Muhammad was born She’eb Banu Hashim in Makkah. It was the ninth day of Rabi’ Al Awwal on a Monday morning in the spring, fifty to fifty-five days after the Abraha’s unsuccessful assault on the Ka’bah (others say the twelfth). As “Feel” is the Arabic word for an elephant, the year was dubbed “Amm Al-Feel,” or “the year of the elephant.” According to the Gregorian calendar, the date is April 22, 571 C.E. Throughout her pregnancy, Amina dreamed that Syria’s several places were illuminated by a light coming from her lower body. When she went into childbirth, the midwife was Shifa bint Amr, the mother of Abdul Rahman bin Auf.
Abdul Muttalib was ecstatic to hear about the birth of his granddaughter. After bringing the baby to the Ka’bah, he prayed for Allah’s blessings and expressed gratitude. Muhammad means “he who is praised,” and Abdul Muttalib gave his grandson this name because he believed he would get a lot of praise in the future. In keeping with Arab tradition, he shaved the baby’s head and circumcised him on the seventh day. For his fellow Makkans, he then prepared a feast. Muhammad was first nursed by his mother, then Umm Ayman, his father’s slave. After converting to Islam and relocating to Madinah, Barakah, an Abyssinian, died six months after the Prophet.
The kid was also nursed by Thuwaybah, a slave owned by Muhammad’s uncle Abu Lahab. Thuwaybah was simultaneously caring for Abu Salamah bin Abdul Asad Makhzoomi, Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib, and Masrooh, her own child. These three men became foster brothers because they shared a breast. Residents of Makkah frequently entrusted their children to Bedouin women, who would raise them in the desert for a few years, under Haleemah Sa’diya’s care. The Makkans believed that the pristine, stony desert environment would make their offspring strong and hardy. Furthermore, a Bedouin upbringing ensured that the children would learn the most genuine dialect of Arabic spoken in Arabia.
Abdul Muttalib was searching for a Bedouin lady who could take his grandson to the desert and act as a wet nurse. To provide their services to local households, a few ladies from the Banu Sa’d bin Bakr bin Hawazen traveled to Makkah. When they learned that Muhammad’s father had passed away, Abdul Muttalib begged each of them to accept his grandson, but they all turned him down. They believed that a fatherless child’s family would not be able to provide them with a substantial prize. On that day, Haleemah bint Abu Dhuwayb had also visited Makkah. She was not as lucky as the other Bedouin women, who had all found youngsters to breastfeed.
She felt sorry for the kid who had been shunned by the other mothers when she saw Abdul Muttalib holding a baby. She returned to the desert with her husband and the baby Muhammad. Haleemah was relieved that she had not come back empty-handed. Both Haleemah and her spouse, Harith bin Abdul Uzzah, were members of Sa’d bin Bakr bin Hawazen’s clan. Their kids ended up becoming foster siblings to the Prophet. Anisa, Abdullah, and Judhama—better known as Shayma—were their names. The Prophet was also breastfed by Judhama. Unexpectedly, Haleemah’s home is blessed. When Haleemah and her husband brought Muhammad home, their lives were forever altered.
A weak she-ass that could hardly keep up with their caravan had carried them to Makkah. However, the same horse went so quickly that it left the caravan behind on the way back, as Haleemah rode with the baby in her arms. The house was filled with blessings when Muhammad was staying with Haleemah’s family. According to Haleemah’s own account, she invited Muhammad to her house during a dry spell. Her she-camel refused to drink any milk. Haleemah’s infant would weep all night long from starvation. Haleemah and Harith had trouble sleeping at night since the child was so upset. But when Haleemah took Muhammad home and held him in her lap, everything was different.
She had so much milk in her breasts that Muhammad and her own kid drank it all and fell asleep. Harith was astounded by what he saw when he visited the she-camel. The milk in the she-camel’s udders was ready to spill over. Haleemah’s family was able to sleep that night with full tummies since it produced so much milk. It suddenly seemed as though Haleemah’s family was unaffected by the area’s drought. When the family’s goats returned after grazing, their udders were overflowing with milk and their tummies were full with grass. While other goats did not receive a single drop of milk, a husband and wife would frequently milk theirs. Following two years of continual blessings for her family, Haleemah weaned Muhammad. Despite growing up during a period of severe drought, he had matured into a robust and healthy youngster.
Haleemah requests more time with Muhammad. Haleemah would bring Muhammad back to Makkah every six months so he could spend time with his mother and other relatives. After that, she would accompany him back to Dayar Banu Sa’d. It was time for Muhammad to permanently return to his family once he was weaned. She pleaded with Amina to allow her to keep the kid longer because he had given her good fortune when Haleemah returned him to his mother. Far from Makkah’s periodic epidemics, she begged him to grow stronger and healthier in the desert.
Haleemah returned home with Muhammad after Amina gave her approval, delighted at her newfound luck. But two years later, Haleemah and her husband were so alarmed by an odd incident that they decided to send Muhammad back to his family in Makkah.
Muhammad opens his chest. According to Anas bin Malik (RA), Muhammad was playing with other kids outside Haleemah’s house one day when Jibreel, the angel Gabriel, showed up and forced Muhammad to lie down. “This is the portion of Satan in you,” he said, opening the boy’s chest, removing his heart, and removing a lump of flesh. He then cleaned and reinserted Muhammad’s heart into his chest after placing it in a golden plate filled with Zamzam water. The other kids cried out in fear that Muhammad had been slain and fled to Haleemah. Muhammad was still alive when they arrived, his face white with astonishment. Anas later said that he saw the scar on the Prophet’s chest where it had been sewn back together.