The Prophet’s Birth and Nursing

Aminah was told, while carrying the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “You are carrying the leader of this community. When he is born and falls to the ground, say: ‘I place him under the protection of the One from the evil of every envier,’ then name him Muhammad.” When she was carrying him, she saw a light emerge from her by which she could see the palaces of Busra in the land of Syria. Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the Messenger’s father, did not live long after that; he died while the Messenger’s mother was still pregnant with him.

Ibn Ishaq said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was born on a Monday, on the twelfth night of Rabi‘ al-Awwal, in the Year of the Elephant.

[1] Before the Messenger, only three Arabs are known to have been named Muhammad. Their fathers had heard that Muhammad would soon be sent as a prophet in the Hijaz and each hoped that he would be born to him. The three were Muhammad ibn Sufyan ibn Mujashi‘, an ancestor of the poet al-Farazdaq; Muhammad ibn Uhayhah ibn al-Jallah of al-Aws; and Muhammad ibn Hamran ibn Rabi‘ah. Their fathers had visited a king learned in an earlier scripture. He told them of the coming Prophet and his name. Each man had left his pregnant wife behind and vowed that, if she bore a boy, he would name him Muhammad. All three did so. See Ibn Furak’s al-Fusul and al-Rawd al-Unuf. [2] One recension reads “Abu Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham told us…” and gives the chain through Ziyad al-Bakka’i from Muhammad ibn Ishaq; the edition follows another reading here. [3] Most scholars held that Abdullah died while the Messenger was still an infant, two months old or older. Another report says that Abdullah died among his maternal uncles, Banu al-Najjar, when the Messenger was twenty-eight months old. He is said to have been buried in the smaller house of al-Nabighah, on the left upon entering. See al-Tabari and al-Rawd al-Unuf. [4] Reports differ about the month of the birth. Rabi‘ al-Awwal is the well-known view; al-Zubayr said Ramadan, consistent with the view that his mother conceived him during the Days of Tashriq. The Elephant is said to have come to Makkah in Muharram, and the Messenger was born fifty days after its arrival. His birthplace is said to have been the ravine; another report places it in the house near al-Safa that later belonged to Muhammad ibn Yusuf, al-Hajjaj’s brother. The printed transcription’s note ends here.

Ibn Ishaq said: Al-Muttalib ibn Abdullah ibn Qays ibn Makhrama narrated to me from his father, from his grandfather Qays ibn Makhrama, who said: “The Messenger of Allah and I were born in the Year of the Elephant; we were peers in age.”

Ibn Ishaq said: Salih ibn Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf narrated to me from Yahya ibn Abdullah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa‘d ibn Zurarah al-Ansari. Yahya said: A man of my people, whoever he might be, narrated to me from Hassan ibn Thabit. Hassan said: “By Allah, I was a boy of seven or eight, able to remember everything I heard, when I heard a Jewish man calling at the top of his voice from a fortress in Yathrib: ‘O community of Jews!’ When they gathered around him, they said, ‘Woe to you! What is the matter?’ He said, ‘Tonight the star of Ahmad, under which he was born, has risen.’” Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: I asked Sa‘id ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Hassan ibn Thabit, “How old was Hassan ibn Thabit when the Messenger of Allah arrived in Medina?” He replied, “He was sixty, while the Messenger arrived at the age of fifty-three.” Hassan had therefore been seven when he heard the announcement.

Ibn Ishaq said: When his mother gave birth to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, she sent word to his grandfather. The sentence continues on printed page 160.

[1] The word lidan means two people who are peers in age; its singular is lidah. The feminine ending replaces an initial letter omitted from the word, which is related to birth. Other copies read “two peers”; lexicons do not record the form without the final ta. [2] Salih ibn Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf ibn Imran al-Zuhri al-Madani narrated from his father, Anas, Mahmud ibn Labid, al-A‘raj, and others. His son Salim, al-Zuhri, Yunus ibn Ya‘qub al-Majishun, and others narrated from him. He died in Medina during the caliphate of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. See biographical dictionaries. [3] A young boy described as yafa‘ah is strong and tall for his age; the word is derived from high ground. [4] An atamah is a fortress. [5] This wording is an addition found in recension A.

The message said: “A boy has been born to you. Come and see him.” He went to him and looked at him. She told him what she had seen while carrying the child, what had been said to her about him, and what she had been instructed to name him. The source cites al-Rawd al-Unuf, Ibn Sa‘d’s al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, and al-Tabari.

