The Expedition of Abu Salamah b. Abd al-Asad al-Mahzumi

Abu Salamah Abdullah b. Abd al-Asad b. Hilal al-Qurashi al-Mahzumi (d. 4/625) was born in Yathrib thirty-five years before the Hijra. He belonged to the Mahzum clan of the Quraysh. His father, Abd al-Asad, was from the Aws tribe, and his mother, Hulaydah, was from the Khazraj tribe. Abu Salamah was the milk brother of the Prophet Muhammad; both were nursed by Halimah al-Sa'diyyah. This close kinship made their relationship very special. Abu Salamah was one of the first companions to accept Islam and was among those who migrated to Abyssinia. He also holds the distinction of being one of the first companions to migrate to Medina. In the month of Muharram in the 4th year of Hijra (625 AD), the Prophet Muhammad sent a unit under the command of Abu Salamah against the Katafan tribe in the Najd region. The expedition was successfully completed. However, the wound he received at the Battle of Uhud had not fully healed; the fatigue from the expedition reopened his wound. He passed away shortly after returning to Medina (4/625 AD). After the death of Abu Salamah, the Prophet Muhammad married his wife Umm Salamah. Thus, Umm Salamah became one of the mothers of the believers. [Source: TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, "Abu Salamah al-Mahzumi" article, islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ebu-seleme-el-mahzumi; Ibn Sa'd, et-Tabakāt, III, 241-244]