Muhammad the orphan -I

Initially, after his birth, Thuwaybah, the freed slave-girl of Abu
Lahab Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib,suckled him for seven days. She had suckled
Hamzahthe uncle of the Prophetalso. Thus, both Masruh Ibn Thuwaybah
and Hamzah were hisfoster brothers. According to the custom of the
Arab nobles, on the eighth day he was entrusted to lady Haleemah of
the Banu Sa'd clan of the Hawaazin tribe tosuckle him and bring him
up. Thenobles ofArabiawould entrust their babies to bedouin women so
that they would become healthy and strong in the open and free climate
of the desert. Besides this, it would help develop eloquent speech,
because the language of the bedouins was more pure, graceful and
eloquent than thoseliving in urban areas.
Haleemah Sa'diyyah would come to Makkah twice a year to show him to
his mother and grandfather. Haleemah Sa'diyyah suckled him for two
years and he remained with her for four years altogether. His mother
summoned him to Makkah at the end of four years. According to some
narrations, heremained with Banu Sa'd for five years. He was five
years of age, when he was out grazing goats along with his foster
brother andsisters and other boys of the same age when the event of
the opening up of his chest occurred.
According to a narration of SeeratIbn Hisham, Haleemah bint Abu Dhuayb
relates this event in thesewords: "One day both of my children came
fearfully to me andsaid that two cleanly dressed persons seized our
Qurayshi brother and split open his chest. Iwent to the spot along
with my husband )Haarith Ibn 'Abdul-'Uzzaa( and saw that he was
sitting there with a pallid face. Upon inquiry, he stated that two
cleanly dressed persons came to him, laid him down with his face up,
took out his heart, and extracted something from it." Yet, Haleemah
found no trace of any injury or spot of blood. Having thought that a
Jinn had affected the boy, she brought him to Makkah without loss of
time and related the whole eventto his mother. His mother, instead of
being afraid of what had happened, spoke with all theconfidence at her
command that her son would achieve a very distinctive place in the
world, andwould surely remain safe from allcalamities. She related
that whenhewas in her womb, she heard many things from the angels and
noticed many uncommon happenings. Imaam Muslim reports from Anas Ibn
Maalikthat one day when hewas playing with the boys of Makkah, Jibreel
)Gabriel( came to him, split his chest, took out a black spot from it,
and said: "Thiswas the portion of Satan." Following that, he washed
his heart in a tray of gold with Zamzam water and then replacedit.
After this event, Haleemah was worried about the boy and returned him
to his mother with whom he stayed until he was six.
In respect and memory of her late husband, Aaminah – the Prophet's
mother - decided to visit his grave in Yathrib)Madeenah(. She set out
to cover ajourney of 500 kilometers with her orphan boy, woman servant
Umm Ayman and father-in-law 'Abdul-Muttalib. She spent a month there
and then started her way back to Makkah. On the way, she had a severe
illness and died in Abwa on the road between Makkah and Madeenah.
To His Compassionate Grandfather:
'Abdul-Muttalib brought the boy to Makkah. He had warm feelings
towards the boy, his orphan grandson, whose recent disaster)his
mother's death( added more to the pains of the past. 'Abdul-Muttalib
was more passionate with his grandson than with his own children. He
never left the boy a prey to loneliness, and always preferred him to
his own children. Ibn Hishaam reported:"A mattress was put in the
shade of Al-Ka'bah for 'Abdul-Muttalib. His children used to sit
around that mattress in honour of their father, but Muhammadused to
sit on it. His uncles would pull him back, but if 'Abdul-Muttalib was
present, he would say: 'Leavemy grandson. I swear by Allaah that this
boy will hold a significant position.' He used to seat the boy on his
mattress, pat his back and was always pleased with what the boy did."
The Death of 'Abdul-Muttalib
When Muhammadwas eight years, two months and ten days old, his
grandfather 'Abdul-Muttalib passed away in Makkah. When
'Abdul-Muttalib's funeral procession was proceeding, hejoined it with
tearful eyes. However, 'Abdul-Muttalib had entrusted him to his son
Abu Taalib before his death, stressing the utmost care and protection
for the boy. Despite having several other sons, 'Abdul-Muttalib was
wise enough to givehim to the care of Abu Taalib because he and
'Abdullaah, the father of the boy, were born of the same mother. The
assessment of 'Abdul-Muttalib came true and the nephew became Abu
Taalib's favourite.
Support of Abu Taalib
Abu Taalib took special care of hisnephew and held him dearer than his
own sons. He made him sleep on his own bed. He singled the boy out
with great respect and high esteem. Abu Taalib remained for forty
years cherishing his nephew and extending all possible protection and
support to him. His relations with the others were determinedin the
light of the treatment they showed to the Prophet. Ibn 'Asaakir
reported on the authority of Jalhamah Ibn 'Arfootah who said: "I came
to Makkah when it was a rainless year, so Quraysh said: 'O Abu Taalib!
The valley has become leafless and the children hungry, let us go and
pray for rainfall.' Abu Taalib went to the Ka'bah with a young boy who
was as beautiful as the sun and a dark cloud was over his head. Abu
Taalib and the boy stood by the wall of the Ka'bah and prayed for
rain. Immediately, clouds from alldirections gathered and rain fell
heavily and caused the flow of springs and growth of plants in the
town and the country.