It is related that Abd al-Muttalib took him into the Ka‘bah, stood there praying to Allah and thanking Him for what He had granted him, then brought him out to his mother and returned him to her. He sought nursing infants for the Messenger of Allah. Ibn Hisham comments that the word used is al-maradi‘, “nursing women.” In the account of Moses, Allah Most High says: “We had forbidden him to be suckled by wet nurses” (Qur’an 28:12).

Ibn Ishaq said: He arranged for a woman of Banu Sa‘d ibn Bakr to nurse him. She was called Halimah, daughter of Abu Dhu’ayb. Abu Dhu’ayb was Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Shajnah ibn Jabir ibn Rizam ibn Nasirah ibn Fusayyah ibn Nasr ibn Sa‘d ibn Bakr ibn Hawazin ibn Mansur ibn ‘Ikrimah ibn Khasafah ibn Qays ibn ‘Aylan.

A report gives these verses as words of protection spoken by Abd al-Muttalib: “Praise belongs to Allah who granted me this boy, pure in limb; / he has already surpassed the boys in the cradle; / I place him under the protection of the House with its pillars.” See al-Rawd al-Unuf. [2] Al-maradi‘ is generally the plural of murdi‘, a nursing woman. Ibn Ishaq’s wording can be understood in either of two ways: with an omitted noun, meaning “women who have nursing infants,” or with “nursing infants” used literally, since finding a child to nurse also means finding a nursing woman for him. See al-Rawd al-Unuf. [3] Recension A reads “she sought a wet nurse for my child”; other copies read “he sought a woman to nurse him.” [4] The manuscripts read “Qusayyah” with qaf, which the editors identify as a scribal error. See al-Rawd al-Unuf, Sharh al-Sirah, and al-Tabaqat. [5] At this point, and later in the genealogy of al-Harith, al-Tabari reads “Qusayyah ibn Sa‘d,” omitting “Nasr.”

The name of the man who nursed the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was al-Harith ibn Abd al-‘Uzza ibn Rifa‘ah ibn Mallan ibn Nasirah ibn Fusayyah ibn Nasr ibn Sa‘d ibn Bakr ibn Hawazin. Ibn Hisham said that he is also called Hilal ibn Nasirah. Ibn Ishaq said that the Messenger’s foster siblings were Abdullah ibn al-Harith, Unaysah bint al-Harith, and Hudhafah bint al-Harith, known as al-Shayma’. This name became so well known that she was known among her people by it alone. They were the children of Halimah bint Abi Dhu’ayb and her husband, Abdullah ibn al-Harith. It is related that al-Shayma’ used to care for him alongside her mother when he was with them.

It is related that al-Harith came to the Messenger in Makkah after the Qur’an had begun to be revealed. Quraysh said to him, “Can you not hear, O Harith, what your son says?” He asked, “What does he say?” They replied, “He claims that Allah will raise people after death and that there are two abodes: He will punish those who disobey Him and honor those who obey Him. He has divided our affairs and split our community.” Al-Harith went to him and said, “My son, what is this? Your people complain about you and claim that you say people will be raised after death and then go to Paradise or Hell.” The Messenger of Allah replied, “I do say that. If that Day comes while you are alive, father, I will take you by the hand and make clear to you what you say today.” Al-Harith later accepted Islam and became a good Muslim. After accepting Islam, he used to say, “If my son takes me by the hand and shows me what he promised, he will not let me go, Allah willing, until he brings me into Paradise.” The source refers readers to al-Rawd al-Unuf, Sharh al-Mawahib, and al-Isabah.

[1] One manuscript has Fusayyah here; other copies read Qusayyah with qaf, which the editors consider a corruption. [2] The account of al-Harith’s visit and later conversion is an editorially cited report, not part of the preceding genealogy. [3] Al-Isabah gives the name Hudhafah as Khudhamah, with kh; al-Suhayli, Abu Dharr, and Ibn Hajar discuss another reading. Al-Tabari and al-Tabaqat have Juthamah, with jim and an unpointed dhal; Ibn Sa‘d prefers that form. [4] Another report gives her name as al-Shayma’ without the initial ya. [5] Al-Tabari reads “with her mother”; the manuscripts read “his mother.” [6] The digitized editorial note begins a report that Thuwaybah nursed him before Halimah, along with details about her son and other children she nursed, but the available text breaks off mid-sentence at the page boundary. Its missing continuation is not reconstructed.

