2. The birth and suckling of the Messenger of God ﷺ

1. Sirat Ibn Hisham 186No grade recorded

   وِلَادَةُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَرَضَاعَتُهُ [ رَأَى ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ في مَوْلِدَهُ ﷺ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وُلِدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ، لِاثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً خَلَتْ مِنْ شَهْرِ رَبِيعٍ الْأَوَّلِ، عَامَ الْفِيلِ [ رِوَايَةُ قَيْسِ بْنِ مَخْرَمَةَ عَنْ مَوْلِدِهِ ﷺ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: حَدَّثَنِي الْمُطَّلِبُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ قَيْسِ بْنِ مَخْرَمَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ جَدِّهِ قَيْسِ بْنِ مَخْرَمَةَ، قَالَ: وَلَدْتُ أَنَا وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَامَ الْفِيلِ، فَنَحْنُ لِدَانِ.

   ✧ The birth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his nursing [Ibn Isḥāq's view concerning his birth ﷺ] Ibn Isḥāq said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was born on Monday, twelve nights having passed of the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, in the Year of the Elephant. [The report of Qays b. Makhramah about his birth ﷺ] Ibn Isḥāq said: Al-Muṭṭalib b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Qays b. Makhramah related to me from his father, from his grandfather Qays b. Makhramah, who said: I and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were born in the Year of the Elephant, so we are of the same age.

2. Sirat Ibn Hisham 187No grade recorded

   [ رِوَايَةُ حَسَّانَ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ عَنْ مَوْلِدِهِ ﷺ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَحَدَّثَنِي صَالِحُ بْنُ إبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ عَوْفٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ سَعْدِ بْنِ زُرَارَةَ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ. قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي مَنْ شِئْتُ مِنْ رِجَالِ قَوْمِي عَنْ حَسَّانَ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ، قَالَ: وَاَللَّهِ إنِّي لَغُلَامٌ يَفَعَةٌ، ابْنُ سَبْعِ سِنِينَ أَوْ ثَمَانٍ، أَعْقِلُ كُلَّ مَا سَمِعْتُ، إذْ سَمِعْتُ يَهُودِيًّا يَصْرُخُ بِأَعْلَى صَوْتِهِ عَلَى أَطَمَةٍ بِيَثْرِبَ: يَا مَعْشَرَ يَهُودِ، حَتَّى إذَا اجْتَمَعُوا إلَيْهِ، قَالُوا لَهُ: وَيْلَكَ مَا لَكَ ؟ قَالَ: طَلَعَ اللَّيْلَةَ نَجْمُ أَحْمَدِ الَّذِي وُلِدَ بِهِ. قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إسْحَاقَ: فَسَأَلْتُ سَعِيدَ بْنَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ حَسَّانَ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ، فَقُلْتُ. ابْنُ كَمْ كَانَ حَسَّانُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ مَقْدَمَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ الْمَدِينَةَ ؟ فَقَالَ: ابْنُ سِتِّينَ ( سَنَةً )، وَقَدِمَهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ، وَهُوَ ابْنُ ثَلَاثٍ وَخَمْسِينَ سَنَةً، فَسَمِعَ حَسَّانُ مَا سَمِعَ وَهُوَ ابْنُ سَبْعِ سِنِينَ

   ✧ [The report of Ḥassān b. Thābit concerning his birth ﷺ] Ibn Isḥāq said: And Ṣāliḥ b. Ibrāhīm b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAwf narrated to me, from Yaḥyā b. ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Saʿd b. Zurārah al-Anṣārī. He said: Narrated to me whomever I wished of the men of my people, from Ḥassān b. Thābit, who said: By God, I was a growing boy, seven or eight years old, understanding all that I heard, when I heard a Jew crying out at the top of his voice from a fortress in Yathrib: O assembly of Jews! When they gathered to him, they said to him: Woe to you! What is the matter with you? He said: Tonight the star of Aḥmad has risen, the one by which he was born. Muḥammad b. Isḥāq said: I asked Saʿīd b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ḥassān b. Thābit, saying: How old was Ḥassān b. Thābit when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to Madinah? He said: Sixty years old, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to it when he was fifty-three years old, so Ḥassān heard what he heard when he was seven years old.

