Thread by @YasinAwwal

التغريدات القصية في السيرة النبويةﷺ

PART 4 #BiographyOfRasul

His Childhood - I

The Prophet was suckled by his mother for a few days, whereafter two other women had the honour
of being his foster-mothers ie. Thuwaibah and Halimah as Sa'diyyah.

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The former was the slave of Abu Lahab and one of the nurses of the Prophet's uncle Al Abbas. She suckled Rasulullah (s) for about four months. The latter was from Banu Sa'd.

It was customary for noble families amongst the Arabs to entrust their
children to wet nurses.

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This was for 3 main reasons
A. Safeguard the children from contagious diseases of Makkah, since it was a busy hub of the Hijaz.
B. Afford the children an opportunity to learn authentic Arabic from the suburb villages.
C. Help them build immunity against these diseases.

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Nurses of the tribe Bani Sa'd were famous in
this area. They visited Makkah & every one of them took a new-born
baby along with her.

That year, the nurses were in the grip of a severe famine and, were therefore, in great need of help
from the noble families.

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One account states that the nurses avoided the newborn of the Quraysh because his father was late. They worried about who would pay them for their services.

Another account states that the newborn of Quraysh did not suck from anyone except Halimah as Sa'diyyah.

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According to the first account, she arrived at Makkah late because of her old/weak donkey which was too slow. All the nurses who arrived earlier took all the newborns, so she was left with no one else but THE newborn of Quraysh (s).

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Halimah bint Abi Zuwayb, from Bani Sa'd under
Hawazan clan took the Prophet SAWS. She had three children named Abdullah, Anisah & Shima'.

She was a suckling mother who only had milk in her left breast. When she met the Prophet, she offered it to him but he declined.

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She then offered him the right, which was dry, but he accepted and it instantly became full of milk. It was from this moment that she realized that this newborn of Quraysh was quite unlike everyone she's ever known.

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She was the last arrive at Makkah and last to leave, but once the Prophet mounted her old/weak donkey, it suddenly became strong and agile. It caught up with and overtook every other nurse who left them behind. She noticed how cloud shielded him all through their journey.

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She said: "from the day I took Muhammad to my house I became all the more prosperous and
my wealth and herd increased".

Her family grew super fond of him (s).

After weaning, it was time to return him to his mother. Halimah took him to his mother, Amina (r).

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Halimah pleaded to keep him longer due to his great fortune. Additionally, there was a cholera outbreak in Makkah, so Amina accepted.

The second time Halima took him (s) to Amina, a group of Ethiopian clergymen came to Hijaz and saw Muhammad amidst the tribe of Bani Sa'd.

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They recognized the signs of his Prophethood from what was related in their scriptures, so they attempted to take him away to Ethiopia by all means. Their plans were foiled and their attempt was futile.

The third and final time Halimah took her to Amina,

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it was due to the popular incident that took place in which Angels came to the Prophet, opened his chest and took out his heart, washed it in a golden bowl with zamzam water. This incident scared Halimah so she returned him back to his mother finally after 5 years.

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The kind foster-mother of the Prophet looked after him for five years and did her best to nurse and cherish him. During this period the Holy Prophet learnt eloquent Arabic language and prided himself
upon it afterwards.

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In Makkah, he spent some time under the loving care
of his mother and the guardianship of his magnanimous grandfather. This child was the only gift and mnemonic device left
by Abdullah to his bereaved family.

To be continued, in sha Allah.

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