We now move on to the period of the Prophet's PBUH life that is his early childhood — him growing up as a young child.
From Aminah to Halimah
The first thing we know of his life after his birth is that his mother gave him to be raised away from the house in the desert. This seems strange to us, but it was a custom of the nobility of the Quraysh. It was a status symbol that was done for a number of reasons:
1. They wanted the child to be raised in a pure and healthy environment. Infant mortality during this phase of humanity (in fact even up until 100 years ago) was very high. So to protect the child from plagues and disease, they remove them from congregations and civilization such that there are only a few people (i.e., one family) interacting with them. This increases the chances of their survival.
2. They wanted to build stamina in the child and make them adjust to a rough life. Even though life in Makkah was very tough, they wanted to raise their child in a harder environment so that they could then adapt easily to the hardships of Makkah. Indeed, children adapt to their circumstances much easier than adults, and that's why a child who was born in a very impoverished household is just as content and as happy as a child born in a rich and luxurious family. Allah has made us in a beautiful way. Children know how to have fun regardless of the circumstances, unlike us adults — if we were to, la qaddar'Allah (لا قدر الله - God forbid), be diminished in the standard that we are used to, life would become almost impossible to bear, even though many other people in the world would love that standard we have been diminished to. It is human nature that children adapt to their circumstances. And this shows the Quraysh had clever long-term planning. They wanted their children to live under difficulty at a young age so that the hardships of Makkah then appear like a luxury.
3. Growing up in a desert away from the family will avoid the pampering that relatives do. Every parent knows that no matter how strict you are with your children, uncles aunts and grandparents will pamper your child. So they sent their child away to raise them in a disciplined environment.
4. The tribes that raise the children are known for fluency in Arabic. The city language was viewed as corrupted and changed — it gets word loans from other cultures. So the Quraysh are thinking long term — they send their children to the tribes known for speaking the original, ancient Arabic. The most famous tribe known for this was the Bani Sa'd ibn Bakr (بني سعد بن بكر), and it was this tribe that took care of the Prophet PBUH. In one authentic hadith, the Prophet PBUH was asked, "Tell us about yourself." He PBUH said, "I am the du'a of my father Ibrahim, and I am the glad news of my brother Isa, and I was foster cared by the Bani Sa'd ibn Bakr."
We know the story of Halimah al-Sa'diyah (حليمة السعدية), the famous foster mother of the Prophet PBUH. She narrates this story in the first person, and it is recorded in a number of books of hadith and of seerah. She explains why she took the Prophet PBUH: She and her husband were suffering greatly from poverty — desert dwellers do not get much income, so one of the reasons why they would walk into Makkah to foster children from the rich people of the Quraysh was for money. This was an annual event. Everybody knew there was a period — for one week the women of the Bani Sa'd ibn Bakr would come to Makkah to find babies to foster. Halimah herself just had a newborn son (side note: and she also had a daughter around 7-8 years old named Shayma [الشيماء]), and the newborn caused her milk to flow, i.e., she is able to foster care another child, so that year, she convinced her husband that she would obtain a newborn from the Quraysh who was willing to be foster-fed for 2-3 years. Her husband agrees, so she goes to Makkah with a group of women from her clan. There was a child known as "the orphan child," and some of the women didn't even visit this child's house. Others, including Halimah, did visit, but they moved on to find another child, as they felt they wouldn't get as much money from the parent of this child, as his father was dead. When the week finished, every one of Halimah's friends had acquired one of the newborns, except for her. And the only child remaining was the orphan child, the Prophet PBUH. She told her husband, "I feel embarrassed. It's shameful that my friends are going back with a child and I don't have one." So her husband said, "Why don't you take the orphan child? Perhaps Allah will bless us through him." (Note: This shows the couple had good hearts.) So Halimah agreed to take care of the Prophet PBUH.
All the narrations say as soon as they took the Prophet PBUH, the miracles began right then and there: (i) They had one old goat that stopped producing milk for a long time, but as soon as the Prophet PBUH came into the tent, it started producing milk again; and (ii) they had an old mount, when they put the Prophet PBUH on it, it became the fastest animal of all.
Generally speaking, this foster care lasted only two years. But during these two years, the blessings that Halimah witnessed in her household were so many that she was scared of losing the Prophet PBUH, so she invented 1001 excuses in front of Aminah to extend the contract — and Aminah agreed, even though for sure she couldn't have given the amount of money that Halimah's other friends would be getting. But it was not the money, it was the blessings that came with taking care of the Prophet PBUH that Halimah wanted.
