Perhaps she could not remove from her mind the thoughts of the events which preceded the tragedy of losing her husband. She had enough signs to indicate to her that her son was certain to play a great role. She probably thought that devoting herself to the upbringing of her child would give her all the satisfaction she needed.
It is in this light that we view her trip to Yathrib with her son, now six years of age, and his nurse, Umm Ayman. She wanted him to visit the clan of al-Najjār, his maternal uncles. When a man married into another tribe or clan, everyone in that clan or tribe would be considered an uncle to his children and grandchildren for the rest of time. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s mother belonged to the clan of al-Najjār and this is the reason for counting them as the Prophet’s uncles. More importantly, Āminah wanted her son to visit his father’s grave. Perhaps she thought that it was time for him to realize that his father was buried in Yathrib, a long way from Makkah.12
Muhammad and his mother stayed for a month in Yathrib, before starting their journey back. It was a very sad journey for the young boy. They had not travelled far before his mother fell ill. It was a quick and fatal illness. Although she had covered only a short distance from Yathrib, she could not return there, nor could she continue her journey back home. So the six-year-old Muhammad was now without both his parents. After Āminah had been buried where she died, at al-Abwā’, Muhammad continued his journey to Makkah with his nurse, Umm Ayman, his heart full of sorrow. He felt that nothing could replace for him the love and tenderness of his mother. To his last days he continued to remember Āminah, and to feel the pain of losing her.13
The Prophet continued to show his gratitude to all those women who took care of him in his childhood to the end of his days. He was so grateful to Thuwaybah, the first woman to suckle him immediately after he was born. When he conquered Makkah over sixty years later, he asked for her. When he learnt that she had died, he also enquired after her son whom she was suckling when he himself was born. He wanted to extend his kindness to him. But he was told that he also had died. Ḥalīmah visited him in Madinah. When she arrived he rose to receive her, shouting: “My mother! My mother!” He showed her all the gratitude of a loving and dutiful son. He was also kind to al-Shaymā’, Ḥalīmah’s daughter and his suckling sister. After the battle of Ḥunayn, in which the tribe of Hawāzin was defeated, al-Shaymā’ was taken prisoner by the Muslim soldiers. She made her relationship with the Prophet known to them, so they took her to him. He received her well and extended extra kindness to her before sending her back to her people with honour after giving her the opportunity to stay with him. It was her choice to go back.
Umm Ayman continued to be close to the Prophet for the rest of his life. He married her later to Zayd ibn Ḥārithah, the first man to become a Muslim, whom the Prophet loved more than anyone else. She gave birth to Usāmah, whom the Prophet loved as he loved no child besides his own.
After his mother’s death, Muhammad was in the care of his grandfather, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. Umm Ayman, a slave girl whose real name was Barakah, continued to look after him. She had belonged to his father and now she was his own. She loved him dearly – perhaps more so because she was fully aware of the fact that he had lost both his parents before his sixth birthday. Muhammad’s grandfather indulged him more than was customary in Arabian society, where the emphasis was on strict discipline in the upbringing of young ones. No child was admitted to a room where his father was meeting other men. Yet ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, chief of Makkah, allowed his young grandson to sit on his couch when he was in a meeting with Makkan notables. His own children, now all grown up, remained standing, but Muhammad was allowed to sit on his grandfather’s couch. If Muhammad’s uncles tried to stop him, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib would tell them not to do so. On one occasion he told them: “Leave my child alone. He senses that he will one day acquire a kingdom.” At another time he said: “He will certainly have a great future.”14
A Transfer of Care
ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib realized that his own death would not be long in coming. The future of the orphan child was one of his most immediate concerns. He therefore called in his son Abū Ṭālib and asked him specifically to look after Muhammad, his nephew, when he himself had died. It was good that he did so, because ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib died within two years of Muhammad coming into his care. It is said that ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was a hundred and twenty when he died, but his grandchild was only eight. Again, death snatched away a loving soul from Muhammad’s life. He was extremely distressed to lose his grandfather. He felt he had lost the man whose kindness to him could not be equalled by any other. He grieved for his loss as only a loving child could grieve when he realized that he would not be seeing his beloved one any more. Perhaps ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib chose to trust Muhammad to the care of Abū Ṭālib because the latter had the same mother as ʿAbdullāh, Muhammad’s father. He might also have realized that Abū Ṭālib was the kindest and most caring of his children. This explains why Abū Ṭālib was chosen for this task, despite the fact that he had many children of his own and was a man of little means. Many of Muhammad’s other uncles were better placed to look after him, from a financial point of view. Yet ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib chose Abū Ṭālib, and what an appropriate choice it proved to be.
Abū Ṭālib continued to look after Muhammad until he became a man. Even then, he continued to show him the loving care a father shows to his adult son. He was never slow in giving him sound advice and guidance. When Muhammad started to receive his message and convey it to people, Abū Ṭālib supported him in the face of strong opposition from the Quraysh. He never failed him even when the pressures were too strong to bear for an old man, as Abū Ṭālib was at that time. There was a relationship of mutual love and respect between uncle and orphan nephew. Indeed, Abū Ṭālib loved Muhammad as much as he loved his dearest child, if not more.
Again when he was in the care of his uncle, there were signs that God’s blessings were associated with the presence of Muhammad. While there was no sudden influx of riches into the house of Abū Ṭālib, there always seemed to be enough when Muhammad was there. If dinner was served and Muhammad was not present, Abū Ṭālib would order his children to wait for him. He had noticed that when Muhammad was eating with them, the food seemed plentiful and everybody had his fill. If he was absent, the food seemed not to be sufficient and everybody asked for more. On the whole, Muhammad’s childhood was very pleasant. He radiated happiness to all around him. Hence it was not surprising that he was loved dearly by all those close to him.15
We have several reports of that period in the life of Muhammad which suggest that various people recognized him as the future Prophet. Many suggest that the people recognizing him tried to get him killed. The first reports speak of Ḥalīmah taking Muhammad to a fortune-teller to divine his future. None of these reports, however, attains a sufficient degree of authenticity to make it of any great value. Such things might have happened. Their effect either on the boy himself or on those looking after him was limited indeed.
Nor can the story of Muhammad’s encounter with the Christian monk of the town of Buṣrā in southern Syria be of great importance. This story suggests that Muhammad clung to his uncle, Abū Ṭālib, when he was about to depart on a trade journey to Syria, and would not let him go without him. Abū Ṭālib then decided to take his twelve-year-old nephew with him. It is said that on their way back home after finishing their business in Syria, this monk, Baḥīrā, invited the whole caravan to a dinner. This was a marked departure from his past habit. He insisted that everybody in the party should attend. He recognized Muhammad and spoke to him, questioning him on many aspects of his life. He also recognized a mark on Muhammad’s shoulder which indicated that he was to be the last Prophet. When he was certain of that fact, Baḥīrā asked Abū Ṭālib what relation the boy was to him. When Abū Ṭālib said that he was his son – as the Arabs considered that an uncle was in the same position as a father – Baḥīrā said: “He is not your son. This boy’s father should not be alive.” Abū Ṭālib told him that Muhammad was his nephew and that his father had died before his birth. Baḥīrā said: “That is right. Take your nephew back to his home town, and watch him carefully. Should the Jews recognize him as I have done they would try to harm him. This nephew of yours is certain to have a great future.”16
Whatever