Tales of Hazrat Aminah bint Wahb The Mother of Prophet Muhammad SAW Last Messenger of Allah SWT

Tales of Hazrat Aminah bint Wahb The Mother of Prophet Muhammad SAW Last Messenger of Allah SWT by Muhammad Vandestra 2018

Tales of Hazrat Aminah bint Wahb

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Muhammad Vandestra

Copyright Š 2018 Muhammad Vandestra Dragon Promedia Publishing All rights reserved.

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The Clean Ancestors of the Messenger of Allah SWT (God) God Almighty created the father of mankind, Prophet Adam (Pbuh) When Adam raised his head, he saw that some name was written with an enormous Nur (heavenly light) at the Great Throne: “Ahmad.”

He asked wondering: “O my Lord, what is that light?”

God Almighty replied: “It is the light of a prophet who is going to come from your offspring. His name is Ahmad up in the heaven and Muhammad on earth. If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have created you as well!”

The enormous truth that we faithfully adhere was also proclaimed by the owner of the light after billions of years.

One day, one of the Companions, Abdullah bin Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, “Oh Allah’s Messenger, will you explain what Allah created before everything else”?

He replied: “Before everything, He created your Messenger’s noor (light) from His own light. The light would travel with Allah’s power and as it wished. At that time, there was no lawh mahfuz (preserved tablet),

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no pen, no Heaven, no Hell, no angel, no sky, no land, no sun, no moon, no person, and no jinn.

Firstly, the Light that enlightened the heavens with all its grandeur secondly shone in the forehead of Adam (PBUH). Then, from one prophet to another, It came to Abraham (PBUH) and through him to his son Ismael (PBUH).

Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham), who is known as “the Father of the Prophets”, had two sons: Ishaq (Isaac) and Ismail (Ishmael). He knew, as a result of the inspiration from God Almighty, that many prophets would emerge among the descendants of Ishaq.

However, it was not known whether prophets would emerge among the descendants of Ismail, who was born of Hagar.

Nevertheless, he knew that a great prophet was going to be sent at the end of time. Therefore, he desired the last Prophet to emerge among the descendants of Ismail, whom he loved very much.

The Kaba, which was first built by Adam (PBUH), was heavily damaged in the long course of time and was almost demolished. The prophet Abraham (PBUH) received an order from God Almighty to rebuild this holy structure and immediately set to work with his son Ismael.

Having completed to build Kaba, they opened their hands in supplication to God Almighty and prayed: “Our Lord! Send a Messenger from our progeny to the Muslim Ummah so that he can read to them 6

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your ayahs (verses), teach them your books and their laws, and cleanse them from their sins!

Thus, God Almighty did not leave this sincere supplication unanswered and sent a descendant of Ismael, the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the chief of the prophets to the world. The Master of the universe (pbuh) proclaimed this truth as, “I am the supplication of my forefather Abraham (pbuh).”

Hazrat Ismail’s children and grandchildren continuously increased and they spread all over the Arabian Peninsula. From them, the sons of Adnan, and from them the sons of Mudar, and from them the tribe of Quraysh became superior and different from the others. The Hashim branch of the Quraysh tribe found the most honor and reputation them all.

He himself described this reality as follows: “Allah chose Ismail from Ibrahim’s sons, the sons of Kinana from the sons of Ismail, Quraysh from the sons of Kinana, Bani Hashim from the Quraysh, and me from the Bani Hashim”.

As every source agrees on, the master of the Universe’s (Muhammad) line of descent tracing to his 20th grandfather is as follows: " Muhammad (pbuh), Abdullah, Abdulmuttalib (his real name is Shaiba), Hashim, Abd Munaf (Mugheera), Qusai, Kilab, Murra, Kaab, Luay, Ghalib, Fahr (Quraysh), Malik, Nadr, Khuzaima, Mudrikah (Amir), Ilyas, Mudar, Nizar, Maad, Adnan. " 7

Tales of Hazrat Aminah bint Wahb

These are the grandfathers of our Honorary Master of the Universe. Their descendants proliferated; they all became the chieftains of several communities and were the grandfathers and fathers of several tribes.

