In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you:
"Portraits from the Lives of the Female Companions"
by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Al-Ghumaysa' bint Milhan, may Allah be pleased with her.
Al-Ghumaysa' bint Milhan was,
when Islam illuminated the earth with its light,
a mature woman approaching forty years of age.
Her husband, Malik ibn al-Nadr,
used to shower her with his abundant love and tender affection,
filling her life with radiance, ease, and comfort.
The people of Yathrib envied that happy husband
for his wife's exceptional intellect,
foresight, and exemplary devotion as a spouse.
Then, on one of Allah's immortal days,
there arrived in Yathrib with the Meccan caller Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr
the first ray of Muhammadan guidance.
Al-Ghumaysa's heart opened to it,
just as garden blossoms open to the first light of dawn,
and she soon declared her Islam
back when the Muslims in Medina could be counted on one's fingers.
The loyal wife then invited her beloved husband
to drink alongside her from this pure, sweet, divine spring,
and to attain the happiness of faith that she had found.
Malik ibn al-Nadr, however,
felt no inclination toward the new religion,
nor was he pleased with it;
instead, he urged his wife to renounce Islam
and return to the religion of their forefathers.
Each spouse firmly held their ground:
Al-Ghumaysa' detested returning to disbelief after having believed,
just as one would detest being cast into the Fire,
while Malik stubbornly clung to the faith of his ancestors.
Al-Ghumaysa'
possessed such strength of argument that she would silence her husband,
and her call carried such light of truth
as to expose his flimsy, crumbling falsehood.
Malik had an idol made of wood
which he worshiped besides Allah,
and she would debate him regarding it, saying:
"Do you worship a tree trunk that sprouted from the earth you trample beneath your feet
and onto which you cast your waste?
Do you invoke besides Allah a piece of wood carved for you by an Abyssinian carpenter among the craftsmen of Medina?"
When the husband could no longer endure his wife's irrefutable arguments,
he left Medina,
wandering aimlessly toward the lands of the Levant.
He did not remain there long before he died upon his polytheism.
As soon as the news of al-Ghumaysa's widowhood spread throughout Medina,
many men eagerly sought to marry her,
were it not that they feared she would turn them away disappointed
on account of the difference in religion between her and them.
However, Zayd ibn Sahl, known by the kunya Abu Talhah,
was emboldened to seek her consent by the kinship between them,
as both belonged to the Banu al-Najjar.
Abu Talhah went to al-Ghumaysa's house
and addressed her by her kunya, saying:
"O Umm Sulaym, I have come to you as a suitor,
and I hope I will not be turned away disappointed."
She said: "By Allah, a man like you is not turned away, O Abu Talhah!
But you are a disbelieving man and I am a Muslim woman,
and it is not lawful for me to marry you.
If you embrace Islam, that shall be my dowry,
and I will demand no bridal gift from you other than Islam."
He said, "Let me consider my matter," and he departed.
The next day, he returned to her and declared:
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner,
and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger."
She said: "Now that you have embraced Islam,
I accept you as my husband."
The people began to say:
"We have never heard of a woman
who had a more noble dowry than Umm Sulaym,
for her dowry was Islam!"
Abu Talhah rejoiced in all that Umm Sulaym possessed
of noble character and virtuous traits,
and his joy was further heightened when she bore him
a baby boy who became the apple of his eye and the delight of his heart.
But while he was preparing for one of his journeys,
the little boy fell ill with an ailment that struck him,
and Abu Talhah grieved over him so intensely
that it almost kept him from traveling.
During his brief absence, that tender branch withered,
and the child was laid to rest in the earth.
Umm Sulaym said to her household:
"Do not inform Abu Talhah of his son's death
until I break the news to him myself."
Abu Talhah returned from his journey,
and Umm Sulaym received him cheerful and smiling,
full of warmth and good cheer.
He immediately asked her about the boy,
and she replied: "Leave him be,
for he is now in the quietest and most tranquil state you have ever known him."
She then set dinner before him
and kept him company, bringing joy to his heart.
When she saw that he had eaten his fill and was well rested,
she said to him:
"O Abu Talhah,
tell me: if people lend something to others and then ask for it back,
do the borrowers have any right to become angry or withhold it from them?"
