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Muhammad [pbuh], 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, and the astrologer Mahmûd Pasha. [Muhadarat Tareekh
Al-Umam Al-Islamiyah 1/62; Rahmat-ul-lil'alameen 1/38,39]
Ibn Sa‘d reported that Muhammad’s mother said: "When
he was born, there was a light that issued out of my pudendum and lit the palaces of
Syria." Ahmad reported on the authority of ‘Arbadh bin Sariya something similar
to this. [Mukhtasar Seerat-ur-Rasool, p.12; Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 1/63]
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. [Reported by Al-Baihaqi, but Al-Ghazali didn't approve it
- see Fiqh-us-Seerah p.46]
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 Allâh and thanked Him. ‘Abdul-Muttalib called the baby
Muhammad, a name not then common among the Arabs. He circumcised him on his seventh day as
was the custom of the Arabs. [Ibn Hisham 1/159,160; Zad Al-Ma'ad
1/18; Muhadarat Tareekh Al-Umam Al-Islamiyah 1/62]
The first woman who suckled him after his mother was Thuyebah, the
concubine of Abu Lahab, with her son, Masrouh. She had suckled Hamzah bin
‘Abdul-Muttalib before and later Abu Salamah bin ‘Abd Al-Asad Al-Makhzumi. [Talqeeh Furoom Ahl-al-Athar p.4; Mukhtasar Seerat-ur-Rasool p.13]
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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 chastity of their language and
for being free from those vices which usually develop in sedentary societies.
The Prophet [pbuh] was later entrusted to Haleemah bint Abi Dhuaib
from Bani Sa‘d bin Bakr. Her husband was Al-Harith bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza called
Abi Kabshah, from the same tribe.
Muhammad [pbuh] had several foster brothers and sisters,
‘Abdullah bin Al-Harith, Aneesah bint Al-Harith, Hudhafah or Judhamah bint
Al-Harith
(known as Ash-Shayma’), and she used to nurse the Prophet [pbuh] and Abu Sufyan bin
Al-Harith bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib, the Prophet’s cousin. Hamzah bin
‘Abdul-Muttalib, the Prophet’s uncle, was suckled by the same two wet nurses,
Thuyeba and Haleemah As-Sa‘diyah, who suckled the Prophet [pbuh]. [Za'd Al-Ma'ad 1/19]
Traditions delightfully relate how Haleemah and the whole of her
household were favoured by successive strokes of good fortune while the baby Muhammad
[pbuh] 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 Allâh 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 [pbuh] 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 Allâh 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 Allâh Haleemah, you must understand that you have been
able to get a blessed child." And I replied: "By the grace of Allâh, I hope
so."
The tradition is explicit on the point that Haleemah’s return
journey and her subsequent life, as long as the Prophet [pbuh] 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 [pbuh] 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.[Ibn Hisham 1/162-164]
At last, we were granted our wish and the Prophet [pbuh] 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 [pbuh] has been murdered." They all rushed towards him and
found him all right only his face was white. [Muslim 1/92]
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After this event, Haleemah was worried about the boy and returned
him to his mother with whom he stayed until he was six. [Talqeeh
Furoom Ahl-al-Athar p.7; Ibn Hisham 1/168]
In respect of the memory of her late husband, Amina decided to visit
his grave in Yathrib (Madinah). She set out to cover a journey of 500 kilometers with her
orphan boy, woman servant Umm Ayman and her father-in-law ‘Abdul-Muttalib. She spent
a month there and then took her way back to Makkah. On the way, she had a severe illness
and died in Abwa on the road between Makkah and Madinah. [Ibn Hisham
1/168; Talqeeh Fuhroom Ahl-al-Athar p.7]
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‘Abdul-Muttalib brought the boy to Makkah. He had warm passions
towards the boy, his orphan grandson, whose recent disaster (his mother’s death)
added more to the pains of the past. ‘Abdul-Muttalib was more passionate with his
grandson than with his own children. He never left the boy a prey to loneliness, but
always preferred him to his own kids. Ibn Hisham reported: A mattress was put in the shade
of Al-Ka‘bah for ‘Abdul-Muttalib. His children used to sit around that mattress
in honour to their father, but Muhammad [pbuh] used to sit on it. His uncles would take
him back, but if ‘Abdul-Muttalib was present, he would say: "Leave my grandson.
