— There are several occasions in history when Shaytan moaned & cried

1. When he was cursed by Allah2. When he was cast down to the earth3. On birth of Prophet (sw)4. When Muhammad was given Nabu’a (Prophethood)5. Day Surah Al-Fatiha was revealed6. During the conquest of Makkah— Prophet was nursed not only by his mother Aminah, but also 3 other women

• Baraqah, aka Ummu Aymen• Thuyaba• Halimah— Islam established boundaries between an infant & his milkmother

• Forbidden for males to marry are their mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts

• “And those mothers who breastfed you & their daughters & sisters”• This establishes relations similar to blood relations— Baraqah (“blessing”) was on the journey with Muhammad & Aminah when Aminah passed away. Baraqah brought the child back to his grandfather Abdul Mutallib after returning to Makkah.

• Baraqah was a Habeshi woman from East Africa. She was previously a slave, originally owned by Abdul Mutallib, who had given her to Abdullah. When Abdullah passed away, she became Aminah’s. Later on, Prophet inherited her. Muhammad freed Baraqah from slavery after he married, and they both retained a close relationship.

• Prophet would call her, “Ya Umm.” (O Mother). They were very close.

• Whenever he’d talk about Baraqah with other people, Muhammad would say, “She is all that is left of my family.”

• He always kept her very close to him.• Baraqah went on to accept Islam & performed the Hijra. Later on,

she accompanied the Prophet & other Muslims in a few battles.— After the Prophet freed her, Baraqah married a man who later accepted Islam.

• They had a son named Aymen. He was also a Believer & participated in some battles & the Hijra.

• Baraqah’s first husband was martyred.

• The Prophet proposed that whoever would like to marry a Jannati woman (a woman of Paradise), he should propose marriage to Baraqah.

• Zayd (adopted son of Muhammad) bin Haritah (ra) was kidnapped & taken into slavery when he was a young boy.

• Khadijah bought him, & gave him to Muhammad as a wedding gift.

• Zayd’s father, Haritha, the leader of tribe, would go outside of his village/town during time of sunset & recite poetry about how much he missed Zayd. Harita hears from other people that his son is in Makkah, so he travels there to get his son back.

• When Zayd was reunited with his father, the young boy was happy to see him, but said that he’d prefer to stay with Muhammad, who treated him like a family member.

• Muhammad was touched. To put Haritah’s concerns to rest, Muhammad said to Zayd, “You’re free, but from now on I take you as my son.”

• Adoption is permissible. Referring to Zayd as “Zayd bin Muhammad” was wrong. He’s “Zayd mowla Rasulillah.” – one who is affiliated with Muhammad. 

• Zayd & Baraqah married, & had a son named Usama.• Usama (r.a.) used to be known as Hibbu Rasullilah (the

beloved of the Prophet)• One time Zayd & his son Usama were lying down & sleeping

at the masjid. The Prophet walked by them & said, “I swear by Allah, I love both of them. Oh Allah, I want you to look after both of them.”

— After Muhammad died, Baraqah was deeply saddened. She was found crying uncontrollably.

• She said, “I swear by Allah, I knew he was going to pass away. The way he was speaking to people. I knew him. I raised him. This is not a shock to me. I knew he was going to die. Rather I cry because it just hit me that divine revelation (Wahid) will no longer come down from the sky. That era of revelation has come to an end.”

— Before he passed away, the Prophet left Baraqah a few camels

— One time, Ummu Aymen (Baraqah) was fasting while she was traveling

• She migrated for Hijra on foot by herself. She had no provisions.• While she was migrating, she became so thristy that she thought she

was going to die from thirst.• She was lying underneath a tree to rest, & out of nowhere, a bucket

of water came down from above her. She drank the water.• For the rest of her life, Baraqah never felt thirsty again & only

drank water just because she felt like it.• Ummu Aymen passed away about 20 days after the death of Umar

bin al-Khattab— Thuwayba was another woman who nursed Muhammad when he was an infant

• She was a slave girl who was owned by Abu Lahab• When Muhammad was born, Thuwayba came running to Abu Lahab

to tell him that his nephew was born• This was a momentous occasion because just months before

his brother Abdullah died. Everyone was anticipating the birth of his child.

