Virtue and context
Anas ibn Malik (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) narrated that his mother, Umm Sulaym, informed his father Abu Anas that wine had been prohibited. Abu Anas rejected the message of the Prophet ﷺ, separated from her, and died while still a polytheist. Later Abu Talhah sought to marry Umm Sulaym. She refused to marry him while he remained a polytheist and told him that if he accepted Islam, his Islam would be sufficient as her bridal gift. Anas accompanied him to the Prophet ﷺ, who recognized the resolve of Islam in his face before Abu Talhah testified to faith; the Prophet ﷺ then married them upon that basis.
Umm Sulaym later bore Abu Talhah a son whom his father dearly loved. When Allah took the child, Umm Sulaym gently prepared Abu Talhah before disclosing the death. She compared the child to a loan reclaimed by its owner and asked whether borrowers had any right to protest; when he said no, she told him that his son had left this world. Abu Talhah viewed the child, recited the return to Allah, and told the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what Umm Sulaym had said. The Prophet ﷺ swore that Allah had placed a male child in her womb because of her patience.
When the baby was born, the Prophet ﷺ told Anas to instruct his mother not to feed the child before sending him to the Prophet. Anas carried the newborn to him. The Prophet ﷺ requested three ajwah dates, removed their stones, chewed them, and placed some in the baby’s mouth. As the child tasted it, the Prophet ﷺ remarked on the Ansar’s love of dates. He then told Anas to convey to his mother the prayer that Allah bless the child for her and make him righteous and God-fearing.
