The Life of Muhammad

Fatherhood, Motherhood, and a Shine

Before we talk about the shine at the birth of the master of all creatures, we talk about his immaculate father and mother who had begotten this great man who had changed the line of man’s history and saved him from the abysses of ignorance and humiliation to exalt him to the highest horizons of honor and dignity.

The father: Abdullah

Abdullah, the Prophet’s father, was from the noble masters of Quraysh in his high morals, manners, and conducts. He was chaste and unpolluted with any kind of sin. Historians say that once he passed, with his father Abdul Muttalib, by Fatima bint Murr al-Khath’amiyyah, who was a chaste poetess and priestess. She had read in some books about the signs of the Prophet (a.s.), and so when she saw the face of Abdullah that was illuminated with the light of prophethood, she asked him (Abdullah) to sleep with her and she would give him one hundred camels. He disdained and said to her,

“As for unlawfulness, death is better!

And the lawfulness is clear that I see.

So, how about the thing that you wish for?

A noble man protects his honor and faith.”[1]

He went on with his father who married him to Aaminah bint Wahab bin Abd Manaf. He stayed with her for three days and then he passed by Fatima al-Khath’amiyyah again. She said to him,  

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by Dahlan, vol. 1 p.30.

“O Youngman, by Allah I am not a woman of sin, but I saw in your face the light of prophethood and I wanted it to be in me,[1] but Allah refused except to put it where he wills. What did you do after me?” He told her that his father had married him to Aaminah bint Wahab and she showed her regret for the glory and pride she missed in some poetry she recited.

To the heavens

Abdullah did not stay with his wife long. He traveled to Sham for trade. When he came back, he visited his uncles in Medina to get some rest after his long travel and then to keep on towards Mecca. While he was with his uncles, he became ill. His companions left and set out towards Mecca. They told his father about his illness. Being too upset, Abdul Muttalib sent his son al-Harith to inquire about Abdullah and bring him to Mecca. When al-Harith arrived in Medina, he found that his brother Abdullah had died and been buried in Median a month after the journey of the caravan towards Mecca. Abdul Muttalib received the sad news with great sorrows and so did Aaminah who waited impatiently for the return of her husband who died while yet in the prime of his youth. Abdullah left after him five camels, a herd of sheep, and a maid who was Umm Aymen the Prophet’s nursemaid.[2]

The mother: Aaminah     

The noble lady, who got the honor of bearing the Prophet (a.s.), was Aamina bint Wahab from bani Zuhrah, one of the glorious Arab tribes. Aaminah was the best young woman of Quraysh in lineage and position.[3] Most of her family lived in Medina. The  

[1] The Prophet to be my son.
[2] The Life of Muhammad (a.s.), by Muhammad Hasanayn Haykal, p. 106.
[3] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah, by Dahlan, vol. 1 p. 28.

bani Zuhrah were pride of their uncleship to the Prophet (a.s.). They often proudly said, “We are the Prophet’s uncles.”[1] Aaminah got married to Abdullah who was the best young man of Quraysh. Because of this marriage she was envied by the young women of Quraysh who all wished to get married to Abdullah.

Aaminah’s vision

Aaminah saw in sleep a strange vision and she told her husband about it saying, “I saw as if a ray of light emerged from my being and illuminated the world around me until I saw by it the palaces of Busra in the land of Sham, and I heard a caller saying to me: you have born the master of this nation…”[2]

Her vision was true. She bore the master of all the creatures to whom all the world had submitted. Aaminah said about the blessing of her newborn baby,

“Since the first day when I bore my son until the moment when I gave birth to him, I did not feel any pain, and even I did not feel his weight. In fact, I did not feel that I had born him until a comer came to me while I was between sleep and wakefulness and said to me, ‘Did you feel you were pregnant?’ As if I said, ‘I do not know.’ He said, ‘You have born the master of this nation and its prophet. Know that!’”[3]

The shining of light

The world shone, and breezes from the mercy of Allah breezed to save man from the woes of ignorance and sins of life. It was the great mercy that Allah had endowed his people with to guide  

[1] A’lam an-Nisa’, vol. 1 p. 18.
[2] Hayat ar-Rasool al-Mustafa (the life of the messenger), vol. 1 p. 100.
[3] The life of Muhammad, by Abdul Haleem,  p. 476.

them to the best. It was the birth of Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) which was the greatest event in the history of the world and the best kindness and blessing from Allah the Almighty to His people.

