of a woman among you other than her.'" (Tirmidhi, 3879)

Umm Salamah’s Wisdoms:

Narrated Al-Miswar bin Makhrama and Marwan: “...When the writing of the peace treaty was concluded, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)  said to his companions, "Get up and slaughter your sacrifices and get your head shaved." By Allah none of them got up, and the Prophet (ﷺ) repeated his order thrice. When none of them got up, he left them and went to Um Salama and told her of the people's attitudes towards him. Um Salama said, "O the Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah! Do you want your order to be carried out? Go out and don't say a word to anybody till you have slaughtered your sacrifice and call your barber to shave your head." So, the Prophet (ﷺ) went out and did not talk to anyone of them till he did that, i.e. slaughtered the sacrifice and called his barber who shaved his head. Seeing that, the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) got up, slaughtered their sacrifices, and started shaving the heads of one another, and there was so much rush that there was a danger of killing each other…” (Bukhari, 2731)

The Death of Umm Salamah:

The first of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ who passed away was Zainab bint Jahsh, she passed away during the caliphate of Umar. The last of them to pass away was Umm Salamah, she passed away during the time of Yazid bin Muawiyah, at the age of sixty-two (Tabarani, 19897)