I swear by Allâh that this boy will hold a significant position." He used to seat
the boy on his mattress, pat his back and was always pleased with what the boy did. [Ibn Hisham 1/168]
When Muhammad [pbuh] was eight years, two months and ten days old,
his grandfather ‘Abdul-Muttalib passed away in Makkah. The charge of the Prophet
[pbuh] was now passed on to his uncle Abu Talib, who was the brother of the Prophet’s
father.
Abu Talib took the charge of his nephew in the best way. He put him
with his children and preferred him to them. He singled the boy out with great respect and
high esteem. Abu Talib remained for forty years cherishing his nephew and extending all
possible protection and support to him. His relations with the others were determined in
the light of the treatment they showed to the Prophet [pbuh].
Ibn ‘Asakir reported on the authority of Jalhamah bin
‘Arfuta who said: "I came to Makkah when it was a rainless year, so Quraish said
‘O Abu Talib, the valley has become leafless and the children hungry, let us go and
pray for rain-fall.’ Abu Talib went to Al-Ka‘bah with a young boy who was as
beautiful as the sun, and a black cloud was over his head. Abu Talib and the boy stood by
the wall of Al-Ka‘bah and prayed for rain. Immediately clouds from all directions
gathered and rain fell heavily and caused the flow of springs and growth of plants in the
town and the country. [Mukhtasar Seerat-ur-Rasool p.15,16]
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When the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] was twelve years old, he went
with his uncle Abu Talib on a business journey to Syria. When they reached Busra (which
was a part of Syria, in the vicinity of Howran under the Roman domain) they met a monk
called Bahira (his real name was Georges), who showed great kindness, and entertained them
lavishly. He had never been in the habit of receiving or entertaining them before. He
readily enough recognized the Prophet [pbuh] and said while taking his hand: "This is
the master of all humans. Allâh will send him with a Message which will be a mercy to all
beings." Abu Talib asked: "How do you know that?" He replied: "When
you appeared from the direction of ‘Aqabah, all stones and trees prostrated
themselves, which they never do except for a Prophet. I can recognize him also by the seal
of Prophethood which is below his shoulder, like an apple. We have got to learn this from
our books." He also asked Abu Talib to send the boy back to Makkah and not to take
him to Syria for fear of the Jews. Abu Talib obeyed and sent him back to Makkah with some
of his men servants. [Ibn Hisham 1/180-183; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 1/17]
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Muhammad [pbuh] was hardly fifteen when the ‘sacrilegious’
wars — which continued with varying fortunes and considerable loss of human life for
a number of years — broke out between Quraish and Banu Kinana on the one side and
Qais ‘Ailan tribe on the other. It was thus called because the inviolables were made
violable, the prohibited months being included. Harb bin Omaiyah, on account of his
outstanding position and honourable descent, used to be the leader of Quraish and their
allies. In one of those battles, the Prophet [pbuh] attended on his uncles but did not
raise arms against their opponents. His efforts were confined to picking up the arrows of
the enemy as they fell, and handing them over to his uncles. [Ibn
Hisham 1/184-187; Qalb Jazeerat Al-Arab p.260]
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At the conclusion of these wars, when peace was restored, people
felt the need for forming confederacy at Makkah for suppressing violence and injustice,
and vindicating the rights of the weak and the destitute. Representatives of Banu
Hashim,
Banu Al-Muttalib, Asad bin ‘Abd Al-‘Uzza, Zahrah bin Kilab and Taim bin Murra
were called to meet in the habitation of an honourable elderly man called ‘Abdullah
bin Jada‘an At-Taimy to enter into a confederacy that would provide for the
above-mentioned items. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] shortly after he had been honoured
with the ministry of Prophethood, witnessed this league and commented on it, with very
positive words: "I witnessed a confederacy in the house of ‘Abdullah bin
Jada‘an. It was more appealing to me than herds of cattle. Even now in the period of
Islam I would respond positively to attending such a meeting if I were invited." [Ibn Hisham 1/113,135]
In fact, the spirit of this confederacy and the course of
deliberations therein marked a complete departure from the pre-Islamic tribal-pride. The
story that led to its convention says that a man from Zubaid clan came as a merchant to
Makkah where he sold some commodities to Al-‘As bin Wail As-Sahmy. The latter by hook
or by crook tried to evade paying for the goods. The salesman sought help from the
different clans in Quraish but they paid no heed to his earnest pleas. He then resorted to
a mountain top and began, at the top of his voice, to recite verses of complaint giving
account of the injustices he sustained. Az-Zubair bin ‘Abdul-Muttalib heard of him
and made inquiries into the matter. Consequently, the parties to the aforesaid confederacy
