of young ones. No child was admitted to a room where his father was meeting other men. Yet ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, chief of Makkah, allowed his young grandson to sit on his couch when he was in a meeting with Makkan notables. His own children, now all grown up, remained standing, but Muhammad was allowed to sit on his grandfather’s couch. If Muhammad’s uncles tried to stop him, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib would tell them not to do so. On one occasion he told them: “Leave my child alone. He senses that he will one day acquire a kingdom.” At another time he said: “He will certainly have a great future.”14
A Transfer of Care
ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib realized that his own death would not be long in coming. The future of the orphan child was one of his most immediate concerns. He therefore called in his son Abū Ṭālib and asked him specifically to look after Muhammad, his nephew, when he himself had died. It was good that he did so, because ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib died within two years of Muhammad coming into his care. It is said that ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was a hundred and twenty when he died, but his grandchild was only eight. Again, death snatched away a loving soul from Muhammad’s life. He was extremely distressed to lose his grandfather. He felt he had lost the man whose kindness to him could not be equalled by any other. He grieved for his loss as only a loving child could grieve when he realized that he would not be seeing his beloved one any more. Perhaps ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib chose to trust Muhammad to the care of Abū Ṭālib because the latter had the same mother as ʿAbdullāh, Muhammad’s father. He might also have realized that Abū Ṭālib was the kindest and most caring of his children. This explains why Abū Ṭālib was chosen for this task, despite the fact that he had many children of his own and was a man of little means. Many of Muhammad’s other uncles were better placed to look after him, from a financial point of view. Yet ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib chose Abū Ṭālib, and what an appropriate choice it proved to be.
Abū Ṭālib continued to look after Muhammad until he became a man. Even then, he continued to show him the loving care a father shows to his adult son. He was never slow in giving him sound advice and guidance. When Muhammad started to receive his message and convey it to people, Abū Ṭālib supported him in the face of strong opposition from the Quraysh. He never failed him even when the pressures were too strong to bear for an old man, as Abū Ṭālib was at that time. There was a relationship of mutual love and respect between uncle and orphan nephew. Indeed, Abū Ṭālib loved Muhammad as much as he loved his dearest child, if not more.
Again when he was in the care of his uncle, there were signs that God’s blessings were associated with the presence of Muhammad. While there was no sudden influx of riches into the house of Abū Ṭālib, there always seemed to be enough when Muhammad was there. If dinner was served and Muhammad was not present, Abū Ṭālib would order his children to wait for him. He had noticed that when Muhammad was eating with them, the food seemed plentiful and everybody had his fill. If he was absent, the food seemed not to be sufficient and everybody asked for more. On the whole, Muhammad’s childhood was very pleasant. He radiated happiness to all around him. Hence it was not surprising that he was loved dearly by all those close to him.15
We have several reports of that period in the life of Muhammad which suggest that various people recognized him as the future Prophet. Many suggest that the people recognizing him tried to get him killed. The first reports speak of Ḥalīmah taking Muhammad to a fortune-teller to divine his future. None of these reports, however, attains a sufficient degree of authenticity to make it of any great value. Such things might have happened. Their effect either on the boy himself or on those looking after him was limited indeed.
Nor can the story of Muhammad’s encounter with the Christian monk of the town of Buṣrā in southern Syria be of great importance. This story suggests that Muhammad clung to his uncle, Abū Ṭālib, when he was about to depart on a trade journey to Syria, and would not let him go without him. Abū Ṭālib then decided to take his twelve-year-old nephew with him. It is said that on their way back home after finishing their business in Syria, this monk, Baḥīrā, invited the whole caravan to a dinner. This was a marked departure from his past habit. He insisted that everybody in the party should attend. He recognized Muhammad and spoke to him, questioning him on many aspects of his life. He also recognized a mark on Muhammad’s shoulder which indicated that he was to be the last Prophet. When he was certain of that fact, Baḥīrā asked Abū Ṭālib what relation the boy was to him. When Abū Ṭālib said that he was his son – as the Arabs considered that an uncle was in the same position as a father – Baḥīrā said: “He is not your son. This boy’s father should not be alive.” Abū Ṭālib told him that Muhammad was his nephew and that his father had died before his birth. Baḥīrā said: “That is right. Take your nephew back to his home town, and watch him carefully. Should the Jews recognize him as I have done they would try to harm him. This nephew of yours is certain to have a great future.”16
Whatever the truth about this story and the other reports to which we have referred, it is certain that they did not influence Muhammad in any way. We have to remember that he was still a child, and he could not have aspired to any distinction as a result of Baḥīrā’s discourse. Moreover, it seems that the men who heard Baḥīrā’s conversation with Abū Ṭālib did not bother to relate it to other people. The only value of these reports is that they confirm the fact that learned men of other religions were aware of the imminent appearance of a Prophet in Arabia. Their knowledge is based on what is definitely contained in their scriptures.
Muhammad was only twelve when he went on this trip with his uncle, Abū Ṭālib. Some reports suggest that he was even younger. Not long after he came back to Makkah he realized that he had to do something in order to help his poor uncle, who had a large family to support. Although from the time of his birth Muhammad brought his blessings to his immediate environment, wherever it happened to be – as clearly related by Ḥalīmah, his wet nurse – he was not meant to enjoy a life of affluence. There always seemed to be enough for everyone around, but there was little to spare. Muhammad himself needed very little: he was content with whatever was available to him. But he always had a keen sense of what was going on around him. His uncle’s situation cried out for help, and Muhammad was aware of that.
First Employment
In the Makkan society of that time there was little a young boy of Muhammad’s age could do. The life of the whole community depended largely on trade, which thrived through the regular trips to Syria and Yemen. These trips meant that the Makkan trade was essentially what we call nowadays ‘foreign trade’, depending on export and import. To be successful in such a field required multifaceted experience which could not have been acquired by a young boy in his early teens. Moreover, travelling at such a tender age through a difficult terrain like that of Arabia was too much of an adventure for a young boy. There was little or no agriculture in Makkah or the area around it. Few, if any, industrial occupations were available. The Arabs actually looked down upon anyone engaged in such employment. The only occupation worthy of the Arabs of Makkah was trade. Hence there was nothing Muhammad could do to help his uncle except to work as a shepherd.
The life of a shepherd is associated with contemplation and patience. A shepherd has long periods of time when there is little for him to do, except watch his animals grazing. As he sits alone, his thoughts must inevitably turn to the universe around him. He thinks of its creation, and its limitless expanse. He thinks how different varieties of creatures share their lives in a little corner of it, and of what lies beyond the realm of human perception. He thinks of the great variety of plants that come from the earth, each with its distinctive characteristics and widely different fruits. Yet they all come out of the same type of soil and feed on the same water. His thoughts are bound to lead him to think of the great power that controls everything in the universe.
A shepherd needs patience, and as he goes about his work he is bound to develop that quality without which he cannot really tend his sheep. Perhaps it is for these two qualities, along with other less important ones, that God has chosen
