The birth of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa salam

The birth of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa salam

Muhammad    the Master of Prophets, was born in Bani Hashim lane in Makkah on Monday morning, the ninth of Rabi‘ Al-Awwal, the same year of the Elephant Event, and forty years of the reign of Kisra (Khosru Nushirwan), i.e. the twentieth or twenty-second of April, 571 A.D., according to the scholar Muhammad Sulaimân Al-Mansourpuri.

Ibn Sa‘d reported that Muhammad’s mother said: "When he was born, there was a light that issued out of my pudendum (genital organs) and lit the palaces of Syria." Ahmad reported on the authority of ‘Arbadh Ibn Sariya something similar to this.
It was but controversially reported that significant precursors accompanied his birth: fourteen galleries of Kisra’s palace cracked and rolled down, the Magians’ sacred fire died down and some churches on Lake Sawa sank down and collapsed.
His mother immediately sent someone to inform his grandfather ‘Abdul-Muttalib of the happy event. Happily he came to her, carried him to Al-Ka‘bah, prayed to Allaah and thanked Him. ‘Abdul-Muttalib called the baby Muhammad, a name not then common among the Arabs.
The first woman who suckled him after his mother was Thuyebah, the freed slave of Abu Lahab, with her son, Masrouh. She had suckled Hamzah Ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib before, and later Abu Salamah Ibn ‘Abd Al-Asad Al-Makhzumi.
Babyhood:
It was the general custom of the Arabs living in towns to send their children away to bedouin wet nurses so that they might grow up in the free and healthy surroundings of the desert whereby they would develop a robust frame and acquire the pure speech and manners of the bedouins, who were noted both for purity of their language and for being free from those vices which usually develop in sedentary societies.
The Prophet  was later entrusted to Haleemah bint Abi Dhuaib from Bani Sa‘d Ibn Bakr. Her husband was Al-Harith Ibn ‘Abdul ‘Uzza called Abi Kabshah, from the same tribe.
Muhammad  had several foster brothers and sisters, ‘Abdullah Ibn Al-Harith, Aneesah bint Al-Haarith, Hudhafah or Judhamah bint Al-Haarith (known as Ash-Shayma’), and she used to nurse the Prophet  and Abu Sufyan Ibn Al-Haarith Ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, the Prophet’s cousin. Hamzah Ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, the Prophet’s uncle, was suckled by the same two wet nurses, Thuyeba and Haleemah As-Sa‘diyah, who suckled the Prophet .
Traditions relate how Haleemah and the whole of her household were favoured by successive strokes of good fortune while the baby Muhammad  lived under her care. Ibn Ishaq states that Haleemah narrated that she, along with her husband and a suckling babe, set out from her village in the company of some women of her clan in quest of children to suckle. She said:
It was a year of drought and famine and we had nothing to eat. I rode on a brown she-ass. We also had with us an old she-camel. By Allaah we could not get even a drop of milk. We could not have a wink of sleep during the night for the child kept crying on account of hunger. There was not enough milk in my breast and even the she-camel had nothing to feed him. We used to constantly pray for rain and immediate relief. At length we reached Makkah looking for children to suckle. Not even a single woman amongst us accepted the Messenger of Allâh  offered to her. As soon as they were told that he was an orphan, they refused him. We had fixed our eyes on the reward that we would get from the child’s father. An orphan! What are his grandfather and mother likely to do? So we spurned him because of that. Every woman who came with me got a suckling and when we were about to depart, I said to my husband: "By Allâh, I do not like to go back along with the other women without any baby. I should go to that orphan and I must take him." He said, "There is no harm in doing so and perhaps Allaah might bless us through him." So I went and took him because there was simply no other alternative left for me but to take him. When I lifted him in my arms and returned to my place I put him on my breast and to my great surprise, I found enough milk in it. He drank to his heart’s content, and so did his foster brother and then both of them went to sleep although my baby had not been able to sleep the previous night. My husband then went to the she-camel to milk it and, to his astonishment, he found plenty of milk in it. He milked it and we drank to our fill, and enjoyed a sound sleep during the night. The next morning, my husband said: "By Allaah Haleemah, you must understand that you have been able to get a blessed child." And I replied: "By the grace of Allaah, I hope so."
The tradition is explicit on the point that Haleemah’s return journey and her subsequent life, as long as the Prophet  stayed with her, was encircled with a halo of good fortune. The donkey that she rode when she came to Makkah was lean and almost foundered; it recovered speed much to the amazement of Haleemah’s fellow travellers. By the time they reached the encampments in the country of the clan of Sa‘d, they found the scales of fortune turned in their favour. The barren land sprouted forth luxuriant grass and beasts came back to them satisfied and full of milk. Muhammad  stayed with Haleemah for two years until he was weaned as Haleemah said:
We then took him back to his mother requesting her earnestly to have him stay with us and benefit by the good fortune and blessings he had brought us. We persisted in our request which we substantiated by our anxiety over the child catching a certain infection peculiar to Makkah. At last, we were granted our wish and the Prophet  stayed with us until he was four or five years of age.
When, as related by Anas in Sahih Muslim, Gabriel came down and ripped his chest open and took out the heart. He then extracted a blood-clot out of it and said: "That was the part of Satan in thee." And then he washed it with the water of Zamzam in a gold basin. After that the heart was joined together and restored to its place. The boys and playmates came running to his mother, i.e. his nurse, and said: "Verily, Muhammad  has been murdered." They all rushed towards him and found him all right only his face was white.
After this event, Haleemah was worried about the boy and returned him to his mother with whom he stayed until he was six.