It was during this second phase of foster care that the famous incident of the Opening of the Heart of the Prophet PBUH happened:
This is an incident that we have no doubt has happened because the Quran references it, there are authentic ahadith about it, and the sahaba saw the line on the chest of the Prophet PBUH that showed it had been opened up. So this is clearly something we believe in:
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The Incident of the Opening of the Heart of the Prophet PBUH
This is an incident that we have no doubt has happened because the Quran references it, there are authentic ahadith about it, and the sahaba saw the line on the chest of the Prophet PBUH that showed it had been opened up. So this is clearly something we believe in:
In Sahih Muslim, Anas ibn Malik related: "When the Prophet PBUH was 4 years old, Jibril came to him when he was playing with the other children. The other children got scared and ran away, but the Prophet PBUH stood his ground. And Jibril came and overpowered him." (Note: This means he PBUH was struggling — a 4-year-old kid is fighting an angel, subhan'Allah. This shows his bravery and determination PBUH.) "Jibril forced him on the ground and opened his chest, he took his heart out, and he took out a black portion from the heart and threw it away, and said, 'That was shaytan's portion that he had in you.'"
(Note: Indeed, we know that shaytan pricks any newborn baby out of hatred, anger, and jealousy. And the Prophet PBUH said, "This is why babies cry when they come out of the womb." This shows how much of an enemy shaytan is to us. From the cradle up until the grave. Allah creates the child pure, but shaytan begins the corruption process from, not day one, but minute one. The prick causes the black spot in our hearts, and perhaps this is where the waswasa [وسوسة - devil's whisper] comes from. But remember, shaytan can never control us or force us, all he can do is whisper. Indeed, we learn from the Quran that on the Day of Judgment, shaytan will say to his followers from mankind, "I did not have any authority over you. I only called you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves" [Quran, 14:22]. When we get a very evil and blasphemous thought, know that it is from shaytan. And our job is to fight it. This is part of the tests in this life.)
So this was cut off from the Prophet PBUH at 4 years old. And this is proven in a hadith where the Prophet PBUH said, "Every child that is born, shaytan (Iblis/إبليس) assigns a qareen (قرين) to the person." (Side note: So every one of us has a qareen. They are with us 24/7 and they know us better than anyone. And his job is to whisper bad things — they spend their whole lives just to misguide us out of jealousy and anger. This shows shaytan's hatred for us, in that, he hated the fact that Allah chose us over him.) The sahaba asked the Prophet PBUH, "Even you [have a qareen], O Messenger of Allah?" The Prophet PBUH replied, "Even me. Except that Allah helped me against him, and now he has accepted Islam and only whispers good things to me." This shows us the relationship the Prophet PBUH had with shaytan had been severed.
Jibril then washed the heart in a golden cup of zamzam and then put it back, and he sealed it up. (Side note: So we believe that the first open-heart surgery was performed by Jibril upon the Prophet PBUH. Because it was a physical taking out of the heart.)
The foster-brother and Shayma ran away screaming, "Our brother has been killed!" So Halimah runs outside, and she finds the Prophet PBUH sitting with a pale face. Subhan'Allah, notice he isn't screaming, crying, or wailing — this shows how brave he was even at a young age. He is sitting there with fear and terror, but not screaming. And when they saw him, they saw the lines on his chest. (Note 1: It's reported that Anas ibn Malik related when the Prophet PBUH was around 60, "I could [still] see the traces on his chest.") (Note 2: If Allah willed, it could have easily been a clean cut. He didn't need to leave a line. But He wants to demonstrate that something physical has happened. So there was a physical line left on the chest of the Prophet PBUH.) (Note 3: This incident of taking out of the heart occurred one more time almost 45 years later when the Prophet PBUH went to the Night Journey of al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj[1]. Jibril opened up the chest of the Prophet PBUH, took the heart out, washed it in zamzam, and put it back, but there was one difference — there was no black clot the second time, as it had already been removed when he was 4 years old.)
This incident concerned Halimah, so then and there she decided, "Let me return this child to Aminah." So she returns the Prophet PBUH to Aminah.
The spiritual benefit we derive from this incident is that the Prophet PBUH is being prepared to live the most respected and pure life. And this is because it's the sunnah of Allah that the characters of the prophets are impeccable — they cannot commit major sins. In Arabic, we call this ma'sum (معصوم - impeccable) or ismah (عصمة - infallibility). They can commit minor infractions and get angry like Musa AS did, do hasty things like Yunus (يونس - Jonah) AS did, but they cannot commit major sins. So even though it was a physical opening up of the heart, it was a spiritual cleansing. And Allah mentions in the Quran, "Haven't we opened up your chest?" [94:1] — and the majority opinion is that this is a reference to the Incident of the Opening of the Heart; but it's worth noting that some scholars posit that based on verse [39:22], this refers to the guiding of the Prophet PBUH to Islam: "Can [the misguided be like] those whose hearts Allah has opened to Islam, so they are enlightened by their Lord?" [39:22].