Lady Aaminah said about the Prophet’s birth, “At the same moment (of the birth), a ray of light went out of my inners towards the east until it reached the land of Sham, and when the time of birth was near, the angel appeared to me again and said, ‘When you give birth to your child, you say: I pray the only One and Everlasting to protect him from the evil of every envier. Then, you name him Muhammad, for this is the name that has been given as good news in the Torah and the Bible, and because that he will be praised by all the inhabitants of the Heaven and the earth…’”[1]

Most of historians say that the Prophet (a.s.) was born in the year 750 AD., that was the Year of the Elephant.[2] Some say he was born on Friday the seventeenth of Rabee’ul Awwal.[3] The place of his birth was in Mecca in the house of his grandfather Abdul Muttalib who, when was informed of this birth, became very delighted and recited some poetry like,

“Praise be to Allah Who has granted me this good boy.

While in cradle, he has been preferred to all boys.

I charm him by the House of pillars.”[4]  

The Prophet’s uncles as well were very delighted for this birth. Abdul Muttalib was certain that his grandson would be an important man as he was told by some priests and diviners. He  

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p.158.
[2] The Life of Muhammad, by Haykal, p.70.
[3] Kashful Ghummah fee Ma’rifat al-A’immah, vol. 1 p.14.
[4] The margins of as-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p. 167.

took him and circumambulated the Kaaba with him while thanking Allah for this great blessing.[1]

His name

Abdul Muttalib named his grandson Muhammad. The people of Quraysh said to him, “Why did you name him so and give up the names of his family?” Abdul Muttalib said, “I wanted that Allah would praise him in the heaven and His creatures would in the earth.”[2]

Some scholar says, “Allah the Almighty has inspired them to name him Muhammad because of the praiseworthy qualities he had so that the name and the named one would conform with each other in form and meaning. There is no name more blessed and solemn than the Prophet’s name. It is transmitted from him (the Prophet) his saying, “No house has had the name of “Muhammad” except that Allah endows it with abundant livelihood. If you name them (your children with the name of Muhammad), do not beat or abuse them. He, who has three male children but does not name one of them Ahmed or Muhammad, abandons me.”[3]

Signs and miracles

At the birth of the Prophet (a.s.), some miracles took place; the palace of Khosrau (the Persian emperor) shook and its balconies fell down, the Lake Tiberias dried, and the flame of Persia, which had not gone out for one thousand years and was worshipped away from Allah, went out. There were other signs and miracles that took place at the time of the Prophet’s birth.  

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p. 160.
[2] Ibid, vol. 1 p. 210.
[3] Rabee’ul Abrar, vol. 2 p. 339.

The Jews’ fear

The Jews were terrified at the birth of Muhammad (a.s.). One of their rabbis went upon a fort in Yathrib and cried out before the Jews: O community of Jews…Tonight, the star of Ahmed, where he was born with, has shone.”[1]

Some Jew, who lived in Mecca, asked in some meetings of Quraysh, “Has any male been born to you in this night?” People replied they did not know. He said, “Keep in mind what I say to you. The prophet of this nation has been born and he is from you, O people of Quraysh.” He began talking about the Prophet’s features and told them that he had found that in the old Books.[2]

His wet-nurses

The first one who suckled the Prophet (a.s.) was his pure mother Aaminah bint Wahab. It is said that she suckled him for seven or nine days**[3]** and then her breasts dried because of her sorrow for the death of her husband. Then, some maid of Abu Lahab, who had suckled Hamza before, suckled him.[4] After that, Haleemah as-Sa’diyyah undertook his suckling. During the Prophet’s suckling, Haleemah saw great blessings and goodness, and she and her people lived in bliss and ease. Historians say that Abdul Muttalib asked Haleemah,

“Who are you?”

