By Sadaf Azhar – Hiba magazine Assistant Editor
Apart from his birth mother who died when the Prophet (sa) was very young, he had other loving mother figures who helped nurture him. His mother’s slave, Umm Ayman (rta), cared for him throughout his life. Fatima bint Asad (rta), his aunt cared for him when he lived with her after his grandfather’s death. He also had two wet nurses- Thuwayba and Halima as Sadiyyah.
An uncanny occurrence
Halima Sadiyyah was more than lovingly raising Muhammad (sa) as his wet nurse in Banu Sa’ad, as discussed in the earlier part of this series. But then, one day, as the four-year-old Prophet ﷺ was playing with his foster brother, Abdullah, (Halima’s biological son) two men came to the Prophet ﷺ in white garments whom no one had seen before.
Halima was at home when Abdullah came running and cried that two men just threw Muhamad ﷺ to the ground and cut his chest open. Terrified, she thought that someone had killed him, ﷺ and ran to find him.
The strange gentleman was Jibreel (as) who took out and washed the heart of the Prophet ﷺ. Additionally he took something from Muhammad’s heart- the portion of evil and cast it aside, and then patched the Prophet ﷺ back up. Anas (rta) said the Prophet (sa) had a scar on his chest that no one could ever explain.
The Prophet ﷺ lay down on the ground, his face pale and shell-shocked with stitches on his chest. Harith was upset for the Prophet ﷺ. They knew that this child was different from the start. He said: ‘I’m afraid that he’s been struck with something, he’s been cursed. Someone put something on him, sorcery or some kind of Sihr on him.’ So the couple decided to return him to his mother, Amina.
Muhammad (sa) returns to his mother, Amina
Amina was taken aback and wanted to know why they had returned before the contract ended. They told her reluctantly and Amina exclaimed:
“By Allah, this child of mine is blessed. When I carried him, I never felt the load of him. And when he was delivered, I saw a light come out of my womb. That light was like a shooting star that illuminated the necks of the backs of the camels all the way in Busra in the Sham. I saw a light that lit up the palaces of the world. I could see when he was born ﷺ. I could see everything being lit up from my womb.”
She even said that he was born in the posture of Sajdah. She refused to believe such a child would be cursed.
Aminah visits Yathrib
Aminah wanted to take the six year old Prophet, ﷺ to visit some of her relatives in what was then Yathrib, where she came from. Unfortunately, she developed a fever-some say due to the water. On her return journey, in a place called Al Abwa which is 23 miles from Madinah, the Prophet (sa) watched his mother die even though Umm Ayman tried to nurse her. She passed away and the people of Al Abwa buried her. According to Taqiyyah Din al-Fasi Amina was only 19 or 20 years old. The Prophet (sa) lost both his parents at a very tender age, in a remote part of the vast desert and he was left alone.
The greater area of Madinah thus became the final resting place of both his parents. But Allah (swt) turned this place of grief into a place of refuge and power for him when he migrated and his relatives from Banu Najjar welcomed him at Quba.
The Prophet (sa) meets Halima many years later
The Prophet (sa) finally grew up in the care of his uncle, Abu Talib and aunt, Fatimah bint Asad. Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Sa’d, narrate in Tabaqat, that sometime after the marriage of the Prophet ﷺ and Khadija (rta), Banu Sa’d suffered a drought and a famine again and they came to Makkah looking for help. Halima came to know about the Prophet ﷺ. She visited him and complained about how devastated they were. The Prophet ﷺ talked to Khadijah about her situation, and Khadijah (rta) gave her 40 sheep and a camel because she loved to honour those who honored and cared for the Prophet ﷺ
The Prophet (sa) visits his mother’s grave
Over five decades later, while the Prophet ﷺ was travelling with his companions on the road between Al-Juhfah and Al-Madinah, he took a sudden right turn and started to walk through very difficult terrain. The companions silently followed him for 20 miles to Al-Abwah to his mother’s grave, where he cried so much ﷺ, his beard became soaked with tears ﷺ. The companions began to cry too and consoled him even though they did not know whose grave this was.
Umar (rta) asked the Prophet ﷺ, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told them. He had asked Allah ﷻ to do Istighfar for her but he was not given permission. He had then requested Allah ﷻ to visit her grave and Allah (swt) had permitted it. The pain of not having his loved ones with him now that he had succeeded in his mission was overwhelming and an emotion he rarely showed.
The Prophet (sa) meets Shayma
After the battle of Hunayn, the Prophet ﷺ was in his encampment ﷺ with his main companions around him. A woman came forward and said: “I’m the sister of your leader. Take me to him.” The Sahabah were taken aback but sought the permission of the Prophet (sa).
The Prophet ﷺ allowed her inside and said: “If you’re my sister, there is a mark that I left with you that only you and I will know about.” She showed her scarred arm where the Prophet ﷺ bit her as a child when they had been playing and she had been holding him.
This woman was Shayma bint al-Harith, the daughter of Halima. The Prophet ﷺ immediately jumped up and embraced her ﷺ. He took his cloak and spread it on the ground for her to sit on. He sat with her and had a long conversation with her, catching up. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: “If you want, you can stay with me. You will be loved and honoured. I’ll take care of you. Come back to Madinah. If you want to go back to your people, you may go back to your people, loved and honored. It’s up to you. I’m not forcing any type of situation on you.”
She replied: “O Prophet of Allah (sa), I want to go back to my people.” The Prophet ﷺ made arrangements for her.
The Prophet (sa) meets Halima again
Aba Tufail (rta) narrates: “I saw the Prophet ﷺ cooking meat himself ﷺ. He was slicing the meat himself ﷺ when an old woman came close to the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ spread out his garment on the ground.” In another narration, he said: “Welcome to my mother, welcome to my mother.” The Prophet ﷺ sat her down and served her ﷺ, taking care of her. The companions were curious, so Abu Tufail asked and the Prophet ﷺ told them.
Halima and her family did embrace Islam after Hunayn and some historians believe that her grave is in Al Baqi. The Prophet (sa) not only brought Barakah in her life in the form of worldly wealth and ease, but also ensured Barakah for her in the Hereafter due to his preaching of Islam.
The orphan who lost both his parents and his foster mother ended up ‘adopting’ the world. He turned his childhood trauma into empathy for people in this world and the next.
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