Salma Umm al-Khayr bint Sakhar ( ar, سَلْمَىٰ أُمّ ٱلْخَيْر بِنْت صَخَر, ''Salmā ʾUmm al-Khayr ibnat Ṣakhar'') was the
companion of Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
and was the mother of
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
, the first
Rashidun Caliph
, image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png
, caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia
, known_for = Companions of t ...
.
Biography
Salma was the daughter of Sakhar ibn Amir ibn Amr ( ar, صَخَر ٱبْن عَامِر ٱبْن عَمْروْ), from the
Taym clan of the Quraysh, and the brother of her uncle
Uthman ibn Amir, later known as 'Abu Qahafa'. Her kenning was ''Umm Al-Khayr'' ("Mother of Goodness").
Salma and Abu Quhafa had several sons who did not survive infancy. When Abu Bakr was born in 573,
Salma took him to the
Kaaba
The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...
and prayed to the gods: “If this one is granted immunity from death, then bestow him upon me!” Abu Bakr was therefore known as ''Atiq'' (" the exempted"), while his subsequent surviving brothers were given the related names ''Mu'taq'' and ''Utayq''.
Salma was an early convert to Islam. She was among those who were "brought to the house of Arqam"
to meet Muhammad, i.e., after 614 but before the ''
Hijra
Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to:
Islam
* Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE
* Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...
''.
She died during the Caliphate of her son Abu Bakr between 632 and 634.
Legacy
Sunnis honour her as ''Umm al-Khayr'' ( ar, أُمّ ٱلْخَيْر), meaning "Mother of Goodness", referring to Abu Bakr, whom Sunni Muslims honour as one of
The Ten Promised Paradise
The ten to whom Paradise was promised (Arabic: ar, العشرة المبشرون, translit=al-ʿashara al-mubashsharūn, label=none or ar, العشرة المبشرة, translit=al-ʿashara al-mubashshara, label=none) were ten early Muslims to w ...
among
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
's early companions, the ''
Sahaba
The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...
''.
Family tree
References
External links
Anwary-Islam.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salma Umm al-Khayr
Women companions of the Prophet
6th-century Arabs
7th-century Arabs