Allah Knows Best.

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Umm Salamah

Her real name was Hind; while her title was Umm Salamah . She  came from the family of Makhzoom, which belongs to the Quraysh tribe. Her father’s name was Abu Mugheerah Ibn 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Umar Ibn Makhzoom and her mother was 'Aatikah Bint 'Aamir who belonged to the family of Faraas.

Umm Salamah  was first married to her cousin Abu Salamah Ibn 'Abdul-Asad. He was a young man with exceptionally good nature and unblemished conduct. It was improbable for this young man of exceptionally lofty morals to remain unmoved by the noble and life-giving message of the Noble Prophet, Muhammad sallalaahu alayhi wa sallam.

Defying his tribesmen, Abu Salamah  embraced the new faith and entered the fold of Islam. Umm Salamah  followed suit.

Thus, the couple joined the rank of those noble souls, who had won the unique distinction of embracing the new faith in its early phase.

These noble souls suffered all kinds of hardships and harassment in the cause of Islam, but they did not budge even an inch from the right path. As the number of the people who had embraced the new life-giving faith increased, the persecution and torture meted out to them also increased in intensity.

When this persecution reached intolerable levels, the Noble Prophet sallalaahu alayhi wa sallam gave permission to his followers to migrate to Abyssinia, which was ruled at that time by a kind-hearted king, in order to protect their lives and preserve their religion. According to an authentic narration, Abu Salamah  and Umm Salamah  who has already entered the fold of Islam, also migrated to Abyssinia. They  came back to Makkah after spending some time in exile. From Makkah, they  left for Madeenah on their second migration. Those days, Abu Salamah  had only one camel with him. He they  seated Umm Salamah  and his young son, Salamah, at the saddle. Holding the reins of his camel, he started his long journey on foot.

When her family came to know about the couple’s planned destination, they intercepted the camel and told Abu Salamah that he could proceed, but they would not allow their daughter (Umm Salamah ). They took away the reins of the camel from Abu Salamah  and forced Umm Salamah  to dismount. In the meantime, Banu 'Abdul-Asad, the members of Abu Salamah’s clan, appeared on the scene and snatched Umm Salamah’s child from his mother and threatened Banu Mugheerah that if they did not allow their daughter to accompany her husband, they would also not allow the child to accompany his mother. As for Abu Salamah  they said that he was free to go anywhere liked.

By this time, the Noble Prophet, sallalaahu alayhi wa sallam, had given permission to his Companions  to migrate to Madeenah, where they could live in peace and safety from the torture of Quraysh. Abu Salamah  left for Madeenah, leaving his wife and child behind. Umm Salamah  was staying with Banu Mugheerah while her child was in the custody of Banu 'Abdul-Asad. Thus, the three of them – the father, the mother and the child – were undergoing the pain of living separately.

Umm Salamah  was grief-stricken due the separation from her child and husband. Everyday she  would go and sit forlorn on a hillock, crying and longing to join her husband and son. A whole one year passed like this.

One day, a kind-hearted and influential man from the clan of Banu Mugheerah saw her pathetic condition and was moved by her agony. He called out the people of his tribe and said: “This woman is our own flesh and blood, how long will we keep her away from her husband and child? By Allaah! Our tribe is very brave and honorable; we can’t tolerate persecution of innocent people.”

Hearing this, her tribesmen gave permission to Umm Salamah they  to join her husband in Madeenah. When Banu 'Abdul-Asad heard of this, they also took pity and sent her child, Salamah, to her. She  took the child and a camel to ride alone to Madeenah. At At-Tan'eem (in the outskirts of Makkah), she met 'Uthmaan Ibn Talhah Ibn Abu Talhah  a chivalrous and decent man of Makkah. When he saw Umm Salamah  traveling alone with a small baby, he thought: “How unbecoming of me, if I did not escort this lonely woman traveler of Quraysh to Madeenah!”