• When he heard the news of the birth of his dead brother’s son, Abu Lahab was so overjoyed that he freed Thuwayba on the spot

• In one narration, Abu Lahab was seen by his brother Abbas (ra) in a dream many years later.

• Abbas: “After death, what became of you?”• Abu Lahab: “I have not experienced anything good since

I left the world. A lot of punishment has been inflicted on me because of what I did. I opposed the Prophet. I opposed his teachings. There’s only one thing. I’ve been punished nonstop, except that every Monday, I’m given a break from punishment. Because on Monday, when Prophet was born, & Thuwayba brought me the news of his birth, I did the good deed of freeing Thuwayba, & I showed some respect to the Prophet when he was born. Because of that, I am not punished on Mondays.”

• Because she was in the family & remained close to them, Thuwayba had also nursed Hamza, an uncle of Prophet. Thus, Hamza was not only Muhammad’s uncle, but also his milkbrother

• Thuwayba was the first woman to nurse Prophet after Aminah. She nursed him for about 4 months

• She herself had a son named Masroo• She also nursed Abu Salima• Thuwayba later on ended up accepting Islam• Throughout the rest of his life, Prophet would send his gifts to

her & would visit her. Sometimes he’d take his kids to visit her

• She was treated as a mother of Prophet• Khadijah would also visit Thuwayba & give her gifts• Thuwayba passed away after during the 7th year of Hijra, after the

Battle of Khaybar

• Her son passed away before she did— The daughter of Abu Sufyan, Ummu Habiba, was one of the wives of Prophet

• She once offered the Prophet her sister for marriage• Ummu Habiba: “I benefit from the blessing of being your wife.

I want my sister to share that blessing too.”• Prophet said this is impermissible• Ummu Habiba says that she meant no offense. She & her

sister had been talking, & they thought that the Prophet was going to marry the daughter of Abu Salima & Ummu Salima.

• Ummu Salima was also one of the other wives of Prophet• Abu & Ummu Salima accepted Islam, but they were

separated from each other later on by their families. They’d write poetry & send letters to each other; they were deeply in love.

• Abu Salima passed away. After some time, Prophet married Ummu Salima & took care of her children

• Prophet: “You mean the daughter of my wife, Ummu Salima? That’s impossible. I could never marry Salima.”

• “I can’t marry her because she’s the child of one of my wives!”• “She’s also my niece through milk. Her father Abu Salima & I

were nursed by Thuwayba.”• “From now on, don’t bring me any more proposals from your

daughters & sister.”

— Out of Muhammad’s (saw) 3 milkmothers (not including his mother Aminah), 2 of them were black – Baraqah (aka Ummu Aymen) & Thuwayba

7. Baraqah was so dear to Prophet that he’d call her “Ya Um” or introduce her as his mother

8. The Quraysh had such a superiority complex that they’d look down on other Arabs & people. Allah divinely arranged for two African women to be milkmothers of the Prophet, to serve as a model for the ummah

— Tradition of the time for the high class families of Quraysh in Makkah was that young kids would be sent away to live outside city life – away from the pollution & danger of the city

• Makkah at the time had high infant mortality due to a disease spreading

• Thus, kids would be sent away with wet nurses to the countryside grow away from the pollution & other what-have-yous of city life

• In order to earn some money, women from the boonies would come to Makkah & would go to families with young children & ask to raise them

Makkah was a trade center. People came from far & wide to do business. The mixing of different cultures affected the purity of the language of the Quraysh

Qurayshi families didn’t want their children to grow up with their version of Spanglish, so they were willing to send their kids away to learn the pure form of Arabic from these women

• These women would keep the kids for a minimum of 2 yearsDuring that time, these women would bring the kids back to

visit them, or the families themselves would go to the countryside to visit their kids

— Halima al-Sa’diya bint Abu Dhuayb (actual name Abdullah bin Hadith), of the tribe of Banu Sa’ad, was another milkmother of the Prophet

• Halimah was married to Al Hadith bin Abdul Uzza from Banu Sa’ad. Their children:

