The birth of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam.
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.
The lineage of the Prophet Muhammad.
The lineage of Prophet Muhammad has three versions: The first was authenticated by biographers and genealogists and states that Prophet Muhammad's genealogy has been traced to Adnaan. The second is subject to controversies and doubt. It traces his lineage beyond Adnaan back to prophet Ibraaheem (Abraham) . The third version, which definitely has some inaccuracies, traces his lineage beyond Ibraaheem back to Aadam (Adam) .
The first part: Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib (who was called Shaybah) Ibn Haashim, (named 'Amr) Ibn 'Abd Munaf (called Al-Mugheera) Ibn Qusayy (also called Zayd) Ibn Kilaab Ibn Murrah Ibn Ka'b Ibn Lu'ayy Ibn Ghaalib Ibn Fahr (who was called Quraysh and whose tribe was called after him) Ibn Maalik Ibn An-Nadr (so called Qays) Ibn Kinaanah Ibn Khuzaymah Ibn Mudrikah (who was called 'Amir) Ibn Elias Ibn Mudar Ibn Nizar Ibn Ma'ad Ibn Adnaan.
The second part: Adnaan Ibn Add Ibn Humaisi' Ibn Salaman Ibn ‘Aws Ibn Buz Ibn Qamwal Ibn Obai Ibn 'Awwam Ibn Nashid Ibn Haza Ibn Bildas Ibn Yadlaf Ibn Tabikh Ibn Jahim Ibn Nahish Ibn Makhi Ibn Aid Ibn 'Abqar Ibn 'Ubaid Ibn Ad-Da'a Ibn Hamdan Ibn Sanbir Ibn Yathrabi Ibn Yahzin Ibn Yalhan Ibn Ar'awi Ibn Aid Ibn Deshan Ibn Aisar Ibn Afnad Ibn Aiham Ibn Muksar Ibn Nahith Ibn Zarih Ibn Sami Ibn Mazzi Ibn 'Awda Ibn Aram Ibn Qaidar Ibn Ismaa’eel (Ishmael) son of Ibraaheem (Abraham), may Allaah exalt their mention.
The third part: beyond Ibraaheem Ibn Tarih (Azar) Ibn Nahur Ibn Saru' Ibn Ra'u Ibn Falikh Ibn Abir Ibn Shalikh Ibn Arfakhshad Ibn Sam Ibn Nooh (Noah) Ibn Lamik Ibn Mutwashlack Ibn Akhnukh [Prophet Idrees (Enoch)] Ibn Yarid Ibn Mahla'il Ibn QaIbn Anusha Ibn Shith Ibn Aadam .
The prophetic family:
The family of Prophet Muhammad is called the Hashimite family after his grandfather Haashim Ibn 'Abd Munaf. Let us now speak a little about Haashim and his descendants:
1- Haashim: He was the one responsible for giving food and water to the pilgrims. This had been his charge when the sons of 'Abd Munaf and those of 'Abd Ad-Dar compromised on dividing the charges between them. Haashim was wealthy and honest. He was the first to offer the pilgrims sopped bread in broth. His first name was 'Amr but he was called Haashim because he had been in the practice of crumbling bread (for the pilgrims).
He was also the first man who started Quraysh's two journeys of summer and winter. It was reported that he went to Syria as a merchant. In Al-Madeenah, he married Salmah, the daughter of 'Amr from Bani 'Adi Ibn An-Najjaar. He spent some time with her in Al-Madeenah then he left for Syria again while she was pregnant. He died in Ghazza in Palestine in 497 CE. Later, his wife gave birth to 'Abdul-Muttalib and named him Shaybah because of the white hair on his head, and brought him up in her father's house in Al-Madeenah. None of his family in Makkah learned of his birth. Haashim had four sons: Asad, Abu Saifi, Nadla and 'Abdul-Muttalib, and five daughters Ash-Shifa, Khalida, Da'ifa, Ruqyah and Jannah.
2- 'Abdul-Muttalib: After the death of Haashim, the charge of the pilgrims' food and water went to his brother, Al-Muttalib Ibn 'Abd Munaf (who was honest, generous and trustworthy). When 'Abdul-Muttalib reached the age of boyhood, his uncle Al-Muttalib heard of him and went to Al-Madeenah to fetch him. When he saw him, tears filled his eyes and rolled down his cheeks, he embraced him and took him on his camel. The boy, however, abstained from going with him to Makkah until he took his mother's consent. Al-Muttalib asked her to send the boy with him to Makkah, but she refused. He managed to convince her saying: "Your son is going to Makkah to restore his father's authority, and to live in the vicinity of the Sacred House."