convened their meeting and managed to force Az-Zubaidy’s money out of Al-‘As bin
Wa’il. [Mukhtasar Seerat-ur-Rasool, p.30,31]
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Muhammad [pbuh], had no particular job at his early youth, but it
was reported that he worked as a shepherd for Bani Sa‘d and in Makkah. At the age of
25, he went to Syria as a merchant for Khadijah [R]. Ibn Ishaq reported that
Khadijah,
daughter of Khwailid was a business-woman of great honour and fortune. She used to employ
men to do her business for a certain percentage of the profits. Quraish people were mostly
tradespeople, so when Khadijah was informed of Muhammad [pbuh], his truthful words, great
honesty and kind manners, she sent for him. She offered him money to go to Syria and do
her business, and she would give him a higher rate than the others. She would also send
her hireling, Maisarah, with him. He agreed and went with her servant to Syria for trade. [Ibn Hisham 1/187,188]
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When he returned to Makkah, Khadijah noticed, in her money, more
profits and blessings than she used to. Her hireling also told her of Muhammad’s good
manners, honesty, deep thought, sincerity and faith. She realized that she homed at her
target. Many prominent men had asked for her hand in marriage but she always spurned their
advances. She disclosed her wish to her friend Nafisa, daughter of Maniya, who immediately
went to Muhammad [pbuh] and broke the good news to him. He agreed and requested his uncles
to go to Khadijah’s uncle and talk on this issue. Subsequently, they were married.
The marriage contract was witnessed by Bani Hashim and the heads of Mudar. This took place
after the Prophet’s return from Syria. He gave her twenty camels as dowry. She was,
then, forty years old and was considered as the best woman of her folk in lineage, fortune
and wisdom. She was the first woman whom the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] married. He did
not get married to any other until she had died. [Ibn Hisham 1/189;
Fiqh As-Seerah p.59; Talqeeh Fahoom Ahl-al-Athar p.7]
Khadijah bore all his children, except Ibrahim: Al-Qasim,
Zainab, Ruqaiyah, Umm Kulthum, Fatimah and ‘Abdullah who was called Taiyib and
Tahir. All his
sons died in their childhood and all the daughters except Fatimah died during his
lifetime. Fatimah died six months after his death. All his daughters witnessed Islam,
embraced it, and emigrated to Madinah. [Ibn Hisham 1/190,191; Fath
Al-Bari 7/507]
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When the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] was thirty five, Quraish started
rebuilding Al-Ka‘bah. That was because it was a low building of white stones no more
than 6.30 metres high, from the days of Ishmael. It was also roofless and that gave the
thieves easy access to its treasures inside. It was also exposed to the wearing factors of
nature — because it was built a long time ago — that weakened and cracked its
walls. Five years before Prophethood, there was a great flood in Makkah that swept towards
Al-Ka‘bah and almost demolished it. Quraish was obliged to rebuild it to safeguard
its holiness and position. The chiefs of Quraish decided to use only licit money in
rebuilding Al-Ka‘bah, so all money that derived from harlotry, usury or unjust
practices was excluded. They were, at first, too awed to knock down the wall, but
Al-Waleed bin Al-Mugheerah Al-Mukhzumi started the work. Seeing that no harm had happened
to him, the others participated in demolishing the walls until they reached the basis laid
by Abraham. When they started rebuilding its walls, they divided the work among the
tribes. Each tribe was responsible for rebuilding a part of it. The tribes collected
stones and started work. The man who laid the stones was a Roman mason called
Baqum. The
work went on in harmony till the time came to put the sacred Black Stone in its proper
place. Then strife broke out among the chiefs, and lasted for four or five days, each
contesting for the honour of placing the stone in its position. Daggers were on the point
of being drawn and great bloodshed seemed imminent. Luckily, the oldest among the chiefs
Abu Omaiyah bin Mugheerah Al-Makhzumi made a proposal which was accepted by all. He said:
"Let him, who enters the Sanctuary first of all, decide on the point." It was
then Allâh’s Will that the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] should be the first to enter
the Mosque. On seeing him, all the people on the scene, cried with one voice: "Al-Ameen
(the trustworthy) has come. We are content to abide by his decision." Calm and
self-possessed, Muhammad [pbuh] received the commission and at once resolved upon an
expedient which was to conciliate them all. He asked for a mantle which he spread on the
ground and placed the stone in its centre. He then asked the representatives of the
different clans among them, to lift the stone all together. When it had reached the proper
place, Muhammad [pbuh] laid it in the proper position with his own hands. This is how a
very tense situation was eased and a grave danger averted by the wisdom of the Prophet
[pbuh].