• Son named Abdullah• Daughter named Unaisa• Daughter named Khudafa (whose actual name was probably

Judama)Nickname was Shaima

— It was year of drought in Banu Sa’ad area

• Because the drought was so severe (plants & animals dying), many of the women of Banu Sa’ad decide to go to Makkah to help out their families

• About 10 women ride out on a long journey Makkah• They traveled on mules or donkeys – camels are actually

uncomfortable to ride on• Halimah, her husband al-Hadith & their infant son, Abdullah,

traveled on this journey together, while their two daughters were left behind

• Halimah’s family was one of the poorest families in the area• The mule Halimah was riding was very weak & moving slowly.

The camel that al-Hadith was riding was a she-camel. They brought her for the camel’s milk for the journey, but due to the drought & lack of grazing area, the animals couldn’t produce any milk.

• Due to lack of food, Halimah couldn’t produce milk to feed Abdullah.

• The other families that had been traveling with them had gone on. Halimah’s family had been left behind.

• They continued to push forward though.— On the night before they reached Makkah, their situation had been so severe that the baby couldn’t stop crying due to hunger. They all stayed up all night long. Still, they arrive in Makkah in their condition.

• They arrive in Makkah to find that all of the women have received babies & payment from the wealthy families in Makkah.

• Halimah is the only one who was left without a baby to take in.• Halimah made rounds to look for any babies & got rejected in

every home, but every single family tell her that there’s one baby that no one’s picked up yet – the grandson of Abdul Mutallib, little Muhammad

• Halimah says, “When every single home would tell me about this baby, I’d think to myself, ‘I don’t want this baby.’

• All the women of Banu Sa’ad who arrived before told Halimah that even they wouldn’t take this baby – because the baby is an orphan.

• Sure, the baby comes from a good family, but Abdul Mutallib has to take care of Makkah & his whole extended family. So it’s unsure as to how dependable Aminah can be for money.

• No one was motivated enough to take in Muhammad— After she made all the rounds, Halimah realized there’s only one yatin baby left.

• She goes to her husband & says there’s nothing to take.Halimah said, “Even if we don’t get any money out of this,

we’ll at least save some face. At least I wouldn’t come home unemployed, empty-handed since all the other women had gotten a baby.”

Al Hadith replied, “You never know. God can provide some blessing in that child for us. So go pick up that child if you want to.”

— When the wet nurse would come to pick up the baby, the family would ask her to nurse the baby in front of them (as a form of interview) so they were assured that the child was comfortable with the woman

• Remember that for two days, Halimah hadn’t been able to feed her son properly. She was so hungry herself that she couldn’t produce any milk for her baby.

• But as soon as Halimah picked up baby Muhammad & started nursing, she was able to feed him. She fed him to his fill.

• She was very surprised by this because her own baby Abdullah had been crying all night from lack of milk. She set down Muhammad after he finished, and then fed Abdullah to his fill

• She knew that Muhammad was something special. Halimah eagerly asked for the child now.

• Aminah agrees— Halimah & her husband pack up & set up to leave. Before getting Muhammad, Halimah pleads to the women that came with her to wait for her family. She gets Muhammad & the family sets on the journey back.

• Now the mule that they rode on is perfectly fine, she’s walking fast now

• At night, when camping, al-Hadith asks his wife if she’s hungry. She says, “Yes, but why bother? The camel won’t milk; we’ve tried for several days.”

• But al-Hadith goes to try anyway, & he milks the she-camel. Bowl is completely filled

• Both wife & husband drank to their fill• Halimah was able to nurse both babies. They were all

able to sleep very well• Halimah recalls that was the most peaceful sleep she’s

ever had• They arrive home— The entire area of Banu Sa’ad was stricken with drought, but the land that Al Hadith owned was the worst.

• Halimah & al-Hadith’s livestock was dying due to lack of grazing areas.

• It was difficult to negotiate with other landowners to allow Halimah & al-Hadith’s herd to graze on the neighbors’ because they’d want the animals for themselves.

• Slowly, Halimah’s livestock herd was thinning in number & size.

