Ep. 10: Umm Shareek | Our Models – The Heroes We Want to Be

You may have heard that the companions of the prophet (SAW) were divided into two main categories. There were those who had migrated to Madinah and those who had migrated from there. Those who had migrated to there were called the Muhajireen and those that were from there were called the Ansar. Whenever we take a name of a companion, we are very easily able to identify if they are from the Muhajireen or Ansar. However, there was one person amongst the companions who is included amongst both the Muhajireen and Ansar. This occurs with a single person from the sahaba – her name was Umm Shareek (RA). She was from Makkah, and when she accepted Islam, she started inviting the women towards Islam. Some say that she was not a resident of Makkah properly and that she was in another city or area, but whatever the case was, she was actively inviting women towards Islam. When she started doing this work, people started accepting and listening to her message and women started entering into Islam. The chiefs of her area found out that she is giving da’wah and people are listening and accepting Islam, so they warned her. Once, twice, and a third time, but she very discreetly continued to convey the message. Finally, they got fed up, and one day, they kidnapped her, tied her up and put her on top of a camel without a saddle and put her deep into the desert. They marched with her to the desert, and when it would be afternoon and the heat was at its peak, they would make the camel stay outside in the blazing sun and they would put a tent out for themselves and rest. They would not allow her even one drop of water. In that intense heat, there was only so much that she could take. Eventually, on the third day, she felt like she was letting go and it was time to leave this world – the extreme thirst, heat and hunger had taken its toll, and as usual, her captors had left her tied up on the camel and they were sleeping in their tent.

Just as she was starting to feel that everything was about to be over, she felt something in front of her, and when she looked up, she saw a bucket. Someone took this bucket and poured it into her mouth. It was water. She drank, and again, the bucket was filled and raised. She drank until she could no longer drink any more. Water was splashed on her face, her clothes and her life and strength came back. She felt fresh and revitalized. After some time, the people woke up and saw that the color had returned to her face and her clothes were wet. They said, “She must have freed herself or escaped and taken from our water.” They went and checked their water and everything was sealed and shut exactly how they had left it. They demanded, “Tell us what happened.” She told them what happened, and when they heard this, they said, “The faith you have invited towards is much better than our own faith.” There were three of those men and all of them ended up accepting Islam. She continued living her life, and when she migrated to Madinah, Allah (SWT) gave her a great deal of wealth and she became one of the wealthiest people in Madinah. Madinah was a place where the Muhajireen had nothing and the Ansar were known to be hospitable, but Allah (SWT) made such arrangements for this sahabiya that he opened up the doors of wealth that she became like the Ansar in offering hospitality and feeding people. There were always people at her house and people were always eating, coming and going. The prophet (SAW) used to mention her in this way.

The strength, loyalty and dedication to the deen of Allah (SWT) from this woman was great. She was forced to an extent where most people would have given up, but she did not stop conveying the message and did not stop remaining steadfast in her deen. May Allah (SWT) also enable us to be strong and resilient in our deen and not be influenced by every little change and indirection or any things in the media or friends passing a comment. May Allah (SWT) save us from becoming like that.