Barakah (Umm Ayman)

[StarGazer]

We do not know precisely how the young Abyssinian girl ended up

for sale in Makkah. We do not know her 'roots', who her mother

was, or her father or her ancestors. There were many like her,

boys and girls, Arabs and non-Arabs, who were captured and

brought to the slave market of the city to be sold.

 

A terrible fate awaited some who ended up in the hands of cruel

masters or mistresses who exploited their labor to the full and

treated them with the utmost harsh ness.

 

A few in that inhuman environment were rather more fortunate.

They were taken into the homes of more gentle and caring

people.

 

Barakah, the young Abyssinian girl, was one of the more

fortunate ones. She was saved by the generous and kind Abdullah,

the son of Abd al-Muttalib. 'She became the only servant in his

household and when he was married, to the lady Aminah, she

looked after her affairs as well.

 

Two weeks after the couple were married, according to Barakah,

Abdullah's father came to their house and instructed his son to

go with a trading caravan that was leaving for Syria. Aminah was

deeply distressed and cried:

 

"How strange! How strange! How can my husband go on a trading

journey to Syria while I am yet a bride and the traces of henna

are still on my hands."

 

Abdullah's departure was heartbreaking. In her anguish, Aminah

fainted. Soon after he left, Barakah said: "When I saw Aminah

unconscious, I shouted in distress and pain: 'O my lady!' Aminah

opened her eyes and looked at me with tears streaming down her

face. Suppressing a groan she said: "Take me to bed, Barakah."

 

"Aminah stayed bedridden for a long time. She spoke to no one.

Neither did she look at anyone who visited her except Abd

al-Muttalib, that noble and gentle old man. "Two months after

the departure of Abdullah, Aminah called me at dawn one morning

and, her face beaming with joy, she said to me:

 

"O Barakah! I have seen a strange dream." "Something good, my

lady," I said.

 

"I saw lights coming from my abdomen lighting up the

 

mountains, the hills and the valleys around Makkah." "Do you

feel pregnant, my lady?"

 

"Yes, Barakah," she replied. "But I do not feel any discomfort

as other women feel." "You shall give birth to a blessed child

who will bring goodness," I said.

 

So long as Abdullah was away, Aminah remained sad and

melancholic. Barakah stayed at her side trying to comfort her

and make her cheerful by talking to her and relating stories.

Aminah however became even more distressed when Abd al-Muttalib

came and told her she had to leave her home and go to the

mountains as other Makkans had done because of an impending

attack on the city by the ruler of Yemen, someone called

Abrahah. Aminah told him that she was too grief-striken and weak

to leave for the mountains but insisted that Abrahah could never

enter Makkah and destroy the Kabah because it was protected by

the Lord. Abd al-Muttalib became very agitated but there was no

sign of fear on Aminah's face. Her confidence that the Kabah

would not be harmed was well-founded. Abrahah's army with an

elephant in the vanguard was destroyed before it could enter

Makkah.

 

Day and night, Barakah stayed beside Aminah. She said: "I slept

at the foot of her bed and heard her groans at night as she

called for her absent husband. Her moans would awaken me and I

would try to comfort her and give her courage."

 

The first part of the caravan from Syria returned and was

joyously welcomed by the trading families of Makkah. Barakah

went secretly to the house of Abd al-Muttalib to find out about

Abdullah but had no news of him. She went back to Aminah but did

not tell her what she had seen or heard in order not to distress

her. The entire caravan eventually returned but not with

Abdullah.

 

Later, Barakah was at Abd al-Muttalib's house when news came

from *Yathrib that Abdullah had died. She said: "I screamed when

I heard the news. I don't know what I did after that except that

I ran to Aminah's house shouting, lamenting for the absent one

who would never return, lamenting for the beloved one for whom

we waited so long, lamenting for the most beautiful youth of

Makkah, for Abdullah, the pride of the Quraysh.

 

"When Aminah heard the painful news, she fainted and I stayed by

her bedside while she was in a state between life and death.

There was no one else but me in Aminah's house. I nursed her and

looked after her during the day and through the long nights

until she gave birth to her child, "Muhammad", on a night in

which the heavens were resplendent with the light of God."

 

When Muhammad was born, Barakah was the first to hold him in her

arms. His grandfather came and took him to the Kabah and with

all Makkah, celebrated his birth. Barakah stayed with Aminah

while Muhammad was sent to the badiyah with the lady Halimah who

looked after him in the bracing atmosphere of the open desert.

