Muhammad(ﷺ) is born
Muhammad(ﷺ) was born in She’eb Banu Hashim in Makkah. It was a Monday morning in spring, the ninth day of Rabi Al-Awwal (according to some sources it was the twelfth of Rabi’ Al-Awwal), fifty to fifty-five days after Abraha’s failed attack on the Ka’bah. In Arabic, the word for elephant is “Feel,” and hence the year came to be known as ‘Amm Al-Feel (the Year of the Elephant). In the Gregorian calendar, the date corresponds to April 22, 571 С.Е.
While Amina was pregnant, she had a dream that a light was emitted from her lower body that illuminated the palaces of Syria. When she went into labor, Shifa bint Amr, the mother of Abdul Rahman bin Auf, served as midwife. Abdul Muttalib received the news of his grandson’s birth with joy. He took the newborn to the Ka’bah and invoked Allâh’s blessings and gave thanks.
Believing his grandson would grow up to be highly praised, Abdul Muttalib named him Muhammad, which means “he who is praised.” In keeping with Arab tradition, he then shaved the baby’s head and circumcised him on the seventh day. Afterwards, he invited his fellow-Makkans to a feast.
Muhammad ﷺwas first nursed by his mother, and then by Umm Ayman, his father’s slave. An Abyssinian whose real name was Barakah, she embraced Islam and migrated to Madinah, where she died six months after the Prophet’s death.
Foster Brothers
Thuwaybah, the slave of Muhammad’s ﷺ uncle Abu Lahab, also nursed the infant. At that time, Thuwaybah was also nursing her own child, Masrooh, as well as Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib and
Abu Salamah bin Abdul Asad Makhzoomi. Hence, these three men became foster brothers because they were nursed at the same breast.
In the care of Haleemah Sa’diya
It was customary among the citizens of Makkah to put their newborns in the care of Bedouin women who would raise them for a couple of years in the desert. The Makkans believed that the unspoiled, rugged desert environment would make their children strong and hardy. Furthermore, an upbringing among the Bedouins ensured that the children would learn the purest form of the Arabic language spoken throughout Arabia.
Abdul Muttalib was looking for one such Bedouin woman who would serve as a wet nurse and take his grandson to the desert. Some women from Banu Sa’d bin Bakr bin Hawazen came to Makkah to offer their services to local families. Abdul Muttalib asked each of them to take his grandson Muhammadﷺ but all of them declined the offer when they were told the child’s father was dead. They felt the family of a fatherless child would not be able to reward them handsomely.
Haleemah bint Abu Dhuwayb had also came to Makkah that day. While all the other Bedouin women had found children to nurse, she was not so fortunate. She saw Abdul Muttalib with an infant in his arms and took pity on the child who had been rejected by the other women. She and her husband took the infant Muhammad ﷺback to the desert. Haleemah was happy she was not returning empty-handed.
Haleemah and her husband, Harith bin Abdul Uzzah, both belonged to the tribe of Sa’d bin Bakr bin Hawazen. Their children became the Prophet’s foster brothers and sisters. Their names were Abdullah, Anisa, and Judhama, who was better known as Shayma. Judhama also nursed the Prophet.
Haleemah’s house is unexpectedly blessed
Haleemah and her husband found their lives changed the moment
they took Muhammadﷺ home. They had traveled to Makkah on a frail she-ass that could barely keep up with their caravan. On the return journey, however, as Haleemah rode with the infant in her arms, the same animal moved so swiftly that it left the caravan behind.
While Muhammadﷺ stayed with Haleemah’s family, the house overflowed with blessings. Haleemah herself narrated that she brought Muhammadﷺ to her home during a drought. Her she-camel would not give a drop of milk. Haleemah’s child would cry the whole night out of hunger. With the child so distraught, Haleemah and Harith found it hard to sleep at night.
Things changed, however, when Haleemah brought Muhammadﷺ home and placed him on her lap. Her breasts overflowed with milk so that both Muhammad ﷺand her own child drank their fill of milk and fell fast asleep.
When Harith went to the she-camel, he was amazed at what he saw. The she-camel’s udders were full of milk and ready to overflow. It gave so much milk that Haleemah’s family was able to sleep that night on full stomachs.
Haleemah’s household suddenly appeared to be untouched by the drought, although they lived in Dayar Banu Sa’d, the most drought-stricken spot in the region. The family’s goats would return from grazing with their stomachs full of grass and their udders bursting with milk. Husband and wife would milk their goats often while others failed to get even a drop of milk.
Haleemah’s household continued to be blessed for the next two years, after which she weaned Muhammadﷺ. Although he grew up during a great drought, he had developed into a strong, healthy child.
Haleemah asks to keep Muhammadﷺ longer
Every six months Haleemah would take Muhammadﷺ to Makkah to be with his mother and other family members. She would then return with him to Dayar Banu Sa’d. After Muhammad ﷺwas
weaned, it was time for him to go back to his family for good. When Haleemah took him back to his mother, she begged Amina to let her keep the boy longer because he had brought her good fortune. She pleaded he would grow stronger and healthier in the desert, far away from the frequent epidemics that raged in Makkah. Amina consented, and Haleemah returned home with Muhammadﷺ , happy at her extended good fortune.
Two years later, however, a strange event occurred that frightened Haleemah and her husband, prompting them to return Muhammadﷺ to his family in Makkah.
Muhammad’sﷺ time with his mother
In the wake of this supernatural event, Muhammadﷺ was carried back to Makkah, where for the next two years he grew up under his mother’s care. When Muhammad ﷺwas six, he accompanied his grandfather, mother, and Umm Ayman on a journey to Yathrib, where his mother’s family lived. It was also where his father lay buried. After a month in Yathrib, they began the long journey back to Makkah, but Amina fell ill on the way. She died at Abwa and was buried there. Muhammad ﷺwas left orphaned.