Ibn Ishaq said: Jahm ibn Abi Jahm, the freedman of al-Harith ibn Hatib al-Jumahi, narrated to me from Abdullah ibn Ja‘far ibn Abi Talib—or from someone who narrated from him—that Halimah bint Abi Dhu’ayb al-Sa‘diyyah, the Messenger’s nursing mother, used to relate this. She said that she had left her homeland with her husband and a young son whom she was nursing, among women of Banu Sa‘d ibn Bakr seeking nursing infants. It was a year of severe drought that had left them nothing. She rode a pale she-ass, and they had an old she-camel that yielded not a drop. Their infant’s hunger kept them awake through the night; Halimah had no milk to satisfy him, and the camel had none to feed him. They hoped for rain and relief. She set out on that same she-ass and held up the caravan so long that its weakness and emaciation troubled the others. They continued until they reached Makkah in search of nursing infants. The account breaks at the printed page boundary while saying that the Messenger of Allah was offered to the women.

[1] Her young son is said to have been named Abdullah ibn al-Harith. See Sharh al-Mawahib, al-Ma‘arif, and al-Tabaqat. [2] Al-Tabari reads “in a drought year”; recension A reads “in a year …”; other copies read “it was a year …”. [3] Qamra’ describes a grayish-white color tending toward green. [4] A sharifah is an old she-camel. [5] The verb here means that it scarcely yielded or seeped a drop. [6] Ibn Hisham’s wording is fuller in meaning than a version that mentions only morning food and omits the evening meal. Another reading means “nothing that could satisfy him until he raised his head and stopped nursing.” [7] Recension A reads “I kept the caravan waiting.” Abu Dharr explains that she prolonged the journey for the others because they had to move slowly for her. Other copies read a form meaning that the mounts tired and fell behind the group. [8] ‘Ajaf means emaciation. [9] The editors list several reasons Qurayshi and other Arab notables sent their children to wet nurses: among them, freeing women to attend to their husbands. They cite ‘Ammar ibn Yasir addressing Umm Salamah, his foster sister, when he took Zaynab bint Abi Salamah from her lap: “Leave this ugly, mottled child, with whom you have troubled the Messenger of Allah.”

Halimah continued: “Every woman among us to whom the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was offered declined him when she was told that he was an orphan. We hoped for generous payment from the child’s father, and we would say, ‘An orphan! What can his mother and grandfather do for us?’ So we were reluctant to take him. Every woman who came with me had taken a nursing infant except me. When we were ready to depart, I said to my husband, ‘By Allah, I dislike returning among my companions without taking an infant. I will go to that orphan and take him.’ He said, ‘You may do so; perhaps Allah will place blessing for us in him.’ I went to him and took him; nothing moved me to take him except that I had found no one else.”

“When I returned with him to my place and laid him in my lap, both my breasts flowed with as much milk as he wished. He drank until satisfied, and his foster brother drank with him until satisfied. They then slept, though before that we could not sleep because our child was crying. My husband went to our old she-camel and found her full of milk. He milked enough for us to drink, and we both drank until we were satisfied and full. We spent an excellent night. In the morning my husband said, ‘By Allah, Halimah, you have taken a blessed soul.’ I said, ‘By Allah, I hope so.’ Then we set out. I rode my she-ass with him and carried him with me. By Allah, she outpaced the caravan so that the others could not keep up with her.”

An unnumbered note in the source says that children were sent to live among the Bedouins so they might grow up more eloquent, stronger in body, and less likely to lose the customary Arab disposition. It quotes the saying attributed to ‘Umar: “Adopt the ways of Ma‘add, live with strength, and avoid softness.” It also relates that Abu Bakr once said he had never seen anyone more eloquent than the Messenger. He replied, “What should prevent me? I am Qurayshi, and I was nursed among Banu Sa‘d.” The note adds that such considerations, among others, led people to send infants to Bedouin wet nurses. It cites al-Rawd al-Unuf and Sharh al-Mawahib.

[1] Recension A reads “he said”; other copies have the feminine “she said,” perhaps using a feminine verb in reference to the person. [2] A report says that the Messenger would accept only one breast and refuse the other, as though he sensed that another child shared its milk. See al-Rawd al-Unuf. [3] Most copies and al-Tabari read “they were satisfied”; al-Rawd al-Unuf has “they were satisfied” in a different grammatical form. [4] The manuscripts read “learn”; the intended meaning is “know.” Al-Tabari reads “Do you know…?” [5] This is an addition from recension A. [6] Recension A reads “upon it.” Another separate, unnumbered note says that Thuwaybah was a bondwoman of Abu Lahab and that the Messenger was also nursed by others besides these two women; it cites al-Tabari, al-Rawd al-Unuf, al-Isti‘ab, and Sharh al-Mawahib. This note is retained separately from Halimah’s report.