He said: "No."
She said: "Indeed, Allah has reclaimed what He bestowed upon you,
so seek your reward with Him for your son."
Abu Talhah received the decree of Allah with contentment and submission.
When morning came,
he went to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and informed him of what Umm Sulaym had done.
The Prophet prayed for him and her that Allah grant them a better compensation for what they had lost,
and that He bless them in that replacement.
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, answered the prayer of His Prophet, peace be upon him,
and Umm Sulaym became pregnant.
When her term was complete,
she was returning to Medina from a journey,
together with her husband and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
As they drew near Yathrib,
her labor pains came upon her.
Abu Talhah stayed behind with her,
while the noble Prophet, peace be upon him, continued on,
wishing to enter Medina before nightfall.
Abu Talhah raised his eyes toward the heaven and said:
"Indeed, You know, O Lord,
that I love to depart whenever Your Messenger departs,
and to enter whenever he enters,
but I have been detained by what You see."
Umm Sulaym said to him:
"O Abu Talhah,
by Allah, I no longer feel the labor pains of this child
that I was feeling before!
So let us proceed,
and do not fall behind the company of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him."
They set out, and as soon as they reached Medina, she gave birth,
and it was a boy.
She said to those around her:
"Let no one nurse him until you take him to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him."
When morning came,
his brother Anas ibn Malik carried him to the Prophet.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, saw him approaching,
he said: "Perhaps Umm Sulaym has given birth?"
Anas replied: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."
He placed the baby in his lap,
called for a date of the 'Ajwah variety of Medina,
chewed it in his noble mouth until it softened,
and placed it into the infant's mouth,
and the baby began to smack his lips on it.
He then stroked his face with his noble hand
and named him 'Abdullah.
From his lineage came ten distinguished scholars of Islam.
Such was the devoted love of Umm Sulaym
that she loved the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
with a love that permeated her flesh and bones
and dwelled in the depths of her heart.
Such was the depth of her love for him
that her son Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, recounted:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
was sleeping in our house one afternoon,
and the heat was intense.
Sweat began to pour from his forehead,
so my mother brought a small glass bottle
and began to collect the sweat into it.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, awoke
and asked: 'What are you doing, O Umm Sulaym?'
She said: 'This is your sweat;
I collect it and mix it with our perfume,
and it becomes the sweetest of scents.'"
Among the many testimonies to her love for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him
—and they are abundant indeed—
was that her son Anas had a lock of hair dangling over his forehead.
Her husband asked her to trim it for him after it had grown long,
but she refused,
because the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
whenever Anas came to him,
would stroke his head with his hand
and touch that lock of hair hanging over his forehead.
Nor were Umm Sulaym's virtues limited
to being a believer of steadfast faith,
a woman of profound wisdom,
and a first-rate wife and mother;
rather, she was above all that
a warrior in the path of Allah.
How often were her lungs filled with the dust of battle fragrant with the scents of Paradise!
How often were her fingertips dyed with the blood of the mujahideen
as she tended to their wounds and bound them firmly!
How often did she pour water into the throats of the thirsty
as they offered their lives in the path of Allah,
carried provisions for them, and repaired their arrows!
She took part in Uhud alongside her husband Abu Talhah with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him;
she and 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with them both, would continuously
carry waterskins on their backs
and pour water into the mouths of the wounded men.
She was also present at the Battle of Hunayn,
having taken a dagger that day and strapped it around her waist.
When her husband Abu Talhah saw it,
he said: "O Messenger of Allah, this is Umm Sulaym, carrying a dagger!"
The Prophet, peace be upon him, asked her:
"What is this, O Umm Sulaym?"
She replied: "It is a dagger I took
so that if any of the polytheists comes near me,
"I will rip open his belly with it!"
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) began
laughing with delight at what she said.
Furthermore, do you think that upon the face of the earth
there was any woman more blissful in happiness and more radiant in her final end
than Umm Sulaym,
especially after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said regarding her:
"I entered Paradise
and heard a rustling sound within it,
so I asked, 'Who is this?'"
They said:
"We have never heard of any woman
who had a more noble dowry than Umm Sulaym,
for her dowry was Islam itself."
The people of Madinah