Memorize the sayings of the Prophet
1. “Say Bismillaah, eat with your right hand and eat from your side (of the dish).” (Al-Bukharee and Muslim)
2. “Tahaarah is half of faith…” (Muslim)
3. “Fear Allah wherever you are…” (Al-Tirmidhee)
4. “Say, ‘I believe in Allah,’ and then stand firm.’” (Muslim)
5. “Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.” (Muslim)
6. “There is a cure for every disease.” (Muslim)
7. “Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you…” (Al-Tirmidhee)
8. “…Do not hate each other…” (Al-Bukharee)
9. “None of you will truly believe until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” (Al-Bukharee and Muslim)
10. “Modesty is a part of faith…” (Muslim)
He was Zayd ibn Haarithah al-Kalbee. His mother’s name was Sawdah bint Tha’labah. She belonged to the famous tribe of Tayy.
Zayd was captured in a raid and sold as a slave. Hakeem ibn Hizam ibn Khuwaylid bought him for four hundred dirhams. It was a lot of money at that time. Hakeem gave Zayd as a gift to his aunt Khadijah bint Khuwaylid , the Prophet’s wife. Zayd was happy in the house of Khadijah because she was a very kind lady. When Khadijah married the Prophet (), she gave him Zayd ibn Haarithah as a gift.
When Zayd’s father Haarithah and his uncle Kaa’b came to know that Zayd lived with a man in Makkah as his slave, both of them came to Makkah and requested the Prophet () to set Zayd free. The Prophet () accepted their request at once and said that Zayd was free to go with them if he so desired.
Zayd () turned to his father and uncle and replied, ‘I do not want to go with you.’ Zayd’s father scolded him and said, ‘Do you prefer slavery to freedom?’ Zayd replied, ‘I have seen in Muhammad () such noble qualities that I prefer no one in the world to him.’
Having heard Zayd’s reply the Prophet () got up, took Zayd with him to the meeting place of the
Makkans and said in a loud voice, ‘O people! Be witness to it that today I have set Zayd free and taken him as my son.’ This delighted both the father and uncle of Zayd, and they went away, leaving their son in the company of the Prophet ().
From that day on, the boy came to be called Zayd ibn Muhammad instead of Zayd ibn Haarithah until Allah’s command came to the contrary. So he returned to the name Zayd ibn Haarithah. But he enjoyed the love and affection of the Prophet ().
Exercises
A. Answer the following questions.
1 . How did Zayd become Khadijah’s slave?
2. Why do you think Zayd preferred to live with the Prophet ()?
3. As a result, what did Allah’s Messenger () do?
B. Circle the correct answer.
1 . Zayd was the son of (Khadijah, Sawdah).
2. Zayd’s mother belonged to the tribe of (Tayy, Daws).
3. Zayd was bought for (600, 400) dirhams.
Fatimah bint Muhammad ()
Fatimah was the youngest daughter of the Prophet Muhammad () She was born in the year when the Ka’bah was rebuilt and Allah’s Messenger () put the Black Stone in its place.
When the Prophet () received the first revelation, she was five years old. She grew up learning about Islam as it was revealed. Fatimah’s mother, Khadijah , died when Fatimah was about fifteen years old. It was a tremendous loss to her. It was, however, the presence of her father that truly influenced her life. She loved him and he loved her. The Prophet () once said of her, ‘Fatimah is a part of me, and whoever offends her offends me.’
A’ishah said that the Prophet () called his daughter Fatimah and told her something in secret, and she wept. He spoke to her again in secret, and she laughed.’ A’ishah asked her about it and she said, ‘The Prophet () spoke to me in secret and informed me that every year Jibreel () used to recite the Qur’an with him once, but that year he had done so twice and he thought that meant he would die in that year and that she would be the first of his family to follow him and so she wept. Then he said to her, ‘Don’t you like to be the chief of all the ladies of Paradise or the chief of all the believing women?’ and she laughed.
Fatimah was married to Ali ibn Abee Talib in Madinah. They had five children – Al-Hasan, Al-Husayn, Umm Kulthoom, Zaynab and Muhsin.
The Prophet () loved them all very much. Fatimah often brought them to visit him. He would let them ride on his shoulders or back while he was offering salah.
A. Answer the following questions.
1 . What was so special about the year in which Fatimah was born?
2. What secret news made Fatimah weep and then laugh?
B. Fill in the blanks.
1 . The Prophet () received revelations when Fatimah was years old.
2. Khadijah died when Fatimah was years old.
3. Fatimah had children.
4. Fatimah was married to .
Umm Ayman
Umm Ayman , whose real name was Barakah, was a slave inherited by the Prophet () from his father. She had nursed him in his childhood. He freed her on his marriage to Khadijah . She then married Ubayd ibn Zayd and bore him a son, Ayman. Who later became a companion of the Prophet (). After her first husband’s death, she married Zayd ibn Haarithah, the Prophet’s freed slave. She bore him a son, Usaamah ibn Zayd. The Prophet () always regarded her as a member of his family.
Once Allah’s Messenger ( ) said of her, ‘He who would like to marry one of the dwellers of Paradise, let him marry Umm Ayman.’ She knew the Prophet () more
than anyone else. She knew him when he was a boy and through his adulthood. She lived close to him throughout his life. Umm Ayman lived a long life.
The Prophet () loved and regarded her highly; his companions also treated her with great respect.
Activity
From the lesson, write down the wonderful words that the Prophet () said about Umm Ayman .