Halimah said: “My companions kept saying to me, ‘Daughter of Abu Dhu’ayb, wait for us! Is that not the same she-ass you set out on?’ I said, ‘Yes, by Allah, it is the very same one.’ They said, ‘By Allah, something has happened to her.’ When we reached our homes in Banu Sa‘d, I knew of no land of Allah more barren than ours. Yet when my sheep returned in the evening after we had brought him with us, they were full and carrying milk. We milked and drank, while no one else could obtain even a drop of milk from an udder. The people of our settlement told their shepherds, ‘Woe to you! Graze where the shepherd of Abu Dhu’ayb’s daughter grazes.’ Their sheep returned hungry and yielded not a drop, while mine returned full and carrying milk.”

“We continued to see increase and good from Allah until two years had passed and I weaned him. He grew unlike other boys; before he had completed two years, he was already a sturdy child. I brought him to his mother, though we were eager for him to remain with us because of the blessing we had seen in him. I said to her, ‘If only you would leave my little boy with me until he grows stronger. I fear for him the unhealthy conditions of Makkah.’ We continued speaking with her until she sent him back with us. A few months after we returned with him, he was with a foster brother among our small livestock behind our homes. His brother came running to us and his father, saying, ‘That Qurayshi brother of mine has been taken by two men dressed in white. They laid him down and split open his abdomen, and they are stirring it about.’”

[1] The verb means “wait” or “hold back”; it is used when someone is asked to remain and wait for another. [2] Most copies read “increase and good”; recension A has “increase and blessing,” and al-Tabari has “increase in good.” [3] Al-Tabari reads “two years.” [4] Jafr describes a child who has become sturdy and strong. [5] The word wabā’ here is written with hamza and shortened; al-wabā’ with a long vowel can mean plague. [6] Bahm means young sheep or goats; its singular is bahmah. [7] He ran quickly. [8] The verb describes stirring milk, blood, or another liquid by beating it together; the implement is called a whip or mixer in this usage.

Halimah said: “His father and I went out to him and found him standing, his face changed. I embraced him, and his father embraced him. We asked, ‘What is wrong, my son?’ He said, ‘Two men dressed in white came to me. They laid me down, split open my abdomen, and searched inside it for something; I do not know what it was.’ We brought him back to our tent.” His father then said to Halimah, “Halimah, I fear that this boy has been harmed. Take him back to his family before it becomes apparent.” They carried him to his mother. She asked, “Why have you brought him back, nurse, when you were so eager for him to stay with you?” Halimah replied, “My boy has fulfilled what was due from me, and I feared that events might befall him, so I have returned him to you as you wished.” Aminah said, “This is not the whole story. Tell me truthfully what happened.” She persisted until Halimah told her. Aminah asked, “Did you fear that Satan had touched him?” Halimah said, “Yes.” Aminah replied, “No, by Allah; Satan has no way to reach him. My son has a great destiny. Shall I tell you about him?” Halimah said, “Please do.” Aminah said, “While I was carrying him, I saw a light emerge from me that illuminated the palaces of Busra in Syria. By Allah, I have never experienced a pregnancy lighter or easier than it. When I gave birth to him, he came out with his hands on the ground and his head raised toward the sky. Leave him with me, and go in safety.”

[1] His face was pale or changed in color; the verb is used of a face whose color has altered. [2] These words are an addition found in al-Tabari. [3] A za’ir is a woman who compassionately nurses a child who is not her own; the term can be used of a man or a woman and is broader than “wet nurse.” [4] Recension A and al-Tabari read “I said: Yes, my boy has fulfilled…”; other copies read differently. [5] Al-Tabari and the manuscripts read “to you.” [6] Recension A and al-Tabari read “a light emerged from me and illuminated for me the palaces…”; other copies read “a light emerged from him and illuminated for me the palaces…” [7] Busra is a well-known town in the Hauran district of Syria, historically associated with Damascus. See Mu‘jam al-Buldan.