• But when they got back, before you know it, their land is the greenest in the region. Their goats, sheep, & cows ate to their fill & gave an abundance of milk. Soon enough, they were able to start a milk business

• Their neighbors’ lands were still barren. They’d look over to Al Hadith’s land & wonder how he could be so successful during this drought.

• Some of the wealthier tribe leaders would hire shepherds to take care of their livestock. They would scold the shepherds, “Why is my flock dying? Why aren’t they giving milk? Look at al-Hadith’s animals. Why are they able to give so much milk? You must be doing something wrong.”

— The aggression wasn’t subtle. The other women who brought kids from Makkah used to look at Halimah with pity before because she

used to be the miskeena of the group (broke husband, dried-up land, dying animals). Now the women tell Halimah, “You’ve acquired a huge blessing.”

• Halimah & al-Hadith’s land was flourishing. Their livestock gave plenty of food, thus the family was able to do very well themselves.

— Halimah & al-Hadith are able to determine that Muhammad is the reason that they now have so many blessings in their life

• They’ve also noticed that Muhammad had a noor in his face. He just had this appealing look in his face. He had a magnetic quality about him; people would come over & just sit & hold him.

• As he grew to a toddler, Muhammad didn’t look like an average 2 year old. He seemed taller, stronger, & more intelligent than average 2 year old.

• He was also very calm & serene. He didn’t throw hissy fits— Because Halimah knew that Muhammad was a very special child & that he was the source of all their new blessings, Halimah instructed her eldest daughter Shaima, “Listen, your brothers, Abdullah & Muhammad, are little kids who run around & do crazy things, but I want you to always keep an eye on Muhammad. He’s your responsibility. Be a good older sister to him.”

— One day, Halimah sees no children in the house

• The sun was at its peak. During this time of day, the animals would all find & huddle up underneath the shade under the wall of the house or under the trees. They would rest until it cooled down before going out in the open.

• Halimah looks out, & sees her daughter Shaima sitting with Muhammad outside in the middle of the grass, out in the open in the glaring heat. 

• Muhammad is just lying on the grass & Shaima’s sitting. They’re both just chillin’.

• Halimah is angry. She put her daughter in charge of Muhammad but they’re both out in the open, not even in the shade.

• Halimah rushes out there, furious, yelling, “it’s so hot, don’t sit under the sun! Get back inside!”

• She scolds Shaima, “You should know better! What are you doing?! You’re going to get sick! He’s just a little boy! You should know better!”

• Shaima says, “No, Mom, everything’s okay. I’ve been watching little brother. One thing I noticed about him was that he walks around in the noontime without a bother. I wondered how he can walk around during this heat

without any discomfort. I looked up & see that there’s always a cloud over him casting a shade on him. As he moves, the cloud & the shade also move. It’s always there. So he just comes out here & just chills. So I sit next to him & get some of the shade too.”

— When Muhammad reaches 2, Halimah brings Muhammad back to Makkah. That’s typically the age when the women bring the children back to their families.

• Halimah recalls that she did not want to give up the child, not just because of all the blessings (since they were living it up), but she had formed an attachment with the child

• Aminah’s very happy to be reunited with her son• Halimah asks, “Did you consider sending him away for more

time?”• Aminah says, “No, absolutely not. We’re good.”• Halimah’s anxious. But it just so happens, there have been a lot of

recent cases of little babies getting sick from disease & dying. Halimah remembers this, so she tells Aminah about all these kids dying in Makkah

• Halimah says, “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Muhammad. He’s my son too. Let me take him back for a bit longer, where it’s clean & safe & away from all this mess.”

• She’s able to convince Aminah & bring Muhammad back to Banu Sa’ad, for about a year & a half

— During that year & a half, a big incident occurred

• Angel Jibril (as) comes & splits Muhammad’s chest & cleanses his heart

— Little Muhammad lived with his milkmother Halimah & her family for about the first 3-5 years of his life way out in the boondocks

— Muhammad’s age is estimated to be between 2 and 4 at the time when his chest was split open

9. Since he remembers this incident so clearly, scholars say he was close to 4 or 4 ½ years.

— 4-year-old Abdullah, Halimah’s biological son, comes running to Halimah & her husband al-Hadith, yelling & panting, “Over there! Over there! Akhi al-Qurayshi! My brother! My brother!”