Whenever one had two sons or when a tribe divided into two branches, our Beloved Prophet (SAV)’s descent would be found on the most dignified and esteemed side and during every period, every one of his grandfathers would be known by the exceptional noor (light) that shone on his face.

The line of descent after His 20th Grandfather According to genealogists, it is unanimously agreed that Adnan, the 20th grandfather of our Holy Prophet, was from the progeny of Hazrat Ibrahim. There is a huge time span between Adnan and Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh). Some genealogists indicate that there are 40 generations in between.

For this reason, the line of descent from Adnan, the 20th grandfather of the Messenger of Allah, to Hazrat Ibrahim, the second rank chain has been undetermined.

Some genealogists say that the Holy Prophet’s line of descent dates back to Hazrat Ismail by seven generations, whereas others say nine generations.

Naturally, this shows that many steps have been skipped.

The Line of Descent from Adnan to Hazrat Ibrahim Some scholars list our Holy Prophet’s line of descent from Adnan to Hazrat Ibrahim as follows:

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Adnan Udd (or Udad) Muqawwim Nahur (or Sarih) Tayrah Ya'rub Yashjub Nabit Ismail (pbuh) Ibrahim (pbuh) In addition, Ibn Ishaq takes the Messenger’s line of descent all the way to Adam (Peace be Upon Him).

However, we should state that other sources do not agree on this chain.

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The Famous Grandfathers of the Prophet Muhammad SAW Undoubtedly, we do not have much knowledge on all the ancestors who carried the Master of the Universe’s light as a Divine trust on their foreheads. The ancestors about whom we have the most knowledge are the ones who are closest in time. Here we will take a short glance at their lives and personalities.

Qusai Qusai, the fourth grandfatherof the Holy Prophet and whose real name was Zayd, was a very important figure. He had only one male sibling by the name of Zuhra.

From these two siblings, Qusai was granted the honor of bearing the noor that came down from Hazrat Adam.

From childhood, Qusai garnered much attention for his talents and grew up to be one of the leading figures of Mecca. In a short time, he gained much reliability amongst the people of Mecca for his fair decisions as well as his skills in governance and administration. For this reason, the governance of Mecca was given to him. He divided Mecca into districts for the first time.

He situated every tribe into the district that he allocated for them. The most important decisions of Mecca were discussed and decided in his home. Important tasks such as safeguarding the Ka’aba, providing water for and hosting the pilgrims of Hajj, erecting the flag at times of war, and governing the Meccan assembly, 11

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were entrusted in him. The first house that was across from the Ka’aba and whose door faced the Ka’aba was specially constructed for Qusai. This house was a parliament, like a type of governmental building or the state of the Meccan city, where all sorts of works and issues were discussed. Historically, Qusai’s residency was known as “Daru’n-Nadwa” and it found fame with this name. It was conserved until half a century after the Hijra (migration).

Qusai was loved and respected by everyone without exception. The noor belonging to the Master of the Universe that he carried on his forehead, made him beloved to and the bosom friend of the Meccan people.

In accordance with the custom, Qusay handed over the role of the family chieftain to his oldest son, Abduddar when he got old and said, “My Beloved son, I appoint you as the chief of this tribe”.

However, Abduddar did not possess the skills to undertake such a great duty. Throughout his life he was unable to fill his father’s place because the noor of the Patron of the Universe was not shining on his forehead, but was on his younger brother’s, Abd Manaf who had four sons: Hashim, Abdusshams, Muttalib, and Nawfal.

Hashim Hashim is the grandfather of the Holy Prophet from the second generation.

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Hashim was a tradesman; he was one of the notables of Mecca’s gentry. As the birth date of the Holy Prophet was nearing, the noor of the Holy Prophet on his forehead was shining even brighter. In addition, he had eminent virtues.

He was extremely generous. During a year of drought, no bread could be found. He had snow-white bread made from the pure wheat he brought from Damascus, cut several camels and sheep, and offered a huge feast composed of bread, meat, gravy, and broth to the whole of Meccan people.

