Haleemah As-Sa‘diyyah: The Blessed Wet-Nurse

Haleemah, may Allaah be pleased with her, breastfed the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, until he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was weaned, and the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, remembered this as a favor from her. Abu At-Tufayl said: "I saw the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, distributing meat in Al-Ji‘irraanah. A woman came to him and the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stretched out his cloak for her (to sit on). When I asked who she was, it was said that she was his mother who had breastfed him (i.e. his mother through breastfeeding)." [At-Tabaraani]


She was Haleemah bint Abu Thu’ayb ‘Abdullaah As-Sa‘diyyah, may Allaah be pleased with her, the wet nurse of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Haleemah, may Allaah be pleased with her, came to Makkah in quest of a baby to breastfeed. This was in a year of drought for her tribe the Banu Sa‘d, so the women of the tribe, including Haleemah, set out seeking sustenance. They went to Makkah where people used to entrust their babies to the care of other women.


Haleemah, may Allaah be pleased with her, related her story, saying,
I arrived at Makkah with some women from the Banu Sa‘d, looking for suckling (kids) in a year of drought and I was riding a weak female donkey. There were a young baby-boy (i.e. her son) and an old she-camel with me. By Allaah, we could not sleep that night because our baby kept weeping bitterly from hunger and there was no milk in my breasts or the breast of the she-camel to give him. We moved in this state until we reached Makkah, and the caravan had arrived there before us. I went to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and took him, (and he was the only one left). Once, I returned to my mount with him, the milk gushed in my breasts and his brother (through suckling) was suckled to his fill. Moreover, my husband found the she-camel full of milk, so he milked it and we all drank to our fill. We spent the night in a state of plenty. My husband said to me, "O Haleemah, by Allaah I think that you brought us a blessed being. Do you not see the goodness and blessing we had this night since we took him?"


Haleemah, may Allaah be pleased with her, was trustworthy in taking care of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and showered him with love. She, may Allaah be pleased with her, never treated him unfairly with her own children, nor did the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, find any sort of unequal treatment.


She, may Allaah be pleased with her, had children from her husband Al-Haarith ibn ‘Abdul-‘Uzza, who were the suckling siblings of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, called, ‘Abdullaah, Unaysah and Huthaafah (also known as Ash-Shaymaa’, may Allaah be pleased with her).
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to visit Haleemah, may Allaah be pleased with her, and give her gifts to express his gratitude to her, for he stayed with her for four years during which he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was raised on the Arabian values of magnanimity, chivalry, truthfulness and honesty. After that, Haleemah, may Allaah be pleased with her, brought him back to his mother, Aaminah bint Wahb, at the age of five and one month.


The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, loved Haleemah, may Allaah be pleased with her, so much that when a woman delivered him the news of her death after the Conquest of Makkah, his, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, eyes were filled with tears for her, may Allaah be pleased with her.

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