She said, “A woman from Bani Sa’d.”

He asked, “What is your name?”  

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p. 159.
[2] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by Zayni Dahlan, vol.1 p. 30.
[3] As-Seerah al-Halabiyyah, vol. 1 p. 97.
[4] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra by ibn Sa’d, vol. 1 p. 8.

She replied, “Haleemah.”

He said, “How great! Good luck and patience![1] They are two qualities that have the goodness of life and eternal glory. O Haleemah, I have a male orphan. I asked the women of Bani Sa’d (to suckle him), but they refused to accept him and they said that there was no good in an orphan. We seek dignity for him from his fathers. Would you suckle him that you may be delighted by him?”

Haleemah responded and Allah filled her heart with love and kindness to this orphan. The Prophet (a.s.) received love, kindness, and care from Haleemah that filled him with reverence to her and to her people. It is related to him his saying, “I am the most eloquent of those who speak Arabic, and I have suckled among the tribe of bani Sa’d.”

Haleemah saw signs and miracles from the Prophet (a.s.) that astonished her. She preferred him to her own children in care and kindness. After some months, she brought him to his mother In Mecca that she would be pleased by seeing him, but he was lost in the mountains of Mecca. She was very terrified. She went to Abdul Muttalib astonishedly to tell him of that. Abdul Muttalib, who was too astonished, went to the Kaaba praying Allah to bring his grandson back to him. Waraqah bin Nawfal and a man from Quraysh found the Prophet (a.s.) at the end of Mecca and brought him to his grandfather Abdul Muttalib who became delighted and relieved. Abdul Muttalib carried the Prophet (a.s.) on his shoulders and began  

[1] Sa’d in Arabic means “good luck” and Haleemah means “a patient and discerning woman”.

circumambulating the Kaaba while praying Allah for him. Then, he took him to his mother.[1]

Allah, in the Qur'an, refers to this blessing on the Prophet (a.s.) when he was lost by saying, (And He found you wandering, and He guided you).[2] After staying with his mother for some days, the Prophet (a.s.) went back with his wet-nurse, who feared for him from an epidemic widespread in Mecca, to her home.

Haleemah and the Prophet (a.s.) passed by Ukadh Bazaar. Some priest looked at the Prophet (a.s.) and cried out, “O community of the Arabs, kill this boy. He will kill the people of your religion and break your idols. He will dominate over you.” However, Allah saved the Prophet (a.s.) from the priest’s plotting and evil.[3]

With his foster-sisters

The Prophet’s foster-sisters loved him too much. Ash-Shayma’ often embraced him and recited,

“This is a brother that my mother has not born,

and he is not from the progeny of my father or uncle.

O Allah, make him grow up among those whom You make grow up!”[4]

Ash-Shayma’ was too kind and loving to the Prophet (a.s.). So were his other foster-sisters. They took much care of him. He stayed with his wet-nurse for two years. Then again, he came back to her for other two years. He lived in the milieu of the  

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p. 167. It is mentioned in As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by Zayni Dahlan in another way.
[2] Qur'an, 93:7.
[3] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by Zayni Dahlan, vol. 1 p. 38.
[4] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by Zayni Dahlan, vol. 1 p. 39.

desert knowing nothing there except the fresh air and the pure Arabic morals that were not polluted by bad habits.

A rejected narration

Some biographers mention an odd story that once the Prophet (a.s.), when was not three years old yet, was with his foster-brother in a land of their family behind their houses when two men came, took the Prophet (a.s.), made him lie down, cut open his abdomen, and took something out of it. It was not known what it was.[1] The Prophet (a.s.) did not feel any pain by that operation

Some justified that that operation had taken out of the Prophet’s inners the evil tendencies spread among human beings such as selfishness, envy, arrogance, and others.