3. Sirat Ibn Hisham 188No grade recorded

   [ إعْلَامُ أُمِّهِ جَدَّهُ بِوِلَادَتِهِ ﷺ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهُ أُمُّهُ ﷺ، أَرْسَلَتْ إلَى جَدِّهِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ: أَنَّهُ قَدْ وُلِدَ لَكَ غُلَامٌ، فَأْتِهِ فَانْظُرْ إلَيْهِ، فَأَتَاهُ فَنَظَرَ إلَيْهِ، وَحَدَّثَتْهُ بِمَا رَأَتْ حِينَ حَمَلَتْ بِهِ، وَمَا قِيلَ لَهَا فِيهِ، وَمَا أُمِرَتْ بِهِ أَنْ تُسَمِّيَهُ. [ فَرَحُ جَدِّهِ بِهِ ﷺ، وَالْتِمَاسُهُ لَهُ الْمَرَاضِعَ ] فَيَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّ عَبْدَ الْمُطَّلِبِ أَخَذَهُ، فَدَخَلَ بِهِ الْكَعْبَةَ؛ فَقَامَ يَدْعُو اللَّهَ، وَيَشْكُرُ لَهُ مَا أَعْطَاهُ، ثُمَّ خَرَجَ بِهِ إلَى أُمِّهِ فَدَفَعَهُ إلَيْهَا. وَالْتَمَسَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ الرُّضَعَاءَ. قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: الْمَرَاضِعُ. وَفَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى فِي قِصَّةِ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: وَحَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَرَاضِعَ

   ✧ [His mother's notification of his grandfather of his birth ﷺ] Ibn Isḥāq said: When his mother gave birth to him ﷺ, she sent to his grandfather ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib: 'A boy has been born to you; come to him and look at him.' So he came to him and looked at him, and she told him what she had seen when she was pregnant with him, what was said to her concerning him, and what she was commanded to name him. [His grandfather's joy at him ﷺ, and his seeking wet nurses for him] They claim that ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib took him and entered the Kaʿbah with him; he stood supplicating Allah and thanking Him for what He had given him. Then he came out with him to his mother and handed him over to her. He sought wet nurses for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Ibn Hishām said: al-marāḍiʿ (wet nurses). And in the Book of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, in the story of Moses ﷺ: 'And We had forbidden for him wet nurses [before].'

4. Sirat Ibn Hisham 189No grade recorded

   [ نَسَبُ حَلِيمَةَ وَنَسَبُ أَبِيهَا ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: فَاسْتَرْضَعَ لَهُ امْرَأَةً مِنْ بَنِي سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرٍ، يُقَالُ لَهَا: حَلِيمَةُ ابْنَةُ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ. وَأَبُو ذُؤَيْبٍ: عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ بْنُ شِجْنَةَ بْنِ جَابِرِ بْنِ رِزَامِ بْنِ نَاصِرَةَ بْنِ فُصَيَّةَ بْنِ نَصْرِ بْنِ سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرِ بْنِ هَوَازِنَ بْنِ مَنْصُورِ بْنِ عِكْرِمَةَ بْنِ خَصَفَةَ بْنِ قَيْسِ بْنِ عَيَلَانَ [ نَسَبُ أَبِيهِ ﷺ فِي الرَّضَاعِ ] وَاسْمُ أَبِيهِ الَّذِي أَرْضَعَهُ ﷺ: الْحَارِثُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعُزَّى بْنِ رِفَاعَةَ بْنِ مَلَّانَ بْنِ نَاصِرَةَ بْنِ فُصَيَّةَ بْنِ نَصْرِ بْنِ سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرِ بْنِ هَوَازِنَ. قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: وَيُقَالُ: هِلَالُ بْنُ نَاصِرَةَ. [ إخْوَتُهُ ﷺ مِنْ الرَّضَاعِ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَإِخْوَتُهُ مِنْ الرَّضَاعَةِ: عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ، وَأُنَيْسَةُ بِنْتُ الْحَارِثِ، وَحُذَافَةُ بِنْتُ الْحَارِثِ، وَهِيَ الشَّيْمَاءُ، غَلَبَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اسْمِهَا فَلَا تُعْرَفُ فِي قَوْمِهَا إلَّا بِهِ. وَهُمْ لِحَلِيمَةِ بِنْتِ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ، عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، أُمِّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ. وَيَذْكُرُونَ أَنَّ الشَّيْمَاءَ كَانَتْ تَحْضُنُهُ مَعَ أُمِّهَا إذَا كَانَ عِنْدَهُمْ

   ✧ [The genealogy of Ḥalīmah and the genealogy of her father] Ibn Isḥāq said: He sought a wet nurse for him from among the Banū Saʿd b. Bakr, a woman called Ḥalīmah bt. Abī Dhuʾayb. Abū Dhuʾayb is ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Ḥārith b. Shijnah b. Jābir b. Rizām b. Nāṣirah b. Fuṣayyah b. Naṣr b. Saʿd b. Bakr b. Hawāzin b. Manṣūr b. ʿIkrimah b. Khaṣafah b. Qays b. ʿAylān. [The genealogy of his father ﷺ through nursing] The name of his father who nursed him ﷺ was al-Ḥārith b. ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā b. Rifāʿah b. Mallān b. Nāṣirah b. Fuṣayyah b. Naṣr b. Saʿd b. Bakr b. Hawāzin. Ibn Hishām said: It is also said: Hilāl b. Nāṣirah. [His ﷺ siblings through nursing] Ibn Isḥāq said: His siblings through nursing were ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Ḥārith, Unaysah bt. al-Ḥārith, and Ḥudhāfah bt. al-Ḥārith, who is al-Shaymāʾ; that name prevailed over her own name so that she was not known among her people except by it. They were the children of Ḥalīmah bt. Abī Dhuʾayb, ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Ḥārith, the mother of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. They mention that al-Shaymāʾ used to care for him along with her mother when he was with them.

