"‏ إِخْ إِخْ ‏"

Muhammad ibn Al-Ala’ Abu Kurayb Al-Hamdani told us, Abu Usama told us, from Hisham, who informed me from his father, from Asma bint Abi Bakr, who said: “Az-Zubair married me, and he did not possess any wealth on earth, no servant, nor anything except his horse.” She continued, “I used to feed his horse, take care of it, and manage its upkeep. I would grind date stones for his horse, feed it, draw water, and patch his bucket. I also kneaded dough, but I was not good at baking, so my Ansar neighbors, who were truthful and kind women, would bake for me. I would carry date stones on my head from Az-Zubair’s land that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had allocated to him. The land was two-thirds of a farsakh (a measure of distance) away.” She further said: “One day, as I was carrying the date stones on my head, I met the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) along with a group of his companions. He called me and said, ‘Ikh, Ikh (a sound made to signal a camel to kneel down),’ indicating that he wanted to carry me behind him. However, I felt shy and remembered your jealousy. The Prophet (peace be upon him) understood my hesitation and said, ‘By Allah, carrying the date stones on your head is harder on you than riding with me.’” She continued: “After that, Abu Bakr sent me a servant who took over the responsibility of caring for the horse. It was as if he had set me free.