An Early Muslim and Emigrant
Abu Salama — Abdullah ibn Abd al-Asad of Banu Makhzum — was the eleventh man to accept Islam. With his wife Umm Salama he embraced the faith early and, persecuted by the Quraysh, emigrated first to Abyssinia and later to Madinah. He fought at Badr and Uhud, where he took a wound that never fully healed; it reopened after a later expedition and he died of it in Jumada al-Akhira, 4 AH. 1 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 249 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Abu Salama the eleventh Muslim, his emigrations, and his death of an Uhud wound in 4 AH.
Virtues in the Hadith
At his death the Prophet ﷺ closed his eyes and prayed for him:
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لأَبِي سَلَمَةَ وَارْفَعْ دَرَجَتَهُ فِي الْمَهْدِيِّينَ
”O Allah, forgive Abu Salama, and raise his rank among those who are rightly guided…”
Sahih Muslim 920a · Book 11 (Funerals) · narrated by Umm Salama
His widow Umm Salama would recite the du’a for the afflicted that he had taught her, and Allah answered it with marriage to the Prophet ﷺ himself.
Life Timeline
Born in Makkah
Of Banu Makhzum; the eleventh to accept Islam.
Emigrates to Abyssinia, then Madinah
With his wife Umm Salama.
Fights at Badr and Uhud
Taking a wound at Uhud that would not heal.
Dies of his Uhud wound
The Prophet ﷺ prays for him at his death.
References
- Stories of the Sahabah — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — Abu Salama the eleventh Muslim; his emigrations; his death of an Uhud wound in 4 AH pp. 249
- Sahih Muslim — The Prophet's ﷺ du'a at the death of Abu Salama pp. 920a (Book 11, Hadith)