5. Sirat Ibn Hisham 190No grade recorded

   [ حَدِيثُ حَلِيمَةَ عَمَّا رَأَتْهُ مِنْ الْخَيْرِ بَعْدَ تَسَلُّمِهَا لَهُ ﷺ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَحَدَّثَنِي جَهْمُ بْنُ أَبِي جَهْمٍ مَوْلَى الْحَارِثِ بْنِ حَاطِبِ الْجُمَحِيُّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ. أَوْ عَمَّنْ حَدَّثَهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: كَانَتْ حَلِيمَةُ بِنْتُ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ السَّعْدِيَّةُ أُمَّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ الَّتِي أَرْضَعَتْهُ، تُحَدِّثُ: أَنَّهَا خَرَجَتْ مِنْ بَلَدِهَا مَعَ زَوْجِهَا، وَابْنٍ لَهَا صَغِيرٍ تُرْضِعُهُ فِي نِسْوَةٍ مِنْ بَنِي سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرٍ، تَلْتَمِسُ الرُّضَعَاءَ، قَالَتْ: وَذَلِكَ فِي سَنَةٍ شَهْبَاءَ لَمْ تُبْقِ لَنَا شَيْئًا. قَالَتْ: فَخَرَجَتْ عَلَى أَتَانٍ لِي قَمْرَاءَ، مَعَنَا شَارِفٌ لَنَا، وَاَللَّهِ مَا تَبِضُّ بِقَطْرَةٍ، وَمَا نَنَامُ لَيْلَنَا أَجْمَعَ مِنْ صَبِيِّنَا الَّذِي مَعَنَا، مِنْ بُكَائِهِ مِنْ الْجَوْعِ. مَا فِي ثَدْيَيَّ مَا يُغْنِيهِ، وَمَا فِي شَارِفِنَا مَا يُغَدِّيهِ - قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: وَيُقَالُ: يُغَذِّيهِ - وَلَكِنَّا كُنَّا نَرْجُو الْغَيْثَ وَالْفَرَجَ فَخَرَجْتُ عَلَى أَتَانِي تِلْكَ فَلَقَدْ أَدَمْتُ بِالرَّكْبِ حَتَّى شَقَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضَعْفًا وَعَجَفًا، حَتَّى قَدِمْنَا مَكَّةَ نَلْتَمِسُ الرُّضَعَاءَ فَمَا مِنَّا امْرَأَةٌ إلَّا وَقَدْ عُرِضَ عَلَيْهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَتَأْبَاهُ، إذَا قِيلَ لَهَا إنَّهُ يَتِيمٌ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّا إنَّمَا كُنَّا نَرْجُو الْمَعْرُوفَ مِنْ أَبِي الصَّبِيِّ، فَكُنَّا نَقُولُ: يَتِيمٌ وَمَا عَسَى أَنْ تَصْنَعَ أُمُّهُ وَجَدُّهُ فَكُنَّا نَكْرَهُهُ لِذَلِكَ، فَمَا بَقِيَتْ امْرَأَةٌ قَدِمَتْ مَعِي إلَّا أَخَذَتْ رَضِيعًا غَيْرِي، فَلَمَّا أَجْمَعْنَا الِانْطِلَاقَ قُلْتُ لِصَاحِبِي: وَاَللَّهِ إنِّي لَأَكْرَهُ أَنْ أَرْجِعَ مِنْ بَيْنِ صَوَاحِبِي وَلَمْ آخُذْ رَضِيعًا، وَاَللَّهِ لَأَذْهَبَنَّ إلَى ذَلِكَ الْيَتِيمِ فَلَآخُذَنَّهُ، قَالَ: لَا عَلَيْكِ أَنْ تَفْعَلِي، عَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَجْعَلَ لَنَا فِيهِ بَرَكَةً. قَالَتْ: فَذَهَبْتُ إلَيْهِ فَأَخَذْتُهُ، وَمَا حَمَلَنِي عَلَى أَخْذِهِ إلَّا أَنِّي لَمْ أَجِدْ غَيْرَهُ. قَالَتْ: فَلَمَّا أَخَذْتُهُ، رَجَعْتُ بِهِ إلَى رَحْلِي، فَلَمَّا وَضَعْتُهُ فِي حِجْرِي أَقَبْلَ عَلَيْهِ ثَدْيَايَ بِمَا شَاءَ مِنْ لَبَنٍ، فَشَرِبَ حَتَّى رَوِيَ وَشَرِبَ مَعَهُ أَخُوهُ حَتَّى رَوِيَ، ثُمَّ نَامَا وَمَا كُنَّا نَنَامُ مَعَهُ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ، وَقَامَ زَوْجِي إلَى شَارِفِنَا تِلْكَ. فَإِذَا إنَّهَا لَحَافِلٌ، فَحَلَبَ مِنْهَا مَا شَرِبَ، وَشَرِبْتُ مَعَهُ حَتَّى انْتَهَيْنَا رِيًّا وَشِبَعًا، فَبِتْنَا بِخَيْرِ لَيْلَةٍ. قَالَتْ: يَقُولُ صَاحِبِي حِينَ أَصْبَحْنَا: تَعَلَّمِي وَاَللَّهِ يَا حَلِيمَةُ، لَقَدْ أَخَذْتُ نَسَمَةً مُبَارَكَةً، قَالَتْ: فَقُلْتُ: وَاَللَّهِ إنِّي لَأَرْجُو ذَلِكَ. قَالَتْ: ثُمَّ خَرَجْنَا وَرَكِبْتُ ( أَنَا ) أَتَانِي، وَحَمَلْتُهُ عَلَيْهَا مَعِي، فَوَاَللَّهِ لَقَطَعَتْ بِالرَّكْبِ مَا يَقْدِرُ عَلَيْهَا شَيْءٌ مِنْ حُمُرِهِمْ، حَتَّى إنَّ صَوَاحِبِي لِيَقُلْنَ لِي: يَا ابْنَةَ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ، وَيْحَكَ ارْبَعِي عَلَيْنَا، أَلَيْسَتْ هَذِهِ أَتَانَكَ الَّتِي كُنْتُ خَرَجْتُ عَلَيْهَا ؟ فَأَقُولُ لَهُنَّ: بَلَى وَاَللَّهِ، إنَّهَا لَهِيَ هِيَ، فَيَقُلْنَ: وَاَللَّهِ إنَّ لَهَا لَشَأْنًا. قَالَتْ: ثُمَّ قَدِمْنَا مَنَازِلَنَا مِنْ بِلَادِ بَنِي سَعْدٍ وَمَا أَعْلَمُ أَرْضًا مِنْ أَرْضِ اللَّهِ أَجْدَبَ مِنْهَا، فَكَانَتْ غَنَمِي تَرُوحُ عَلَيَّ حِينَ قَدِمْنَا بِهِ مَعَنَا شِبَاعًا لُبَّنًا، فَنَحْلُبُ وَنَشْرَبُ، وَمَا يَحْلُبُ إنْسَانٌ قَطْرَةَ لَبَنٍ، وَلَا يَجِدُهَا فِي ضَرْعٍ، حَتَّى كَانَ الْحَاضِرُونَ مِنْ قَوْمِنَا يَقُولُونَ لِرُعْيَانِهِمْ: وَيْلَكُمْ اسْرَحُوا حَيْثُ يَسْرَحُ رَاعِي بِنْتِ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ، فَتَرُوحُ أَغْنَامُهُمْ جِيَاعًا مَا تَبِضُّ بِقَطْرَةِ لَبَنٍ، وَتَرُوحُ غَنَمِي شِبَاعًا لُبَّنًا. فَلَمْ نَزَلْ نَتَعَرَّفُ مِنْ اللَّهِ الزِّيَادَةَ وَالْخَيْرَ حَتَّى مَضَتْ سَنَتَاهُ وَفَصَلْتُهُ، وَكَانَ يَشِبُّ شَبَابًا لَا يَشِبُّهُ الْغِلْمَانُ، فَلَمْ يَبْلُغْ سَنَتَيْهِ حَتَّى كَانَ غُلَامًا جَفْرًا. قَالَتْ: فَقَدِمْنَا بِهِ عَلَى أُمِّهِ وَنَحْنُ أَحْرَصُ شَيْءٍ عَلَى مُكْثِهِ فِينَا، لِمَا كُنَّا نَرَى مِنْ بَرَكَتِهِ. فَكَلَّمْنَا أُمَّهُ وَقُلْتُ لَهَا: لَوْ تَرَكْتُ بُنَيَّ عِنْدِي حَتَّى يَغْلُظَ، فَإِنِّي أَخْشَى عَلَيْهِ وَبَأَ مَكَّةَ، قَالَتْ: فَلَمْ نَزَلْ بِهَا حَتَّى رَدَّتْهُ مَعَنَا

