In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you snapshots from the lives of the Companions,
by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him.
Thubaytah bint Ya'ar emancipated her youth, Salim,
when he was a growing young man approaching puberty.
What prompted her to set him free was her observation of his refined character,
noble traits, signs of distinction,
and the early indications of goodness and righteousness apparent in his behavior.
However, it was hard for her young husband, Abu Hudhayfah ibn 'Utbah,
one of the notables of Banu 'Abd Shams,
to let Salim go at such an early age
and leave him to fend for himself.
So he took him by the hand, proceeded with him to the Sanctuary,
stood up amidst the crowds of Quraysh gathered around the Ka'bah, and said:
"Bear witness, O people of Quraysh,
that I have adopted this Salim,
after my wife Thubaytah emancipated him,
and that henceforth he stands in the position of a son to his father."
The Quraysh responded:
"How excellent is what you have done, O Ibn 'Utbah!"
From that day onward,
the youth came to be called Salim ibn Abi Hudhayfah.
This remained so until a ray of divine light burst forth from the valley of Makkah,
and Allah sent His Prophet with the religion of guidance and truth.
Thus, Abu Hudhayfah and his adopted son Salim
were among the very first whose souls were illuminated by this holy light,
and whose hearts were enlightened by its guidance.
The father and his son went to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and declared their Islam before him,
testifying together that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner,
and that Muhammad is His servant and the Seal of His Messengers.
Shortly after Abu Hudhayfah and his adopted son Salim entered the religion of Allah,
Islam abolished the practice of adoption,
ordering people to attribute sons to their biological fathers,
in order to preserve lineage
and eradicate one of the customs of Pre-Islamic Ignorance.
Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, revealed concerning adopted sons:
﴿Call them by [the names of] their fathers; that is more just in the sight of Allah.﴾
The Muslims complied with the command of their Lord
and set out to search for the lineage of those they had adopted,
seeking to identify their biological fathers and restore their names to them.
However, Abu Hudhayfah could not find Salim's father,
despite extensive search and inquiry.
That was because Salim had been taken captive as a young boy,
brought to Makkah,
and sold in the slave market
at an age that did not enable him to know his father or mother.
So people called him Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah,
and he remained known as such throughout his life.
Nevertheless, the relationship between Abu Hudhayfah and Salim
was not merely that of a master and his freed slave;
rather, it was the bond of a brother to his brother,
after Islam united their hearts
and faith established brotherhood between their souls,
filling both their hearts with the love of Allah and His Messenger.
Abu Hudhayfah wished to make his bond with Salim even firmer and deeper,
and to eradicate every trace of tribal fanaticism that Islam had buried.
Thus, he married Salim to his niece, a Qurayshi woman from Banu 'Abd Shams,
possessing high lineage and noble stature.
Thus, Salim became his brother in faith and one of his close kin.
Not long after,
momentous events separated the two brothers—
hardship that the early Muslims endured severely,
suffering greatly from its cruelty.
Abu Hudhayfah migrated to Abyssinia, fleeing for the sake of Allah with his faith,
safeguarding his belief from the persecution of Quraysh.
As for Salim,
he preferred to remain in Makkah with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and to devote himself to the Book of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
acquiring it fresh and pure as it was revealed to the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He set about reciting its clear verses with humility
and memorizing its revealed chapters with understanding and reflection,
until he became one of the primary carriers of the Qur'an during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Indeed, he became the fourth of four individuals whom the noble Prophet, peace be upon him, recommended
that the Qur'an be learned from.
He said: "Learn the Qur'an from four: 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and Mu'adh ibn Jabal."
The noble Companions recognized Salim's excellence over them in his memorization of the Book of Allah,
his mastery of it, his contemplation of its meanings, and his grasp of its objectives.
Thus, when the Muslims migrated from Makkah to Madinah,
they called upon Salim to lead them in prayer,
and he continued to lead them until the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, arrived,
even though 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and a large group of eminent Companions were among them.
Then Allah willed that Salim and his brother in faith, Abu Hudhayfah, be reunited after the Migration,
and that they march to Badr side by side with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
While the Muslims were preparing to engage the polytheists,
Salim said to his brother Abu Hudhayfah:
"Look, O Abu Hudhayfah!
