The Prophet (Pbuh) belonged to a highly distinguished family in Makkah. His grandfather was the undisputed chief of that city, which was universally acknowledged as the most important in Arabia. It housed the Kaaba, the first ever building dedicated for the worship of God alone, and it was the center of international trade.
In the Arabian society, where there was a constant inflow of slaves, there was no shortage of servants. The Arabs in Makkah disliked manual work, and depended on trade for their income. Hence, they assigned all manual work to servants who were glad to have any employment that gave them something to live on. When the Prophet rejoined his mother in Makkah, after spending his first five years with his wet nurse, Haleemah, in the desert area, he was looked after by an African woman called Umm Ayman. In Madinah, several maids and servants attended to the needs of his household. What sort of treatment could they expect from the Prophet?
Barakah, who was later to be known as Umm Ayman, was a slave woman with his family, and she was assigned to Abdullah ibn Abd Al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s father. When Abdullah died, Umm Ayman stayed with the family, serving Aminah, the Prophet’s mother. After Aminah’s death, she continued to look after the young boy, Muhammad, staying with him wherever he lived. She was with him after he married Hazrat Khadeejah, and he treated her with exemplary kindness. She was so dear to him that he used to refer to her after Prophethood saying: “Umm Ayman was my mother after my own mother had passed away.” When he grew up, he gave her freedom so that she was no longer in bondage. Not only so, but he wanted her to have a good husband. He commended her to his companions, describing her as a woman certain to be in heaven.” She had apparently lost her husband who had given her a son called Ayman. Therefore, he encouraged Zayd ibn Harithah, his servant whom he loved like a son, to marry her, and she gave Zayd a son named Usamah, whom the Prophet also loved as a son of his own. The Prophet always called her, “Umm”, which is the Arabic equivalent of “Mom.”
On one occasion, when the Muslims were facing an enemy attack, the Prophet saw her behind the lines praying for victory. He came over to her and listened to what she was saying and reassured her. His companions realized how the Prophet held her in a special position, so they treated her with respect. Even after the Prophet’s death, Abu Bakr and Umar went to visit her, inquiring if she needed any help.
Umm Ayman was aware of her position with the Prophet and enjoyed it. She talked to him in a way that removed all barriers. Once he was pouring water from a container to drink. She said to him: “Give me a drink.” Lady Ayesha was amazed at her and said to her: “Is this the way you talk to God’s Messenger?” Umm Ayman said: “I served him for much longer.” The Prophet smiled, poured her some water and gave it to her to drink. He then looked at his wife and said: “She is right.”
This sort of humility was a consistent trait of the Prophet. One day when he was in Makkah, some slaves were brought in. When an Arabian tribe attacked another and captured some of their men, such captives were always sold as slaves. The Prophet looked at those slaves and saw among them a young man looking broken hearted. He bought him and set him free. The young man, named Thawban, felt grateful to this person who has been so kind to him, so he preferred to stay with him rather than go back to his people in Yemen. He loved the Prophet so much that he could not stay long without seeing him.
One day, the Prophet looked at him and said: “What has changed your colour? You look ill” He said: “No, Messenger of God! I am not ill, and nothing is troubling me physically. However, when I do not see you, I feel I badly miss something very important, until I meet you again. Also, when I think of the Day of Judgment I fear that I would not see you there, because you will be in the highest position with all prophets. My position will be far removed from you there. And if I do not go to heaven, then I would never see you.” The Prophet felt tenderly for him.