   ✧ [The account of Ḥalīmah regarding the good she witnessed after receiving him ﷺ] Ibn Isḥāq said: Jahm b. Abī Jahm, the client of al-Ḥārith b. Ḥāṭib al-Jumaḥī, related to me, from ʿAbd Allāh b. Jaʿfar b. Abī Ṭālib, or from someone who related it to him from him, who said: Ḥalīmah bt. Abī Dhuʾayb al-Saʿdiyyah, the mother of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who suckled him, used to relate that she went forth from her land with her husband and a small son of hers whom she was suckling, among women of Banū Saʿd b. Bakr, seeking foster-children. She said: That was in a year of drought that left us nothing. She said: I set out on a she-ass of mine that was ash-colored, and we had with us an old she-camel. By Allah, she did not yield a drop of milk, and we did not sleep all night because of our little son who was with us, from his crying out of hunger; there was not in my breasts what sufficed him, nor in our old she-camel what fed him in the morning – Ibn Hishām said: It is also said: what nourished him – but we kept hoping for rain and relief. So I set out on that she-ass of mine, and I held back the caravan until that was hard on them, out of weakness and emaciation, until we arrived at Makkah seeking foster-children. There was not a woman among us but that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was offered to her, and she refused him, when it was said to her that he was an orphan. That was because we only hoped for kindness from the father of the child, so we would say: An orphan, and what can his mother and grandfather do? Thus we disliked him for that. So no woman who had arrived with me remained except that she had taken a foster-child other than me. When we resolved to depart, I said to my companion: By Allah, I hate to return from among my companions without having taken a foster-child. By Allah, I will go to that orphan and take him. He said: No harm upon you to do so; perhaps Allah will place blessing for us in him. She said: So I went to him and took him, and nothing made me take him except that I found no other. She said: When I took him, I returned with him to my saddle, and when I placed him in my lap, my breasts came upon him with as much milk as he wished, and he drank until he was satisfied, and his brother drank with him until he was satisfied, then they slept, though we had not slept with him before that. My husband rose to that old she-camel of ours, and behold, she was full of milk, and he milked from her what he drank, and I drank with him until we reached full drink and satiety, and we spent the best night. She said: My companion said when morning came: Know, by Allah, O Ḥalīmah, you have taken a blessed soul. She said: I said: By Allah, I hope for that. She said: Then we departed, and I rode my she-ass, and I carried him on her with me. By Allah, she outpaced the caravan such that none of their asses could match her, until my companions said to me: O daughter of Abī Dhuʾayb, woe to you, slow down for us; is not this your she-ass on which you had set out? I said to them: Yes, by Allah, it is she. They said: By Allah, she has something remarkable. She said: Then we arrived at our dwellings in the lands of Banū Saʿd, and I know no land of Allah's earth more barren than it. My sheep would return to me in the evening when we arrived with him, full-fed and milky, and we would milk and drink, while no person milked a drop of milk or found any in an udder, until the settled people of our tribe would say to their shepherds: Woe to you, pasture where the shepherd of the daughter of Abī Dhuʾayb pastures. Their sheep would return hungry, not yielding a drop of milk, while my sheep would return full-fed and milky. We did not cease to experience from Allah increase and good until his two years passed and I weaned him. He grew in a way that boys did not grow, and he had not reached his two years until he was a sturdy boy. She said: Then we brought him to his mother, while we were most eager for him to remain with us, because of the blessing we saw in him. We spoke to his mother, and I said to her: Would you leave my little son with me until he grows stronger, for I fear for him the disease of Makkah. She said: We did not cease with her until she returned him with us.

6. Sirat Ibn Hisham 191No grade recorded

   [ حَدِيثُ الْمَلَكَيْنِ اللَّذَيْنِ شَقَّا بَطْنَهُ ﷺ ] قَالَتْ: فَرَجَعْنَا بِهِ، فَوَاَللَّهِ إنَّهُ بَعْدَ مَقْدِمِنَا ( بِهِ ) بِأَشْهُرِ مَعَ أَخِيهِ لَفِي بَهْمٍ لَنَا خَلْفَ بُيُوتِنَا، إذْ أَتَانَا أَخُوهُ يَشْتَدُّ، فَقَالَ لِي وَلِأَبِيهِ: ذَاكَ أَخِي الْقُرَشِيُّ قَدْ أَخَذَهُ رَجُلَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا ثِيَابٌ بِيضٌ، فَأَضْجَعَاهُ، فَشَقَّا بَطْنَهُ، فَهُمَا يَسُوطَانِهِ. قَالَتْ: فَخَرَجْتُ أَنَا وَأَبُوهُ نَحْوَهُ، فَوَجَدْنَاهُ قَائِمًا مُنْتَقَعَا وَجْهُهُ. قَالَتْ: فَالْتَزَمْتُهُ وَالْتَزَمَهُ أَبُوهُ، فَقُلْنَا لَهُ: مَا لَكَ يَا بُنَيَّ، قَالَ: جَاءَنِي رَجُلَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا ثِيَابٌ بِيضٌ، فَأَضْجَعَانِي وَشَقَّا بَطْنِي، فَالْتَمِسَا ( فِيهِ ) شَيْئًا لَا أَدْرِي مَا هُوَ. قَالَتْ: فَرَجَعْنَا ( بِهِ ) إلَى خِبَائِنَا

