A Prophecy of the Sea
Umm Haram bint Milhan was an aunt of Anas ibn Malik and the wife of Ubada ibn as-Samit. The Prophet ﷺ would rest in her house, and once woke smiling, having seen in a dream some of his people sailing the sea in jihad “like kings upon thrones.” When she asked to be among them, he said she would be — but among the first group. 1 Stories of the Sahabah · pp. 215–216 — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — the Prophet's dream of his people sailing in jihad; Umm Haram asks to be among them and he says she will be of the first.
Virtues in the Hadith
نَاسٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي عُرِضُوا عَلَيَّ غُزَاةً فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يَرْكَبُونَ ثَبَجَ هَذَا الْبَحْرِ مُلُوكًا عَلَى الأَسِرَّةِ
”People of my nation were shown to me, fighting in the cause of Allah, riding the midst of this sea like kings upon thrones.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 2788 · Book 56 (Jihad), Hadith 7 · USC-MSA: Vol. 4, Book 52, Hadith 47 · narrated by Anas ibn Malik
In the caliphate of Uthman she sailed with the first naval expedition to Cyprus and died there from a fall — exactly as the Prophet ﷺ had foretold.
Life Timeline
Born in Madinah
Of Banu Najjar; wife of Ubada ibn as-Samit.
Foretold to sail in jihad 'like kings on thrones'
Dies on the naval expedition to Cyprus
Fulfilling the Prophet's ﷺ prophecy.
References
- Stories of the Sahabah — Zakariyya Kandhlawi — the Prophet's ﷺ dream of the sea-faring jihad and Umm Haram's request; her death in Cyprus pp. 215–216
- Sahih al-Bukhari — The Prophet's ﷺ vision of his people sailing 'like kings on thrones'; Umm Haram among the first pp. 2788 (Book 56, Hadith 7)