There in Makkah, people wondered at seeing ‘Abdul-Muttalib, and they considered him the slave of Al-Muttalib. Al-Muttalib said: "He is my nephew, the son of my brother Haashim." The boy was brought up in Al-Muttalib's house, but later on Al-Muttalib died in Bardman in Yemen, so 'Abdul-Muttalib took over and managed to maintain his people's prestige and exceeded his grandfather in his honorable behavior, which earned him deep love and high esteem from the people of Makkah.
3- When Al-Muttalib died, Nawfal usurped 'Abdul-Muttalib’s charges, so the latter asked for help from the Quraysh, but they abstained from extending any sort of support to either of them. Consequently, he wrote to his uncles of Bani An-Najjaar (his mother's brothers) to come to his aid. His uncle, Abu Sa’d Ibn 'Adyy (his mother's brother) marched to Makkah at the head of eighty horsemen and camped in Abtah in Makkah. 'Abdul-Muttalib received the men and invited them to go to his house but Abu Sa’d said: "Not before I meet Nawfal." He found Nawfal sitting with some old men of Quraysh in the shade of Al-Ka'bah. Abu Sa’d drew his sword and said: "I swear by Allaah that if you don't restore to my nephew what you have taken, I will kill you with this sword." Nawfal was thus forced to give up what he had usurped, and the notables of Quraysh were made to witness to his words.
Abu Sa’d then went to 'Abdul-Muttalib's house where he stayed for three nights, made 'Umrah (minor pilgrimage) and left back for Al-Madeenah. Later on, Nawfal entered into alliance with Bani 'Abd Shams Ibn 'Abd Munaf against Bani Haashim. When Khuza'a, a tribe, saw Bani An-Najjaar's support to 'Abdul-Muttalib they said: "He is our son as he is yours. We have more reasons to support him than you." 'Abd Munaf's mother was one of them. They went into An-Nadwa House (a place they used to gather in to discuss serious matters) and entered into alliance with Bani Haashim against Bani 'Abd Shams and Nawfal. It was an alliance that was later to constitute the main reason for the conquest of Makkah. 'Abdul-Muttalib witnessed two important events in his lifetime, namely digging the Zamzam well and the Elephant raid.
Digging the Well of Zamzam
The well of Zamzam originated for the sake of Ismaa’eel when he and his mother Haajar (Hagar) were overtaken by thirst, Allaah the Almighty caused a stream of water to flow in the empty desert. Haajar contained the flowing water by building a mound around it and it turned into a well. At the time of leaving Makkah, the Jurhum tribe covered it with dust and so, for a long time it could not be traced. When the task of giving water to the pilgrims was entrusted to ‘Abdul-Muttalib, he started searching for it along with his elder son Haarith, but their efforts proved fruitless.
One day, ‘Abdul-Muttalib saw the location of the well of Zamzam in his dream and started digging for it. There were two idols, ‘Isaf and Naa’ilah kept at that spot. The Quraysh resented this disturbance and became hostile and ready to fight. Although they were only two, father and son, they prevailed over them and continued digging the well. Realizing his isolation, ‘Abdul-Muttalib invoked Allaah the Almighty that in case He gave him ten sons, he would sacrifice one of his sons in the name of God. After a short period, the well appeared and he was also blessed with ten sons.
The Elephant Raid
The King of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) had captured Yemen for a very short period. During the lifetime of ‘Abdul-Muttalib, Yemen was under the rule of the King of Abyssinia. In those days Abrahah Ashram was the governor of Yemen on behalf of the king. He built a temple in Yemen and persuaded the Arabs to perform Hajj at the temple of Yemen instead of the Ka'bah. However, he was not successful in his endeavor. In order to put him to disgrace, an Arab defecated in the temple to desecrate it. Abrahah grew so furious that he invaded Makkah with the intention of destroying the House of Allaah -- the Ka'bah. He used elephants in his attack, so the people of Makkah called them the People of the Elephant and the year came to be known as the Year of the Elephant.
When the Quraysh came to know of the attack, they were filled with fear, as they were no match for such a large and strong army. They jointly requested their chief, ‘Abdul-Muttalib to go to Abrahah and explore a way to avert the battle. When ‘Abdul-Muttalib presented himself to Abrahah, he was greatly impressed and held him in high esteem. ‘Abdul-Muttalib stated that Abrahah's army had captured 200 camels, which belonged to him. Thereupon Abrahah remarked that he took him to be a wise person but he obviously was mistaken. He (‘Abdul-Muttalib) was aware that Abrahah had come with the sole purpose of demolishing the House of Allaah — the Ka'bah. However, intentionally ignoring the topic, he only spoke of his camels instead of saving the Ka'bah.