What we see, after pondering, is that this story is not real, for the Prophet (a.s.) had been created as pure from any defect, and he had had no any bad tendency at all. Some poet says,

“You have been created pure from any defect,

as if you have been created as you (yourself) like.”

The Prophet (a.s.), in all stages of his life, was purified by Allah the Almighty from any defect or uncleanness and made infallible against any kind of sin, and he was not in need of a surgical operation.

His nursemaid

Umm Aymen Baraka al-Habashiyyah got the honor of being the nursemaid of Prophet Muhammad (a.s.). She nursed and took  

[1] The Life of Muhammad, by Haykal, p.72, and others.

much care of him until he grew up. Umm Aymen was the mother of Usama bin Zayd.[1]

The death of Aaminah

Aaminah traveled with her son (Prophet Muhammad) to Medina to make him acquaintance with the (maternal) uncles of his grandfather from the bani an-Najjar. She took with her Umm Aymen. When she arrived in Medina, she showed him the place where his father had died and the place where he had been buried, and this affected and made him sad. She stayed there for some days and then she turned back towards Mecca. On her way back in al-Abwa’,[2] she became ill, died, and was buried there.[3] The Prophet (a.s.) was terribly distressed by the death of his kind mother. He suffered much by the losing of both parents in his early years.

Once, Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) was asked why the Prophet (a.s.) had been orphaned of his parents and he said, “Lest no right would be on him for anyone.”[4]

A rejected narration

From the false narrations that have no any bit of reality is this narration narrated by Burayda that his father said, “Once, I was with the Prophet (a.s.) when he stopped at the graveyard looking left and right and then he saw the grave of his mother Aaminah. He performed wudu’ (ablution) and offered a tow-rak’a-prayer. Then, he began weeping and we wept for his  

[1] Dala’il an-Nubuwwah (signs of prophethood), vol. 1 p. 90.
[2] A place between Mecca and Medina.
[3] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p. 177, As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by Zayni Dahlan, vol. 1 p. 30.
[4] Sahifat ar-Redha, p.38.

weeping. He turned toward us and said, “What made you weep?”

We said, “You wept and so we wept, O messenger of Allah.”

He said, “What did you think?”

We said, “We thought that torment would come down soon on us.”

He said, “It was nothing of that.”

We said, “We thought that your nation has been charged with what they would not be able to bear.”

He said, “It was nothing of that, but I passed by my mother’s tomb, offered two rak’as, and asked my Lord’s permission to pray Him to forgive her, but I was forbidden. So, I wept, offered two rak’as again, and asked my Lord’s permission to pray Him to forgive her but I was scolded severely, and therefore I cried loudly.”

Then, he asked for his mount and he mounted on it. It moved but little when Allah revealed this verse, (It is not (fit) for the Prophet and those who believe that they should ask forgiveness for the polytheists even though they should be near relatives…).[1] The Prophet (a.s.) said, “I make you witness that I am free from Aaminah as Abraham had disavowed his father.”’[2]

This narration shows the disbelief of Aaminah which is definitely untrue, for the prophetic family (ancestors) were on the religion of Abraham (a.s.) and no one of them had ever worshipped an idol. The master of the prophets was born in pure wombs, and this narration is one of the Israelite narrations that have no share of reality.  

[1] Qur'an, 9:113.
[2] Al-Muntadham, vol. 3 p. 250, 251.

Abdul Muttalib’s death

The Prophet (a.s.) faced another terrible affliction. He lost his grandfather who had covered him with great love and kindness. At his grandfather’s death the Prophet (a.s.) was eight years old as historians say.[1]

The loss of Abdul Muttalib had a great influence on all people of Mecca who were very sorrowful for him. His friends and daughters elegized him with passionate poems mentioned in the “Seera of Ibn Hisham”. This was the bitterest affliction the Prophet (a.s.) suffered in his early life, for his grandfather Abdul Muttalib preferred him to all his children and showed him too much love and kindness. Abdul Muttalib recommended his son Abu Talib (the Prophet’s uncle) to look after the Prophet (a.s.) after his (Abdul Muttalib) death.

