The
Sorrowful Passing Of His Beloved Mother
When the Final Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) was six years old,
his blessed mother took him to Madinah to visit his father’s maternal family.
Sayyidatuna Umm Ayman (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا)
was also accompanying them in this journey. She was the maidservant of his
father.
Upon return, the Beloved Prophet’s (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) mother passed away
at Abwa¹,and was buried at the same place. His father had already passed away,
and now, his mother had passed away too. Sayyidatuna Umm Ayman (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا) wiped his tears,
consoled him, took him back to Makkah, and handed him over to his grandfather,
Sayyiduna Abdul Muttalib (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُ).
Referance:
¹ Abwa is a valley that is situated between Makkah and
Madinah in the direction of the sea. It is at a distance of almost 261
kilometres from Makkah, and 222 kilometres from Madinah. One Ghazwa also took
place in the Abwa Valley in which no fighting took place. Nowadays, the Abwa
Valley is known as Khuraibah.
After
The Passing Of His Parents
After the passing of his parents,
the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم) was brought up by his grandfather whose name was Abdul
Muttalib (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُ). He was the chief of
Makkah. He loved his blessed grandson greatly; he would keep him with himself
at all time, he would make him sit with him, he would feed him with himself,
and he would put him to sleep by his side at night.
A special chair would be placed in
the courtyard around the Ka’bah for Abdul Muttalib to sit upon. Even
influential dignitaries did not possess the courage to step on it, but when the
Final Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) would come, he would move forward without any hesitation to
sit on the seat of his grandfather.¹ Then when he was eight years old, his
grandfather also passed away.²
After this, he was brought up by his
uncle, Abu Taalib. Regarding his blessed childhood, Abu Taalib states: “I never
saw that the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) ever told a lie, deceived anyone, harmed anyone, went to play
with indecent children, or ever spoke unsophisticatedly. He was always the
possessor of formidable demeanour, noble traits, exalted character, and he was
always very soft-spoken, extremely pious, and chaste to the highest degree.”³
Referance:
¹ Al-Seerat-un-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, p. 306
² Sharah Al-Zurqani Ala al-Mawahib, vol. 1, p. 306
³ Seerat-e-Mustafa, p. 83
Further
Blessings of Childhood
At the age of 8, when his uncle Abu
Taalib took the responsibility of custodianship. He too received a downpour of
goodness and blessings. He would love him more than his own children, and would
not let him go out of his sight.
Abu Taalib states: “Whenever my
children would eat food (before the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى
اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)), they would not satisfy their hunger,
but since the Holy Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) started eating food with them, all the children would be
satiated. Therefore, whenever I wanted to give food to my children, I would
say: “Stop! Let my son (Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)) arrive, then start eating.”
Similarly, whenever he wanted to
give milk to his children, he would first give it to the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم), and then to his
children (and there would be enough for all of them). If any of his sons would
drink the milk first, all the milk would be finished by that single child.
Seeing this, Abu Taalib would say: “O Muhammad (صَلَّى
اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)! What can be said about your blessings!”¹
Referance:
¹ Dalaa`il-un-Nubuwwah, vol. 1, p. 95
Journey
to Yemen
When the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) was 10 years old, he
went to Yemen with his uncle, Zubair. On the way, a very strange event took
place.
A camel was preventing people from
passing by in a valley. When the camel saw the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم), it sat down and started
rubbing its chest against the ground. The Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) dismounted his own
camel and mounted it. When he (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) reached the other side of the valley, he left the camel.
Upon returning from the journey, he
(صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)
saw that the valley had been flooded with water. He (صَلَّى
اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) asked the Quraysh to follow him. He (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) entered the valley
and all the Quraysh followed him. Allah Almighty made the water dry up. When
the people returned to Makkah, they related this event to everyone. Having
heard this, they said that the eminent sublimity of this child is matchless.¹
Referance:
¹ Subul al-Huda War-Rashad, vol. 2, p. 139
First
Business Trip to the Levant (Shaam)
When the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) was 12 years old, he
made his first business trip to the Levant with his uncle, Abu Taalib. When the
caravan reached the city of Busraa, he met a monk called Baheera, whose real
name was ‘Barjees’. He recognized the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) by the signs of
prophethood. Holding his hand, he made the following announcement: “He is the
chief of all the worlds; he is the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds; Allah
Almighty will send him as رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِين
(mercy for all the worlds).”
He then arranged a meal for the
Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم) and the people of the caravan. He saw some more signs of
Prophethood during the meal. He said to Abu Taalib: “Do not take him to the
Levant. If the people of the Levant recognize him by the signs of Prophethood,
they will try to assassinate him.”
Therefore, he returned from there.
That monk also gave him some provisions for the journey.¹
Referance:
¹ Derived from Tirmizi, vol. 5, p. 356-357, Hadith 3640
FURTHER
BUSINESS TRIPS
The Final Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) went on many
business trips. At the age of 10, he went on a business trip to Yemen with his
uncle, Sayyiduna Zubair bin Abdul Muttalib (رَضِیَ اللهُ
عَنْهُ).² Of the business trips he (صَلَّى اللهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) carried out for Sayyidatuna Khadija (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا), two of them were
also to Yemen.³
It has been reported: “Sayyidatuna
Khadija (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهَا) sent him twice to
Jurash (a place in Yemen) for trade, and a she-camel was given for each of
these two trips.”⁴
Referance:
² Subul-al-Huda War-Rashad, vol. 2, p. 139
³ The distance between Yemen and Makkah is approximately
1,034 Kilometres.
⁴ Mustadrak, vol. 4, p. 178, Hadith 4887
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