Because Hashim was of high moral character, aptitude, was wise, generous, virtuous, was loved and respected by everyone, and had a noble personality, his name became the title for his family and posterity. For this reason, they termed this great lineage that includes our master of the Universe as the “Hashemites”.

Hashim had four sons: Shaiba (Abdulmuttalib), Asad, Abu Sayfi, and Nadla.

Hashim’s progeny continued from his sons Shaiba and Asad. Shaiba is the Holy Prophet’s grandfather from the first generation whereas Asad is the uncle of Hazrati Ali’s mother, Fatimah.

However, when Hunain, who came from Asad’s progeny, did not have any descendants; every Hashemite was descended from Abdulmuttalib’s branch, proliferated, and spread across the Earth.

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Shaiba (Abdulmuttalib) Shaiba is the Holy Prophet’s grandfather from the first generation. Since he was born with white hair, the name “Shaiba” was given to him; he gained fame with his nickname, Abdulmuttalib and was mentioned more by this name.

The story of how he was given this nickname: Shaiba stayed with his maternal uncles in Medina during his childhood. One day he and his neighborhood friends were throwing arrows with the other children in a public square in Medina. Amongst all the children, he was easily distinguished by the noor belonging to the Master of the Universe that shone on his forehead. There, a crowd of grownups gathered to watch the children compete.

It was Shaiba’s turn to throw an arrow. He placed the arrow in the bow and stretched the bow in a confident manner. For a moment, he stopped breathing and unleashed the bow. The arrow that sprung from the bow hit its exact aim. When everyone looked at him with amazement, he brought the following words to his tongue through the happiness and excitement that he felt with this success: “I am Hashim’s son. I am Sir Betha’s son. Of course my arrow will find its target”.

The adults that came to watch heard Shaiba’s commendatory words. One of Harith bin Abd-Manaf sons came close to him and learnt that he was Hashim’s 14

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sons by cross-examining. On his return to Mecca, this man explained the situation to Muttalib and remarked that it was not right for such a talented and intelligent child to be left in a foreign province.

Upon hearing this news, Muttalib immediately went to Medina and brought Shaiba to Mecca. As Muttalib was arriving to Mecca with Shaiba on the back of his saddle, they asked: “Who is this child?”

Muttalib was afraid that this child would be affected with the evil eye so the words “my slave” came out of his mouth.

When he arrived home, his wife, Khadija, asked the same question. Once more, the answer was “my slave”.

The next day Shaiba began to roam the streets of Mecca with the new and beautiful clothes that his uncle bought for him. Everyone became curious about his identity and began to ask questions. Those who knew answered, “Abdulmuttalib” (Abdulmuttalib’s slave).

Despite his identity being later revealed, his nickname remained “Abdul-Muttalib” from that day on.

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The Dream of Abdulmuttalib Grandfather of Prophet Muhammad SAW Years passed.

The noor (holy light) belonging to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) that shone on Abdulmuttalib’s forehead brought him to the station of Quraysh’s chieftainship.

It was a hot summer’s day…

He was sleeping by the Ka’ba on a shady spot in the location of Hijr. He saw a dream. In this dream, an individual called to him: “Awake, and excavate Tayyiba!”

He asked, “Where is Tayyiba”?

However, the individual did not answer his question and walked away.

Abdulmuttalib, who woke up, got excited. Not having interpreted the dream, he spent the night wondering, “What did Tayyiba mean? What would excavating Tayyiba be like?”

The next day, he fell asleep at the same place. The same man reappeared and called: “Awake and excavate Barra!”

Puzzled, Abdulmuttalib again asked, “Where is Barra?”

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Once again, that man walked away without providing any answers.

Abdulmuttalib awoke from his sleep with much greater curiosity and excitement. Yet, he was unable to give meaning to what he saw. Again, he spent that day and night under the influence of his dream.

He slept in the same spot on the following day. The same man came to him and said, “Awake. Excavate Madnuna”.

In his deep sleep, Abdulmuttalib asked the man, “Where is Madnuna?” Yet again, the man walked away without an answer.