It's narrated that 57 years later, during the Battle of Hunayn[2] (غزوة حنين) —when all of the tribes entered into Islam— the tribe of Banu Sa'd ibn Bakr was also fought and conquered. And it's narrated that one of the women of this tribe stood up and made a commotion, claiming to be the sister of the Prophet PBUH. The sahaba didn't know what to do, so they brought her to the Prophet PBUH. And he PBUH said to her, "How do I know this is you (Shayma)?" She said, "I still have the marks of the bite that you bit me (when I was carrying you as a baby) on my back." So the Prophet PBUH realized this is indeed Shayma, as she said a story nobody would know, so he freed her and gave her many gifts.
(Note: Indeed, we know that shaytan pricks any newborn baby out of hatred, anger, and jealousy. And the Prophet PBUH said, "This is why babies cry when they come out of the womb." This shows how much of an enemy shaytan is to us. From the cradle up until the grave. Allah creates the child pure, but shaytan begins the corruption process from, not day one, but minute one. The prick causes the black spot in our hearts, and perhaps this is where the waswasa [وسوسة - devil's whisper] comes from. But remember, shaytan can never control us or force us, all he can do is whisper. Indeed, we learn from the Quran that on the Day of Judgment, shaytan will say to his followers from mankind, "I did not have any authority over you. I only called you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves" [Quran, 14:22]. When we get a very evil and blasphemous thought, know that it is from shaytan. And our job is to fight it. This is part of the tests in this life.)
So this was cut off from the Prophet PBUH at 4 years old. And this is proven in a hadith where the Prophet PBUH said, "Every child that is born, shaytan (Iblis/إبليس) assigns a qareen (قرين) to the person." (Side note: So every one of us has a qareen. They are with us 24/7 and they know us better than anyone. And his job is to whisper bad things — they spend their whole lives just to misguide us out of jealousy and anger. This shows shaytan's hatred for us, in that, he hated the fact that Allah chose us over him.) The sahaba asked the Prophet PBUH, "Even you [have a qareen], O Messenger of Allah?" The Prophet PBUH replied, "Even me. Except that Allah helped me against him, and now he has accepted Islam and only whispers good things to me." This shows us the relationship the Prophet PBUH had with shaytan had been severed.
Jibril then washed the heart in a golden cup of zamzam and then put it back, and he sealed it up. (Side note: So we believe that the first open-heart surgery was performed by Jibril upon the Prophet PBUH. Because it was a physical taking out of the heart.)
The foster-brother and Shayma ran away screaming, "Our brother has been killed!" So Halimah runs outside, and she finds the Prophet PBUH sitting with a pale face. Subhan'Allah, notice he isn't screaming, crying, or wailing — this shows how brave he was even at a young age. He is sitting there with fear and terror, but not screaming. And when they saw him, they saw the lines on his chest. (Note 1: It's reported that Anas ibn Malik related when the Prophet PBUH was around 60, "I could [still] see the traces on his chest.") (Note 2: If Allah willed, it could have easily been a clean cut. He didn't need to leave a line. But He wants to demonstrate that something physical has happened. So there was a physical line left on the chest of the Prophet PBUH.) (Note 3: This incident of taking out of the heart occurred one more time almost 45 years later when the Prophet PBUH went to the Night Journey of al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj[1]. Jibril opened up the chest of the Prophet PBUH, took the heart out, washed it in zamzam, and put it back, but there was one difference — there was no black clot the second time, as it had already been removed when he was 4 years old.)
This incident concerned Halimah, so then and there she decided, "Let me return this child to Aminah." So she returns the Prophet PBUH to Aminah.
The spiritual benefit we derive from this incident is that the Prophet PBUH is being prepared to live the most respected and pure life. And this is because it's the sunnah of Allah that the characters of the prophets are impeccable — they cannot commit major sins. In Arabic, we call this ma'sum (معصوم - impeccable) or ismah (عصمة - infallibility). They can commit minor infractions and get angry like Musa AS did, do hasty things like Yunus (يونس - Jonah) AS did, but they cannot commit major sins. So even though it was a physical opening up of the heart, it was a spiritual cleansing. And Allah mentions in the Quran, "Haven't we opened up your chest?" [94:1] — and the majority opinion is that this is a reference to the Incident of the Opening of the Heart; but it's worth noting that some scholars posit that based on verse [39:22], this refers to the guiding of the Prophet PBUH to Islam: "Can [the misguided be like] those whose hearts Allah has opened to Islam, so they are enlightened by their Lord?" [39:22].
