In the name of Allah, The Beneficent,
The Merciful and Compassionate.
All praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And all blessings and peace to Muhammad saw, his family, and companions.
For Muslims prayer is a set of ritual movements and words performed at fixed times, five times per day. God says in Quran, “Verily, the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours”. (Quran 4:103) Muslims pray in the early morning before sunrise, in the middle of the day, in the afternoon, at sunset and at night. Muslims pray in obedience to God because they believe God created humankind for no other purpose except to worship Him.
“And I did not create man...except to worship Me Alone” (Quran 51:56)
Consequently, for a believer, worship is a way of life. Prayer at fixed times serves as a reminder of why we are here and helps to direct a person’s thoughts and actions away from sin and onto remembrance of God. Prophet Muhammad emphasised the importance of prayer when he explained its ability to remove sin. He said, “What would you think if there was a river by the door of any one of you and he bathed in it five times a day, would there be any trace of dirt left on him?” They said, “No trace of dirt would be left on him.” He said, “That is like the five daily prayers, with it God erases sin.”
The Holy Qur'an says, "Then woe to those prayer performers. Who are heedless of their prayers (Part 30, Surah Ma-oon, verse 4-5)
The Importance of Praying to Allah swt. In Islam
Muslims do not believe in the concept of "vicarious atonement" but rather believe in the law of personal responsibility. Islam teaches that each person is responsible for his or her own actions. On the Day of Judgment Muslims believe that every person will be resurrected and will have to answer to God for their every word, thought, and deed. Consequently, a practicing Muslim is always striving to be righteous.
It will be a major sin to leave Salah all together. It is also a sin to allow a prayer not to be prayed in its time. However, whilst the prayer is still in its time it may be prayed at any time that is convenient for you.
However one should be mindful not to delay Asr Salah right till the end time. Maghrib Salah also should not be delayed as the Messenger has emphasized that it be prayed quickly. Isha Salah should not be delayed to the passing of half the night.
Let me present some Noble Verses from the Noble Quran regarding this issue:
"What led you into Hell-Fire? They will say; 'We were not of those who prayed;' (The Noble Quran, 74:42-43)"
"So woe to the worshippers who are neglectful of their Prayers, those who (want but) to be seen (of men). (The Noble Quran, 107:4-6)"
Hypocrites (Munafiq) were very lazy about their prayers. That is because they had apparently accepted Islam but did not believe in Allah Ta'ala or the day of judgement in their hearts. There was no importance given to prayer by them, if they prayed, they prayed. If they missed it, it was no big deal to them. If they prayed they were not expecting any reward for it. If they missed it there was no fear of any reprisal or punishment. If they were amongst people they would pray. If they were on their own they would not bother, or would not pray it at the correct times. They would sit around swapping stories, and when the time would almost be up, they would stand, move up and down quickly a few times and claim that they had prayed. They would not pray with the sincerity or humility that it should be prayed with. They would never truly busy themselves in worship or the remembrance of Allah Ta'ala.