   ✧ [The account of the two angels who split open his belly ﷺ] She said: So we returned with him. By God, after we had been back (with him) for some months, he was with his brother among some lambs of ours behind our houses, when his brother came running to us and said to me and to his father, “That Qurayshī brother of mine—two men in white garments took him, laid him down, and split open his belly; they are stirring it.” She said: So I and his father went out toward him, and found him standing with his face drained of color. She said: I embraced him and his father embraced him, and we said to him, “What is the matter with you, O my little son?” He said, “Two men in white garments came to me, laid me down, split open my belly, and searched in it for something—I do not know what it was.” She said: So we returned (with him) to our tent.

7. Sirat Ibn Hisham 192No grade recorded

   [ رُجُوعُ حَلِيمَةَ بِهِ ﷺ إلَى أُمِّهِ ] قَالَتْ: وَقَالَ لِي أَبُوهُ يَا حَلِيمَةُ، لَقَدْ خَشِيتُ أَنْ يَكُونَ هَذَا الْغُلَامُ قَدْ أُصِيبَ فَأَلْحِقِيهِ بِأَهْلِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَظْهَرَ ذَلِكَ بِهِ، قَالَتْ: فَاحْتَمَلْنَاهُ، فَقَدِمْنَا بِهِ عَلَى أُمِّهِ، فَفَالَتْ: مَا أَقْدَمَكَ بِهِ يَا ظِئْرُ وَقَدْ كُنْتِ حَرِيصَةً عَلَيْهِ، وَعَلَى مُكْثِهِ عِنْدَكَ ؟ قَالَتْ: فَقُلْتُ: قَدْ بَلَغَ اللَّهُ بِابْنِي وَقَضَيْتُ الَّذِي عَلَيَّ، وَتَخَوَّفْتُ الْأَحْدَاثَ، عَلَيْهِ، فَأَدَّيْتُهُ إلَيْكَ كَمَا تُحِبِّينَ، قَالَتْ: مَا هَذَا شَأْنُكَ، فَاصْدُقِينِي خَبَرَكَ. قَالَتْ: فَلَمْ تَدَعْنِي حَتَّى أَخْبَرْتُهَا. قَالَتْ: أَفَتَخَوَّفَتْ عَلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانَ ؟ قَالَتْ: قُلْتُ نَعَمْ، قَالَتْ: كَلَّا، وَاَللَّهِ مَا لِلشَّيْطَانِ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ، وَإِنَّ لِبُنَيَّ لَشَأْنًا، أَفَلَا أُخْبِرُكِ خَبَرَهُ، قَالَتْ: ( قُلْتُ ) بَلَى، قَالَتْ: رَأَيْتُ حِينَ حَمَلْتُ بِهِ، أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ مِنِّي نُورٌ أَضَاءَ لِي قُصُورَ بُصْرَى مِنْ أَرْضِ الشَّامِ، ثُمَّ حَمَلْتُ بِهِ، فَوَاَللَّهِ مَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْ حَمْلٍ قَطُّ كَانَ أَخَفَّ ( عَلَيَّ ) وَلَا أَيْسَرَ مِنْهُ، وَوَقَعَ حِينَ وَلَدْتُهُ وَإِنَّهُ لَوَاضِعٌ يَدَيْهِ بِالْأَرْضِ، رَافِعٌ رَأَسَهُ إلَى السَّمَاءِ، دَعِيهِ عَنْكَ وَانْطَلِقِي رَاشِدَةً

   ✧ [Ḥalīmah's return with him ﷺ to his mother] She said: His father said to me, “O Ḥalīmah, I fear that this boy has been afflicted, so return him to his family before that appears in him.” She said: So we carried him and brought him to his mother. She said, “What has brought you with him, O wet-nurse, when you were eager for him and for his staying with you?” She said: I said, “Allah has brought my son to full growth and I have fulfilled what was upon me, and I feared events upon him, so I have handed him over to you as you like.” She said, “This is not your affair, so tell me your news truthfully.” She said: She did not leave me until I told her. She said, “Did you fear Shayṭān for him?” She said: I said, “Yes.” She said, “No, by Allah, Shayṭān has no way over him, and my son has a great matter. Shall I tell you his news?” She said: I said, “Yes.” She said: “When I conceived him, I saw that a light came out of me that illuminated for me the palaces of Buṣrā in the land of Syria. Then I carried him, and by Allah, I never saw any pregnancy that was lighter upon me or easier than it. And when I gave birth to him, he fell with his hands placed on the ground, raising his head to the sky. Leave him with me and depart rightly guided.”