‘Abdul-Muttalib said: " I am merely the owner of the camels, but this House also has an Owner and He will save it."
The answer enraged Abrahah and he burst out in anger saying he would see if the Lord of the House would save it. His army was destroyed and left like an empty field from which all the corn has been eaten up, and only the straw with stalks and stubble was left. The complete rout of Abrahah's forces after ‘Abdul Muttalib’s daring reply was a very significant event for Arabia, which put great fear of Allaah in their hearts.
After that fateful event, the rule of Yemen went out of the hands of the Abyssinian king and Sayf Ibn Dhi Yazin captured the country. ‘Abdul-Muttalib took some nobles of Quraysh and went to congratulate Sayf on his victory. Sayf Ibn Dhi Yazin gave ‘Abdul-Muttalib glad tidings that the last Prophet would be raised from his (‘Abdul-Muttalib's) offspring. This prophecy found wide currency and fame. All the members of the delegation thought that the last Prophet would be raised from their progeny. Each of them contacted the soothsayers and monks hoping for good news but returned disappointed.
We have mentioned that ‘Abdul-Muttalib invoked Allaah the Almighty that in case he was granted ten sons, he would sacrifice one of them in the name of God. ‘Abdul-Muttalib had ten sons, Al-Haarith, Az-Zubayr, Abu Talib, 'Abdullaah, Hamzah, Abu Lahab, Ghidaq, Maqwam, Safar and Al-'Abbaas. He also had six daughters, who were Umm Al-Hakim, Barrah, 'Atikah, Safiya, Arwa and Omayma.
'Abdullaah was the father of Prophet Muhammad . His mother was Fatimah, daughter of 'Amr Ibn 'A'idh Ibn 'Imran Ibn Makhzum Ibn Yaqdha Ibn Murrah. 'Abdullaah was the most handsome of ‘Abdul-Muttalib's sons, the chastest and the most loved. He was also the son whom the divination arrows pointed at, to be slaughtered as a sacrifice to Al-Ka'bah. When ‘Abdul-Muttalib had ten sons and they reached maturity, he revealed to them his secret vow which they silently and obediently accepted. Their names were written on divination arrows and given to the guardian of their most beloved goddess, Hubal.
The arrows were shuffled and drawn. An arrow showed that it was 'Abdullaah to be sacrificed. ‘Abdul-Muttalib then took the boy to Al-Ka'bah with a razor to slaughter the boy. Quraysh, his uncles from Makhzoom tribe and his brother Abu Talib, however, tried to dissuade him from consummating his purpose. After much discussion they turned to Saja', a famous soothsayer. She pointed out that blood money for their (‘Abdul-Muttalib's) clan was ten camels. Thus, they should put ‘Abdullaah on one side and ten camels on the other and then draw the lots.
In case the camels were chosen they would be slaughtered, but if ‘Abdullaah was chosen they should add ten more camels and draw again. They should keep adding to the number of the camels until the camels were drawn. This exercise went on until the number of camels reached one hundred. ‘Abdul-Muttalib drew the lots twice more for his personal satisfaction, but each time it fill upon the camels. Hence, 100 camels were slaughtered and ‘Abdullaah was saved. Since that time, the blood money of a person who was killed was fixed at one hundred camels.
‘Abdul-Muttalib chose Aaminah, daughter of Wahab Ibn 'Abd Munaaf Ibn Zahrah Ibn Kilaab, as a wife for his son, 'Abdullaah. In the light of this ancestral lineage, she stood eminent in respect of nobility of position and descent. Her father was the chief of Bani Zahrah, to whom great honor was attributed. They were married in Makkah, and soon after 'Abdullaah was sent by his father to buy dates in Madeenah where he died. According to another version, 'Abdullaah went to Syria on a trade journey and died in Al-Madeenah on his way back. He was buried in the house of An-Nabigha Al-Ju'di. He was twenty-five years old when he died. Most historians state that his death was two months before the birth of Prophet Muhammad . Some others said that his death was two months after the Prophet's birth. When Aaminah was informed of her husband's death, she composed a heart-rending elegy in his memory.
'Abdullaah left very little wealth -- five camels, a small number of goats, a woman servant called Barakah Umm Ayman, who would later serve as the Prophet's nursemaid.
والله تعالى اعلم
