THE IDEAL MUSLIMAH

Talhah ibn 'Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) was an astute and successful merchant who travelled widely to the north and south of the Arabian peninsula. It is said that after one of his trips to Hadramawt, he had profits amounting to some seven hundred thousand dirhams. His nights would be anxious and worried on account of this vast wealth. On one such night, his wife, Umm Kulthum the daughter of Abu Bakr, said to him:

"What's wrong with you, O father of Muhammad? Perhaps I have done something to hurt you?"

"No," replied Talhah. "You are a wonderful wife for a Muslim man. But I have been thinking since last night: How can a man think of his Lord and Sustainer when he goes to sleep with this wealth in his house?"

"Why should it bother you so much," remarked Umm Kulthum. "What about all the needy ones in your community and all your friends? When you get up in the morning share it out among them."

"God bless you. You are really marvellous, the daughter of a marvellous man," said Talhah to his wife.

In the morning, Talhah gathered up the money in bags and distributed it among the poor Muhaajireen and Ansaar.

May Allah be pleased with her, for she was a woman of intelligence and generosity.