8. Sirat Ibn Hisham 193No grade recorded

   [ تَعْرِيفُهُ ﷺ بِنَفْسِهِ، وَقَدْ سُئِلَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ وَحَدَّثَنِي ثَوْرُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ، عَنْ بَعْضِ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ، وَلَا أَحْسَبُهُ إلَّا عَنْ خَالِدِ بْنِ مَعْدَانَ الْكُلَاعِيِّ: أَنَّ نَفَرًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالُوا لَهُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، أَخْبِرْنَا عَنْ نَفْسِكَ ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، أَنَا دَعْوَةُ أَبِي إبْرَاهِيمَ، وَبُشْرَى ( أَخِي ) عِيسَى، وَرَأَتْ أُمِّي حِينَ حَمَلَتْ بِي أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ مِنْهَا نُورٌ أَضَاءَ لَهَا قُصُورَ الشَّامِ، وَاسْتُرْضِعْتُ فِي بَنِي سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرٍ، فَبَيْنَا أَنَا مَعَ أَخٍ لِي خَلْفَ بُيُوتِنَا نَرْعَى بَهْمًا لَنَا، إذْ أَتَانِي رَجُلَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا ثِيَابٌ بِيضٌ بِطَسْتٍ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ مَمْلُوءَةٍ ثَلْجًا، ثُمَّ أَخَذَانِي فَشَقَّا بَطْنِي، وَاسْتَخْرَجَا قَلْبِي فَشَقَّاهُ، فَاسْتَخْرَجَا مِنْهُ عَلَقَةً سَوْدَاءَ فَطَرَحَاهَا، ثُمَّ غَسَلَا قَلْبِي وَبَطْنِي بِذَلِكَ الثَّلْجِ حَتَّى أَنْقَيَاهُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا لِصَاحِبِهِ زِنْهُ بِعَشَرَةِ مِنْ أُمَّتِهِ، فَوَزَنَنِي بِهِمْ فَوَزَنْتهمْ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: زِنْهُ بِمِئَةِ مِنْ أُمَّتِهِ، فَوَزَنَنِي بِهِمْ فَوَزَنْتهمْ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: زَنِّهِ بِأَلْفِ مِنْ أُمَّتِهِ، فَوَزَنَنِي بِهِمْ فَوَزَنْتهمْ؛ فَقَالَ: دَعْهُ عَنْكَ، فَوَاَللَّهِ لَوْ وَزَنْتَهُ بِأُمَّتِهِ لَوَزَنَهَا [ هُوَ وَالْأَنْبِيَاءُ قَبْلَهُ رَعَوْا الْغَنَمَ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ: مَا مِنْ نَبِيٍّ إلَّا وَقَدْ رَعَى الْغَنَمَ، قِيلَ: وَأَنْتَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ؟ قَالَ: وَأَنَا

   ✧ [ His ﷺ identifying himself, when asked about that ] Ibn Isḥāq said: Thawr b. Yazīd narrated to me, from some of the people of knowledge — and I do not think it is other than from Khālid b. Maʿdān al-Kulāʿī — that a group of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: “O Messenger of Allah, tell us about yourself?” He said: “Yes. I am the prayer of my father Abraham, and the good tidings of (my brother) Jesus. My mother saw, when she was pregnant with me, that a light came forth from her which illuminated for her the palaces of Syria. I was nursed among the Banū Saʿd b. Bakr. While I was with a brother of mine behind our houses tending some young lambs of ours, two men came to me wearing white garments, with a basin of gold filled with snow. Then they took me and split open my belly, and brought out my heart and split it open, and took out from it a black clot and cast it away. Then they washed my heart and my belly with that snow until they purified them. Then one of them said to his companion: ‘Weigh him against ten of his community.’ So he weighed me against them, and I outweighed them. Then he said: ‘Weigh him against a hundred of his community.’ So he weighed me against them, and I outweighed them. Then he said: ‘Weigh him against a thousand of his community.’ So he weighed me against them, and I outweighed them. Then he said: ‘Let him be from you; by Allah, if you weighed him against his entire community, he would outweigh it.’ [ He and the prophets before him shepherded sheep ] Ibn Isḥāq said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say: ‘There is no prophet but that he shepherded sheep.’ It was said: ‘And you, O Messenger of Allah?’ He said: ‘And I.’