• The parents rush toward the direction Abdullah was pointing• Muhammad & Abdullah were running around & playing where the

goats & sheep were grazing behind the tents area of their farm. They were playing when Abdullah went running to his parents, very terrified.

— In one narration, while they’re running, Abdullah tells his parents what scared him

• “Two men came down. They were wearing white clothes. They laid Muhammad down and started cutting him open.”

• In 2nd narration, Muhammad himself gave his nursing parents a full account of what happened

• 3rd narration says Muhammad tells his Sahaba years later this story. He pulled his shirt off to show the cut from the “hollow of the neck to his navel”.

— Halimah, al-Hadith, & Abdullah reach over to Muhammad

• They find Muhammad standing there, looking very  pale• Al-Hadith asks Muhammad, “My dear son, what happened to you?”• Muhammad says, “Two men came to me. They were wearing white

clothes. They laid me down on my back and then they split me open. They took something out from me and threw it away. Then they put everything back.”

— As Muhammad recalls this memory years later, he said:

• “The two men came down from the sky, as if they were flying down. They took my heart out & split it. They took some sort of black blood clot. They pulled it out from my heart & threw it away.”

• One of the 2 men said, ‘Where’s the dish?’ The dish was made of gold.

• There was ice in the Zamzam water in the dish.• They took my heart out, took out some black element (represents

evil/sin), & then washed my heart. They also washed my inside & put the heart back in.

• After the men perform the procedures, they have a conversation:• Angel: “Weigh him against 10 people of his ummah.”• Muhammad, recalling years later, said, “I outweighed them.”• Angel: “Then weigh him against 100 people.”• Muhammad: “I outweighed them.”• Angel: “Then weigh him against 1000 people.”• Muhammad: “I outweighed them.”• Angel: “Then leave him.”• The angels were weighing Muhammad’s Imaan, endurance, his

emotional fortitude – all of it outweighed everyone else’s.— On his deathbed, Muhammad was experiencing the pains of death, since the soul is getting ready to transition from the dunya to al-Akhira. He asks Jibril, who’s there to comfort Muhammad, “Is this pain something everyone goes through?”

• Jibril replied, “Yes, this is something everyone experiences. It’s not a punishment. It’s the soul preparing to depart this world.”

• Muhammad makes a dua, “Oh Allah, I will take all of this pain & suffering from my ummah. Please do not put anybody from my ummah through this pain.”

• So we see from these types of narrations that the Prophet could put up with more than the average human

— Halimah & her husband al-Hadith carry Muhammad home. They lay him down to rest.

• Halimah & Al Hadith are very worried & talk about what to do. They’re worried about the aftereffects. They already know that something’s special about Muhammad.

• Al-Hadith says, “We have no choice but to take Muhammad back to Makkah. We need to give him back to his mother before anything else happens to him. Maybe someone’s after him, maybe it’s some supernatural force. Whatever’s happening, it’s beyond our control. But we shouldn’t tell his mother what happened. What’s already happened, happened. She’s a single mother, & probably worried about raising a child on her own – there’s no benefit in worrying her further. Let’s just take him home, give him to his mother, & come back home.”

— Halimah & al-Hadith rush back to Aminah with Muhammad

• Aminah asks, “Why are you back so early?”• They reply, “We’ve already fulfilled our contract of 2 years, so here

you are.”• Aminah says, “No, no. Something’s happened. You look frightened.

The way you negotiated last time to take him away again, I thought I’d never see my son again. I thought I would have to come get him. Now you’re in a hurry to rid of him. Tell me what happened. This is my child. I want to know exactly what happened.”

• Aminah wouldn’t let them leave until they told her the details— Halimah & al-Hadith recount the experience

• After hearing it all, Aminah asks, “Are you worried that Shaytan or some other evil force  (spirits/demons) has done something to him? Do you want me to tell you something about Muhammad? You don’t need to worry. Whatever’s happened, it’s nothing bad. Shaytan can’t do anything to him. This son of mine – he’s going to be someone very, very special. There’s something momentous in his future. You want me to really tell you about him?”