"Enjoin prayer on thy people, and be constant therein. We ask thee not to provide sustenance: We provide it for thee. But the (fruit of) the Hereafter is for Righteousness. (The Noble Quran, 20:132)"
"The hypocrites--they think they are over-reaching Allah but He will over-reach them: When they stand up to Prayer, they stand without earnestness, to be seen of men, but little do they hold Allah in remembrance. (The Noble Quran, 4:142)"
"Their eyes will be cast down--ignominy will cover them; seeing that they had been summoned aforetime to bow in adoration, while they were whole (and had refused). (The Noble Quran, 68:43)"
"So he gave nothing in charity, nor did he pray! (The Noble Quran, 75:31)"
"And when it is said to them, 'Prostrate yourselves!' they do not so. Ah woe, that Day, to the rejecters of Truth! (The Noble Quran, 77:48-49)"
It is related by Abu Hurairah (R.A.) that (once) the Apostle of Allah (Sallallaahu alaihi Wasallam) was sitting to one side in the mosque that a man came in and offered his Salah (Prayer). Afterwards, he came to the holy Prophet (SAW) and paid his respects to him. The Holy Prophet (SAW) returned the salutation and remarked: "Go and offer the Salah (Prayer) again. You have not said it properly." He went back and said the prayers again and returned to the Holy Prophet (SAW), and paid his respects. The Holy Prophet (SAW), returning the salutation, once again remarked: "Go and offer the Salah (Prayer) again. You have not said it properly". After offering Salah (Namaaz, Prayer) for the third (and the fourth) time, the man said to the Holy Prophet (SAW): "Sir, tell me how to offer Salah (Prayer)". The Holy Prophet (SAW) replied: "When you decide to offer Salah (Namaaz (Prayer), first perform Wudu thoroughly and well, then turn to Qiblah, then begin the Salah (Prayer), after uttering Takbir-i-Tahrima. After it recite some part of the Holy Qur’an. Which you know by heart and can recite easily. (In other Traditions relating to the same incident it is stated that the Apostle of Allah (SAW) told the questioner, specifically, to recite Surah- Fatiha and whatever he liked, in addition to it). Then after the recital, perform Ruku till you are still and at ease in Ruku. Then, arise from Ruku till you stand erect. Then, perform the Sajadah till you are still and at ease in Sajadah. Then arise till you sit up comfortably. (According to another narrator, the Holy Prophet (SAW), instead of it, said: "Then arise till you stand erect). Then, do like that throughout the Salah (Prayer) (i.e., in every Ruku, Sujud, Qauma and Jalsa in a calm and collected manner)." (Bukhari and Muslim)
The incident mentioned above related to Hadrat Khalid bin Rafah (RA), the brother of the well-known Sahabi, Khalid bin Rafah (RA) had offered up two Rak’ah of Salah (Namaaz, Prayer) in the Holy Prophet’s (SAW) mosque but some other commentators suggest that these Rak’ah were of Tahiyyat-ul-Masjid which Hadrat Khalid (RA), had said rather hurriedly, and upon it, he was reproached by the Holy Prophet (SAW) and told to offer them up again.
It shows that the Holy Prophet (SAW) did not plainly tell Hadrat Khalid bin Rafah (RA), at the first time, what was wrong with his Salah, Prayer) and how it was to be said correctly but at the third or fourth time, and, then, at his own request. It was, probably, for the simple reason that a lesson imparted in such a manner suffices for a lifetime and gets talked about among others as well.
The practical teaching imparted in the above Tradition is that Salah, Prayer) should be offered up in a calm and composed manner and if it is offered hurriedly and without making the necessary pauses and carrying out the various acts properly it be as good as unsaid.
“The Sunna prayers after the obligatory prayers were legislated to make up for the deficiency in the obligatory prayer, and the Sunna prayers before the obligatory prayers are to cut the Devil from his greed.”
“Worldly concerns lead to forgetting the remembrance of Allah Most High and …attaining the fruits of devotion perpetuating the animal aspect of human nature and confounding his angelic aspect.
It was therefore necessary to legislate something to polish [his heart] before the obligatory prayers so that they could be entered into with a purity of heart and concentration of spiritual ambition.
How often it is that a person does not pray such that he attains unto the benefits of the prayer. This is what was indicated by the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) when he said, ‘How many a worshipper has no share from his prayer except a half of it, or a third of it, or a quarter of it.’.
It was therefore necessary to legislate prayers after it as well to complete the purpose
‘Aisha’ (Allah be pleased with her) also said ‘The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was not more diligent about performing any supererogatory prayer more than the two [Sunna] rakaats of the Morning Prayer’ [Bukhari & Muslim].
Why did Allah Almighty allow praying in the public?
Allah Almighty loves to see unity and brotherhood among the Muslims. He loves to see us stand in organized lines to worship Him. He doesn't like individualism, because it helps Satan to isolate his prey. It also equalizes between all races.
When Muslims pray together they stand shoulder to shoulder. Their proximity to each other demonstrates unity. No one person is better than another except by his or her piety.
Kings stand next to the poor, the white stand next to the black, Arabs stand beside Europeans.
Praying in Islam is very important. It should come as the first priority in our daily lives. Allah Almighty created His Servants to Worship Him only. True believers should perform prayers regularly.
It Only Takes One Hour.