Abdulmuttalib’s curiosity and excitement reached its final level. He knew for certain that the dream he saw on end for three days was not meaningless.

Nevertheless, he did not have the slightest clue as to what it meant.

Abdulmuttalib, who was asleep in the same spot on the fourth day, saw the same man’s arrival. This time the man called: “Excavate the Zamzam!”

When Abdulmuttalib asked, “What and where is the Zamzam?” The man’s answer was, “The Zamzam is a kind of water that never stops. It never reaches the bottom. With this, you will provide the pilgrims’ needs for water during Hajj. It is between the spot in the Ka’ba where the blood from the 18

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sacrifices are spilt and the place where their droppings are buried. A crow with multicolored wings comes and pecks there. There is an ant’s nest there as well”.

This time happiness was attached to Muttalib’s excitement when he awoke because he obtained the clue to make sense of his dream. He heard the Zamzam well mentioned before many times. However nobody knew where it was because as the Jurhumies were escaping from Mecca’s invaders they threw all of Mecca’s valuable belongings into the Zamzam well, made the top of the well one with the soil, and brought it to an undistinguished condition. Since then, the name Zamzam was there yet the Zamzam itself was missing.

Abdulmuttalib understood at last that he was appointed to find and unearth the Zamzam’s location. He immediately began to explore. He went to the place he learnt of in his dream. Meanwhile, he saw a crow with multicolored wings soaring and as it landed on the ground, it shuffled some place with its beak and afterwards, it took off towards the sky.

There was nothing to say for Abdulmuttalib’s happiness. He was going to attain the glory of finding and exposing the well (from the giver of life) that had been kept secretly for years. He determined the Zamzam’s location and it came turn to dig. He did not want to have this glory snatched by and to open this secret to someone else. For this reason, he took his only son, Haris, to the determined place and began to dig the next day. Awhile after some continuous digging, 19

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the Zamzam well’s woven wall stones and its circular opening appeared. Abdulmuttalib was joyful and excited. Naturally, he could not believe his eyes.

Nevertheless, regardless of whether or not he believed his eyes, what appeared before him was a well’s opening. He began to recite Takbir, “Allahu Akbar!

Allahu Akbar!”

Abdulmuttalib and Quraysh’s Leading Figures The Qurayshis were watching Abdulmuttalib’s activity from the beginning and when they realized what was about to come , they notified their elders. Sometime after, Quraysh’s elders came to the excavated site and said: “Oh, Abdulmuttalib! This is the well of our forefather, Ibrahim. We also have rights to this well.

Let us partake in this task”.

Abdulmuttalib answered: “No, I cannot. This task has been assigned only to me and has been given to me from among you”.

The notables of Quraysh were not pleased with Abdulmuttalib’s finalized decision. From among them, Adiyy and Nawful spoke: “You are a lonely man. You have nobody to rely on other than your only son. How is it that you defy and do not bow down to us?”

This remark burnt Abdulmuttalib inside because the Qureyshis were belittling him by saying he was desolate. He made his uneasiness exceedingly obvious, 20

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stayed quiet in sadness for some time, and then poured out his heart in this way: “So, you are condemning me by saying I am lonely and desolate?”

When no answer came from his addressee and after thinking for some time, Abdulmuttalib opened his hands and turned his face towards the sky and said, “I swear that if Allah gives me 10 sons that I will sacrifice one of them by the Ka’ba” These words of Abdulmuttalib were a prayer, an oath, and an offering.

Going to Damascus It was obvious that this incident was not going to end here. The situation was quite critical. Clashes had broken out many times due to such incidences.

Because Abdulmuttalib knew this, he abandoned his excavation plan for a moment and offered to have the situation resolved by a judge. His offer was accepted.

They determined a judge by the name of Sa’d bin Huzaym, who resided in Damascus.

Abdulmuttalib took a few of his uncles by his side and went with a group that included the Qurayshi tribes’ leading figures towards Damascus.

However, the Divine fate stopped them before they entered Damascus. The water of Abdulmuttalib and those with him ran out in the middle of the burning desert. For them, this was much more dangerous than 21

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their most violent enemy. The leading figures of Quraysh refused Abdulmuttalib’s appeal by saying, “Our water is only enough for us”.

