Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya: The Mother of the Believers (UK British Muslim Guide)

Umm Salama (RA), whose name was Hind bint Abi Umayya, was a wife of the Prophet ﷺ and one of the Mothers of the Believers. Above all, Muslims remember her for her wisdom at a moment of crisis. At Hudaybiyyah, her advice to the Prophet ﷺ ended the Companions’ hesitation. Moreover, she was among the last of his wives to pass away, around 61 AH. In addition, she narrated about 378 hadeeth, second only to ʿAʾishah (RA) among women. In this guide, we tell her full story and the lessons it holds for Muslim families today. E-Aalim is an online educational platform and institute. The E-Aalim online institute teaches the Holy Quran, Arabic language and Islamic studies online.

Family lineage

Umm Salama’s full name was Hind bint Abi Umayya ibn al-Mughirah. She came from the Banu Makhzum, one of the most powerful clans of Quraysh. Her father, Abu Umayya, carried the title Zad al-Rakb (“provision of the caravan”). In fact, he earned this title because he paid for the food of everyone who travelled with him. Her mother was ʿAtika bint ʿAmir of the Banu Kinana. As a result, Hind grew up among the elite of Makkah, in a family known for both wealth and generosity. Later, people called her Umm Salama after her eldest son, Salama. Therefore, the name the Muslim world knows her by is a kunyah, not her given name.

The early years

Umm Salama accepted Islam early in Makkah with her first husband, Abu Salama. He was the son of the Prophet’s ﷺ paternal aunt and also his foster brother. Because of the harsh persecution, the couple migrated to Abyssinia, where she gave birth to their son Salama, according to many reports. Later, they returned to Makkah.

When the Muslims began emigrating to Madinah, her clan seized her camel and refused to let her leave. In response, Abu Salama’s clan took her son from her, dislocating his arm in the struggle. Abu Salama therefore travelled on alone. For about a year, Umm Salama wept every day at al-Abtah. Eventually, both families let her go and returned her son. She then set out alone with Salama and finally rejoined her husband in Madinah.

The death of Abu Salama

Abu Salama died in 4 AH from a wound he received at the Battle of Uhud. Before that, Umm Salama had heard the Prophet ﷺ teach a du’a for anyone struck by a calamity (Saheeh Muslim 918):

"Inna li-llahi wa inna ilayhi rajiʿun. Allahumma ajirni fi musibati wa akhlif li khayran minha."

("To Allah we belong and to Him we return. O Allah, reward me in my affliction and replace it for me with what is better.")

After Abu Salama’s death, she said the du’a. However, she wondered inwardly, “Which Muslim could be better than Abu Salama?” Nevertheless, she kept saying it, trusting the Prophet’s ﷺ promise. Then, once her ʿiddah ended, the Prophet ﷺ himself proposed to her. In other words, Allah answered her du’a with more than she could imagine. For this reason, Muslims still call it the du’a of replacement.

The marriage to the Prophet ﷺ

At first, Umm Salama declined the proposal. In fact, Abu Bakr and ʿUmar had both proposed to her earlier, and she had turned them down too. She gave the Prophet ﷺ three reasons: she was a jealous woman, she had young children, and she was no longer young. The Prophet ﷺ answered each one gently. As for her jealousy, he would pray to Allah to remove it. As for her children, Allah and His Messenger would take care of them. As for her age, he was older than her. Finally, she accepted, and they married in Shawwal 4 AH. From then on, she became one of the most influential of the prophet's wives.

How Long Was Umm Salama Married to the Prophet ﷺ?

Umm Salama’s marriage to the Prophet ﷺ lasted about seven years, from 4 AH until his passing in 11 AH. During those years, she witnessed several major events. For example, she accompanied him to Hudaybiyyah in 6 AH. Moreover, she once saw the angel Jibreel in the form of the Companion Dihya al-Kalbi (Saheeh al-Bukhari). In addition, Allah revealed verse 33:35 of Surat al-Ahzab after she asked why the Qur’an addressed men and not women. As a result, the Qur’an names believing men and believing women side by side. E-Aalim tutors and teachers are dedicated, effecient, experienced and highly qualified arabic native speaker Al-Azhar graduates.

