Pause.
Get to know the Companions, the scholars, and the most exalted.
A new challenge: Who am I?
I am one of the Mothers of the Believers and the wife of the trustworthy Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Among his wives, there is none who has a larger dowry than I.
And there is none among them whom he married while she was in a distant land further than I.
My father is Abu Sufyan, the master and nobleman of Quraysh.
My husband and I embraced Islam.
We migrated to the land of Abyssinia, fleeing to preserve our religion.
My husband passed away while we were in exile.
I was overcome with grief and sorrow because of that.
I saw a man in a dream calling out to me, saying:
"O Mother of the Believers."
I interpreted this to mean that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, would marry me.
No sooner had my waiting period ended,
than a servant girl of the Negus came to me and said:
"The King says to you:
'The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, has written to me requesting that I marry you to him.'"
I was overjoyed and said:
"May Allah give you glad tidings of good."
She said to me:
"The King says to you:
'Appoint someone to act as your guardian to marry you off.'"
So I sent for Khalid Ibn Sa'id Ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with him,
and appointed him as my guardian.
I gave the servant girl the jewelry and ornaments I possessed,
as a reward for the good news she brought me.
When evening came,
the Negus ordered the Muslims who were in Abyssinia to attend.
He paid the dowry on behalf of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, which was 400 dinars.
When the people were about to leave,
the Negus said to them:
"Sit down,
for it is the Sunnah of the prophets that when they marry,
they provide a wedding feast."
He called for food,
and they ate and then dispersed.
Then he prepared me and sent me to Medina
with Shurahbil Ibn Hasana,
may Allah be pleased with him.
When my father heard that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
had married me,
and my father was still in a state of polytheism,
he was nonetheless pleased and said:
"That is a stallion whose nose cannot be struck,"
meaning he is a noble and worthy match who cannot be refused.
Shortly before the conquest of Mecca,
my father came to Medina
to renew the peace treaty between himself and the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He entered my house to see me.
When he went to sit on the bedding of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
I quickly folded it away from him.
He disapproved of this from me and said:
"O my daughter, do you think this bedding is too good for me,
or do you think I am too unworthy for it?"
I said:
"Rather, it is the bedding of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and you are an impure, polytheist man."
He said:
"O my daughter, you have surely been afflicted by evil since I left you."
When my time of death approached,
I called for 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and said to her:
"Perhaps there was between us what usually happens between co-wives;
may Allah forgive me and you for what occurred."
'A'ishah said:
"May Allah forgive you for all of that,
overlook it, and absolve you of it."
I said:
"You have brought me joy; may Allah bring you joy."
I then sent for Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her,
and said the same to her.
She answered me just as 'A'ishah had.
So, who am I?
We will confirm the correct answer in the comments
when the next episode is released, if Allah wills.
The best of generations in their conduct and example,
they followed the Messenger in all he strove for or said.
They were here, watering our lives like rain,
and though they have passed, their memory remains exalted among us.
They departed and left a question in the conscience:
Has any star ever risen and shone like them?
They filled life with glorious deeds,
and the world of humanity flourished because of them.