Umm Salama, Hind bint Abī Umayya al-Makhzūmiyya, was an early Qurashī Companion and one of the wives of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Specialist biography places her birth in Mecca around 597 CE and describes her and her first husband Abū Salama among the earliest Muslims. They migrated to Abyssinia, returned to Mecca, and later attempted to migrate to Medina, where she endured a prolonged forced separation from both her husband and young son before being permitted to continue the journey. After Abū Salama died in 4 AH / 625 from complications of a wound associated with Uḥud, Sahih Muslim preserves her recitation of the supplication for a better replacement and the subsequent marriage proposal from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. She married him in Shawwāl 4 AH / March 626. Sahih al-Bukhari 2731–2732 preserves her influential counsel at al-Ḥudaybiyya: when the Companions hesitated after the treaty, she advised Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to perform the sacrifice and shaving himself without further instruction, after which the Companions followed. She became one of the most prolific female transmitters, with specialist biography crediting her with 378 hadiths, second among the Prophet’s wives after ʿĀʾisha. She also became known for legal judgment and answering questions over a long post-Prophetic life. The preferred chronology places her death in Medina in 62 AH / 681 CE, with 61 AH / 680 and 59 AH / 679 also transmitted.
597 — 681
Names and variants
Umm Salama Hind bint Abī Umayya· canonicalUmm Salama Hind bint Abī Umayya· canonicalأم سلمة هند بنت أبي أمية· canonicalUmm Salama· kunyaUmm Salama· kunyaأم سلمة· kunyaHind bint Abī Umayya ibn al-Mughīra· birth nameهند بنت أبي أمية بن المغيرة· birth nameal-Makhzūmiyya· nisbaالمخزومية· nisbaal-Qurashiyya· nisbaالقرشية· nisbaUmm al-Muʾminīn· laqabأم المؤمنين· laqabUmm Salamah· transliterationOum Salama· transliteration
Umm Salama
Umm Salama, Hind bint Abī Umayya al-Makhzūmiyya, was an early Qurashī Companion, wife of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, transmitter of hadith and respected juristic voice. Her life spans the Meccan persecutions, both major migrations, the Prophetic household and several decades of post-Prophetic teaching.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Name and identity
Her personal name was Hind bint Abī Umayya, but she became overwhelmingly known by her kunya, Umm Salama. Classical sources identify her as al-Qurashiyya and al-Makhzūmiyya.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
The name Hind
Specialist biography rejects the occasional attribution of the name Ramla and gives Hind as her personal name. Her kunya remained far more prominent in historical memory.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Quraysh and Banū Makhzūm
Umm Salama belonged to Banū Makhzūm, one of the major branches of Quraysh. Her lineage met that of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ at the ancestor Murra.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Her father Abū Umayya
Her father, Abū Umayya ibn al-Mughīra, was remembered for generosity toward fellow travelers and was given the sobriquet Zād al-Rakb, “provision of the caravan.”
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Her mother ʿĀtika bint ʿĀmir
Her mother is identified as ʿĀtika bint ʿĀmir al-Kināniyya from Banū Firās.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Prominent family connections
Her brothers included several Companions, and Khālid ibn al-Walīd was her paternal cousin. These ties placed her within a prominent Makkan clan while her own religious path developed independently.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
An early conversion
Specialist biography places Umm Salama among the very earliest Muslims, immediately after her first husband Abū Salama.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Among the first believers
The traditional enumeration cited by specialist biography describes Abū Salama as the eleventh person to accept Islam and Umm Salama as the twelfth. This is a biographical enumeration rather than a canonical hadith count.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Migration to Abyssinia
Umm Salama migrated with Abū Salama to Abyssinia during the period of persecution in Mecca. Their migration became part of the earliest Muslim experience of seeking safety outside Arabia.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Return to Mecca
They returned to Mecca after hearing the false report that the Quraysh had broadly accepted Islam. The return exposed them again to the pressures of the Makkan environment.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Preparing to migrate to Medina
Before the pledges of al-ʿAqaba had fully reshaped the Muslim community, Abū Salama prepared to migrate to Medina with Umm Salama and their son.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Forced separation from her husband
Her own Makhzūmī relatives prevented Umm Salama from leaving Mecca with Abū Salama, so he continued to Medina without her.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Separated from her son
Abū Salama’s family then took her young son Salama from her, leaving Umm Salama separated from both husband and child.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
A year of separation
Specialist biography reports that she spent roughly a year grieving over this forced separation before both families eventually relented.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Permission to leave
Eventually her relatives allowed her to leave Mecca and Abū Salama’s family returned her son, enabling mother and child to set out for Medina.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Escort by ʿUthmān ibn Ṭalḥa
On seeing Umm Salama traveling with her child, ʿUthmān ibn Ṭalḥa, who was not yet Muslim, escorted them safely toward Medina. The episode is remembered as an example of personal honor crossing confessional lines.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Arrival in Medina
Umm Salama and her son reached Medina and reunited with Abū Salama. Specialist biography counts the family among the earliest Qurashī emigrants to the city.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Her children
Sources name Salama, ʿUmar, Durra and Zaynab among her children with Abū Salama. Reports differ over whether some of them were born in Abyssinia or Medina.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Abū Salama
Abū Salama was an early Muslim, a relative and foster-brother of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and Umm Salama’s companion through the first migrations.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
The wound from Uḥud
Specialist biography states that Abū Salama suffered a wound at Uḥud that later reopened or worsened, eventually leading to his final illness.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Death of Abū Salama