Quraish ran short of the licit money, they collected, so they
eliminated six yards area on the northern side of Al-Ka‘bah which is called
Al-Hijr
or Al-Hateem. They raised its door two metres from the level ground to let in only the
people whom they desired. When the structure was fifteen yards high they erected the roof
which rested on six columns.
When the building of Al-Ka‘bah had finished, it assumed a
square form fifteen metres high. The side with the Black Stone and the one opposite were
ten metres long each. The Black Stone was 1.50 metre from the circumambulation level
ground. The two other sides were twelve metres long each. The door was two metres high
from the level ground. A building structure of 0.25 metre high and 0.30 metre wide on the
average surrounded Al-Ka‘bah. It was called Ash-Shadherwan, originally an integral
part of the Sacred Sanctuary, but Quraish left it out. [Bukhari
1/215; Fiqh As-Seerah p.62-63; Ibn Hisham 2/192-197]
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Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] was, in his youth, a combination of the best
social attributes. He was an exemplary man of weighty mind and faultless insight. He was
favoured with intelligence, originality of thought and accurate choice of the means
leading to accurate goals. His long silence helped favourably in his habit of meditation
and deep investigation into the truth. His vivid mind and pure nature were helpfully
instrumental in assimilating and comprehending ways of life and people, individual and
community-wise. He shunned superstitious practices but took an active part in constructive
and useful dealings, otherwise, he would have recourse to his self-consecrated solitude.
He kept himself aloof from drinking wine, eating meat slaughtered on stone altars, or
attending idolatrous festivals. He held the idols in extreme aversion and most abhorrence.
He could never tolerate someone swearing by Al-Lat and Al-‘Uzza. Allâh’s
providence, no doubts, detached him from all abominable or evil practices. Even when he
tried to obey his instinct to enjoy some life pleasures or follow some irrespectable
traditions, Allâh’s providence intervened to curb any lapse in this course. Ibn
Al-Atheer reported Muhammad [pbuh] as saying: "I have never tried to do what my
people do except for two times. Every time Allâh intervened and checked me from doing so
and I never did that again. Once I told my fellow-shepherd to take care of my sheep when
we were in the upper part of Makkah. I wanted to go down to Makkah and entertain myself as
the young men did. I went down to the first house of Makkah where I heard music. I entered
and asked: ‘What is this?’ Someone answered: ‘It is a wedding party.’
I sat down and listened but soon went into deep sleep. I was awakened by the heat of the
sun. I went back to my fellow-shepherd and told him of what had happened to me. I have
never tried it again."
Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of Jabir bin ‘Abdullah
that he said: "While the people were rebuilding Al-Ka‘bah, the Prophet Muhammad
[pbuh] went with ‘Abbas to carry some stones. ‘Abbas said: ‘Put your
loincloth round your neck to protect you from the stones.’ (As he did that) the
Prophet [pbuh] fell to the ground and his eyes turned skyward. Later on he woke up and
shouted: ‘My loincloth... my loincloth.’ He wrapped himself in his
loincloth." In another report: "His loins were never seen afterwards." [Bukhari Chapter: The Building of
Al-Ka'bah, 1/540]
The authorities agree in ascribing to the youth of
Muhammad [pbuh] modesty of deportment, virtuous behaviour and graceful manners. He proved
himself to be the ideal of manhood, and to possess a spotless character. He was the most
obliging to his compatriots, the most honest in his talk and the mildest in temper. He was
the most gentle-hearted, chaste, hospitable and always impressed people by his
piety-inspiring countenance. He was the most truthful and the best to keep covenant. His
fellow-citizens, by common consent, gave him the title of Al-‘Ameen
(trustworthy). The Mother of believers, Khadijah [R], once said: He unites uterine
relations, he helps the poor and the needy, he entertains the guests and endures hardships
in the path of truthfulness. [Bukhari 1/3]
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