There is your father, 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah,
stepping forward in the ranks, preparing to eliminate Islam and the Muslims."
Abu Hudhayfah replied:
"Yes, I see him.
And those two enemies of Allah—
my uncle Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah
and my brother al-Walid ibn 'Utbah—
are flanking him.
Were the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to grant me permission,
I would duel them one after the other
and dispatch them to a fatal end,
or I would depart to the presence of my Lord, well-pleased and pleasing unto Him."
When the battle ended,
Salim and Abu Hudhayfah stood looking at the slain,
and there was 'Utbah, the father of Abu Hudhayfah,
Shaybah his uncle,
and al-Walid his brother,
all slain on the battlefield.
Abu Hudhayfah said:
"Praise be to Allah, who comforted the heart of His Prophet
through the death of them all."
Thereafter, the two brothers in faith continued
to strive together in jihad under the banner of the Supreme Messenger,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
in every military expedition he fought during his lifetime,
fulfilling their duty to Allah and His Messenger,
until the Day of al-Yamamah came during the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.
On that great day among the days of Allah,
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, rose
to fight Musaylimah the Liar
and rallied the Muslims everywhere
to stamp out his blind strife,
which had almost devastated Islam
and destroyed its followers.
So Salim and Abu Hudhayfah hastened to defend
the religion of Allah
and set out to fight Musaylimah, the enemy of Allah.
The two hosts met on the land of al-Yamamah,
and two fierce battles broke out between them,
the likes of which have rarely been witnessed in the history of warfare.
The Muslims displayed therein,
under the leadership of 'Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl
and Khalid ibn al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with them both,
such feats of bravery that observers fail
to find words to describe.
Likewise, the apostates displayed,
under the leadership of Musaylimah,
no less than that
in valor, audacity, and sacrifice.
However, victory in these two battles
was initially allied with Musaylimah the Liar,
to the extent that his men stormed the tent of Khalid ibn al-Walid
and almost took his wife captive,
had a man among them not granted her protection.
At that point,
protective zeal surged in the breasts of the Muslims,
and illustrious, noble heroes stepped forward from among them—
men who sold to Allah souls
that would die today or tomorrow
in exchange for souls that shall never die.
Khalid ibn al-Walid reorganized his army,
entrusting the banner of the Muhajirun
to Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah,
and entrusting the banner of the Ansar
to Thabit ibn Qays.
Zayd ibn al-Khattab stood
inciting the Muslims to fight,
saying: "O people!
Clench your teeth,
strike at your enemy,
and press forward!
O people!
By Allah, I shall not utter a word after this statement
until Allah defeats Musaylimah the Liar and those with him,
or I am slain
and meet Allah with my plea."
Then he charged forward, cutting through the ranks,
and continued to fight until he was killed.
He was followed by Abu Hudhayfah, who called out:
"O people of the Qur'an!
Adorn the Qur'an with your deeds!"
Then he rushed into battle, fighting valiantly until he was martyred, advancing and never retreating.
As for Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah,
he turned to the Muhajirun and said:
"What a miserable bearer of the Qur'an I would be
if the Muslims were breached from my direction!"
Then he rushed forward, fighting fiercely to defend the banner of his people,
until his right hand was severed.
So he took the banner in his left hand
and defended it until his left hand was severed.
He then clasped the banner with the stumps of his arms
and stood firm with it until he was weighed down by wounds
and fell to the ground, drenched in his blood.
When the battle came to an end,
Khalid ibn al-Walid stood over Salim, the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah,
while a spark of life still remained in him.
Salim asked him: "What have the Muslims done, O Khalid?"
He replied:
"Allah has decreed victory for them,
Musaylimah the Liar has been killed,
and his army and followers have been defeated."
Salim then asked:
"And what has become of my brother Abu Hudhayfah?"
Khalid replied:
"He has passed on to his Lord, advancing and never turning back,
slain as a martyr."
Salim said:
"Lay me down beside him."
He said,
"Here he is, resting his head at your feet."
He then closed his eyes, saying,
"Together here, O Abu Hudhayfah,
and together there, Allah willing."
And he breathed his last breath.
"If Salim were alive,
I would have appointed him as my successor."
— 'Umar ibn al-Khattab