The Thirty Seventh Narration: He heard Anas ibn Malik say that Abu Talhah had said to Umm Sulaim, “I have just been listening to the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his voice was weak. I recognised hunger in it, so, do you have anything?”…

The Thirty Seventh Narration

Ishaq ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Talhah narrates:

عن إسحق بن عبد الله بن أبي طلحة أنه سمع أنس بن مالك يقول قال أبو طلحة لأم سليم لقد سمعت صوت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ضعيفا أعرف فيه الجوع فهل عندك من شيء فقالت نعم فأخرجت أقراصا من شعير ثم أخذت خمارا لها فلفت الخبز ببعضه ثم دسته تحت يدي وردتني ببعضه ثم أرسلتني إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال فذهبت به فوجدت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم جالسا في المسجد ومعه الناس فقمت عليهم فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم آرسلك أبو طلحة قال فقلت نعم قال للطعام فقلت نعم فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لمن معه قوموا قال فانطلق وانطلقت بين أيديهم حتى جئت أبا طلحة فأخبرته فقال أبو طلحة يا أم سليم قد جاء رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالناس وليس عندنا من الطعام ما نطعمهم فقالت الله ورسوله أعلم قال فانطلق أبو طلحة حتى لقي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فأقبل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأبو طلحة معه حتى دخلا فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم هلمي يا أم سليم ما عندك فأتت بذلك الخبز فأمر به رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ففت وعصرت عليه أم سليم عكة لها فآدمته ثم قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ما شاء الله أن يقول ثم قال ائذن لعشرة بالدخول فأذن لهم فأكلوا حتى شبعوا ثم خرجوا ثم قال ائذن لعشرة فأذن لهم فأكلوا حتى شبعوا ثم خرجوا ثم قال ائذن لعشرة فأذن لهم فأكلوا حتى شبعوا ثم خرجوا ثم قال ائذن لعشرة فأذن لهم فأكلوا حتى شبعوا ثم خرجوا ثم قال ائذن لعشرة حتى أكل القوم كلهم وشبعوا والقوم سبعون رجلا أو ثمانون رجلا

He heard Anas ibn Malik say that Abu Talhah had said to Umm Sulaim, “I have just been listening to the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his voice was weak. I recognised hunger in it, so, do you have anything?”

She replied, “Yes,” and brought out some barley loaves. She took her long head scarf and wrapped up the bread with part of it and put it into my (Anas’s) hand and gave me part of it to wear. Then she sent me to the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Anas continued, “I took it, and I found the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sitting in the masjid with some people. I stood by them.

The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, ‘Did Abu Talhah send you?’

I replied, ‘Yes.’

He said, ‘For food?’

I said, ‘Yes.’

The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to those with him, ‘Let us go.’

He set off and I went among them until I came to Abu Talhah and told him.

Abu Talhah said, ‘Umm Sulaim! The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam has brought people and we have no food to feed them.’

She said, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’”

Anas continued, “Abu Talhah went out and met the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam approached with Abu Talhah until they entered.

The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, ‘Umm Sulaim, bring out what you have’

She brought out bread. The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam ordered it to be broken into pieces, and Umm Sulaim squeezed out clarified butter into a container.

Then the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said whatever Allah wished him to say, and said, ‘Will you give permission for ten of them to come in?’ He gave them permission, and they ate until they were full and then left.

He said, ‘Give permission to ten more.’ He gave them permission, and they ate until they were full and left.

Then he said, ‘Give permission to ten more.’ He gave them permission and they ate until they were full and left.

Then he said, ‘Give permission to ten more.’ He gave permission and they ate until they were full and left. There were seventy or eighty men.’”[1]

Imam al Bukhari and Muslim have also recorded this narration.

Commentary and Lessons Learnt from this Narration:

The impoverished condition of the Ahlul Bayt. Despite hunger, Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not make it known until it had, by itself, become apparent.

The virtue of the Ahlul Bayt on their patience when facing hard times.

When noticing a need of the Ahlul Bayt one should make the necessary arrangements to fulfil their need.

The result of fulfilling the need of the Ahlul Bayt is blessings in one’s provisions.

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Ahlul Bayt complained to no one besides Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and hoped for reward from him. They did not make people aware of their needs, nor did their dire needs stop them from fulfilling their religious duties.

The Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum, due to their intense love, would recognise the signs of need of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Ahlul Bayt.

The virtue of Umm Sulaim, her perfection of faith, and submission to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and His Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

A flash of brilliance, a miracle of prophethood.

The true prophethood of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. His lifestyle was not that of the kings and emperors. The scarcity of provisions did not affect his actions one bit; a tell-tale sign of his truthfulness.

Ease follows difficulty; periods of prosperity must follow that of austerity.

Those that call towards Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala will experience that which the Prophets ‘alayhim al Salam faced; albeit to a lesser degree. They will experience fear, hunger, loss of wealth, and loss of lives. These difficulties should be faced with patience, a hope for reward, and a disposition of internal happiness at their similitude to the Prophets ‘alayhim al Salam. Assistance follows patience and ease is borne out of difficulty.

When gifting to the Ahlul Bayt, four etiquettes should be adhered to. Three are mentioned in this narration and a fourth in another:

a. The gift should be appropriate: bread with purified butter offers nourishment.

b. The manner of gifting should be appropriate: the bread was sent in a manner that not everyone would notice, not to give false hope in times of hardship.

c. The appropriate messenger should be sent with the gift: she sent Anas as he was her son and the close confidant and servant of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

d. One should, in the correct manner, appease the guest and afford him a high status. This can be understood from the following hadith wherein Umm Sulaim says, “This is a humble gift for you,” i.e. not befitting to your exemplary status:

عن أنس بن مالك قال تزوج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فدخل بأهله قال فصنعت أمي أم سليم حيسا فجعلته في تور فقالت يا أنس اذهب بهذا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقل بعثت بهذا إليك أمي وهي تقرئك السلام وتقول إن هذا لك منا قليل يا رسول الله قال فذهبت بها إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقلت إن أمي تقرئك السلام وتقول إن هذا لك منا قليل

Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu says, “Allah’s Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam got married and he went to his wife. My mother Umm Sulaim prepared hays (a sweet dish made from cheese, dates, and purified butter) and placed it in an earthen vessel and said, “Anas, take it to Allah’s Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and say, ‘My mother has sent that to you and she offers greetings to you, and says that it is a humble gift for you on our behalf…’”[2]

All these four etiquettes were adhered to by Umm Sulaim radiya Llahu ‘anha. This is an indication to her love for Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and her intellect.

When a servant is rendered weak, together with the exhaustion of his material possession and means but has a strong connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala will be delivered from his difficulty through the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. Such a person will continuously be under the supervision of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. Divine assistance will come to him from unthought-of avenues.

The hadith under discussion occurred during the Battle of Ahzab as established through various other narrations. A time wherein the material possessions and means were depleted. The connection that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Sahabah radiya Llahu ‘anhum shared with Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala turned the tables of the battle and left the Muslims with an outstanding and miraculous victory.

The narration of Sahih Muslim is with the following wording:

فذهبت إلى أبي طلحة وهو زوج أم سليم بنت ملحان فقلت يا أبتاه قد رأيت رسول الله عصب بطنه

I went to Abu Talhah, the husband of Umm Sulaim bint Milhan, and I said, “O father, I saw Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam had tied his stomach…”[3]

This shows the permissibility of calling one’s step father, father.

NEXT⇒ The Thirty Eighth Narration

[1] Muwatta’ Imam Malik, Hadith: 1675.

[2] Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 1428.

[3] Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2040.

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