Ibid., pp. 164-165.
10. Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, ʿUyūn al-Athar, Dār al-Turāth, Madinah, 1996, pp. 78-79.
11. Ibn Hisham, op.cit., pp. 43-47.
12. Ibid., pp. 47-49.
13. Ibid., pp. 49-56.
IT IS SAID that Āminah, the Prophet’s mother, had no great trouble with her pregnancy. Everything went right for her. She heard a great deal about other women having all sorts of trouble when they were pregnant. Hers, however, was a very easy pregnancy, associated with the hope that the coming child would brighten her life after the totally unexpected tragedy of her husband’s death.
There was nothing unusual about the birth of Muhammad. The only thing worth mentioning is that his mother reported later that she had an easy delivery. Historians could not determine for certain the exact year of his birth. Most reports, however, suggest that it was in AD 570, the year when Abrahah, the Abyssinian ruler of Yemen, launched his attack against Makkah. As for the date, it was most probably on the 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwāl in the year 53 BH.1 There is nothing particularly significant about determining the exact date of Muhammad’s birth. Whatever celebrations are held nowadays on that date have no Islamic basis. They are merely traditional celebrations which have no religious significance.2
There are some reports about certain happenings which pointed to the forthcoming destruction of the Persian Empire and its pagan faith. Other incidents suggesting the eclipse of other religions are also reported to have taken place on the day Muhammad was born. While Muhammad’s birth heralded the imminent collapse of all erring beliefs, such reports cannot be taken seriously. We have no solid evidence to prove them. Moreover, no importance is attached to them from the Islamic viewpoint, even if one assumes them to be true.3
When Āminah delivered her baby, she sent for his grandfather, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, to come and have a look at him. He was very happy when he saw him. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was still very sad at the loss of his son, ʿAbdullāh, but the birth of Muhammad assuaged his sadness as he looked forward to a bright future for the newborn child. He took the baby and went to the Kaʿbah where he prayed for him at length. He thanked God for giving him a boy to bear the name of his deceased son. Then he took him back to his mother, who told him that she heard voices commanding her to call her child Muhammad.4
Muhammad means ‘often praised’, or ‘worthy of praise’. It was a totally unfamiliar name in Arabia. Nevertheless, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib had no hesitation in calling his grandson by that name. He could never dismiss the thought that the events which led to the birth of this child suggested that he was certain to have great influence on the life of his community. When he was questioned by the notables of Makkah about this unfamiliar name he had given to his grandchild, he answered that he wished the boy to be praised by human beings on earth and by God in heaven.5
Muhammad was given to Thuwaybah, a servant of his uncle, Abū Lahab, to breastfeed him for a few days until long-term arrangements for his nursing were made.
Infancy in the Desert
It was the tradition of the noblemen of Makkah to send their children to be breastfed by Bedouin wet nurses. They felt that the open space of the desert was far better for the children in their early years than the close atmosphere in the city. They thought that when a child was nursed in the desert he was certain to grow up physically strong and healthy.
Every now and then, Bedouin women came to Makkah to seek newborn babies. They were prepared to wet-nurse them for the wages and gifts which were certain to be given to them by the babies’ parents. There was no set fee for the task: it was left to the generosity of the father.
A group of such Bedouin women arrived in Makkah shortly after Muhammad was born. Each of them looked at Muhammad but declined to take him when she realized that his father was dead. Apparently, none of them thought the grandfather would do as well for them as the boy’s own father.
Each one of them managed to get a child to nurse, except Ḥalīmah bint Abī Dhu’ayb. She later reported what she did that day:
I travelled with my husband and our young boy along with a number of women from our tribe, Saʿd ibn Bakr, to seek babies to nurse. It was a bad year in our area of the desert. We had nothing to survive on. I was riding a mule and we had with us an old she-camel which gave us not a drop of milk. We spent many a sleepless night because our little boy was always crying of hunger. I did not have enough milk to satisfy him. Our camel was hopeless, but we still hoped for rain and better days.
Because my mule was also weak, I kept falling behind my companions. I gave them so much trouble because of our weakness. When we arrived in Makkah every woman of us was offered Muhammad to nurse. When she learnt that he was an orphan, she declined. We simply hoped for gifts and presents from the baby’s father. Hence, we always replied when we were offered him: “An orphan! What could his mother or grandfather do for us!”
Every woman in the party was able to obtain a child to nurse except me. When we were about to set out on our journey back home, I said to my husband: “I hate to be the only one to go back empty-handed. I am going to take that orphan.” He said: “It is a good idea. He may bring us some blessings.” I went back and brought him. As soon as I put him to my breast, I felt that both my breasts were full of milk. He had his fill, and so did his brother, my own son. Both went to sleep immediately afterwards: we had not had much sleep in the preceding nights because of our boy’s crying.6
It is also reported that in those days the Prophet always sucked the same breast: he never accepted the other one. It is as if he was made to feel that he had a partner and he left him his share.7
Ḥalīmah said: “My husband thought that it was worth trying to milk our old camel. He soon discovered that she had full breasts. He milked enough for both of us to have our fill. It was our best night for a long while. My husband said to me in the morning: ‘You know, Ḥalīmah, you have taken a blessed child.’ I said: ‘I sincerely hope so.’”
We started our journey that morning and I rode the same mule and carried Muhammad with me. She was now moving fast, ahead of all my friends. They were amazed, and asked me whether it was the same mule I was riding on the way to Makkah. When I affirmed that it was, they were very surprised.
When we arrived at our quarters, it was hit by severe drought. Nevertheless, my sheep were always full of milk. We had more than we needed, while no one else had enough. Most of their sheep had no milk at all. People would tell their shepherds to keep their sheep alongside mine, hoping to have some milk. It was only my sheep which had their breasts bursting with milk every evening. We continued to have this Divine blessing until he was two years of age, when I weaned him. He was growing like no other child did. When he was two he was very strong for his age. I took him back to his mother, forming in my mind the best argument I could muster to persuade her to allow me to keep him for a while longer. I said to her: “I wish you would leave my child with me for a little longer until he gets stronger. I fear that he may catch an infection of some sort or another in Makkah.” I tried hard until she was persuaded to send him back with me.8
A Very Strange Event
Muhammad stayed with Ḥalīmah, his suckling mother, in the desert for nearly four years altogether. Nothing eventful normally happens to a child at such an early age; hence