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The Foster Family After Islam
It's narrated that 57 years later, during the Battle of Hunayn[2] (غزوة حنين) —when all of the tribes entered into Islam— the tribe of Banu Sa'd ibn Bakr was also fought and conquered. And it's narrated that one of the women of this tribe stood up and made a commotion, claiming to be the sister of the Prophet PBUH. The sahaba didn't know what to do, so they brought her to the Prophet PBUH. And he PBUH said to her, "How do I know this is you (Shayma)?" She said, "I still have the marks of the bite that you bit me (when I was carrying you as a baby) on my back." So the Prophet PBUH realized this is indeed Shayma, as she said a story nobody would know, so he freed her and gave her many gifts.
It appears Halimah and her husband were not at this occasion. Only later on after this battle they came to visit. And when the Prophet PBUH saw Halimah, he recognized her instantly, he stood up to greet her, took off his shawl, and he placed it on the ground for her to sit on —and some of the books say Halimah accepted Islam— then the Prophet PBUH gifted her immensely, and she went her way. (Note: In some narrations it's said her husband was with her.)
So the Prophet PBUH was returned to Aminah; and sadly, we only have one incident recorded during this time frame. What else did Aminah do, what were the moments, what was her tarbiyyah (تربية), we don't know anything. There is only one thing narrated and that is that Aminah decided to take the Prophet PBUH, who was around 6 years old at the time, to Yathrib (which was to be called Madinah); and she had one servant with her, Ummi Ayman (أم أيمن). (Note 1: Recall in the previous halaqa, we mentioned that the Prophet's PBUH great-grandmother was from Yathrib. Now surely we see the wisdom in Allah's divine plan that out of all the cities, it just so happens Abdul Muttalib's father falls in love with a girl in Yathrib, and thus there was a connection between the Prophet PBUH and Yathrib before the Emigration. Indeed, this was the only city the Prophet PBUH traveled to as a child, and the only city he had other relatives in.) (Note 2: And of course, it was a custom of the Arabs that they preserved their lineage — they would know their generations back to Adnan. They would keep the ties of kinship. Why? Because this was jahili society, i.e., you are protected by your relatives — you are honored by the relatives you have.) (Note 3: Ummi Ayman lived a long life after Islam and became a Muslim. So it is sad — because IF only someone had sat down with Ummi Ayman [after the death of the Prophet PBUH] and recorded stories from her about the Prophet's childhood, we would have had a whole chronicle. But Allah has His wisdom that we do not understand/know.) (Note 4: This story of visiting Yathrib is one of the stories that Ummi Ayman is telling, because she was the only witness.) (Note 5: Some books of seerah mention that the Prophet PBUH recognized some of the buildings of Madinah when he returned ±50 years later.) Aminah, the Prophet PBUH, and Ummi Ayman stayed in Yathrib for a few months. And on the way back, in a small settlement called al-Abwa' (الأبواء), Aminah became ill and she passed away right then and there, so Ummi Ayman had her buried by the people of the village. (Note 6: To this day, Aminah's grave is still there in al-Abwa'.)
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The Death of Aminah
So the Prophet PBUH was returned to Aminah; and sadly, we only have one incident recorded during this time frame. What else did Aminah do, what were the moments, what was her tarbiyyah (تربية), we don't know anything. There is only one thing narrated and that is that Aminah decided to take the Prophet PBUH, who was around 6 years old at the time, to Yathrib (which was to be called Madinah); and she had one servant with her, Ummi Ayman (أم أيمن). (Note 1: Recall in the previous halaqa, we mentioned that the Prophet's PBUH great-grandmother was from Yathrib. Now surely we see the wisdom in Allah's divine plan that out of all the cities, it just so happens Abdul Muttalib's father falls in love with a girl in Yathrib, and thus there was a connection between the Prophet PBUH and Yathrib before the Emigration. Indeed, this was the only city the Prophet PBUH traveled to as a child, and the only city he had other relatives in.) (Note 2: And of course, it was a custom of the Arabs that they preserved their lineage — they would know their generations back to Adnan. They would keep the ties of kinship. Why? Because this was jahili society, i.e., you are protected by your relatives — you are honored by the relatives you have.) (Note 3: Ummi Ayman lived a long life after Islam and became a Muslim. So it is sad — because IF only someone had sat down with Ummi Ayman [after the death of the Prophet PBUH] and recorded stories from her about the Prophet's childhood, we would have had a whole chronicle. But Allah has His wisdom that we do not understand/know.) (Note 4: This story of visiting Yathrib is one of the stories that Ummi Ayman is telling, because she was the only witness.) (Note 5: Some books of seerah mention that the Prophet PBUH recognized some of the buildings of Madinah when he returned ±50 years later.) Aminah, the Prophet PBUH, and Ummi Ayman stayed in Yathrib for a few months. And on the way back, in a small settlement called al-Abwa' (الأبواء), Aminah became ill and she passed away right then and there, so Ummi Ayman had her buried by the people of the village. (Note 6: To this day, Aminah's grave is still there in al-Abwa'.)
