Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: I entered Paradise and I heard the sound of footsteps there. I asked, "What is this sound?" I was told that it is the sound of Rumaysa bint Milhan walking.

(Second chain) The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: I entered Paradise and I heard a sound ahead of me; it was Ghumaysa bint Milhan. She was the mother of Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "I was shown in a dream that I entered Paradise, and there I found Rumaisa, the wife of Abu Talha."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the son of Sayyiduna Abu Talhah and Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with them both) passed away. Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) said to her family: Do not inform Abu Talhah about his son; I will tell him myself. So when he came, she presented him with the evening meal; he ate and drank. Then Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) prepared herself well for her husband, as she used to do before, and they had marital relations. When Umm Sulaym saw that her husband was satisfied and had fulfilled his marital right, she said: O Abu Talhah! What do you think about this: if people lend something to the people of a household, and then when they demand it back, can they prevent them from taking it? He said: No, they cannot prevent them. Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Then seek reward from Allah and be patient over the death of your son.

Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) set out until he reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him of the whole incident. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: May Allah bless you in your night just passed.

Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) became pregnant. Once, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was on a journey and Umm Sulaym was with him. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would return from a journey to Madinah, he would not enter the city at night. When they neared Madinah, Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) began to experience labor pains. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went ahead, but Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) stayed with his wife and said: O my Lord! You know that I love to go out on a journey with Your Messenger and to enter Madinah with him, but now You see that I have stayed behind. Meanwhile, Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) said: What I used to feel before, I am not feeling now. So we set out, and when we reached Madinah, the labor pains started again and she gave birth to a child.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: My mother said to me: O Anas! Let no one nurse him until you take him to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the morning. He says: I took the child to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and found him with an iron branding tool in his hand for marking animals. When he saw me, he said: Perhaps Umm Sulaym has given birth? I said: Yes. He put the tool down, I brought the child forward and placed him in the lap of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked for some dates of Madinah’s ‘Ajwah variety, chewed them in his blessed mouth until they became soft, then put them in the child’s mouth, and the child began to move his tongue and swallow them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: See how much the Ansar love dates! Then he passed his hand over the child’s face and named him Abdullah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to visit Sayyida Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) and would sleep on her bed. Sometimes it would happen that she was not present at her home. One day, when she came home, she was told that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sleeping on her bed, and it was the season of heat. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) perspired so much that his sweat was falling onto a piece of leather on the bed. Sayyida Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) says: I began to collect his sweat by squeezing it into a bottle. While I was doing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) woke up and said: "Umm Sulaym, what are you doing?" I replied: "O Messenger of Allah! We want to use it as a blessing for our children." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You are doing right."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to take a midday nap at the house of Sayyida Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her), and he would perspire profusely. Sayyida Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) prepared a leather mat for him, upon which he would take his nap. Sayyida Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) had made a line between his feet. She would collect his sweat by squeezing it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, "Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her)! What are you doing?" She replied, "O Messenger of Allah! This is your sweat; I will mix it with my perfume." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made the best supplication for her.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to visit the house of Sayyida Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) and would sleep on her bed, and sometimes it would happen that Sayyida Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) was not present at home. When she would come, she would find the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) sleeping. When the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) slept, so much sweat would come from him that it would begin to flow. She would collect his sweat with cotton and squeeze it into a bottle, and then she would mix it with her musk.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) visited Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her). She presented dates and ghee to him, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was fasting that day, so he said: "Put the dates back in their pouch and the ghee back in its container." After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood in a corner of the house and performed two rak‘ahs, and we also prayed with him. Then he supplicated for blessing for Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) and her family. Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "O Messenger of Allah! I have a special request." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What is it?" She said: "This is your servant, Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him); please make a special supplication for him." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated for every good of this world and the Hereafter for me and said: "O Allah! Grant him abundant wealth and children, and bless him in them." Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that among all the Ansar, no one had more wealth than him, while previously he had only a ring, and his eldest daughter Amina reported that Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) had buried about twenty-five or twenty-six of his children before the coming of Hajjaj bin Yusuf.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) was with her husband, Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him), on the occasion of the Battle of Hunayn. On that day, Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) had a dagger with her. Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) asked her: "Umm Sulaym! Why do you have this with you?" She replied: "I have kept it with me so that if any disbeliever comes near me, I will rip open his belly with it." Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah! Are you hearing what Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) is saying? This is what she is saying." Sayyidah Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "O Messenger of Allah! Those people whom you freed in Makkah, their faith is weak, they are hypocrites, you should kill them. O Messenger of Allah! They deserted you and fled." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Umm Sulaym! Allah Almighty has helped us, and helped us abundantly."

In another narration reported from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), it is mentioned that on the day of Hunayn, when the Muslims were defeated, Sayyida Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her) called out: O Messenger of Allah! Those who are behind us, kill them, for they have abandoned you and fled. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Umm Sulaym! Allah Almighty has greatly helped us. The husband of Sayyida Umm Sulaym (may Allah be pleased with her), Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him), came to her and saw a small axe with her and asked: Umm Sulaym! What is this? She replied: If any polytheist comes near me, I will rip open his belly. Sayyiduna Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! Look, what Umm Sulaym is saying.