Importance of Praying to Allah Almighty in Islam. Praying in Islam can not be compromised. It has to be the first priority in our daily lives. My dear brothers and sisters, it only takes 2-5 minutes to wash our (hands, mouths, noses, faces, arms, necks, ears, hairs and feet) which is mandatory before every prayer unless you don't output gas from your body, then you can only wash yourself once if you never output gas after that, and 2-5 minutes to perform the actual prayer. So in other words, it takes a maximum of 1 hour to perform prayer everyday. Many of us spend long hours everyday at the gym trying to stretch and workout, while we can perform all of that in praying.
In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations That we may know each other, not that we may despise each other.
If the enemy inclines towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust God, for the Lord is the one that hearth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God,
Most gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility, and when we address them, we say "PEACE."
However, for those few minutes the believer was alone with God. Whether he or she was praying alone or within a congregation, the connection was between God and the individual. It was a moment of bliss, peace, and tranquillity. Prayer is a reminder and a comfort. Every hour of every day somewhere in the world, a Muslim is praying. The believer is seeking the comfort that comes from feeling close to God andthe peace that comes from feeling God’s love and mercy.
..May Allah make our efforts sincere and keep us all on the straight path...........
Feel free to Share the information here with everyone you know,
And earn Sawab-e-Jariya...May Allah swt make it a source of Sawab-e-Jariya for u and me .Ameen
P.S.: "Have fun praying don’t forget to make dua for me.
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Showing posts with label Allah answered the prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allah answered the prayer. Show all posts
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her)
Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya (RA)
Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya, may Allah be pleased with her, was married to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in 4 AH at the age of twenty nine, after her first husband, Abdullah ibn Abdul Asad, had died from the wounds he had received while fighting at the battle of Uhud. Umm Salama and Abdal Asad had been among the first people to embrace Islam in the early days of the Muslim community in Mecca. They had suffered at the hands of the Quraish who had tried to force them to abandon their new faith, and had been among the first group of Muslims to seek refuge under the protection of the Negus in Abyssinia. When they had returned to Mecca, believing that the situation of the Muslims had improved, they had found instead that if anything it was worse. Rather than return to Abyssinia, Abdal Asad and Umm Salama had received the Prophet’s permission to immigrate to Medina, but this proved not to be as easy as they might have imagined.
In the words of Umm Salama: “When Abu Salama (my husband) decided to leave for Medina, he prepared a camel for me, lifted me up onto it and put my son Salama on my lap. My husband then took the lead and went straight ahead without stopping or waiting for anything. Before we were out of Mecca, however, some men from my tribe, the Banu Mahkhzum, stopped us and said to my husband: “Although you may be free to do what you like with yourself, you have no power over your wife. She is our daughter. DO you expect us to allow you to take her away from us?’ They then grabbed hold of him and snatched me away from him. Some men from my husband’s tribe, the Banu Abdul Asad, saw them taking both me and my child and became hot with rage: “No, by Allah!’ They shouted. ‘We shall not abandon the boy. He is our son and we have a rightful claim over him.’ So they took him by his arm and pulled him away from me. Suddenly, in the space of a few minutes, I found myself all alone. My husband headed out towards Medina by himself; his tribe had snatched away my son from me; and my own tribe had overpowered me and forced me to stay with them. From the day that my husband and my son were parted from me, I went out at noon every day and sat at the spot where this tragedy had occurred. I would remember those terrifying moments and weep until nightfall.
“I continued like this for a year or so until one day a man from the Banu Umayya passed by and saw my condition. He went to my tribe and said, ‘Why don’t you free this woman? You have caused both her husband and her son to betaken away from her.’ He went on like this, trying to soften their hearts and appealing to their emotions, until at last they said to me, ‘Go and join your husband if you wish.’ But how could I join my husband in Medina, and leave my son, part of my own flesh and blood, in Mecca among the Banu Abdul Asad? How could I remain free from anguish, and my eyes free from tears, if I were to reach the place of hijrah not knowing anything of my little son left behind in Mecca?
