THE FIRST CASE: THE AWARENESS AND CAUTIOUSNESS OF UMM JAMEEL, RAADI ALLAAHU 'ANHA
When Abu Bakr, raadi Allaahu 'anhu, desired to know the specific fact of the whereabouts of the Messenger of Allaah, sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, immediately following the harm he was subjected to by the enemies of the Da'wah, he asked his mother, Umm al-Khair, to go to Umm Jameel, raadi Allaahu 'anha, in order to learn the whereabouts of the Messenger of Allah from her.
So Umm al-Khair went out until he reached Umm Jameel, so she said to her, "Abu Bakr asks you about Muhammad bin Abdillaah." So Umm Jameel said, "I do not know Abu Bakr or Muhammad ibn Abdillaah, but, if you would like me to go with you to your son, I will do so." Umm al-Khair said, "Yes." So she departed with her until she came upon Abu Bakr, knocked over and seriously ill [2]. So Umm Jameel supplicated and screamed loudly, "By Allaah! A people who would do this to you are truly a people of evil and disbelief! And I desire Allaah to take revenge upon them for you." He said, "What did the Messenger of Allaah do?" She said, "Your mother is listening." He said, "Do not worry about her." She said, "He is safe and healthy." He said, "Where is he?" She said, "In Daar al-Arqam." He said, "By Allaah, I will not taste food or drink until I go to the Messenger of Allaah." So they stalled until activity stilled and the people went home, and she left with his mother, with Abu Bakr leaning on them both, until they entered with him upon the Messenger of Allaah.
This narration clearly exemplifies the security consciousness of Umm Jameel, which was manifested in a number of her dealings, the most important of them being:
- FIRSTLY: hiding the identity and the desired information by way of denial
When Umm al-Khair asked Umm Jameel the whereabouts of the Messenger, she denied knowing Abu Bakr and Muhammad bin Abdillaah, and this was a sound dealing in caution. Umm al-Khair was not, at that time, a muslimah, and Umm Jameel was hiding her conversion, and she did not wish for Umm al-Khair to know of it, and at that moment, she hid from her the location of the Messenger of Allaah, out of fear that she was a spy for Quraish.
- SECONDLY: taking advantage of the right moment to convey the desired information
So Umm Jameel desired to convey the desired information on her own to Abu Bakr, and at that moment, she did not convey this to Umm al-Khair, and due to her excessive secrecy and discretion, she took advantage of the moment to her benefit, and said, "If you would like me to go with you to your son, I will do so." So she offered this to her in a manner that spoke to her intelligence and good dealings. And her statement, "If you would like"- when she is his mother- and her statement "to your son"- and she did not say 'to Abu Bakr'- all of this would rouse in Umm al-Khair the motherly sentiment, and most likely she would not refuse this request, and this is exactly what happened, as she answered her saying, "Yes." And as a result, Umm Jameel succeeded in conveying the information herself.
- THIRDLY: taking advantage of the moment to win the sympathy of the enemy
It is clear that Umm Jameel attempted to win the sympathy of Umm al-Khair, and she took advantage of the situation of Abu Bakr in which he was knocked down and seriously ill. So she screamed loudly and cursed those who carried out this act with her statement, "A people who would do this to you are truly a people of evil and disbelief!" So there is no doubt that this stance from Umm Jameel quenched some of Umm al-Khair's thirst for revenge from those who did this to her son, and it might cause her to harbor some love for Umm Jameel. And with this, Umm Jameel won the sympathy of Umm al-Khair, and her trust, something that eased Umm Jameel's task of conveying the information to Abu Bakr.
- FOURTHLY: cautiousness and deliberation before uttering the information
Umm Jameel took the highest degree of caution and deliberation, lest she hasten to reveal this important information of the location of the Commander of the Da'wah, as she still did not trust Umm al-Khair because she was still a disbeliever, and as a result, she did not feel safe from her side. And as a result, she repeated when Abu Bakr asked her about the state of the Messenger of Allaah, so she said to him, "Your mother is listening." So he said to her, "Do not worry about her." So she informed him then that the Messenger of Allaah was healthy and safe, and out of excessive safety, cautiousness, and deliberation, she did not inform him of his place until he asked her himself, "Where is he?" So she answered him, "Daar al-Arqam."
- FIFTHLY: choosing the suitable time to execute the mission
When Abu Bakr requested to go to Daar al-Arqam, Umm Jameel did not hasten to fulfill his request. Rather, she delayed it until the outside activity slowed, and the people were in their homes., and then she left with him and with his mother, with him leaning on the both of them. And this was the most suitable time to move and to execute this particular mission, so that there would be no chance of surveillance by the enemies of the Da'wah, and that the chances of her being exposed would be less, and she carried out the mission without the enemies being aware of her, until Umm Jameel and Umm al-Khair enterd Daar al-Arqam with Abu Bakr, and this confirms that the time they chose was the most suitable of times.