Under Abu Talib’s care

The Prophet (a.s.) grew up under the true love and care of his uncle Abu Talib who was too loyal in his love and kindness to him and who preferred him to all his family and children too. Abu Talib preferred the Prophet (a.s.) in spending and clothing to himself and to all his family.[2] Priests and parsons had told him that his nephew would have a great importance later on. Therefore, he feared too much for him from the plotting and cunning of the Jews. He did not leave him alone day and night.[3] He did not entrust him to anyone else than him. When food was served, he did not permit his children to eat until the Prophet (a.s.) would come to eat with them.[4] Abu Talib became certain that his nephew would be the last of prophets and the master of  

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p.169.
[2] Manaqib Abi Talib, vol. 1 p. 36.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid., p. 62.

messengers; therefore, he submitted himself and spent all his powers to serve him and look after all his affairs.

The care of Abu Talib’s wife to Muhammad

Lady Fatima bint Asad, Abu Talib’s wife, had a very important role in serving and looking after Muhammad (a.s.). She also preferred him to all her children in love and care. She recompensed him for the loss of his mother’s love and kindness. She often prayed Allah to endow her with a male child to be as a brother to him, and Allah responded and granted to her Ali (a.s.)[1] who was, indeed, a brother, supporter, and defender to the Prophet (a.s.).

It is worth mentioning that this great lady was from the first ones who embraced Islam. She became a Muslim after ten persons,[2] and she was the first woman to pay homage to the Prophet (a.s.) when he took homage from Muslim women to abide by chastity, purity, and avoiding of sin.

Scholars of Hadith consider her as one of the narrators from the Prophet (a.s.). They mention from her forty-six traditions. In Sahih of al-Bukhari and Sahih of Muslim one tradition has been mentioned from her.[3]

The death of this lady, who was too kind and compassionate to Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) and who treated him too lovingly, affected him too much. He called her “mother”. The Prophet (a.s.) escorted her pure corpse with great sorrow to her last abode. When a grave was dug for her, he lay in it first and prayed Allah to forgive and have mercy on her. He was asked,  

[1] Sharh Nahjol Balagha by Ibn Abil Hadeed, vol. 1 p. 14.
[2] Ibid.
[3] A’laam an-Nisa’, vol. 3 p. 113.

“We have not seen you do to anyone else as you have done to her?”

He said, “There was no one after Abu Talib kinder than her to me. I clothed her with my shirt so that she would be dressed with the garments of the Paradise, and I lay in her grave so that (the punishment of the grave) would be made easy to her.”[1]

This lady did her best and spared no effort in serving the Prophet (a.s.); therefore, Allah had recompensed her for that by making her the mother of Imam Ali, the commander of the believers, the defender of Islam, and the protector of its values and goals.

With his uncle to Sham

The Prophet (a.s.) was twelve years old when his uncle Abu Talib wanted to travel to Sham**[2]** for trading. Abu Talib was unwilling to accompany his nephew with him lest he might suffer the hardships of the long journey, but the Prophet (a.s.) showed his great wish to travel with his uncle saying to him, “With whom will you leave me while I have neither a father nor a mother?”

Abu Talib responded to his nephew and took him with him. The Prophet (a.s.) left Mecca with his uncle in one of Quraysh’s caravans until they arrived in Sham.  

[1] Usd al-Ghabah, vol. 5 p. 515, Ma’rifat as-Sahabah, vol. 1 p. 279, al-Istee’ab (printed on the margins of al-Isabah), vol. 4 p. 269.
[2] Nowadays Damascus, but then, Sham encompassed the present Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine.  

With a priest

The caravan stopped at some place to have rest. Some priest, who was very knowledgeable in the books of Christianity, was living in that place. The priest saw that when Muhammad (who was a young boy yet) sat under a tree, its branches dangled over him. He believed that this boy would be a prophet and would be the last of prophets. He went to the people of Quraysh (of the caravan) saying to them, “I have served to you some food and I like you all, young and old ones, slaves and the free, to come.”