“Some people realized what I was going through and their hearts went out to me. They approached the Banu Abdul Asad on my behalf and persuaded them to return my son. I had no desire to remain in Mecca until I could find someone to travel with me, for I was afraid that something might happen that would delay me or stop me from reaching my husband. So I immediately prepared my camel, placed my son on my lap, and set out in the direction of Medina. I just had just reached Tan’im (3 miles from Mecca) when I met Uthman ibn Talha (He as in charge of looking after the Ka’ba, but did not embrace Islam until the Conquest of Mecca). “‘Were are you going, Bint Zad ar Rakib?’ he asked. ‘I am going to my husband in Medina.’ ‘And isn’t there anyone going with you?’ ‘No, by Allah, except Allah and my little boy here.’ ‘By Allah,’ he vowed, ‘I will not leave you until you reach Medina.’
He then took the reins of my camel and led us on our way. By Allah, I have never met an Arab more generous and noble than he. Whenever we reached a resting-place, he would make my camel kneel down, wait until I had dismounted and then lead the camel to a tree and tether it. Then he would go and rest in the shade of a different tree to me. When we had rested, he would get the camel ready again and then lead us on our way. This he did every day until we reached Medina. When we reached a village near Quba (about two miles from Medina), belonging to the Banu Amr ibn Awf, he said, ‘Your husband is in this village. Enter it with the blessings of Allah.’ Then he turned round and headed back to Mecca.”
Thus after many difficult months of separation, Umm Salama and her son were reunited with Abu Salama, and in the next few years that followed, they were always near the heart of the growing Muslim community of Medina al Munawarra. They were present when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived safely from Mecca, and at the battle of Badr Abu Salama fought bravely. At the battle of Uhud, however, he was badly wounded. At first his wound appeared to respond well to treatment, but then his wounds re opened after an expedition against the Banu Abdul Asad, and after that they refused to heal and he remained bedridden. Once while Umm Salama was nursing him, he said to her, “I once heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that whenever a calamity afflicts anyone he should say what Allah has commanded him to say: ‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un!’ ‘Surely we come from Allah and surely to Him we return!’ and then he should say, ‘O Lord, reward me for my affliction and give me something better than it in return, which only You, the Exalted the Mighty, can give.’”
Abu Salama remained sick in bed for several days. One morning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to see him. The visit was longer than usual, and while the Prophet was still at his bedside, Abu Salama died. With his blessed hands, the Prophet closed the eyes of his dead Companion and then raised them in prayer. “O Allah, grant forgiveness to Abu Salama; elevate him among those who are near to You; take charge of his family at all times; forgive us and him, O Lord of the worlds; make his grave spacious for him and fill it with light. Amin.”
Once again Umm Salama was alone, only now she had not one child, but several. There was no one to look after her and them. Recalling what her husband had told her while she was looking after him, she repeated the dua’a that he had remembered: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un!” “Surely we come from Allah and surely to Him we return!” she repeated. “O Lord, reward me for my affliction and give me something better than it in return, which only You, the Exalted and Mighty, can give.” Then she thought to herself, “What Muslim is better than Abu Salama whose family was the first to emigrate to the Messenger of Allah?” All the Muslims in Medina were aware of Umm Salama’s situation, and when her idda period of four months and ten days were over, Abu Bakr proposed marriage to her, but she refused. Then Umar asked her to marry him, but again she refused. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself asked for her hand in marriage.(Umm Salama had the right to agree/diagree which Islam gave her. She rejected Umar RA and Abu Bakr RA as they were not Prophet but she was reluctant to reject Prophet SAS right away and she let her concerns be known to Prophet SAS. The reason she had rejected earlier and was relucatant to agree right away to prophet SAS was:) “O Messenger of Allah,
” Umm Salama replied, “I have three main characteristics: I am a woman who is extremely jealous and I am afraid that you will see something in me that will make you angry and cause Allah to punish me; I am a woman who is already advanced in age; and I am a woman who has many children.”
“As for your jealousy,” answered the Prophet, “I pray to Allah the Almighty to take it away from you. As for your age, I am older than you. As for your many children, they belong to Allah and His Messenger.”
The Prophet’s answered eased her heart, and so they were married in Shawwal, 4 AH, and so it was that Allah answered the prayer of Umm Salama and gave her better than Abu Salama. From that day on, Umm Salama was not only the mother of Salama, but also became the ‘Mother of the Believers’ ‘Umm al Muminin’.
