The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 223
VI - All Races Invited to Islām 223 these letters were written to the end of 6 A. H. or in the beginning of 7 A. H. , it was not until 7 A. H. that their responses were received. However, with the thought of mentioning all relevant occurrences in one place, I have included these letters in the accounts of 6 A. H. In this very year, i. e. , in 6 A. H. , the mother of Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah ra whose name was Ummi Rūmān passed away. Ummi Rūmān whose actual name was Zainab, 1 first married ‘Abdullāh bin Sakhbarah, and after his demise, married Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr. She gave birth to ‘Abdur-Raḥmān bin Abī Bakr and Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah ra. 2 Ummi Rūmān was a very pious lady and possessed a very simple disposition. In her capacity as the wife of Abū Bakr ra , the first Khalīfah , and the mother of Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah ra , the distinction which she acquired in the history of Islām does not require an explanation. When she was being lowered into her grave, the Holy Prophet sa said, “Anyone who desires to see a lady of paradise should look at Ummi Rūmān. ” 3 This is a very simple statement of the Holy Prophet sa but it proves that according to the view of the Holy Prophet sa , the beautiful women of paradise did not infer charming and beautiful women who would be born in the hereafter and placed in paradise to accompany the believers. Instead, this referred to the souls of those pious women of the world who would accompany righteous people in paradise. Furthermore, although every soul would be made young and then enter paradise, 4 this proves in any case, that the companionship of paradise would be spiritual in nature, not physical. According to some, alcohol was prohibited in 6 A. H. , but as we have already stated in Volume 2 of this book, in our opinion, it was prohibited after the Ghazwah of Uḥud to the end of 3 A. H. or in the beginning of 4 A. H. This is the view of most Muslim research scholars. Even logically in my opinion, a filthy thing like alcohol, which is the mother of all evils, could not have been 1 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 4, p. 381, ‘Ā’ishatu Ummul-Mu’minīn, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 Tārīkhul-Khamīs Fī Aḥwāli Anfasi Nafīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan, Volume 2, p. 26, Wafātu Ummi Rūmān, Mu’assasatu Sha‘bān, Beirut 3 * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘Alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Allāmah Shihābuddīn Al-Qusṭalānī, Volume 4, p. 381, ‘Ā’ishatu Ummul-Mu’minīn, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * Tārīkhul-Khamīs Fī Aḥwāli Anfasi Nafīs, By Ḥusain bin Muḥammad bin Ḥasan, Volume 2, p. 26, Wafātu Ummi Rūmān, Mu’assasatu Sha‘bān, Beirut 4 * Al-Wāqi‘ah (56:23-25) * Sunan At-Tirmidhī, Kitābu Ṣifatil-Jannah, Bābu Mā Jā’a Fī Sinni Ahlil-Jannah, Ḥadīth No. 2545