It is reported in Sahih Muslim that one time [during Madinan seerah], when the Prophet PBUH was returning home from a journey, he diverted away into the wilderness. And all the sahaba just walked with him, not even asking a question — whatever the Prophet PBUH does, they-hear-and-they-obey. And the sahabi who narrated this says, "The Prophet PBUH found a grave over there, and he sat down and cried like we had never seen him cry before, until his beard was wet." (Many of the sahaba had never seen him cry before. And it's narrated that he PBUH only cried publicly a number of times.) And subhan'Allah, the sahaba didn't ask one question — but when they saw the Prophet PBUH cry, the whole congregation cried with him — this is the love they had for him PBUH. And then the Prophet PBUH said, "I had used to forbid you from visiting graves..."—this was the initial ruling in Islam: you were not allowed to visit a graveyard except with a dead body, i.e., to bury the dead—"...But I asked Allah permission to visit my mother's grave..."—as a rasul, the Prophet PBUH does not take one step without Allah's permission, even to visit his mother's grave—"...I asked Allah permission to visit my mother's grave, and He allowed me. So now I am allowing you." Thus from this, we see that the permissibility to visit graves came from the Prophet PBUH wanting to see his mother's grave, Aminah.
And the Prophet PBUH encouraged us to visit graves because it reminds us of death.
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Living With Abdul Muttalib
The Prophet's PBUH father passed away when his mother was pregnant with him, and when he was 6 years old, he lost his mother, so he was then entrusted to his grandfather Abdul Muttalib, the chieftain of the Quraysh. Once again, we hardly have anything about Abdul Muttalib's relationship with the Prophet PBUH other than one or two tidbits from Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, and other classical books. Ibn Ishaq narrates this from the tabi'un, so insha'Allah it is permissible to narrate: It's said that Abdul Muttalib would have a raised platform in front of, and connected to, the Ka'bah. (Note: He lived a long life over 80, and is already blind.) And around Asr (عصر) time when the shadow of the Ka'bah shaded the platform, he would sit there and discuss the affairs of the Quraysh. This is the platform equal to the king's throne, so no one sits on it, not even his sons or grandsons — it is exclusively for Abdul Muttalib. But once, the Prophet PBUH as a young boy, came running and jumped onto the platform to be next to Abdul Muttalib. And his uncles, al-Zubayr and others, pulled him back down. But Abdul Muttalib stopped them and said, "Leave him. This is my child, and he can remain on the platform." So out of all his grandchildren, the only one that he allowed to be on the platform was Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
There is one more incident narrated: On one occasion, the uncles of the Prophet PBUH sent him to find some lost camels. Ibn Sa'd mentions that the reason why his uncles sent the Prophet PBUH, a little 7 or 8 year-old, was because he never did anything except that it was successful. So now that the uncles are getting desperate that they can't find the camels, they decide to send this young boy out alone in the desert to find them. But the Prophet PBUH was delayed in coming back. And when Abdul Muttalib found out what the uncles did, he was furious at them. He was pacing and walking around, waiting for the Prophet PBUH to return. And when he did, he hugged him and said, "From now on, I will never let you out of my sight"—this shows that Abdul Muttalib had special care and concern for the Prophet PBUH.
And then at the age of 8, for the third time, the Prophet PBUH became an orphan, as his grandfather Abdul Muttalib passed away.
Ibn Sa'd mentions a narration in which a sahabi asked the Prophet PBUH, "Do you remember Abdul Muttalib, ya Rasulullah?"—Abdul Muttalib was the legend among the Arabs, so the sahaba were curious and wanted to know. The Prophet PBUH said, "Yes, I remember him. And I was 8 years old when he died." Even though this hadith is slightly weak, it clearly shows that the Prophet PBUH was 8 years old when Abdul Muttalib passed away.
And one of the things Abdul Muttalib did on his deathbed was to entrust the Prophet PBUH to his son, Abu Talib, as Abu Talib was the full brother of Abdullah, the father of the Prophet PBUH. (Abdul Muttalib had married 5 wives one after the other, and from one of them he had several daughters and two [or three] sons, that is Abdullah and Abu Talib [and al-Zubayr]. So they were full brothers unlike Abu Lahab or Hamzah.) So Abu Talib took charge of the Prophet PBUH, and he lived a long life, and passed away when the Prophet PBUH was over 50 years old [see episode 19].