Umm Salama was not the only wife to have been widowed as a result of the battle of Uhud, and thanks to this marriage, many of the Companions followed the Prophet’s example, marrying widows and thereby bringing them and their children into the circle of their families, instead of leaving them to struggle on their own.
A’isha said, “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) married Umm Salama, I felt very unhappy when he mentioned her beauty to us. I waited until I saw her and she was even more beautiful than her description.” She was also from a very noble family and known for her keen intelligence. On more than one occasion, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked her advice in tricky situations.
Like A’isha and Hafsa, Umm Salama learned the whole of the Qur’an by heart, and an indication of her high station with Allah can be found in the fact that she was permitted to see the angel Jibril in human form: It has been related by Salman that Jibril came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while Umm Salama was with him, and had a conversation with him. After Jibril had left, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Umm Salama, “Do you know who that was?” and she replied that it was a man called Dihya al Khalbi. “By Allah,” said Umm Salama, “I didn’t think it was anyone else until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told me who it really was.”
She also had a home for her four children: Salama, Umar, Zaynab, and Durra who ere the foster children of the Prophet. Once she was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with her daughter Zaynab when Fatima came with al Hasan and al Husayn. He embraced his two grandsons and said, “may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you, People of the House. He is Praiseworthy, Glorious.” Umm Salama began to weep and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) looked at her and asked tenderly, “Why are you weeping?” She replied, “O Messenger of Allah, you singled them out and left me and my daughter!” He said, “You and your daughter are among the People of the House.” Her daughter Zaynab grew up in the care of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and become one of the most intelligent women of her time. Once Zaynab came in while the Prophet was bathing and he splashed water in her face. Afterwards face retained its youthfulness even into her old age.
Her son Salama later married Umama, the daughter of Hamza, the martyred uncle of the Prophet. Umm Salama was married to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for seven years until his death in 10 AH and accompanied him on many of his expeditions: Hudaybiyya, Khaybar, the Conquest of Mecca, the siege of Ta’if, the expedition against Hawazin and Thaqif, and the Farewell Hajj. She continued to live for a long time, outliving all the other wives of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them, until she died in 61 AH, at the age of eighty four, may Allah be pleased with her, and Abu Hurairah said the funeral prayer over her.
Umm Salamah’s du’a is also narrated in Muslim:
“Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying, “When a person suffers from a calamity and utters: `Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji`un. Allahumma ujurni fi musibati, wakhluf li khairan minha (We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. O Allah! Compensate me in my affliction, recompense my loss and give me something better in exchange for it), then Allah surely compensates him with reward and better substitute.” Umm Salamah (ra) said: When Abu Salamah (ra) died, I repeated the same supplication as the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had commanded me (to do), so Allah bestowed upon me a better substitute than him [Muslim].
When we are afflicted with hardships and tests, or simply do not get something we anticipate
Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya, may Allah be pleased with her, was married to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in 4 AH at the age of twenty nine, after her first husband, Abdullah ibn Abdul Asad, had died from the wounds he had received while fighting at the battle of Uhud. Umm Salama and Abdal Asad had been among the first people to embrace Islam in the early days of the Muslim community in Mecca. They had suffered at the hands of the Quraish who had tried to force them to abandon their new faith, and had been among the first group of Muslims to seek refuge under the protection of the Negus in Abyssinia. When they had returned to Mecca, believing that the situation of the Muslims had improved, they had found instead that if anything it was worse. Rather than return to Abyssinia, Abdal Asad and Umm Salama had received the Prophet’s permission to immigrate to Medina, but this proved not to be as easy as they might have imagined.
In the words of Umm Salama: “When Abu Salama (my husband) decided to leave for Medina, he prepared a camel for me, lifted me up onto it and put my son Salama on my lap. My husband then took the lead and went straight ahead without stopping or waiting for anything. Before we were out of Mecca, however, some men from my tribe, the Banu Mahkhzum, stopped us and said to my husband: “Although you may be free to do what you like with yourself, you have no power over your wife. She is our daughter. DO you expect us to allow you to take her away from us?’ They then grabbed hold of him and snatched me away from him. Some men from my husband’s tribe, the Banu Abdul Asad, saw them taking both me and my child and became hot with rage: “No, by Allah!’ They shouted. ‘We shall not abandon the boy. He is our son and we have a rightful claim over him.’ So they took him by his arm and pulled him away from me. Suddenly, in the space of a few minutes, I found myself all alone. My husband headed out towards Medina by himself; his tribe had snatched away my son from me; and my own tribe had overpowered me and forced me to stay with them. From the day that my husband and my son were parted from me, I went out at noon every day and sat at the spot where this tragedy had occurred. I would remember those terrifying moments and weep until nightfall.