• Halimah says, “Of course.”• Aminah says, “When I was pregnant with him, I could never feel

anything. I felt no extra weight, I felt no burden, no difficulty.

When I was pregnant with him, I’d see dreams that light was coming out of my womb & it was illuminating the palaces of As-Sham (Syria). When I gave birth to him, he came out unlike any other child. He didn’t cry. The entire house became filled with noor. The women who were assisting with the delivery were momentarily blinded.”

• Aminah goes to tell Halimah & al-Hadith about the miracles surrounding Muhammad’s birth – of the angels that would come to talk to her, & the name her baby should be given.

• Aminah says, “Don’t worry about anything. Nothing bad has happened to him, & nothing bad can happen to this child.

— With that, Halimah & al-Hadith leave Muhammad to the care of his mother Aminah and go back home.

— A Sahaba named Abu Dhar asked Muhammad, “When did you first realize that you were unique, & there was something different about you? When did you realize you were a prophet?”

• Muhammad replied, “I knew there was something special about me when two angels came to me. When I was in the nearby valleys of Makkah, one of them came & landed on the ground next to me. The other one was still in the sky. The one who landed asked the one still in the sky, “Are you sure it’s him?” The other one said, “Yes, that’s the one we’ve been looking for.’ Then the angels weighed me against a person.”

Then he talks about his chest being split & then sewed back up

• Muhammad also mentions that the angels observed the birthmark on his back (a cluster of moles), which had begun to get more prominent at that time

Khatimun Nabua – a sign that he was the Seal of Prophethood— The Prophet’s heart has been washed by Zamzam at least twice – as a child & when he went on the Night Journey (Al-Isra wa Al-Mi’raj)

• He was about 50-years-old. He went to the Baytullah (Kab’ah) & prayed 2 rakaat in the hateem. He was leaned against the Kab’ah, where the angels performed the same procedure on his heart

• Majority of narrations say this incident happened twice, but a weaker narration also mentions a 3rd incident in which his chest was split open

• It happened to him at the age of 12 or 13, when he was about to enter puberty

— There are questions regarding the validity of this incident, by Orientalists, who dismiss such events in the life of the Prophet as preposterous

• These events come to us from authentic sources• Believing something out of the ordinary in regards to the Prophet’s

life is a test of our imaan• However, that’s not to say that you’re going to start

performing open heart surgeries to remove the black entity that represents evil

— One time, Aisha (ra) was acting out, so the Prophet asked if she was feeling jealous

• Aisha: “Yes, of course, I’m jealous.”• Prophet: “Your Shaytan had gotten hold of you. Your shaytan got the

best of you. That’s why you felt jealous.”• Aisha: “Does everyone have a shaytan?”• Prophet: “Yes, everyone has a shaytan that’s attached to them, who

tries to take them into the wrong path.”• Aisha: “Even you, o Rasullallah?”• Prophet: “Yes, even a shaytan attached himself to me, but he

became a Muslim. But my shaytan has no control over me, I control him. He doesn’t get the best of me.”

— This chest-splitting served as a cleansing of the heart for the Prophet, freeing him from the influences of the nafs, carnal, & other evil influences.

• That washing of the Prophet’s heart in Zamzam water by the angels was strengthening the heart of Prophet to be able to receive divine revelation & to be able to carry the Qur’an

• Allah told the Prophet that the Qur’an is very heavyAisha recalls a time when Prophet was resting his head on her

leg, when he began to receive divine revelation. His head became so heavy that Aisha was afraid that his head would crush his leg

Sometimes, when the Prophet would be riding an animal & get divine revelation, the camel/donkey would sit down & moan from the heavy discomfort

• This heart-cleansing was to prepare the Prophet to receive the Qur’an

— Why would there be a physical procedure like this? Why not make it a metaphorical heart-cleansing?

• This was to make it a publically known thing so that the child himself would realize & the people immediate to the child would realize that he’s on his way to achieve great things

— After being returned to Aminah, Muhammad stayed with his mother for 2-3 more years until her death

• Muhammad lost both of his parents by the age of 6 (his father died

before his birth)• Everything that happened to the Prophet was by divine decree