Islamic Blog

[A Notable Muslim African Woman]

Barakah, was an Abyssinian girl, who during her youth, was put up for sale in Makkah as a slave.
However Barakah was blessed and one if the fortunate to be treated with kindness.
She was bought by a noble and gentle man: Abdullah, the son of Abdul Muttalib. The father of the Prophet.
In fact, she became the only servant in his household and when he got married to the lady Aminah, Barakah 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.
Abdullah’s departure was heartbreaking and extremely distressful for Aminah and left her 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 Barakah 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,” Barakah 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,” Barakah 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.
Day and night, Barakah stayed beside Aminah. Barakah 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 Barakah 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. Barakah screamed when she heard the news. She 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 Barakah stayed by her bedside while she was in a state between life and death. There was no one else but Barakah in Aminah’s house. She nursed her and looked after her during the day and through the long nights until she gave birth to her child, “Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him)”, on a night in which the heavens were resplendent with the light of Allah.”
When Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) 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 (Peace be upon him) was sent to the desert 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 (Peace be upon him) 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 (Peace be upon him) and Barakah huddled together in a small covering 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 (Peace be upon him) that she was going to visit the grave of his father.
The caravan took ten days to reach Yathrib. Muhammad (Peace be upon him) 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 and 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 (Peace be upon him) 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.’
Barakah’s heart shattered and She began to sob and wail. The child was distressed by her 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 (may Allah be pleased with her).
Barakah then stayed with Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her) in a house belonging to Khadijah. Barakah lived by Aminah’s words and never left our beloved, and not did he leave her.

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 (peace be upon him) and said: “I shall never leave you. Does a mother abandon her son?” Muhammad (Peace be upon him) 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 (Peae be upon him). 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 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 (Peace be upon him) in the house of the lady Khadijah. Living in the same household at the time were Ali ibn Abi Talib 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 (Peace be upon him) 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 (Peace be upon him) 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 (Peace be upon him) 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 (Peace be upon him) 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 (Peace be upon him). One night the mushrikun blocked off the roads leading to the place where the Prophet (peace be upon him) 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 (Peace be upon him). She risked her life trying to reach this gathering. When she arrived and conveyed the message to the Prophet (Peace be upon him), he smiled and said to her:
“You are blessed, Umm Ayman. Surely you have a place in Paradise.” When Umm Ayman left, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) 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.”
All the companions remained silent and did not utter a word. Umm Ayman was neither young 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 (Peace be upon him).
When the Prophet migrated to Yathrib, henceforth to be known as al-Madinah, he left Umm Ayman behind in Makkah to look after 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 Allah 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 contributed 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.
Barakah’s son, Ayman, a devoted companion of the Prophet was martyred at Hunayn in the eighth year after the Hijrah. Also, her 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 gentle and caring Prophet. Above all, her devotion to the religion of Islam was strong and unshakable.

She died during the caliphate of Uthman. Although her roots were unknown, her place in Paradise is assured.
May Allah be pleased with her and raise her ranks. Aameen.

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