At the end of five years, he was brought back to Makkah and

Aminah received him with tenderness and love and Barakah

welcomed him "with joy, longing and admiration".

 

When Muhammad was six years old, his mother decided to visit the

grave of her husband, Abdullah, in Yathrib. Both Barakah and Abd

al-Muttalib tried to dissuade her. Aminah however was

determined. So one morning they set off- Aminah, Muhammad and

Barakah huddled together in a small hawdaj mounted on a large

camel, part of a huge caravan that was going to Syria. In order

to shield the tender child from any pain and worry, Aminah did

not tell Muhammad that she was going to visit the grave of his

father.

 

The caravan went at a brisk pace. Barakah tried to console

Aminah for her son's sake and much of the time the boy Muhammad

slept with his arms around Barakah's neck.

 

The caravan took ten days to reach Yathrib. The boy Muhammad was

left with his maternal uncles of the Banu Najjar while Aminah

went to visit the grave of Abdullah. Each day for a few weeks

she stayed at the grave. She was consumed by grief.

 

On the way back to Makkah, Aminah became seriously ill with

fever. Halfway between Yathrib and Makkah, at a place called

al-Abwa, they stopped. Aminah's health deteriorated rapidly. One

pitch dark night, she was running a high temperature. The fever

had got to her head and she called out to Barakah in a choking

voice.

 

Barakah related: "She whispered in my ear: 'O Barakah, I shall

depart from this world shortly. I commend my son Muhammad to

your care. He lost his father while he was in my abdomen. Here

he is now, losing his mother under his very eyes. Be a mother to

him, Barakah. And don't ever leave him.'

 

"My heart was shattered and I began to sob and wail. The child

was distressed by my wailing and began to weep. He threw himself

into his mother's arms and held tightly onto her neck. She gave

one last moan and then was forever silent."

 

Barakah wept. She wept bitterly. With her own hands she dug a

grave in the sand and buried Aminah, moistening the grave with

whatever tears were left in her heart. Barakah returned with the

orphan child to Makkah and placed him in the care of his

grandfather. She stayed at his house to look after him. When Abd

al-Muttalib died two years later, she went with the child to the

house of his uncle Abu Talib and continued to look after his

needs until he was grown up and married the lady Khadijah.

 

Barakah then stayed with Muhammad and Khadijah in a house

belonging to Khadijah. "I never left him and he never left me,"

she said. One day Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him

peace, called out to her and said: "Ya Ummah!" (He always called

her "Mother".) "Now I am a married man, and you are still

unmarried. What do you think if someone should come now and ask

to marry you?" Barakah looked at Muhammad and said: "I shall

never leave you. Does a mother abandon her son?" Muhammad smiled

and kissed her head. He looked at his wife Khadijah and said to

her: "This is Barakah. This is my mother after my own mother.

She is the rest of my family."

 

Barakah looked at the lady Khadijah who said to her: "Barakah,

you have sacrificed your youth for the sake of Muhammad. Now he

wants to pay back some of his obligations to you. For my sake

and his, agree to be married before old age overtakes you."

 

"Whom shall I marry, my lady?" asked Barakah. "There is here now

Ubayd ibn Zayd from the Khazraj tribe of Yathrib. He has come to

us seeking your hand in marriage. For my sake, don't refuse."

 

Barakah agreed. She married Ubayd ibn Zayd and went with him to

Yathrib. There she gave birth to a son whom she called Ayman and

from that time onwards people called her "Umm Ayman" the mother

of Ayman.

 

Her marriage however did not last very long. Her husband died

and she returned once more to Makkah to live with her "son"

Muhammad in the house of the lady Khadijah. Living in the same

household at the time were Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hind (Khadijah's

daughter by her first husband), and Zayd ibn Harithah.

 

Zayd was an Arab from the tribe of Kalb who was captured as a

boy and brought to Makkah to be sold in the slave market. He was

bought by Khadijah's nephew and put in her service. In

Khadijah's household, Zayd became attached to Muhammad and

devoted himself to his service. Their relationship was like that

of a son to a father. Indeed when Zayd's father came to Makkah

in search of him, Zayd was given the choice by Muhammad of

either going with his father or staying with him. Zayd's reply

to his father was:

 

"I shall never leave this man. He has treated me nobly, as a

father would treat his son. Not a single day have I felt that I

am a slave. He has looked after me well. He is kind and loving

towards me and strives for my enjoyment and happiness. He is the

most noble of men and the greatest person in creation. How can I

leave him and go with you?...I shall never leave him."