The Hudaybiyyah crisis

In 6 AH, the Prophet ﷺ set out with about 1,400 Companions to perform ʿUmrah. However, the Quraysh stopped them at Hudaybiyyah, and the two sides signed a treaty. Many Companions felt the terms favoured the Quraysh. Therefore, when the Prophet ﷺ told them to sacrifice their animals and shave their heads, no one moved, even after he repeated the command three times.

The Prophet ﷺ went into Umm Salama’s tent and told her what had happened. She replied: “O Prophet of Allah, would you like that? Go out and do not say a word to any of them until you slaughter your camel and call your barber to shave your head” (Saheeh al-Bukhari 2731).

He followed her advice exactly. As soon as the Companions saw him, they rushed to sacrifice and shave each other’s heads. In short, one sentence of wise counsel ended the crisis, and scholars have cited it ever since as a model.

Her hadeeth transmission

Umm Salama narrated about 378 hadeeth. As a result, she ranks second among women narrators, after ʿAʾishah (RA) alone. Many of her narrations appear in Saheeh al-Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim. Moreover, she outlived the Prophet ﷺ by about 50 years, so she became a senior reference for the early Muslim community. Companions and Successors came to her with questions, especially on worship and women’s issues. For example, she and ʿAʾishah confirmed that the Prophet ﷺ sometimes began a fasting day in a state of janabah, and Abu Hurayra changed his ruling after hearing them. Her students included her children ʿUmar and Zaynab, as well as leading Successors such as Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib.

Her death

Umm Salama passed away in 61 AH (around 681 CE), in her eighties. According to most historians, she was the last of the Mothers of the Believers to die. Before her death, she received the news of the killing of al-Husayn ibn ʿAli (RA) at Karbalaaʾ, and reports describe her deep grief at the loss of the Prophet’s ﷺ grandson. In fact, the famous Hadeeth al-Kisaaʾ took place in her house: there, the Prophet ﷺ gathered ʿAli, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn under his cloak (Jamiʿ al-Tirmidhi). Afterwards, the Muslims buried her in al-Baqiʿ in Madinah. Thus, with her passing, the era of the Mothers of the Believers came to an end.

What the Sunnah emphasises about her

1. Wisdom under crisis — her Hudaybiyyah counsel

2. Patience under loss — the migration separation, her husband's death, the loss of her son al-Husayn's grandson generations later

3. The du'a of replacement — her famous du'a taught to her by Abu Salama

4. Long-term scholarly contribution — 50 years of teaching after the Prophet's ﷺ death

5. Female authority in religious matters — she was consulted on fiqh by male Companions

Lessons for British Muslim families

For widows

The du'a Umm Salama said after Abu Salama's death is the model. "Allahumma ajirni fi musibati wa akhlif li khayran minha" — recite it sincerely; Allah's replacement may exceed your imagination.

For wives

Her advice to the Prophet ﷺ at Ḥudaybiyyah is the model of spousal counsel. The right word at the right moment can resolve crises. Husbands should listen.

For mothers struggling to migrate or relocate

Her year-long separation from her husband and child as she struggled to migrate to Madinah is one of the seerah's most painful stories. British Muslim women separated by visa issues, displaced by family circumstances, or struggling alone with children can take her example as direct guidance.

For older women in the community

Umm Salama's most influential decades were after the Prophet's ﷺ death. Her teaching, her ḥadīth transmission, her counsel to the Muslim community in their political crises — all happened in her sixties through till her death at over 80. British Muslim women should know that the most spiritually consequential decades of life often come after 60. The E-Aalim learners and students at E-Aalim are kid, adult, male and female Muslims living mainly in Europe and the U.S.A.

Her place among the Mothers of the Believers

One of the eleven wives. See our complete guide to the Mothers of the Believers.

Pair with related stories

• The Grief Du'a — Inna li-llahi wa inna ilayhi rajiʿun

• Khadijah bint Khuwaylid

• Umm Habiba bint Abi Sufyan

Closing

Umm Salama is the Mother of the Believers of wisdom under pressure, scholarly continuity, and the du'a of replacement. Read her Ḥudaybiyyah counsel to your daughters. Memorise her du'a for your widowed friends. Book a free Eaalim trial to study the Sunnah she preserved.