The Prophet's Marriage to Umm Salamah

Umm Salamah Hind bint Abi Umayyah was among the earliest converts to Islam and had migrated to Abyssinia and then to Medina with her husband Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Asad. When Abu Salamah died from wounds sustained at Uhud, Umm Salamah was left a widow with young children. She was deeply grieving and remembered the Prophet's advice to say when afflicted: 'Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. O Allah, reward me in my affliction and replace it with something better.' She wondered what could be better than Abu Salamah. When the Prophet proposed to her, she hesitated, citing three concerns: she was a jealous woman, she was older, and she had dependent children. The Prophet replied: 'As for your jealousy, I will pray to Allah to remove it. As for your age, I am older than you. As for your children, they are my responsibility.' She accepted, and the marriage proved a great blessing. Umm Salamah was wise and intelligent, and her counsel influenced significant events including the resolution of the crisis at Hudaybiyyah.