Explanation

Anas ibn Mālik reported that Abu Talhah, his stepfather, had a son who was sick. When Abu Talhah went out one day to attend to his business, his son passed away. When he returned home, he asked about his health and received the reply that he could not be more tranquil than he is now. She spoke the truth, for he was dead, although Abu Talhah thought that his son had recovered and that was why he was tranquil. She served supper, and he ate, feeling relieved due to his son's assumed recovery. They then had sexual intercourse. Afterwards, she said: “Bury the boy, for he is dead,” and Abu Talhah buried him in the morning. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) received the news of this and asked whether they had had intercourse. Jābir replied that they had. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated to Allah to bless them and Umm Sulaym gave birth to a baby boy. Abu Talhah asked Anas to take the baby to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) giving him a few dates to be chewed and rubbed by the Prophet in the boy's mouth. So the first thing to enter the baby’s stomach was the Prophet’s saliva, a source of blessing for him. When he brought the baby to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) the Prophet asked whether he had something with him. Anas told him that he had few dates. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) took the dates and chewed them so they would mix with his saliva and would be easy for the baby to swallow. So the first thing to enter the baby’s stomach was the Prophet’s saliva, which would make him blessed and happy. He took the chewed date out of his mouth and put it in the baby’s mouth and rubbed it. He named him ‘Abdullāh. This boy grew up and had nine children, all of whom became reciters of the Qur’an, due to the Prophet’s supplication. In the version reported by Muslim, Umm Sulaym instructed her family members not to tell Abu Talhah about his son's death so she could tell him first. After he returned home, she served him food until he was full. Then, she beautified herself and they had intercourse. She then gave him an example, likening their son to a loan that needs to be repaid to the lender. She said: “O Abu Talhah. If some people borrow something from another family and then the lenders ask for their item, would they refuse to give it back to them?’ He said: ‘No.’ She said: ‘Then, seek divine reward for the loss of your son.” Abu Talhah got angry and said: ‘You did not tell me this until I stained myself (with sexual intercourse), and now you tell me about my son!’ He went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to complain about his wife and what she had done. But the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated to Allah, the Almighty, to bless their night and the intercourse they had had during it to make it yield a good fruit. Umm Sulaym became pregnant. Later, she and her husband were with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) on one of his journeys, and, as they were about to enter Madīnah, she felt labor pains. It was the custom of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) not to enter Madīnah until he had sent a messenger to inform the residents of the caravan’s arrival. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then carried on and entered Madīnah, but Abu Talhah, attending to his wife, could not go with him. Supplicating to Allah, the Almighty, Abu Talhah said: "O Lord, You know that I love to go out with the Messenger of Allah when he goes out and enter with him when he enters, and I have been detained as You see." Umm Sulaym said: "O Abu Talhah, I do not feel as much pain as I was feeling earlier, so we had better move on." We carried on and she felt the birth pangs as they reached Madīnah and gave birth to a baby boy. She instructed Anas to take the baby to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and let no one suckle him, so the Prophet’s saliva would be the first thing to enter his stomach, giving him blessing in this world and in the Hereafter. The fruit of this blessing was manifested in the fact that the boy grew up and had numerous children, all of whom were righteous and successful. Concluding this commentary, we should say that seeking blessing in something discharged from the Prophet's body is a merit exclusive only to him and shared by no one else. This is clearly proved by the fact that the Companions, who lived at the time of the revelation and were most acquainted with religious matters, never sought such blessing from the rightly-guided Caliphs or any other senior Companion.