Umm Sulaym bint Milhan

Umm Sulaym bint Milhan was one of the Ansar — the Muslims of Medina who welcomed and supported the Prophet and his companions after the migration from Mecca. She was among the earliest and most devout women to embrace Islam, and her commitment to the faith was tested and proven repeatedly.

Her son was Anas ibn Malik, who became the Prophet's personal servant at the age of ten and one of the most prolific narrators of hadith in Islamic history. Anas reported: "Muhammad used to go out to the battles taking Umm Sulaym and some other women of the Ansaar with him; they would give water to the soldiers and treat the injured."

Umm Sulaym accompanied the Prophet on military campaigns including Badr, Uhud, and Hunayn, carrying water skins to the battlefield and providing first aid to the wounded. At the Battle of Hunayn (630 CE), when some of the Muslim army broke and fled in the face of a sudden ambush, Umm Sulaym armed herself with a dagger and stood her ground. When Abu Talhah — her husband — saw her with the weapon, he brought it to the attention of the Prophet, who smiled and asked her about it. She replied that she had it to fight with if any enemy came close — an answer the Prophet found admirable.

Perhaps the most celebrated story about Umm Sulaym concerns the mahr (gift given by a husband to his wife at marriage). When the companion Abu Talhah, who was not yet Muslim, wished to marry her, she replied that a man of his calibre was not to be turned down, but that he was a disbeliever, and she could not marry a disbeliever. She declared that her mahr would be his conversion to Islam — not gold or silver. Abu Talhah accepted Islam sincerely, and she married him. This story is celebrated in Islamic tradition as an example of the highest spiritual ambition.

Umm Sulaym is also remembered for her remarkable composure and trust in God when her young son died; she delayed telling her husband the news until the morning, having first ensured he had eaten and rested, and then framed the news with such wisdom and calm that the Prophet prayed for them and blessed their subsequent children.