 

Later, in public Muhammad proclaimed the freedom of Zayd.

However, Zayd continued to live with him as part of his

household and devoted himself to his service.

 

When Muhammad was blessed with prophethood, Barakah and Zayd

were among the first to believe in the message he proclaimed.

They bore with the early Muslims the persecution which the

Quraysh meted out to them.

 

Barakah and Zayd performed invaluable services to the mission of

the Prophet. They acted as part of an intelligence service

exposing themselves to the persecution and punishment of the

Quraysh and risking their lives to gain information on the plans

and conspiracies of the mushrikin.

 

One night the mushrikun blocked off the roads leading to the

House of al-Arqam where the Prophet gathered his companions

regularly to instruct them in the teachings of Islam. Barakah

had some urgent information from Khadijah which had to be

conveyed to the Prophet. She risked her life trying to reach the

House of al-Arqam. When she arrived and conveyed the message to

the Prophet, he smiled and said to her:

 

"You are blessed, Umm Ayman. Surely you have a place in

Paradise." When Umm Ayman left, the Prophet looked at his

companions and asked: "Should one of you desire to marry a woman

from the people of Paradise, let him marry Umm Ayman."

 

Ali the companions remained silent and did not utter a word. Umm

Ayman was neither beautiful nor attractive. She was by now about

fifty years old and looked rather frail. Zayd ibn al-Harithah

however came forward and said:

 

"Messenger of Allah, I shall marry Umm Ayman. By Allah, she is

better than women who have grace and beauty."

 

Zayd and Umm Ayman were married and were blessed with a son whom

they named Usamah. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant

him peace, loved Usamah as his own son. Often he played with

him, kissed him and fed him with his own hands. The Muslims

would say: "He is the beloved son of the beloved." From an early

age Usamah distinguished himself in the service of lslam, and

was later given weighty responsibilities by the Prophet.

 

When the Prophet migrated to Yathrib, henceforth to be known as

al-Madinah, he left Umm Ayman behind in Makkah to look after

certain special affairs in his household. Eventually she

migrated to Madinah on her own. She made the long and difficult

journey through the desert and mountainous terrain on foot. The

heat was killing and sandstorms obscured the way but she

persisted, borne along by her deep love and attachment for

Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. When she

reached Madinah, her feet were sore and swollen and her face was

covered with sand and dust.

 

"Ya Umm Ayman! Ya Ummi! (O Umm Ayman! O my mother!) Indeed for

you is a place in Paradise!" exclaimed the Prophet when he saw

her. He wiped her face and eyes, massaged her feet and rubbed

her shoulders with his kind and gentle hands.

 

At Madinah, Umm Ayman played her full part in the affairs of the

Muslims. At Uhud she distributed water to the thirsty and tended

the wounded. She accompanied the Prophet on some expeditions, to

Khaybar and Hunayn for example.

 

Her son Ayman, a devoted companion of the Prophet was martyred

at Hunayn in the eighth year after the Hijrah. Barakah's

husband, Zayd, was killed at the Battle of Mutah in Syria after

a lifetime of distinguished service to the Prophet and Islam.

Barakah at this time was about seventy years old and spent much

of her time at home. The Prophet, accompanied by Abu Bakr and

Umar often visited her and asked: "Ya Ummi! Are you well?" and

she would reply: "I am well, O Messenger of Allah so long as

Islam is."

 

After the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had

died, Barakah would often be found with tears in her eyes. She

was once asked, "Why are you crying?" and she replied: "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."

 

Barakah was unique in that she was the only one who was so close

to the Prophet throughout his life from birth till death. Her

life was one of selfless service in the Prophet's household. She

remained deeply devoted to the person of the noble, gentle and

caring Prophet. Above all, her devotion to the religion of Islam

was strong and unshakable. She died during the caliphate of

Uthman. Her roots were unknown but her place in Paradise was

assured.

*Yathrib is also known as the city of Madina

 

source: http://www.jannah.org/sisters/barakah.html

[Abdinuur]

Very, very profound story. I loved reading it.

 

Thanks for sharing it with us Tamina.

 

Much Respect.

[Sister_Somali]

Jazakallah Khayran sis

[Iffah]

Jazakallah khairan for sharing that beautiful story with us. It was definitely worth the read.

loved it!

[PlayMaker]

that was lovely, thanks for sharing....

[StarGazer]

U wlc. I remember reading about Barakah (RAA) as a young child and I could never forget about her her strong character and dedication to Al-Islaam. She is an inspiration.