MIRACLOUS HAPPENING DURING INFANCY/CHILDHOOD
The Blessed Foster Mother Hazrat Saadia Haleema
[Radiyal
Laah Anha]
&
THE HOLY PROPHET MUHAMMAD
[Peace be upon Him]
صلى الله عليه وسلّم
It was the general custom of the Arabs living in towns to send their children away to Bedouin wet nurses so that they might grow up in the free and healthy surroundings of the desert whereby they would develop a robust frame and acquire the pure speech and manners of the Bedouins, who were noted both for purity of their language and for being free from those vices which usually develop in sedentary societies.
At
that time, Bedouin nurses had arrived in Makkah. They visited each household to
find a child to take care of and would be paid in return for the childcare they
would provide.
Many
Bedouin foster nurses visited the house of Hazrat Bibi Aminah [Radiyal Laah
Anha] but were reluctant to take her blessed child into their care. This
was because he was an orphan child, with no father. In Arab custom, when a
child was returned to his or her home after spending years in the desert
environment, the family would compensate and reward the foster nurse
generously. As the baby [Prophet] Muhammad, [Peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him], was an orphan child, they
couldn’t expect to gain many riches from taking care of him.
Towards
the end, every Bedouin lady had a child to bring up except Hazrat Saadia
Haleema, who had arrived late and last and did not find a child to foster for
all the babies were taken. She was ready to return home empty-handed, when she
decided to turn back and collect Hazrat Bibi Aminah’s [Radiyal Laah
Anha]
child, even though he was an orphan.
Thus,
the baby [Prophet] Muhammad, [Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him],
was entrusted to the care of Hazrat Saadia Haleema.
[Radiyal Laah
Anha]
She
narrates….
"By
Allaah Almighty, I do not like to go back along with the other women without
any baby. I should go to that orphan, and I must take him.
"
Her husband Harith said, "There is no harm in doing so and perhaps Allaah
Almighty might bless us through him."
She
said she instantly fall in love …. the moment she saw the baby.
When
I lifted him in my arms and returned to my place, I put him on my breast and to
my great surprise, I found enough milk in it. He drank to his heart’s content,
and so did his foster brother and then both went to sleep although my baby had
not been able to sleep the previous night.
How-
ever, she soon began to experience the great blessings of the presence of the
‘Baby’ Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلّم.
The
donkey that she rode when she came to Makaah was lean and almost foundered; it
recovered speed much to the amazement of Hazrat Saadia Haleema’s fellow
travelers. By the time they reached the encampments in the country of the clan
of Saa‘d, they found the scales of fortune turned in their favor. The barren
land sprouted forth luxuriant grass and beasts came back to them satisfied and
full of milk.
My
husband then went to the she-camel to milk it, and, to his astonishment, he
found plenty of milk in it. He milked it and we drank to our fill and enjoyed a
sound sleep during the night.
This
was indeed a great blessing for this poor Bedouin family.
The
next morning, my husband said:
"By
the Grace of Allaah Almighty Haleema, you must understand that you have been
able to get a Blessed child."
Hazrat Haleema’s herd of goats started to
return home full of milk, while the rest of the Bedouins' goats used to return
to them empty. They would complain to the shepherd and plead him to take the
sheep and goats to the same place that Hazrat Halima took her flock. Such were
the blessings for this kind-hearted Bedouin family!
Many
miracles occurred on a daily basis, and the household which had once been poor
& misfortunate was blessed with great fortune. Before long, Hazrat Haleema
knew that she had a blessed child in her care, having witnessed all the
miracles & blessings which had occurred in his presence.
After
two years, the baby [Prophet Muhammad], صلى الله عليه وسلّم was returned
to his mother Hazrat Aminah, but Hazrat Haleema persuaded Hazrat Aminah to
return the blessed baby to them for another two years. At that time, Hazrat
Haleema told Hazrat Aminah about the great blessings that she had received when
the baby was in her care. She also mentioned that if she could take the child
back with her, he would be protected from an illness which had been circulating
in Makkah. Hazrat Aminah agreed and baby [Prophet Muhammad], صلى الله
عليه وسلّم, spent another two years in the household of Hazrat Haleema Saadia.
The
tradition is explicit on the point that Hazrat Saadia Haleemah’s return journey
and her subsequent life, as long as the blessed baby stayed with her, was
encircled with a ‘Halo’ of good fortune.
(Al Raheeq Al
Maktum)
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