Ibn Ishaq said: Thawr ibn Yazid narrated to me from a learned man—whom I believe to have been Khalid ibn Ma‘dan al-Kila‘i—that a group of the Messenger of Allah’s Companions said to him, “Messenger of Allah, tell us about yourself.” He replied, “Yes. I am the supplication of my father Abraham and the glad tidings of my brother Jesus. When my mother carried me, she saw a light emerge from her that illuminated for her the palaces of Syria. I was nursed among Banu Sa‘d ibn Bakr. While I was with a foster brother behind our homes, tending our small livestock, two men dressed in white came to me carrying a golden basin filled with snow. They took me and split open my abdomen. They brought out my heart and opened it, then removed a black clot from it and cast it away. They washed my heart and abdomen with that snow until they had purified them. One of them said to his companion, ‘Weigh him against ten of his community.’ He weighed me against them, and I outweighed them. Then he said, ‘Weigh him against a hundred of his community.’ He weighed me against them, and I outweighed them. Then he said, ‘Weigh him against a thousand of his community.’ He weighed me against them, and I outweighed them. Then he said, ‘Leave him.’”

[1] Thawr ibn Yazid al-Kila‘i, also called al-Rahabi, Abu Khalid al-Himsi, was a respected hadith scholar. He narrated from Khalid, Habib ibn ‘Ubayd, Salih ibn Yahya, and others; among those who narrated from him were Ibn al-Mubarak and Yahya al-Qattan. He died in either 153 or 155 AH, aged a little over sixty. [2] Khalid ibn Ma‘dan ibn Abi Karib al-Kila‘i, Abu Abdullah al-Shami al-Himsi, narrated from Thawban, Ibn ‘Amr, Ibn ‘Umar, and others. Reports give his death as 103, 104, or 108 AH. [3] Most manuscripts and al-Tabari read “the supplication of my father Abraham”; recension A omits “my father.” [4] “My brother” is an addition from al-Tabari. [5] The editor interprets the light as foreshadowing the lands Allah later opened through the Messenger, whose light illuminated them during the Umayyad caliphate. A report says that Khalid ibn Sa‘id ibn al-‘As saw a light emerging from Zamzam shortly before the beginning of the mission, reaching the palm trees of Yathrib. He told his brother ‘Amr, who said that it came from the well dug by Abd al-Muttalib; this reportedly prompted him to hasten to Islam. See al-Rawd al-Unuf. [6] Recension A reads “He said, then he said…”; other copies differ.

The report continues: “By Allah, had you weighed him against his whole community, he would have outweighed them.” Al-Tabari adds: “Then they pressed me to their chests and kissed my head and the space between my eyes. They said, ‘Beloved one, do not be afraid. If you knew the good intended for you, your eyes would be delighted.’”

Ibn Ishaq said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say, “There is no prophet except that he tended sheep.” He was asked, “And you, Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “And I.”

Ibn Ishaq said: The Messenger of Allah used to tell his Companions, “I am the most eloquent of you. I am Qurayshi, and I was nursed among Banu Sa‘d ibn Bakr.”

Ibn Ishaq said: People relate—and Allah knows best—that when his foster mother of Banu Sa‘d brought him to Makkah and was taking him to his family, she lost him among the people. She searched for him but could not find him. She went to Abd al-Muttalib and said, “I brought Muhammad tonight, but when I reached the upper part of Makkah I lost him. By Allah, I do not know where he is.” Abd al-Muttalib stood at the Ka‘bah, praying that Allah return him. It is related that Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad and another Qurayshi man found him and brought him to Abd al-Muttalib, saying, “This is your son; we found him in the upper part of Makkah.” Abd al-Muttalib carried him on his shoulders while circumambulating the Ka‘bah, seeking Allah’s protection for him and praying for him, then sent him to his mother Aminah.

Ibn Ishaq said: A learned informant narrated to me that one reason Halimah’s people urged her to return him to his mother, in addition to what she had told Aminah, was that a group of Christian Abyssinians saw him with her after he had been weaned. They examined him and asked her about him. Then they said, “We will take this boy to our king and our country. This boy will have a great destiny, and we know what his matter is.” The informant said that Halimah barely managed to escape from them with him.

[1] After this, al-Tabari adds: “Then they drew me to their chests and kissed my head and the space between my eyes. They said, ‘Beloved one, do not be afraid. If you knew what good is intended for you, your eyes would be delighted.’” [2] It is well known that the Messenger tended sheep among Banu Sa‘d with his foster brother and also tended sheep in Makkah for the people of Makkah in exchange for a few qirats. See al-Rawd al-Unuf.