The people of Quraysh were astonished at that. One of them said, “We often and always passed by you. What is the matter with you today?”

The priest replied, “What you say is true, but today you are all my guests.”

The men thanked him for that and they all went to his house except Muhammad (a.s.). When the priest saw that Muhammad (a.s.) was not with them, he said, “O people of Quraysh, Let no one of you not come to have food.”

They said that no one had remained except a young boy who was the youngest of them all. The priest asked them to invite him for the meal. When Muhammad (a.s.) came, the priest began looking at him thoughtfully then asked him,

“O boy, I adjure you by al-Lat and al-Uzza**[1]** to answer me about what I ask you.”

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Do not ask me by al-Lat and al-Uzza. By Allah, I hate nothing at all more than them.”  

[1] The priest asked by al-Lat and al-Uzza (two idols worshipped by Quraysh) as a matter of conformity with the people of Quraysh who worshipped idols.

The priest understood that the boy’s belief was unlike the belief of the people of Quraysh who were submissive to idols, and so he asked him,

“By Allah, I ask you and you should answer me.”

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Ask as you like!”

The priest asked the Prophet (a.s.) about his private affairs and he answered him. Then the priest looked at the sign of prophethood between the Prophet’s shoulders and he turned to Abu Talib saying to him,

“What relation between this boy and you?”

Abu Talib said that he was his son. The priest said, “He is not your son. This boy’s father could not be alive.”

Abu Talib said that the boy was his nephew and the priest said, “You are right! What about his father?”

Abu Talib said, “His father died when his (the Prophet) mother was pregnant with him.”

The priest said to Abu Talib, “You are right. Bring your nephew back to his country and beware of the Jews. By Allah, if they see him and know what I have known about him, they will plot evil against him. Your nephew will be very important one.”

When Abu Talib accomplished his trading in Sham, he hastened back to Mecca.[1]

The Prophet (a.s.), while yet a young boy, saw Sham and listened, with his uncle, to its people’s talks about Christianity and its beliefs and Judaism and its rituals and he preferred them to idolatry which the people of Quraysh embraced. He  

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1 p. 181, 182.

perceived that with his penetrating mind, for he was very intelligent and discerning in his youth.

The battle of al-Fijar

One of the events that the Prophet (a.s.) saw in his early years was the battle of al-Fijar that broke out between the tribes of Quraysh and Qays Aylan during the inviolable months that Quraysh had prohibited fighting during these months. This destructive war lasted for four years. The Prophet (a.s.), as historians say, gathered the arrows that came from (the tribe of) Hawazin against his people. The Prophet (a.s.) hated this war and wished he had not witnessed it.[1]

Grazing of sheep

In his youth, the Prophet (a.s.) grazed the sheep of his family and he was proud of that. He said, “No prophet was sent by Allah unless he was a pasturer.” He also said, “Moses was sent (as prophet) and he was a pasturer, David was sent and he was a pasturer, and I was sent while I was pasturing the sheep of my family.”[2] There is no defect in laboring. It is honor and jihad; whereas meanness is in unlaboring and turning one’s back to labor.[3] 

During his work, the Prophet (a.s.) thought deeply of the creation of the heavens and the earths and everything in the universe. That made him more assured and certain about the Creator of the universe and the Giver of life and encouraged him to resist the idols that his people worshipped away from Allah.  

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by ibn Hisham, vol. 1, p. 184.
[2] The life of Muhammad, by Haykal, p. 116, the History of Islam by ath-Thahabi, vol. 1 p. 54, as-Seerah al-Halabiyyah, vol. 1 p. 54.
[3] Work and the Rights of Worker in Islam, by Baqir Shareef al-Qurashi.