Abū Salama died in 4 AH / 625. His death left Umm Salama widowed with children and became the setting for one of her best-known transmitted supplications.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
The supplication after calamity
Sahih Muslim 918a–c and 919 preserve that after Abū Salama’s death, Umm Salama recited the supplication asking Allah for reward in the calamity and a better replacement. She later identified her marriage to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as that better replacement.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [13] Supplication after Abū Salama’s death and marriage proposal, [14] Parallel calamity supplication report, [15] Parallel calamity supplication report, [16] Parallel report and better replacement
The marriage proposal
Sahih Muslim 918a preserves that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sent a proposal to Umm Salama. She raised concerns about her children and her jealous temperament, and the report records his reassurance.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [13] Marriage proposal and Umm Salama’s concerns
Marriage to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Umm Salama accepted the proposal and became one of the Mothers of the Believers. Her children were thereby incorporated into the Prophetic household as stepchildren.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [14] Marriage to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ after Abū Salama’s death
Marriage in Shawwāl 4 AH
Specialist biography places the marriage in Shawwāl 4 AH, approximately March 626 CE.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Life in the Prophetic household
Umm Salama became a close observer of worship, family life, legal questions and revelation in the household of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Many of her later reports derive from this proximity.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Travel with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Specialist biography reports that Umm Salama accompanied Prophet Muhammad ﷺ on journeys including Khaybar and Ṭāʾif.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
The crisis at al-Ḥudaybiyya
At al-Ḥudaybiyya in 6 AH, many Companions were deeply disappointed by the treaty terms and initially did not respond when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ordered them to sacrifice and shave.
Sources: [1] Treaty and initial hesitation of the Companions, [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Umm Salama’s advice at al-Ḥudaybiyya
Sahih al-Bukhari 2731–2732 preserves that Umm Salama advised Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to go out, sacrifice his animal and have his head shaved without further discussion.
Sources: [1] Direct advice by Umm Salama, [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
The Companions follow the example
Bukhari records that after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ acted on Umm Salama’s advice, the Companions followed by sacrificing their animals and shaving one another.
Sources: [1] Companions follow after Prophetic example, [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Reputation for sound judgment
The al-Ḥudaybiyya episode became the clearest canonical example of Umm Salama’s practical judgment under pressure. Specialist biography explicitly notes that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ valued her views.
Sources: [1] Canonical example of practical counsel, [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Seeing Gabriel in human form
Sahih Muslim 2451 preserves Umm Salama seeing a visitor whom she assumed to be Diḥya al-Kalbī; Prophet Muhammad ﷺ later informed her that the visitor had been Gabriel.
Sources: [2] Umm Salama sees Gabriel in human form, [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Questions concerning women’s religious life
Umm Salama’s reports preserve direct questioning about matters that affected women, including ritual purity, menstruation-related law, hair, mourning and marital life.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Women and wet dreams
Canonical reports preserve Umm Salama asking whether a woman must perform ghusl if she experiences the relevant sign after a sexual dream. The answer affirmed that women are subject to the same purity requirement when the sign is present.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [20] Question concerning a woman and ritual bath
Ghusl without undoing braids
Al-Nasaʾi 241, Ibn Mājah 603 and Tirmidhī 105 preserve Umm Salama asking whether tightly braided hair must be undone for ghusl from janāba. The answer states that pouring water thoroughly over the head is sufficient.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [24] Braided hair and ghusl, [25] Parallel sahih braid report, [26] Parallel sahih braid report
The two rakʿas after ʿAṣr
Abū Dāwūd 1273 preserves Umm Salama explaining why she once saw Prophet Muhammad ﷺ pray two rakʿas after ʿAṣr despite his general prohibition: they were a delayed performance of two rakʿas usually prayed after Ẓuhr.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [21] Explanation of two rakʿas after ʿAṣr
Reports on fasting
Umm Salama transmitted several observations about the fasting of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Abū Dāwūd 2336 and parallel reports describe his extensive fasting in Shaʿbān.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [23] Extensive fasting in Shaʿbān
Mourning and widowhood rules
Abū Dāwūd 2299 and 2304 preserve legal guidance transmitted through Umm Salama concerning mourning after a husband’s death, including the four-month-and-ten-day period and restrictions on adornment.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [7] Widow mourning period, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [22] Restrictions on adornment during widow mourning
Her position on the Sālim exception
Abū Dāwūd 2061 preserves Umm Salama and the other wives of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ rejecting the idea that the adult-suckling concession connected with Sālim should be generalized beyond that exceptional case.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [9] Position of Umm Salama and other wives on Sālim exception, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
The cloak report in her house
Tirmidhī 3205 and 3787 preserve a report set in Umm Salama’s house in which Prophet Muhammad ﷺ gathered Fāṭima, ʿAlī, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn under a cloak and prayed for their purification.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [17] Cloak report in Umm Salama’s house, [19] Parallel sahih cloak report
Connection with Fāṭima
