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Posted by msk2000 on 11/14/07 06:17
She thought to herself, 'How can I possibly feed another baby when I
haven't got enough milk even for my own son?'
At last they reached Mecca. All the other women of the tribe to which
Halimah belonged, the Bani Sa'd, found a child to take back with them,
but not Halimah. The only baby left was Muhammad (pbuh). Usually the
father paid the wet-nurse but Mohammed's father was dead. So no one
wanted to take him, even though he was from one of the noblest
families of Quraysh. Halimah did not want to take him either, but she
did not want to be the only woman to go back to her tribe without a
baby to bring up. She asked her husband whether she should take
Muhammad (pbuh) or not. He advised her to do so, adding, 'Perhaps
Allah will bless us because of him.' They started on the return
journey and as soon as Halimah began to feed Muhammad (pbuh) her milk
suddenly increased and she had enough for him as well as her baby son.
When they were back home, everything began to change.
The land became green
and the date palms , one of their main sources of food, gave lots of
fruit. Even the sheep and their old she-camel began to give plenty of
milk.
Halimah and her husband knew that this good fortune had come because
they had the new baby, Muhammad (pbuh), whom they had come to love as
if he were their own son.
When Muhammad (pbuh) was two years old, Halimah took him back to his
mother. She pleaded with Aminah, however, to let her keep him for a
little longer, and to her great joy the mother agreed. During his time
with Halimah's family in the desert, Muhammad (pbuh) played with her
children and together they would take the sheep out to graze. At other
times, however, Halimah would often find him sitting alone. It is said
that on one occasion, two angels came to Muhammad (pbuh) and washed
his heart with snow. In this way Allah made his heart pure for He
intended Muhammad (pbuh) to be greater than any man ever born and to
become the Seal of the Prophets.
In the Name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful
"Did We not expand thy breast for thee And eased thee of thy burden
Which weighed down thy back; And exalted thy fame? So truly with
hardship comes ease, Truly with hardship comes ease. So when thou art
relieved, still toil And strive to please thy Lord. (Koran xciv.1-8)
When Halimah finally took Muhammad (pbuh) back to Aminah, he was a
healthy, strong boy. Later he would look back with joy on the time he
had spent with Halimah, and he always thought of himself as one of the
Bani Sa'd.
The Orphan's Childhood
Muhammad (pbuh) returned to live with his mother in Mecca when he was
about three years old. Three years later Aminah decided to take her
son to visit his uncles in Yathrib. She told her maid, Barakah, to
prepare everything they would need for the long journey, and then they
joined one of the caravans going there. They stayed in Yathrib a month
and Muhammad (pbuh) enjoyed the visit with his cousins. The climate
there was very pleasant and he learned to swim and to fly a kite.
On their way back to Mecca, however, Aminah became ill and died. She
was buried in the village at al-Abwa not far from Yathrib. Muhammad
(pbuh) returned sadly to Mecca with his mother's maid He was now six
years old and had lost both his father and mother. He was then adopted
by his grandfather, 'Abd al-Muttalib, who loved him dearly and kept
him by his side at all times. It was the custom of 'Abd al-Muttalib to
sit on a blanket near the Ka'bah. There he was always surrounded by
people who had come to speak to him. No one was allowed to sit on the
blanket with him, however, except his grandson Muhammad (pbuh), which
shows how close they were to each other. Many times 'Abd al-Muttalib
was heard to say: 'This boy will be very important one day.'
Two years later 'Abd al-Muttalib became ill and Muhammad (pbuh) stayed
by him constantly. 'Abd al-Muttalib told his son, Abu Talib, to adopt
Muhammad (pbuh) after his death, which he did. Abu Talib had many
children of his own,
but Muhammad (pbuh) immediately became part of his family and the
favorite child. The time came for Quraysh to prepare a caravan to go
to Syria. Abu Talib was going with them and he took Muhammad (pbuh)
along. It was Mohammed's first journey to the north. After days of
travel, the caravan arrived at a place near Syria where the Romans
used to come to trade with the Arabs. Near this marketplace lived a
monk called Bahira'. His cell had been used by generations of monks
before him and contained ancient manuscripts.
Bahira' saw the caravan in the distance and was amazed to see that
over it was a large white cloud. It was the only cloud in a clear blue
sky and it appeared to be shading one of the travelers. The monk was
even more surprised to see that the cloud seemed to follow the caravan
but disappeared when the person it was shading sat down under a tree.
Bahira' knew from the scriptures that a prophet was expected to come
after Jesus and it had been his wish to see this prophet before he
died.
Realizing that what he had just seen was a miracle, he began to think
that his wish might, after all, come true.
The monk sent an invitation to the Meccans to come and eat with him.
The Arabs were surprised because they often passed by and Bahira' had
never invited them before. When the group was all together for the
meal, the monk said, 'Is this everyone?' 'No', someone said, 'a boy
was left watching the camels.' Bahira' insisted that the boy should
join them. The boy was Muhammad (pbuh). When he arrived Bahira' said
nothing, but watched him all through the meal. He noticed many things
about his appearance which fitted the description in the old
manuscripts. Later on he took him aside and asked Muhammad (pbuh) many
questions. He soon found out how he felt about the idols in the
Ka'bah. When Bahira tried to make him swear by them, as the Arabs used
to do, Muhammad (pbuh) said, 'There is nothing in this world that I
hate more'. They talked together about Allah and about Mohammed's life
and family. What was said made Bahira certain that this was indeed the
Prophet who would follow Jesus.
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