Disdaining from playing

A prominent feature in the life of the Prophet (a.s.) during his youth was his complete aversion from amusement. He did not play as all young people did. He was too far from all that which might shame one’s life or position. He based his life on virtues and good deeds. He was different, in this concern, from all the youth of Quraysh who spent their youth in play and levity. All people of Quraysh admired his excellent behavior and high morals. He often and always thought of the Creator of the universe, and thought of reforming life and saving man from the abysses of ignorance in this life. This made him busy to care for other affairs of this worldly life.

Placing the Black Rock in its place

From the important events that happened to the Prophet (a.s.) in his youth was the placing of the Black Rock in its place when dispute flared up between the clans of Quraysh and war was about to break out. The Prophet (a.s.) determined the dispute and made all the tribes participate in placing the Black Rock in its place. We have mentioned this in details in a previous chapter.

Trading with the capitals of Khadijah

Lady Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was a very honest merchant. She employed men to trade with her monies. She was very wealthy. One day, Abu Talib said to his nephew Muhammad (a.s.) who was twenty-five years old then, “O my nephew, I am a man of no wealth and time is unkind to us. I have been informed that Khadijah hired so-and-so for two camels, but we do not accept to you like what she gave him. Would you like me to talk with her about you?”

The Prophet (a.s.) said to his uncle, “As you like, uncle!”

Abu Talib went to Lady Khadijah and talked with her about hiring his nephew Muhammad (a.s.) to trade with her wealth. She welcomed him and responded to what he asked her for. Abu Talib came back to his nephew saying to him, “This is a livelihood that Allah has brought to you.”

Lady Khadijah provided Muhammad (a.s.) with much money and sent with him her servant Maysarah whom she asked to serve Muhammad (a.s.) and tell her of all events that would happen to him (the Prophet). When the caravan arrived in the bazaar of Busra (in Sham), the Prophet (a.s.) sat under a tree near to a hermitage of a priest called Nastura. The priest looked at the Prophet (a.s.) who was sitting in the shadow of the tree and he was astonished. He asked Maysara whom he knew since before, “Who is that man under the tree?”

Maysara said that he was a man from Quraysh.

The priest said, “No one sat under this tree after Jesus except a prophet.”

The priest hastened toward the Prophet (a.s.). He submitted and kissed the Prophet’s head and feet saying to him, “I believe in you and bear witness that you are the one whom Allah has mentioned in the Torah…”

The priest asked the Prophet (a.s.) to show him his shoulders. When he saw the sign of prophethood, he said to him, “I bear witness that you are the messenger of Allah, the Prophet that Jesus had brought good tidings about, and that you are the man of the pond, intercession, and the banner of praise…”

Maysarah understood that and was astonished. He also saw the cloud that shaded the Prophet (a.s.) alone against the heat of the sun.

The Prophet (a.s.) got great profits in this journey. Maysarah said to him, “We have traveled forty times trading for Khadijah, but we did not get a profit more than this at all…”[1]  

The Prophet (a.s.), with the caravan, came back to Mecca while Maysarah was full of admiration at the charismata and the miracles he saw from the Prophet (a.s.). He told Lady Khadijah about all that and about the great profits they got in that journey.

When the Prophet (a.s.) arrived in Mecca, Lady Khadijah received and welcomed him warmly. He talked to her about his successful journey, and she admired and regarded him too highly. She became certain with no doubt that he would be a very important man.[2]

His marriage to Khadijah

Lady Khadijah revered and loved the Prophet (a.s.). She wished to get married to him. She was forty years then and the Prophet (a.s.) was twenty-five. She told her sister, as some historians say, about her wish for getting married to the Prophet (a.s.), or her friend Nafeesah bint Munyah, as some other historians say. She (her sister or friend) went to the Prophet (a.s.) and asked him, “What prevents you from getting married?”

He said, “I have nothing to get married with.”

She said, “If I suffice you that, and if you are invited to beauty, wealth, honor, and adequacy, would you not respond?”

He asked, “Who is she?”

She said, “Khadijah.”  

[1] As-Seera an-Nabawiyyah by Zayni Dahlan, vol. 1 p. 54.
[2] At-Tabaqat al-Kubra by ibn Sa’d, vol. 1 p. 82, part one.

