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Hadith 24: (The Patience of Umm Sulaym and Abu Talha)
Narrated Bukhari and Muslim from Anas bin Malek, may Allah be pleased with him:Abu Talha had a child who was sick. [Abu Talhah was very upset and distressed by the child’s sickness.] Once, while Abu Talha was out, the child died. [Umm Sulaym (the mother) washed the child, enshrouded him and laid him down. She said to the people in the house, “Do not tell his father that he died before I tell him.”] When Abu Talha returned home [along with some of his friends from the mosque], he asked, "How is my child" Umm Sulaym replied, "He is quieter than he has ever been." [Her husband took it to mean that the child’s condition had improved.] She brought the meal and they all ate dinner, [then the guests left.] [She got up and put on perfume and adorned herself,] [making herself more beautiful than she ever had before.] He slept with her, when he finished [they slept and when it was morning, he did ghusl (full ablution) and was heading to leave, so she said to him] [“O Abu Talhah, do you think that if some people lent something to some others, then they asked for it back, do they have the right not to give it back?” He said, “No.”] [They should return it to them] [She said, “Allah Almighty, lent your son to you, and now He has taken him back, so seek reward with Him and have patience.”] She said: "Bury the child (as he's dead)." [He became angry and said, “You left me until I did what I did (i.e., had intercourse), then you tell me that my son has died!”] [Then he said, “Innaa Lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji’oon (Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return) and praised Allah.] In the morning Abu Talha came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and told him about that. The Prophet (ﷺ) said (to him), "Did you sleep with your wife last night?" Abu Talha said, "Yes". The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "O Allah! Bestow your blessing on them as regards that night of theirs." Umm Sulaym gave birth to a boy. Abu Talha told me to take care of the child till it was taken to the Prophet. Then Abu Talha took the child to the Prophet (ﷺ) [he found him smearing some camels with tar to protect them from diseases, or marking them] and Umm Sulaym sent some dates along with the child. The Prophet (ﷺ) took the child (on his lap) and asked if there was something with him. The people replied, "Yes, a few dates." The Prophet took a date, chewed it, took some of it out of his mouth, put it into the child's mouth and did Tahnik for him with that, and named him 'Abdullah. [There was no young man better than him among al-Ansar]
