A few weeks ago I was told a story of a woman of great strength and resilience. It was a name I knew but never before had I reflected on her story like I did in our Seerah class in Al-Miftah.
The story was of a 9 year old slave girl of African descent bought by an Arab named Abdullah and hence inherited by his son; the Prophet of Allah (SAW); this girl, originally called Barakah Bint Tha'labah came to be known as Umme Ayman and was of great - perhaps greatest - service to Islam.
We all know the story from here. The Prophet's (SAW) mother passes away and this girl, brings a 4-6 year old from Abwa to Mecca to entrust him to his grandfather. She takes care of him and dedicates her youth to his upbringing. At 40 something she marries upon the Prophet (SAW) insisting and her husband dies. She marries again (Zaid Bin Haritha), and this time her husband is martyred while she lives on even after the caliphate of Umar (RA). While the story may make you go 'wow', when you humanize this figure and think of what we can learn from her life you will be more than moved. I can not do justice to this like Sir Ishaq did, but I can share the lessons I learnt with you all;
1. The strength and responsibility a teenager can hold
Umme Ayman was barely 14-15 years old when she accompanied Amina to Yasrib with the Prophet (SAW) who was around 6. On the way back Amina passed away and Umme Ayman, a teenager, took responsibility of bringing the child Muhammad(SAW) to Mecca. Thereafter Umme Ayman was to the Prophet (SAW) like a second mother and he used to introduce her as 'my mother after my own mother had gone.'
If this is not an incident for us to reflect on the strength a teenager possesses and the kind of responsibility they can undertake then what is it?
It is high time we focus on the tarbiyah of our kids so by the time they become teenagers they can undertake the same responsibilities as an adult.
2. The Qadr of Allah
Umme Ayman was a slave girl bought at the hands of Abdullah. Just for a moment, imagine what she would've thought and felt about her life when she would stand in the slave market. She was looking onto a life of slavery which could include just about anything we would consider disrespectful today.
But look where Allah placed her. He picked her out from what could have been a life of agony and pain. Even as a slave, He dignified her and put her in a place of respect; a place many pious women would envy. She had the honor of bringing up and being honored by the greatest person to walk on Earth. Her name became a name that Muslims around the world would take inspiration from even 1500 years later.
Only Allah knows what He has planned for us and it is indeed in our best interests to trust Him.
3. Resilience that comes from a strong Imaan
Umme Ayman's story is undoubtedly a story of resilience. She married at an old age only for her husband to die. She married again, this time to one of the most dignified Sahabah and gave birth to the legendary Osama Bin Zaid only for him to be orphaned at birth. She brought up the Prophet as her own child, but was also there to witness his death. She shared a great relationship with him where she cried when he cried. Yet at the end of the Prophet's (SAW) life all she had to say was
"By Allah, I knew that the Messenger of Allah would die but I cry now because the revelation from on high has come to an end for us."
This statement in itself is the greatest proof of the fact that her immense strength and resilience stemmed from the strength of her Imaan than from anything else.
4. The Negation of Racism
The Prophet (SAW) a pure Arab calling a black African woman his mother and respecting her the same way is a lesson on racism we have yet to learn. How many of us would be willing to acknowledge an association to someone who is poor or of a darker color? There aren't many.
But the Prophet (SAW) not only acknowledged Umme Ayman's efforts in bringing him up but really loved her too. The Sahabah acknowledged that Umme Ayman was the only person who could make the Prophet (SAW) actually laugh (not just smile). When she used to see the Prophet (SAW) crying, she used to cry with him. And she was there protecting the Prophet (SAW) with a sword swirling in her hand when things took a turn for the worse in the Battle of Uhud. Such was the connection and love of the Prophet (SAW) for a black woman and such was the connection and love of a woman bought as a slave for the people who bought her.
May Allah allow us to learn from the stories of the Salaf and may He allow us to love them like we ought to.
Comments
Post a Comment