The Prophet (a.s.) accepted and the woman hurried to Khadijah to tell her that. Lady Khadijah became very delighted and she knew that she would get married to the master of all human beings. The appointment was decided and the Prophet (a.s.) asked his uncles to come for the engagement of Lady Khadijah. His uncles headed by Abu Talib and Hamza came to Khadijah’s house and were welcomed warmly by her uncle Umar bin Asad. Abu Talib made a speech before the attendants saying,

“Praise be to Allah Who has made us from the offspring of Abraham and the plant of Ishmael, and made for us an inviolable country and a visited House and made us masters over people.

Muhammad son of Abdullah my nephew is not compared with any young man from Quraysh except that he is preferred to him in piety, virtue, generosity, reasonability, glory, and nobility. If he has no much money, money is a transient shadow and a paid back loan. He has a will towards Khadijah and so does she. Whatever dowry you want I myself shall pay.”[1]

Khadijah’s uncle agreed and the bond of marriage was concluded between the Prophet (a.s.) and Lady Khadijah. The new life of the Prophet (a.s.) began and he lived with the best lady of Quraysh at all in reason, faith, chastity, and beauty. Lady Khadijah submitted all her wealth to serve the Prophet (a.s.) and she was too loyal to him in love and assistance.

The Prophet (a.s.) lived with his wife at ease and Allah endowed them with all favors and blessings. The people of Mecca envied him his wife Khadijah who did not respond to any of the merchants and the notables of Quraysh who proposed to her many times, whereas she got married to Muhammad (a.s.) who  

[1] At-Tathkirah al-Hamduniyyah, vol. 6 p. 253, I’jaz al-Qur'an by al-Baqillani, p. 234, Jamharat Khutab al-Arab, vol. 1 p. 77, Subhul A’sha, vol. 1 p. 213.

had no wealth. Anyhow, the Prophet (a.s.) loved Khadijah too much. He saw in her loyalty, truthfulness, honor, and perfection, and she, as well, saw in him truthfulness, nobility, and perfection that no one from Quraysh had ever had.

The Prophet adopts Ali

When Imam Ali (a.s.) was in his early childhood, Quraysh faced a terrible economic crisis by which Abu Talib (Imam Ali’s father) was terribly affected. Therefore, Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) asked his uncles Hamza and al-Abbas to help his uncle Abu Talib (by adopting some of his children). They discussed the matter with Abu Talib who said to them, “Leave Aqil to me and take whoever you want!” Abu Talib loved Aqil too much. Al-Abbas took Talib, Hamza took Ja’far, and the Prophet (a.s.) took Ali. The Prophet (a.s.) said to them, “I chose whom Allah has chosen rather than you (he meant Ali).”

Thus, Imam Ali (a.s.) grew up in the lap of the messenger of Allah (a.s.) and under the shade of his love and kindness. The messenger of Allah (a.s.) fed Ali with his own natures and guidance and shed on him his own aspects, and then Ali (a.s.) was a copy and an identical example of him. Imam Ali (a.s.) himself talked about that golden period he lived with the Prophet (a.s.) saying,

“You have known my position to the messenger of Allah in the close kinship and the special rank. He put me in his lap when I was child, embraced me to his chest, sheltered me in his bed, made his body touch mine, and made me smell his fragrance. He chewed food and then fed it to me. He did never find a lie in a saying of mine nor an error in a doing. I followed him like a young (weaned) camel that follows its mother. Everyday, he raised to me from his morals a banner and ordered me to pattern after it.”

Do you see how the Prophet (a.s.) was loyal to Imam Ali (a.s.) in love and kindness? He brought him up with his high moralities that he was distinguished by from the rest of prophets so that he would be a copy and an example of him in his (the Prophet) life and after his death.[1]  

[1] Encyclopedia of Imam Ameerul Mo'minin Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.) by Baqir al-Qurashi, vol. 1 p. 49.