Question: Why did Allah put so many trials on the young child? Three orphanhoods, one after the other, upon Prophet Muhammad PBUH? If Allah had willed, he could have had loving parents and been born in the lap of luxury?
As our scholars mentioned, there are many reasons for doing so:
1. Like Allah says about Musa AS:
And this applies to our Prophet PBUH as well.
2. No doubt, it is tough and difficult to be an orphan — but at the same time, it gives him many qualities that he will need later on in life. Being pampered would not have prepared him for a life of sacrifice and a mission of calling to Allah; rather, being born in a harsh environment and not having parents to love you — this automatically makes the child stronger, more independent, more mature, and gives him wisdom. This is something we notice in every orphan child and a child born in difficult circumstances. Compared to children born in luxury, they are much more mature. This is reality. (Not to be stereotypical, but compare children born in first world countries and children born in third world countries.) So by putting the Prophet PBUH through this difficulty, it made him who he was.
3. Going through difficult times makes you understand and experience first-hand poverty, ruthlessness, living in hardship, etc.; and this makes you more sensitive, compassionate, and merciful.
That is why there are so many ahadith about taking care of orphans: (i) He PBUH says, "I and the one who takes care of orphans will be 'like this' in Jannah" [as he gestures with his forefinger and middle finger, holding them close together]. (ii) He says, "When you see an orphan, say good words to him and put your hand across his head" [that is, treat orphans with love]. Surely, the Prophet PBUH is remembering his own childhood as an orphan when he says these ahadith.
And one of the things Abdul Muttalib did on his deathbed was to entrust the Prophet PBUH to his son, Abu Talib, as Abu Talib was the full brother of Abdullah, the father of the Prophet PBUH. (Abdul Muttalib had married 5 wives one after the other, and from one of them he had several daughters and two [or three] sons, that is Abdullah and Abu Talib [and al-Zubayr]. So they were full brothers unlike Abu Lahab or Hamzah.) So Abu Talib took charge of the Prophet PBUH, and he lived a long life, and passed away when the Prophet PBUH was over 50 years old [see episode 19].
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Wisdoms Gleaned From the Orphanhood
Question: Why did Allah put so many trials on the young child? Three orphanhoods, one after the other, upon Prophet Muhammad PBUH? If Allah had willed, he could have had loving parents and been born in the lap of luxury?
As our scholars mentioned, there are many reasons for doing so:
1. Like Allah says about Musa AS:
وَاصْطَنَعْتُكَ لِنَفْسِي
"And I chose you for Myself" [Quran, 20:41].
وَلِتُصْنَعَ عَلَىٰ عَيْنِي
"So that you may be raised under My care" [Quran, 20:39].And this applies to our Prophet PBUH as well.
2. No doubt, it is tough and difficult to be an orphan — but at the same time, it gives him many qualities that he will need later on in life. Being pampered would not have prepared him for a life of sacrifice and a mission of calling to Allah; rather, being born in a harsh environment and not having parents to love you — this automatically makes the child stronger, more independent, more mature, and gives him wisdom. This is something we notice in every orphan child and a child born in difficult circumstances. Compared to children born in luxury, they are much more mature. This is reality. (Not to be stereotypical, but compare children born in first world countries and children born in third world countries.) So by putting the Prophet PBUH through this difficulty, it made him who he was.
3. Going through difficult times makes you understand and experience first-hand poverty, ruthlessness, living in hardship, etc.; and this makes you more sensitive, compassionate, and merciful.
That is why there are so many ahadith about taking care of orphans: (i) He PBUH says, "I and the one who takes care of orphans will be 'like this' in Jannah" [as he gestures with his forefinger and middle finger, holding them close together]. (ii) He says, "When you see an orphan, say good words to him and put your hand across his head" [that is, treat orphans with love]. Surely, the Prophet PBUH is remembering his own childhood as an orphan when he says these ahadith.
(As a personal advice to all of you: Wallahi, the least we can do is to find an orphan and sponsor that orphan. Allah has blessed us with so much wealth. Quran as well mentions the virtues of taking care of the yatim [يتيم - orphan] and preferring the yatim over ourselves. All you need is $30-$50 a month. Make this a part of our life. [Wallahi we spend more on coffee and TV sets than we do on this.])
By going through traumatic times, our Prophet PBUH developed that fondness, softness, mercy, and tenderness for the weak — a necessary requirement for being a prophet.