He  took the reins of Umm Salamah’s camel and started for Madeenah. Whenever they stopped on the way, 'Uthmaan  would withdraw to rest under the shade of a tree. When they reached Qubaa', where Abu Salamah  was staying, 'Uthmaan  returned to Makkah and Umm Salamah  rejoined her husband, who thanked Allaah for once again reuniting his family.

Umm Salmah  always remained grateful to 'Uthmaan  for his thoughtful and kind gesture. She  used to say: “I have never seen a more gallant and compassionate man than 'Uthmaan Ibn Talhah.”

Her widowhood and marriage to the Prophet 

In the third year of Hijrah (Migration of the Prophet  from Makkah to Madeenah), Abu Salamah  fought in the Battle of Uhud. In that historic and crucial battle, his arm was wounded by a poisoned arrow shot by the enemy. He  later recovered after treatment, but could survive only for a few months. His wound relapsed and ultimately he  died.

Umm Salamah  was immensely grief-stricken at the demise of her loving husband. When the Prophet, sallalaahu alayhi wa sallam, heard about this, he sallalaahu alayhi wa sallam went to offer condolences to her  and asked her to have patience and bear the calamity with fortitude.

According to one narration, when the Prophet sallalaahu alayhi wa sallam paid a condolence visit to Umm Salamah  after the death of her husband, he sallalaahu alayhi wa sallam asked her to pray Allaah to grant Abu Salamah the lofty rank of the righteous and grant her a better husband than him.

At this, Umm Salamah  wondered who could be a better husband for her than Abu Salamah . Seeing the forlorn state of Umm Salamah  after she was widowed, Abu Bakr  sent her a proposal for marriage, which Umm Salamah  declined.

The Prophet, sallalaahu alayhi wa sallam, was greatly impressed with the courage, which Umm Salamah  displayed in facing the misfortunes and adversities of life. He sallalaahu alayhi wa sallam was also highly moved for her tragic situation and sent the proposal for marriage to her through 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab . Umm Salamah  consented, and in Shawwal, the 4th year of Hijrah, her marriage to the Noble Prophet, sallalaahu  alayhi wa sallam, took place.

A Historical example of her wisdom

In the 6th Hijrah year, the Prophet  accompanied by his 1,400 companions  decided to perform 'Umrah (minor Pilgrimage). When Quraysh learned about this, they decided to stop the Muslims from performing the pilgrimage; but when the Muslims decided to fight them they feared and signed a treaty with the Muslims, which consisted of several terms and conditions which appeared to be unfair for the Muslims as it prevented them from performing 'Umrah that year.

The Prophet  accepted these conditions in adherence to the Divine Command instructing him  to do so. Then the Prophet ordered the Muslims to slaughter animals in sacrifice (indicating the end of the 'Umrah rites). But the Muslims hesitated in offering the sacrifice, which grieved the Prophet .

Umm Salamah  who was with the Prophet  on this journey, heard this and suggested to the Prophet  to offer the sacrifice, shave his head and take off the Ihraam. The Prophet  did so acting on her advice. When the companions  saw that the Prophet’s command was irrevocable, they at once sacrificed their animals and shaved their heads.

Her character:

Umm Salamah  led a very simple and austere life. She  was a devout worshiper. Every month, she  fasted for three days (other than the fasting of Ramadan). Once, she  wore a necklace, which had a little amount of gold in it. The Prophet  did not like her wearing even this little amount of gold. So Umm Salamah immediately took it out.

Umm Salamah  was very generous. She  implored others also to give away in the cause of Allaah. Whatever she had, she  would readily give away to a beggar or a needy person.

Once, a few destitute people came to her begging for charity importunately. Umm Salamah  ordered her maid not to send them back empty-handed, and if there was nothing in the houses, she should give them just a few dates.

Umm Salamah  has narrated 378 Hadeeths of the Prophet . In moral excellence and nobility of conduct, she ranks, among the Prophet’s wives, next only to 'Aa'ishah . She  was an excellent reciter of the Quran, and her style was much similar to the Prophet’s. She  was endowed with exceptionally beautiful countenance, deep knowledge, intelligence and sound judgment.

Her death:

After a life filled with faith and righteous deeds, the Mother of the Believers, Umm Salamah  died in the year 61 A.H., aged 84 and the venerable Companion, Abu Hurayrah  led the people in her funeral prayer, after which she  was buried in Al-Baqee' Cemetery in Madeenah.

Allah Knows Best.

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