Specialist biography states that Umm Salama transmitted reports from Fāṭima. The canonical cloak traditions also place Fāṭima in Umm Salama’s house during a major household episode.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [17] Fāṭima present in the cloak event in Umm Salama’s house
A major female hadith transmitter
Umm Salama transmitted from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as well as from Abū Salama, Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭima. Her long life allowed a large later generation to receive reports from her.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Approximately 378 hadiths
TDV credits Umm Salama with 378 transmitted hadiths, placing her among the Companions with several hundred reports and second among the Prophet’s wives after ʿĀʾisha in hadith volume.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Those who transmitted from her
Transmitters from Umm Salama included her children ʿUmar and Zaynab, Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿĀʾisha, Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, Sulaymān ibn Yasār, Ibn Abī Mulayka and others.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Learning through direct questions
Her hadith corpus reflects a habit of asking direct practical questions. That method preserved guidance on subjects that might otherwise have remained less visible in male-centered transmission networks.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Among the female juristic authorities
Specialist biography includes Umm Salama among the female juristic authorities of the Companion generation. Her long life meant later Muslims sought her answers on disputed and practical questions.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Reports of Qurʾān memorization
Biographical tradition includes Umm Salama among the Companions said to have memorized the Qurʾān. It also notes that she had the distinctive opportunity to hear many verses directly from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Life after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
After the death of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Umm Salama remained in Medina for decades. She continued to transmit hadith, answer questions and serve as a living link to the Prophetic household.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [18] Late transmission from Umm Salama concerning Prophetic supplication
Decades of guidance
Her long lifespan gave later Companions and Successors access to an eyewitness of early Islam whose memory covered Mecca, Abyssinia, Medina and the Prophetic household.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
The news of al-Ḥusayn’s death
Specialist biography reports that Umm Salama was still alive when news arrived of al-Ḥusayn’s killing at Karbala in 61 AH / 680 CE and that she was deeply affected. This supports a death date no earlier than late 61 AH.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Death in Medina
The preferred tradition places Umm Salama’s death in Medina, where she had spent the greater part of her adult life.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Death in 62 AH / 681 CE
TDV prefers 62 AH / 681 CE for her death and identifies her as the last surviving wife of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Alternative death dates
Classical sources also transmit 61 AH / 680 CE and 59 AH / 679 CE. Because the Karbala report places her alive in 61 AH, the earlier 59 AH date is especially difficult to reconcile with the preferred biographical tradition.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Last surviving wife and burial at al-Baqīʿ
Specialist biography identifies Umm Salama as the last surviving wife of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and reports that she was buried in al-Baqīʿ cemetery in Medina.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Migrant, adviser, transmitter and jurist
Umm Salama’s significance rests on several independently documented roles: early migrant, survivor of family separation, wife of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, adviser at al-Ḥudaybiyya, transmitter of hundreds of reports and long-lived juristic authority. Her biography is particularly valuable because strong canonical evidence and rich classical biography overlap across many stages of her life.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical account, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical account
Source-sensitive points
probable
TDV infers that Umm Salama was born in Mecca around 597 CE from the report that she died at approximately eighty-four years of age; the date is therefore probable rather than exact.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
established
Classical and specialist biography identify Hind bint Abī Umayya as Umm Salama’s personal name and reject the occasional attribution of Ramla.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
reported
Specialist biography places Umm Salama among the earliest converts to Islam and transmits a traditional enumeration calling her the twelfth Muslim.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
reported
Classical and specialist biographies report that Umm Salama migrated with Abū Salama to Abyssinia and later returned to Mecca.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
reported
Biographical sources report that when the family attempted to migrate to Medina, Umm Salama was forcibly separated first from Abū Salama and then from her young son for roughly a year.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
probable
Specialist biography places Abū Salama’s death in 4 AH / 625 CE after complications from a wound associated with Uḥud.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
established
Sahih Muslim 918a–c and 919 establish that after Abū Salama’s death, Umm Salama recited the supplication asking Allah for reward and a better replacement, and later identified Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as that replacement.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [13] Supplication after Abū Salama’s death, [14] Parallel sahih report, [15] Parallel sahih report, [16] Parallel sahih report
established
Sahih Muslim 918a–c establishes that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ proposed marriage to Umm Salama after Abū Salama’s death and that she became his wife.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [13] Marriage proposal, [14] Marriage after Abū Salama’s death
probable
TDV places the marriage of Umm Salama and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in Shawwāl 4 AH / approximately March 626 CE.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
established
Sahih al-Bukhari 2731–2732 establishes that at al-Ḥudaybiyya Umm Salama advised Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to sacrifice and have his head shaved without further discussion, after which the Companions followed his example.