“I continued like this for a year or so until one day a man from the Banu Umayya passed by and saw my condition. He went to my tribe and said, ‘Why don’t you free this woman? You have caused both her husband and her son to betaken away from her.’ He went on like this, trying to soften their hearts and appealing to their emotions, until at last they said to me, ‘Go and join your husband if you wish.’ But how could I join my husband in Medina, and leave my son, part of my own flesh and blood, in Mecca among the Banu Abdul Asad? How could I remain free from anguish, and my eyes free from tears, if I were to reach the place of hijrah not knowing anything of my little son left behind in Mecca?
“Some people realized what I was going through and their hearts went out to me. They approached the Banu Abdul Asad on my behalf and persuaded them to return my son. I had no desire to remain in Mecca until I could find someone to travel with me, for I was afraid that something might happen that would delay me or stop me from reaching my husband. So I immediately prepared my camel, placed my son on my lap, and set out in the direction of Medina. I just had just reached Tan’im (3 miles from Mecca) when I met Uthman ibn Talha (He as in charge of looking after the Ka’ba, but did not embrace Islam until the Conquest of Mecca). “‘Were are you going, Bint Zad ar Rakib?’ he asked. ‘I am going to my husband in Medina.’ ‘And isn’t there anyone going with you?’ ‘No, by Allah, except Allah and my little boy here.’ ‘By Allah,’ he vowed, ‘I will not leave you until you reach Medina.’
He then took the reins of my camel and led us on our way. By Allah, I have never met an Arab more generous and noble than he. Whenever we reached a resting-place, he would make my camel kneel down, wait until I had dismounted and then lead the camel to a tree and tether it. Then he would go and rest in the shade of a different tree to me. When we had rested, he would get the camel ready again and then lead us on our way. This he did every day until we reached Medina. When we reached a village near Quba (about two miles from Medina), belonging to the Banu Amr ibn Awf, he said, ‘Your husband is in this village. Enter it with the blessings of Allah.’ Then he turned round and headed back to Mecca.”
Thus after many difficult months of separation, Umm Salama and her son were reunited with Abu Salama, and in the next few years that followed, they were always near the heart of the growing Muslim community of Medina al Munawarra. They were present when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived safely from Mecca, and at the battle of Badr Abu Salama fought bravely. At the battle of Uhud, however, he was badly wounded. At first his wound appeared to respond well to treatment, but then his wounds re opened after an expedition against the Banu Abdul Asad, and after that they refused to heal and he remained bedridden. Once while Umm Salama was nursing him, he said to her, “I once heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that whenever a calamity afflicts anyone he should say what Allah has commanded him to say: ‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un!’ ‘Surely we come from Allah and surely to Him we return!’ and then he should say, ‘O Lord, reward me for my affliction and give me something better than it in return, which only You, the Exalted the Mighty, can give.’”
Abu Salama remained sick in bed for several days. One morning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to see him. The visit was longer than usual, and while the Prophet was still at his bedside, Abu Salama died. With his blessed hands, the Prophet closed the eyes of his dead Companion and then raised them in prayer. “O Allah, grant forgiveness to Abu Salama; elevate him among those who are near to You; take charge of his family at all times; forgive us and him, O Lord of the worlds; make his grave spacious for him and fill it with light. Amin.”
