Part One: SEERAH (Biographical Sketch) CHAPTER

C:\Users\Admin\Dropbox\The Message - Material of Maulana\16. Books and Review\Apa's Books\Life And 12 CHAPTER 2 The Life of the Prophet Muhammad THE Prophet of Islam, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, was born in Makkah in 570 A.D. in the tribe of Quraysh and died at the age of 63 in 632 A.D. in Madinah. The year of his birth is known among the Arabs as the year of the Elephant (Aam al-Fil) referring to the campaign of Abrahah, an Abyssinian ruler, who had come to Makkah to destroy Kabah. Makkah was then inhabited mainly by the tribe of Quraysh. In those times, this tribe enjoyed great prestige all over Arabia and the neighbouring countries, for Makkah was a flourishing trade and religious centre. Muhammad was still in his mother’s womb when his father, Abdullah, died. After his birth, Aminah, his mother, sent the baby to Abdul Muttalib, his grandfather, who was in Kabah at that time. The grandfather was overjoyed at the news, for he loved Abdullah, Muhammad’s father, very much. The grandfather gave him the name “Muhammad”, meaning “the praised one.” As was the practice of the Makkan nobility, he was handed over to a wet nurse, Halimah al-Sadiyya, who belonged to the Banu Sad tribe. This custom is still practiced among Makkan aristocracy. Halimah nursed Muhammad for two years and a few months. She said that when he stayed with them, her family received all kinds of unaccustomed blessings. Having nursed so many children before, she noticed something ‘different’ or ‘extraordinary’ about the infant Muhammad. These observations are recorded in detail by some biographers such as Al-Waqidi, Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Hisham. Two years later, after the child had been weaned, Halimah brought him back to his mother. But Makkah at that time was stricken with an epidemic, so Aminah asked her to take him back to live in the pure air of the desert. Thus Muhammad remained in the charge of Halimah until the age of five. He learned Arabic in its purest form from this tribe. Muhammad used to tell his companions, “I am the most Arab among you, for I am of the tribe of Quraysh and I have been brought up among the tribe of Banu Sad bin Bakr.