4. This facilitated the Prophet PBUH being raised by the Banu Sa'd so that he could become the most eloquent of the Arabs. And it's known that the Prophet PBUH spoke the best Arabic. In fact, there is a hadith that the Prophet PBUH said:
The final story that we will mention is the story of the Prophet's PBUH journey to Syria. This story is mentioned in Sunan al-Tirmidhi (سنن الترمذي). And realize most of the seerah is not mentioned in the books of hadith, but rather in Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, etc. — and the standards of the authenticity of these books are one degree less than the books of hadith which are the most strict: Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Muwatta Imam Malik (موطأ الإمام مالك), Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Sunan al-Darimi (سنن الدارمي) — our fiqh, theology, legal, ethics is based upon these books of hadith. The books of seerah however are a level beneath them in terms of authenticity. Thus a lot of the incidents of the seerah are not as authentic as our hadith and theology. Most of the time, we have no problems narrating them; but sometimes. we get into problems. And this is one of those times; so we have to go into a little bit of academic detail. What is the story?
By going through traumatic times, our Prophet PBUH developed that fondness, softness, mercy, and tenderness for the weak — a necessary requirement for being a prophet.
4. This facilitated the Prophet PBUH being raised by the Banu Sa'd so that he could become the most eloquent of the Arabs. And it's known that the Prophet PBUH spoke the best Arabic. In fact, there is a hadith that the Prophet PBUH said:
أوتيت جوامع الكلم
"I have been given (by Allah) the most succinct/precise/concise of all speech." Jawami' al-kalim (جوامع الكلم) means a small phrase that can be explained and understood in hundreds of hours, as it has many deep meanings and profundity in it.
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The Prophet's Journey to Syria as a Child: Did It Really Happen?
The final story that we will mention is the story of the Prophet's PBUH journey to Syria. This story is mentioned in Sunan al-Tirmidhi (سنن الترمذي). And realize most of the seerah is not mentioned in the books of hadith, but rather in Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, etc. — and the standards of the authenticity of these books are one degree less than the books of hadith which are the most strict: Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Muwatta Imam Malik (موطأ الإمام مالك), Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Sunan al-Darimi (سنن الدارمي) — our fiqh, theology, legal, ethics is based upon these books of hadith. The books of seerah however are a level beneath them in terms of authenticity. Thus a lot of the incidents of the seerah are not as authentic as our hadith and theology. Most of the time, we have no problems narrating them; but sometimes. we get into problems. And this is one of those times; so we have to go into a little bit of academic detail. What is the story?
The story is that when the Prophet PBUH was still young and had not yet reached puberty (11-12 years old), his uncle Abu Talib took him on a journey to Syria along with Abu Bakr and Bilal ibn Rabah (بلال بن رباح). And on the way there, they passed by a monastery where a monk called Buhayra (بحيرى - Bahira) used to live, who would never give them the time of day, but this time when they were with the Prophet PBUH, Buhayra came out searching for them and greeted them and invited them all back to his house for a feast. When they asked him why, he said, "You have in your midst a boy who will become a prophet. I saw the clouds shelter him, I saw the trees shelter him, and the stones prostrate to him." So Buhayra told Abu Talib to take care of the boy. And while they were eating, they saw seven Roman soldiers appear, who allegedly were trying to find the prophet to come, to capture and kill him. So Buhayra hid them and told them to immediately go back to Makkah.
This story is narrated in some basic form in Tirmidhi, and of course in Ibn Ishaq and others. Most of the scholars of our tradition have accepted it at face value, including Tirmidhi (d. 279 AH), Ibn Hajar (ابن حجر) (d. 852 AH), al-Hakim (الحاكم) (d. 405 AH), et al. However, some of our more critical-minded scholars such as Imam al-Dhahabi (الذهبي) (d. 748 AH), Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH), and Ibn Sayyid al-Nas (ابن سيد الناس) (d. 734 AH) said something is wrong about this story. Imam al-Dhahabi is one of the greatest chroniclers and historians of the 7th century who had a very critical mind and didn't accept everything at face value (and this shows his intellectual prowess). (Note: In academia, there is a whole methodology of modern study called "historical criticism," and it means you cannot just take books of history and take them at face value — you have to read through, dissect, compare, and think is it possible or not. Don't just accept everything. And this applies to our tradition as well.) Imam al-Dhahabi said, "How can this story be true — Abu Bakr was just a kid at the time, why would he go on a caravan with Abu Talib when there is no relation? As for Bilal, he hasn't even been born yet. And he was not acquired by Abu Bakr until after Islam. How did Bilal come into the picture? Why would the trees shelter the Prophet PBUH when according to the same report, the clouds are already sheltering him? And why don't we find the Prophet PBUH reminding Abu Talib of this incident [later] when he became a prophet? [E.g., 'Didn't Buhayra tell us that I will become a prophet?'] Why did the Quraysh find it problematic that he became a prophet when apparently Buhayra announced he would become a prophet? In fact, why did the Prophet PBUH himself not understand what was happening when Jibril came to him in Ghari Hira (غار حراء - the Cave of Hira')? Why was he confused, scared, and terrified? Why did he come to Khadija saying, 'What happened? I don't understand,' and she had to take him to Waraqa, and Waraqa had to explain?[3]" Why, why, why...
