Al Salamu 'Alaykum.
Her father was Khalid ibn Saeed ibn Al-Aas, one of the very early Muslims. She is reported to have said that he was the fifth man to embrace Islam. She reports: “Sometime before the start of Islamic revelations, my father saw in a dream as if Makkah was engulfed in total darkness to the extent that one could not see one’s own hand. Then suddenly a light came out of the well of Zamzam, going up into the sky and enlightening the Kaaba and the Haram. It spread further and enlightened the whole city of Makkah before moving much further away to enlighten Yathrib, i.e. Madinah. He could see its date trees. He reported his dream to his brother, Amr, who was a man of wisdom. Amr told him that such goodness will come out of the clan of Abd Al-Muttalib (the Prophet’s grandfather). He added: ‘Did you not see the light coming out of the well dug by their grandfather?’ Later, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) received his message, my father mentioned his dream to him. He said: ‘Yes, Khalid. I am that light, and I am God’s messenger’. He mentioned to him the main principles of Islam, and my father immediately accepted Islam.”
Her mother, Umaymah bint Khalaf, was also an early believer. Both her parents were among the Prophet’s companions who immigrated to Abyssinia, when the Prophet sought to establish a new base for Islam, away from the tyranny of Quraysh. Indeed, she was born in Abyssinia. She remained there until that immigration ended. The total duration of that immigration was 15 years. So, she was not more than 13 when she joined the Muslims in Madinah. She spoke the Abyssinian language, as a second mother tongue.
After the conclusion of the peace agreement between the Muslim state in Madinah and the Quraysh, the Prophet sent an envoy to Negus, the King of Abyssinia, to repatriate his companions who were in his country. Negus arranged their trip in two boats. As he bid them farewell, Negus asked them to give his greetings to the Prophet. Umm Khalid reports: “I was among those who gave Negus’ greetings to the Prophet”.
The Prophet was delighted when his companions who were in Abyssinia rejoined him in Madinah. They were on a mission of spreading Islam among non-Arabs. Therefore, he looked after them when they returned, and ensured that they would settle well in their new environment. Once he received a gift of clothes that included a small black dress with a yellow or red stripe. He asked those who were with him: “To whom shall I give this one.” No one answered. Perhaps they had their own young daughters, but they did not wish to claim it. Therefore, he said: “Bring me Umm Khalid”. She reports: “I was carried to be brought to him. He dressed me with his own hand. He said: ‘May you wear this and others to follow’. He repeated this two or three times. He looked at the strip and said to me: ‘This is fine, Umm Khalid; this is fine.’ She wore that dress while it fitted her. She then kept it with her for the rest of her life. Who would not keep a gift from the Prophet?
Sometime later, she married Al-Zubayr ibn Al-Awwam, one of the ten of the Prophet’s companions who were given the assured promise of being in heaven. She gave him two sons: Amr and Khalid.
When the Prophet said a prayer to any of his companions, that person lived to enjoy the answering of that prayer in the best possible way. As the Prophet prayed that Umm Khalid would wear other clothes after the dress he gave her, she lived long, perhaps reaching ninety years of age. Indeed, she was the last of the Prophet’s women companions to die. May God bless her soul.
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