Will you give information about Abu Hudhayfa, the brother of Hind and Walid?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Abu Hudhayfa Mihsham b. Utba b. Rabia (d. 12/633) is among the first Muslims. His name is not known for sure because he was known with his nickname; his name is mentioned as Mihsham in most resources, and Hashim and Hushaym in some resources. His father Utba b Rabia was one of the notables of the polytheists. Abu Hudhayfa, who is reported to be the forty-fourth Muslim, was one of the first seventeen Companions who could read and write in the first years of Islam. He married Sahla bint Suhayl, who became famous for asking the Prophet (pbuh) about the issue of menstruation. He took part in both of the migrations to Abyssinia with her.

Abu Hudhayfa returned to Makkah from Abyssinia and did not leave the Prophet until the migration to Madinah. When he migrated to Madinah, he was a guest in the house of Abbad b. Bishr with his freed slave Salim; therefore, the Prophet established brotherhood with him and Abbad.

Abu Hudhayfa, who joined the expedition of Batn Nakhla under the command of Abdullah b. Jahsh, took part in all battles including the battles of Badr, Uhud and Khandaq. He loved his father Utba a lot and hoped that he would be a Muslim one day. When he saw his father among the ranks of the enemy at the Battle of Badr, he became very sorry and invited him to fight one on one. However, the Prophet did not allow it. After the battle, the Messenger of Allah addressed the dead bodies of the polytheists as follows: "Have you seen now that what my Lord promised to you was true?" Then, he ordered his Companions to throw the dead bodies in the Well of Badr; Utba’s dead body was among them. His sister Hind, who is known for what she did to Hz. Hamza at the Battle of Uhud, uttered a poem to satirize Abu Hudhayfa due to his attitude to his father.

Salim, who was among the first Muslims, was Abu Hudhayfa’s slave and was known as Salim Mawla Abu Hudhayfa. After freeing Salim, Abu Hudhayfa adopted him as his son and married him off to his niece Fatima bint Walid. After the verse ordering Muslims to call adopted children by the names of their fathers (al-Ahzab 33/5) was sent down, Abu Hudhayfa still kept Salim with him. However, Sahla bint Suhayl thought it would not be appropriate for him to enter her house freely after reaching the age of puberty and asked the Prophet about it; the Prophet ordered her to breastfeed Salim so that milk kinship would occur between them. It is accepted that this permission given by the Messenger of Allah is related to this incident only.

When Abu Hudhayfa was fifty-four years old, he was martyred together with his freed slave in the Battle of Yamama. His name is mentioned in various hadiths.

Questions on Islam