And some scholars have said: "Okay, Bilal and Abu Bakr are incorrect details; but let's accept the rest of the story as truth."
But we say:
1. The same story that says Bilal and Abu Bakr also says the rest, so why are you picking and choosing what to take and leave?
2. The problem that comes with this story is that it makes most of the non-Muslim historians and researchers (i.e., the orientalists) think that they have found the 'missing link' that they were looking for. Explanation: As we know, the jahili Arabs did not record the histories of the Jews and Christians, so there was no information about Judaism or Christianity in Makkah, as there were no Jews or Christians living in Makkah, there were no libraries or books, no Old Testament or New Testament in Makkah. The Quraysh did not have any knowledge about Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, et al., as the Arabs had nothing to do with that branch of the descendants of Abraham. So to this day, the orientalists don't have a good answer as to how the Prophet PBUH, an unlettered prophet, comes along in the middle of an uneducated environment and recites the histories of the Bani Israel. "Where did he get all this information from?" But when they come across the story of Buhayra, they say, "Aha, look! This is where Muhammad acquired all of his information about Jews and Christians!" [i.e., they say this in an attempt to disprove the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, as they don't believe in any prophets anyway.]
But we say: Firstly, as some of our early scholars have pointed out, the story of Buhayra does not make sense (and Imam al-Dhahabi went as far as saying it is fabricated); and secondly, even *if* it is authentic, the orientalists' claims are still ludicrous — how could an 11-year-old kid memorize all the encyclopedic information in barely half an hour and then relate it 30 years later? Impossible. Allah mentions in the Quran:
تِلْكَ مِنْ أَنبَاءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهَا إِلَيْكَ ۖ مَا كُنتَ تَعْلَمُهَا أَنتَ وَلَا قَوْمُكَ مِن قَبْلِ هَٰذَا
"This is one of the stories of the unseen which We reveal to you [O Prophet]. Neither you nor your people knew it before this" [11:49].
ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلْغَيْبِ نُوحِيهِ إِلَيْكَ
"That is from the stories of the unseen which We reveal to you [O Prophet]" [12:102].
Allah further says:
وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ
"You [O Prophet] could not read any writing [even] before this [revelation], nor could you write at all" [29:48].
[So we Muslims say: These stories of the unseen (i.e., the histories of the Jews and Christians in this context) were revealed to him PBUH directly from Allah SWT (through Jibril), which is one of the proofs that he was a true prophet.]
(Tangent: Unfortunately, throughout our history, many people have fabricated ahadith — some with good intentions and some with evil intentions. [But obviously, the ends don't justify the means.] There is a commonly known fabricated hadith about the blessings of every single surah of the Quran; and when Imam Ahmad captured the fabricator, he [the fabricator] said, "I found the people getting busy in fiqh and history, so I wanted them to go back to the Quran. So I fabricated something, perhaps they will read the Quran because of it." So there are some good intentions. But certainly, fabricating hadith is not allowed. This is why there is a whole study called "the science of hadith" to help scholars sift through inauthentic narrations. We must understand that when it comes to the seerah, a lot of people, because of emotionalism, they wish to add things that are not found in the earliest books, to make things seem better than they were. We mentioned some examples in the last halaqa, and you have stories that the Prophet PBUH didn't have a shadow, etc. But these stories are not found in Ibn Ishaq or Ibn Sa'd; they are only found in books written hundreds of years later. Some people want to exaggerate. But frankly, we don't need to, as our Prophet PBUH is the best human being without these exaggerations. When we put these stories in, wallahi, we give our religion a bad name. People look at us and think, "What type of religion is this?" Allah has told us what we need to know; and in the authentic blessings of our Prophet PBUH, there is plenty that we can stick to. We don't need to resort to fables — it is a disservice to us.)
To conclude: In our opinion, the story of Buhayra does not make sense. Allah knows best, but the story does appear to be weak.
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Muhammad Abdul Rahman, May 2021]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Muhammad Abdul Rahman, May 2021]
