The Birth in Makkah
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born in Makkah on a Monday morning on the 9th day of Rabi al-Awwal, the Year of the Elephant, corresponding to approximately 570 CE. His father Abdullah had already passed away before his birth, so he ﷺ came into the world as an orphan. His mother Aminah bint Wahb carried him and later recounted that during her pregnancy she saw a light that reached so far she could see the palaces of Busra in Syria. She received the message to name him Muhammad, the Praised One.
Abdul-Muttalib, his grandfather, was overjoyed at the birth of his grandson. He took him to the Ka’bah, thanked Allah ﷻ and gave him the name Muhammad. It was a name uncommon among the Arabs at that time, yet it would soon become the most widely carried name in the world.
With the Wet Nurse Halimah in the Desert
It was customary for the Arabs who lived in the cities to send their children for a time with Bedouin wet nurses so that their children could grow up free and healthy in the desert. This was beneficial for developing a strong body, and in addition they would acquire the pure Arabic language and be raised with the etiquette and codes of conduct of the Bedouins, qualities that were highly valued. This was especially so because the Bedouins were known for their pure speech and as people unaffected by the negative influences of urban areas.
Thus the Prophet ﷺ was entrusted to Halimah bint Abi Dhuaib ﵂ of the Sa’d bin Bakr tribe. Halimah ﵂ had come to Makkah that year with the other wet nurses in search of infants, but it was a year of drought and poverty. None of the women wanted to take the young Muhammad ﷺ because he was an orphan and there was no father to reward them generously. Halimah ﵂ was the last who had not found an infant and ultimately took him with her.
From the moment the Prophet ﷺ was with her, everything changed. Her thin she-camel that barely gave milk began to produce abundantly. Her donkey that had lagged behind the caravan now walked at the front. The barren land of the Sa’d bin Bakr tribe turned green and fertile. The blessings were so visible that the people around her took notice.
When the Prophet ﷺ was about two years old, Halimah ﵂ brought him back to his mother Aminah. But she pleaded with her to keep him longer, for the blessings she received were great. Aminah agreed.
It was during this period that the splitting of the chest took place. While the young Muhammad ﷺ was playing with the other children, two men in white garments (angels) came to him. They laid him down, opened his chest, removed his heart and cleansed it with Zamzam water. They removed a black clot and said: “This is the portion of Shaytan in you.” Then they placed the heart back and closed the chest. The other children ran in fright to Halimah ﵂ and cried: “Muhammad has been killed!” When they reached him, he was pale but unharmed. After this event, Halimah ﵂ brought him back to his mother in Makkah.
He ﷺ stayed with Halimah ﵂ until he was approximately four to five years old.
Early Losses
He ﷺ remained with his mother Aminah until she passed away when he was six years old. Aminah died at Al-Abwa, a place between Makkah and Madinah, on the return journey from visiting the family of her late husband in Yathrib. The young Muhammad ﷺ was with her when she died. The servant Umm Ayman ﵂ accompanied him back to Makkah. At six years of age, he ﷺ had lost both his father and his mother.
After that, his grandfather Abdul-Muttalib cared for him. Abdul-Muttalib treated him as the apple of his eye. He had a special cloth that was laid down by the Ka’bah upon which no one was allowed to sit except himself, but he let the young Muhammad ﷺ sit beside him. When Abdul-Muttalib passed away, the Prophet ﷺ was eight years old. He had now lost three of his loved ones: his father, his mother and his grandfather.
He ﷺ then came under the guardianship of his uncle Abu Talib, who would stand by his nephew for forty years, protecting and supporting him at all costs. Abu Talib was not the wealthiest of Abdullah’s brothers, but he was the most loving and devoted. He took the young Muhammad ﷺ everywhere and never left him alone.
The Encounter with Bahira
At the age of twelve, he ﷺ went with his uncle Abu Talib on a trading journey to Syria. Bahira was a Christian monk who lived in a monastery in Busra, a city in southern Syria. He was a scholar of the ancient Scriptures and awaited the signs of the coming prophet described in his books.
As the caravan of Abu Talib approached Busra, Bahira saw something he had never seen before: a cloud following the caravan and providing shade to one specific person. When the caravan stopped under a tree, the branches bent down over that same person. Bahira invited the entire caravan for a meal, something he had never done before.
He recognized the Prophet ﷺ immediately. He said: “This is the master of all people. Allah ﷻ will send him with a message and he will be a mercy to all creation.” Abu Talib asked: “How do you know that?” Bahira answered: “When you came from the direction of Aqaba, I saw that all stones and trees prostrated themselves, something they do not do except for a prophet. I also recognize him by the seal of prophethood beneath his shoulder in the shape of an apple. This is recorded in our books.”
He asked Abu Talib to send the Prophet ﷺ back to Makkah and not to take him along to Syria, out of fear that others would recognize him and wish to harm him. Abu Talib sent him back with his servants. Thus even the guardians of the earlier Revelations recognized the coming Prophet ﷺ, a confirmation of what the previous Scriptures had already promised.