Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya رضي الله عنها
A Story of Hijrah, Separation, and Allah's Reward for Patience
"Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un — O Lord, reward me for my affliction and give me something better than it in return."
— The Du'a that Changed Umm Salama's Life
🌿 A Mother's Hijrah
Umm Salama (RA) and her husband Abu Salama were among the first to embrace Islam and the first to seek refuge in Abyssinia. When they tried to emigrate to Madinah, her own tribe — the Banu Makhzum — stopped them and tore Umm Salama away from her husband. Then his tribe seized her young son, pulling him from her arms. In moments, she found herself completely alone — her husband gone to Madinah, her son taken by his tribe, and she held back by her own.
For a year, she went out every day to the spot where this happened and wept until nightfall. Eventually, moved by her suffering, both families relented. She set out alone for Madinah with her son, until she met Uthman ibn Talha at Tan'im. When she explained she had no companion except Allah and her child, he vowed: "By Allah, I will not leave you until you reach Madinah." He led her camel the entire journey, resting only under separate trees, until she safely reached her husband.
💔 Widowed and Allah's Promise
Abu Salama was wounded at the Battle of Uhud. His wounds reopened after another expedition and never healed. While Umm Salama nursed him, he told her of a du'a the Prophet ﷺ had taught: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un — O Lord, reward me for my affliction and give me something better than it in return, which only You can give."
When Abu Salama passed away, Umm Salama (RA) repeated this very du'a, thinking to herself: "What Muslim is better than Abu Salama, whose family was the first to emigrate to the Messenger of Allah?" Abu Bakr (RA) proposed to her — she declined. Umar (RA) proposed — she declined. Then the Prophet ﷺ himself proposed.
She told him honestly: "I am a woman extremely jealous, advanced in age, and with many children." The Prophet ﷺ replied: "As for your jealousy, I pray Allah removes it. As for your age, I am older than you. As for your children, they belong to Allah and His Messenger." They married in 4 AH — and Allah had given her better than Abu Salama, exactly as her du'a had asked.
Highest Station: Umm Salama (RA) memorised the entire Quran and was once permitted to see the Angel Jibreel (AS) in human form, without realising who he was until the Prophet ﷺ told her afterwards. She accompanied the Prophet ﷺ on the expeditions of Hudaybiyya, Khaybar, the Conquest of Makkah, and the Farewell Hajj.
🕊️ The Longest-Living Wife
Umm Salama (RA) was married to the Prophet ﷺ for seven years until his death, and she continued to live for many years afterwards — outliving all of the Prophet's other wives, may Allah be pleased with them all. She died in 61 AH at the age of eighty-four, and Abu Hurairah (RA) led her funeral prayer.
May Allah be pleased with Umm Salama — whose patience through hardship and sincere du'a brought her to a marriage with the Best of Creation.
رضي الله عنها — May Allah be pleased with her