Sources: [1] Direct canonical account of Umm Salama’s advice, [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
established
Sahih Muslim 2451 preserves Umm Salama seeing a visitor she took to be Diḥya al-Kalbī before learning from Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that the visitor was Gabriel.
Sources: [2] Gabriel seen in human form, [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
established
Al-Nasaʾi 241, Ibn Mājah 603 and Tirmidhī 105 preserve Umm Salama’s question about tightly braided hair and establish that undoing the braids was not required for ghusl from janāba when water was applied sufficiently.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [24] Braided hair and ghusl, [25] Parallel sahih report, [26] Parallel sahih report
established
Abū Dāwūd 2061 preserves Umm Salama and the other wives of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ refusing to generalize the adult-suckling concession associated with Sālim beyond that exceptional case.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [9] Position of Umm Salama and the other wives, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
established
Tirmidhī 3205 and 3787 preserve a cloak report located in Umm Salama’s house involving Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Fāṭima, ʿAlī, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [17] Cloak report in Umm Salama’s house, [19] Parallel sahih cloak report
reported
The TDV specialist biography credits Umm Salama with 378 transmitted hadiths and ranks her second after ʿĀʾisha among the Prophet’s wives in hadith volume.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
reported
Specialist biography includes Umm Salama among the female juristic authorities of the Companion generation and reports that later Muslims consulted her on practical and disputed questions.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
reported
Biographical tradition includes Umm Salama among the Companions said to have memorized the Qurʾān; this is biographical evidence rather than a claim anchored by a specific canonical report.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
probable
Specialist biography reports that Umm Salama was alive when news of al-Ḥusayn’s death at Karbala arrived in 61 AH / 680 CE, supporting a death date no earlier than late 61 AH.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
probable
The preferred specialist chronology places Umm Salama’s death in Medina in 62 AH / 681 CE and identifies her as the last surviving wife of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
uncertain
Classical sources also transmit 61 AH / 680 CE and 59 AH / 679 CE as death dates; these variants remain uncertain, and 59 AH is difficult to reconcile with the report that she survived news of Karbala.
Sources: [3] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [4] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [5] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [6] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [8] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [10] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [11] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment, [12] Biographical, hadith or historical assessment
Relationships
Muhammad ﷺ
spouse · established
ʿAʾisha bint Abi Bakr
other · established
ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbas
student · established
Fatima al-Zahra
other · established
Contributions
Strategic counsel at al-Ḥudaybiyya
Sahih al-Bukhari 2731–2732 preserves Umm Salama’s practical advice when the Companions initially hesitated to carry out the sacrifice and shaving after the treaty. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ acted on her counsel, and the Companions then followed his example.
institutional · established
Transmission of hundreds of Prophetic reports
Specialist biography credits Umm Salama with 378 hadiths, making her one of the most prolific female transmitters and second among the Prophet’s wives after ʿĀʾisha in hadith volume.
scholarly · established
Preservation of women’s legal and ritual questions
Her direct questions and reports preserved rulings on ritual purity, braided hair, mourning, fasting, household practice and other issues affecting women. Her long life also made her a consulted juristic authority for later Muslims.
scholarly · established
Eyewitness memory of the earliest migrations
Umm Salama’s biography preserves an unusually detailed memory of the Abyssinian migration, return to Mecca and the painful family separation surrounding migration to Medina. These accounts help document the social cost of the earliest Muslim migrations.
social · reported
Preservation of Prophetic household testimony
Canonical reports transmitted by or through Umm Salama preserve episodes involving Gabriel, Fāṭima and the cloak tradition, prayer, fasting and the Prophetic household. Her testimony therefore became an important channel for knowledge inaccessible to most outsiders.
religious · established
Sources
[1]
Sahih al-Bukhari 2731, 2732
Sunnah.com
[2]
Sahih Muslim 2451
Islam Academy Hadith Corpus
[3]
Siyar aʿlām al-nubalāʾ
al-Dhahabī · Classical biographical source
[4]
Al-Iṣāba fī tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba
Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalānī · Classical companion biographical source