Once again Umm Salama was alone, only now she had not one child, but several. There was no one to look after her and them. Recalling what her husband had told her while she was looking after him, she repeated the dua’a that he had remembered: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un!” “Surely we come from Allah and surely to Him we return!” she repeated. “O Lord, reward me for my affliction and give me something better than it in return, which only You, the Exalted and Mighty, can give.” Then she thought to herself, “What Muslim is better than Abu Salama whose family was the first to emigrate to the Messenger of Allah?” All the Muslims in Medina were aware of Umm Salama’s situation, and when her idda period of four months and ten days were over, Abu Bakr proposed marriage to her, but she refused. Then Umar asked her to marry him, but again she refused. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself asked for her hand in marriage.(Umm Salama had the right to agree/diagree which Islam gave her. She rejected Umar RA and Abu Bakr RA as they were not Prophet but she was reluctant to reject Prophet SAS right away and she let her concerns be known to Prophet SAS. The reason she had rejected earlier and was relucatant to agree right away to prophet SAS was:) “O Messenger of Allah,
” Umm Salama replied, “I have three main characteristics: I am a woman who is extremely jealous and I am afraid that you will see something in me that will make you angry and cause Allah to punish me; I am a woman who is already advanced in age; and I am a woman who has many children.”
“As for your jealousy,” answered the Prophet, “I pray to Allah the Almighty to take it away from you. As for your age, I am older than you. As for your many children, they belong to Allah and His Messenger.”
The Prophet’s answered eased her heart, and so they were married in Shawwal, 4 AH, and so it was that Allah answered the prayer of Umm Salama and gave her better than Abu Salama. From that day on, Umm Salama was not only the mother of Salama, but also became the ‘Mother of the Believers’ ‘Umm al Muminin’.
Umm Salama was not the only wife to have been widowed as a result of the battle of Uhud, and thanks to this marriage, many of the Companions followed the Prophet’s example, marrying widows and thereby bringing them and their children into the circle of their families, instead of leaving them to struggle on their own.
A’isha said, “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) married Umm Salama, I felt very unhappy when he mentioned her beauty to us. I waited until I saw her and she was even more beautiful than her description.” She was also from a very noble family and known for her keen intelligence. On more than one occasion, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked her advice in tricky situations.
Like A’isha and Hafsa, Umm Salama learned the whole of the Qur’an by heart, and an indication of her high station with Allah can be found in the fact that she was permitted to see the angel Jibril in human form: It has been related by Salman that Jibril came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while Umm Salama was with him, and had a conversation with him. After Jibril had left, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Umm Salama, “Do you know who that was?” and she replied that it was a man called Dihya al Khalbi. “By Allah,” said Umm Salama, “I didn’t think it was anyone else until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told me who it really was.”
She also had a home for her four children: Salama, Umar, Zaynab, and Durra who ere the foster children of the Prophet. Once she was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with her daughter Zaynab when Fatima came with al Hasan and al Husayn. He embraced his two grandsons and said, “may the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you, People of the House. He is Praiseworthy, Glorious.” Umm Salama began to weep and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) looked at her and asked tenderly, “Why are you weeping?” She replied, “O Messenger of Allah, you singled them out and left me and my daughter!” He said, “You and your daughter are among the People of the House.” Her daughter Zaynab grew up in the care of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and become one of the most intelligent women of her time. Once Zaynab came in while the Prophet was bathing and he splashed water in her face. Afterwards face retained its youthfulness even into her old age.
Her son Salama later married Umama, the daughter of Hamza, the martyred uncle of the Prophet. Umm Salama was married to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for seven years until his death in 10 AH and accompanied him on many of his expeditions: Hudaybiyya, Khaybar, the Conquest of Mecca, the siege of Ta’if, the expedition against Hawazin and Thaqif, and the Farewell Hajj. She continued to live for a long time, outliving all the other wives of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them, until she died in 61 AH, at the age of eighty four, may Allah be pleased with her, and Abu Hurairah said the funeral prayer over her.
Umm Salamah’s du’a is also narrated in Muslim:
“Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying, “When a person suffers from a calamity and utters: `Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji`un. Allahumma ujurni fi musibati, wakhluf li khairan minha (We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. O Allah! Compensate me in my affliction, recompense my loss and give me something better in exchange for it), then Allah surely compensates him with reward and better substitute.” Umm Salamah (ra) said: When Abu Salamah (ra) died, I repeated the same supplication as the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had commanded me (to do), so Allah bestowed upon me a better substitute than him [Muslim].
When we are afflicted with hardships and tests, or simply do not get something we anticipate
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