9. Sirat Ibn Hisham 194No grade recorded

   [ اعْتِزَازُهُ ﷺ بِقُرَشِيَّتِهِ وَاسْتِرْضَاعُهُ فِي بَنِي سَعْدٍ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ لِأَصْحَابِهِ: أَنَا أَعْرَبُكُمْ، أَنَا قُرَشِيٌّ، وَاسْتُرْضِعْتُ فِي بَنِي سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرٍ. [ افْتَقَدَتْهُ حَلِيمَةُ ﷺ حِينَ رُجُوعِهَا بِهِ وَوَجَدَهُ وَرَقَةُ بْنُ نَوْفَلٍ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَزَعَمَ النَّاسُ فِيمَا يَتَحَدَّثُونَ، وَاَللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ: أَنَّ أُمَّهُ السَّعْدِيَّةَ لَمَّا قَدِمَتْ بِهِ مَكَّةَ أَضَلَّهَا فِي النَّاسِ وَهِيَ مُقْبِلَةٌ بِهِ نَحْوَ أَهْلِهِ، فَالْتَمَسَتْهُ فَلَمْ تَجِدْهُ، فَأَتَتْ عَبْدَ الْمُطَّلِبِ، فَقَالَتْ لَهُ: إنِّي قَدْ قَدِمْتُ بِمُحَمَّدٍ هَذِهِ اللَّيْلَةَ. فَلَمَّا كُنْتُ بِأَعْلَى مَكَّةَ أَضَلَّنِي، فَوَاَللَّهِ مَا أَدْرِي أَيْنَ هُوَ، فَقَامَ عَبْدُ الْمُطَّلِبِ عِنْدَ الْكَعْبَةِ يَدْعُو اللَّهَ أَنْ يَرُدَّهُ؛ فَيَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّهُ وَجَدَهُ وَرَقَةُ بْنُ نَوْفَلِ بْنِ أَسَدٍ، وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ، فَأَتَيَا بِهِ عَبْدَ الْمُطَّلِبِ، فَقَالَا لَهُ: هَذَا ابْنُكَ وَجَدْنَاهُ بِأَعْلَى مَكَّةَ، فَأَخَذَهُ عَبْدُ الْمُطَّلِبِ، فَجَعَلَهُ عَلَى عُنُقِهِ وَهُوَ يَطُوفُ بِالْكَعْبَةِ يُعَوِّذُهُ وَيَدْعُو لَهُ، ثُمَّ أَرْسَلَ بِهِ إلَى أُمِّهِ آمِنَةَ. قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: وَحَدَّثَنِي بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ: أَنَّ مِمَّا هَاجَ أُمَّهُ السَّعْدِيَّةَ عَلَى رَدِّهِ إلَى أُمِّهِ، مَعَ مَا ذَكَرَتْ لِأُمِّهِ مِمَّا أَخْبَرَتْهَا عَنْهُ، أَنَّ نَفَرًا مِنْ الْحَبَشَةِ نَصَارَى، رَأَوْهُ مَعَهَا حِينَ رَجَعَتْ بِهِ بَعْدَ فِطَامِهِ، فَنَظَرُوا إلَيْهِ وَسَأَلُوهَا عَنْهُ وَقَلَّبُوهُ، ثُمَّ قَالُوا لَهَا: لَنَأْخُذَنَّ هَذَا الْغُلَامَ، فَلَنَذْهَبَنَّ بِهِ إلَى مَلِكِنَا وَبَلَدِنَا، فَإِنَّ هَذَا غُلَامٌ كَائِنٌ لَهُ شَأْنٌ نَحْنُ نَعْرِفُ أَمْرَهُ، فَزَعَمَ الَّذِي حَدَّثَنِي أَنَّهَا لَمْ تَكَدْ تَنْفَلِتُ بِهِ مِنْهُمْ

   ✧ [ His ﷺ taking pride in his Qurashī descent and his being nursed among Banū Saʿd ] Ibn Isḥāq said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say to his companions: "I am the most Arab of you; I am a Qurashī, and I was nursed among Banū Saʿd b. Bakr." [ Ḥalīmah ﷺ lost him when she brought him back, and Waraqah b. Nawfal found him ] Ibn Isḥāq said: People claimed, in what they recount—and Allah knows best—that when his Saʿdī wet-nurse brought him to Makkah, she lost him among the people while she was coming with him toward his family. She searched for him but did not find him. So she came to ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib and said to him: "I have brought Muḥammad tonight. When I was in upper Makkah, he got lost from me. By Allah, I do not know where he is." So ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib stood by the Kaaba, calling upon Allah to return him. They claim that Waraqah b. Nawfal b. Asad and another man from Quraysh found him. They brought him to ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib and said to him: "This is your son; we found him in upper Makkah." So ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib took him, placed him on his neck, and began circumambulating the Kaaba, seeking protection for him and supplicating for him. Then he sent him to his mother Āminah. Ibn Isḥāq said: Some of the people of knowledge narrated to me that among what prompted his Saʿdī wet-nurse to return him to his mother, in addition to what she mentioned to his mother of what she told her about him, was that a group of Ethiopian Christians saw him with her when she returned with him after his weaning. They looked at him, asked her about him, and turned him over. Then they said to her: "We will surely take this boy and bring him to our king and our land, for this is a boy who will have great importance; we recognize his affair." The one who narrated to me claimed that she barely escaped with him from them.