Abdulmuttalib and his kin found their lives in great danger. There was nothing they could do. Looking for water in the middle of the desert was no different than pursuing a mirage.

Abdulmuttalib Goes to Find Water However, Abdulmuttalib mounted on his camel and tried to find water after all. The others started to wait for the moment they and their relatives would die of thirst.

However, what they expected did not happen. The camel of Abdulmuttalib, who was bearing the light of the Master of the Universe (Muhammad-pbuh), tripped on a large stone covered by dry grass while passing through a valley. The camel stumbled and the stone moved out of its place and rolled down. Abdulmuttalib could not believe his eyes. In the scorching desert, he saw water glittering in the hole that the stone moved out of!

He dismounted his camel. When he broadened the hole, the water started to flow rapidly. More water accumulated in the hole. He returned and shouted enthusiastically. “Come on! I have found water sufficient enough for you and for your animals!”

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They became very happy as if they were born again.

They went to the water and drank as much water as they could; then, they gave water to their animals.

At one point, Abdulmuttalib turned to the Qurayshis who did not give him water and said, “Come to the water! Allah gave us water. Both you and your animals should drink from it. Come, do not stand there, come!”

The Qurayshis approached the water with embarrassment. They drank heartily and had their animals drink from it as well. They spilt the old water from their leather bottles and refilled them with clean water.

As soon as the Qurayshis drank the clean and cool water that was offered to them by the one who excavated it, they immediately changed their attitudes.

They turned to Abdulmuttalib feeling shameful and guilty and said, “Oh Abdulmuttalib, we do not have anything to say to you now. We understand that excavating the Zamzam is your right. You are the only one who is worthy of this task. By God, we will never hassle you on the topic of the Zamzam again. We no longer think it is necessary to see the judge”.

Without visiting the judge, they all returned to Mecca from the halfway point together. (4) When Abdulmuttalib returned to Mecca, he continued excavating with his son, Harith, and extracted the Zamzam in a short time.

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They Draw Lots for Valuable Goods There were some valuable goods that emerged from the Zamzam well. Among these goods, there were two deer statues made from gold, swords, and suits of armor (shields).

When the notables who left Abdulmuttalib the right to extraxt the Zamzam saw these valuable goods, their anger swelled and they stood over Abdulmuttalib once more. They said, “Oh, Abdulmuttalib, we have shared rights over these goods”.

At first, the generous and patient Abdulmuttalib rejected their wishes by saying, “No. You have absolutely no rights over these goods”. However, then, he put forth his generosity and chivalry and said, “I am going to behave gently towards you once more. Let us draw lots among ourselves”.

The Notables of Quraysh were pleased by this and asked: “Fine, but how and in which manner are you going to draw lots?”

Abdulmuttalib explained the procedure that was to be followed: “We will draw two lots for the Kaa’ba, two lots for me, and two lots for you. Whatever comes up for whichever party will belong to them and if nothing comes up, then, that party will be deprived.”

This method was an unbiased solution. For this reason, the Qurayshis were pleased and they commended Abdulmuttalib’s behavior and said, “Truthfully, you have acted in a merciful manner”.

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They went next to the Hubal statue in the Kaa’ba and drew lots. Once more, the drawing proved that the Notables of Quraysh had no rights over these valuables. The golden deer statues were left to the Ka’ba; Abdulmuttalib won rights over the swords and armor, (5) and the notables’ share was deprivation.

They no longer had something to oppose and the matter was resolved in this way.

After having the swords and armors forged into sheet, Abdullmuttalip covered the door of the Kaa’ba with it.

Thus, he became one of the people who adorned the Kaa’ba with gold.

Abdulmuttalib was at the perfect age of 40 when he extracted the Zamzam well.

Thirty years later, his number of sons became 10 thanks to the endowment of God Almighty.

Meanwhile, he remembered the promise he had made many years ago: to sacrifice one of his sons by the Kaa’ba. However, which one should he sacrifice? All of them were more wonderful and loveable than the other. However, Abdullah was much different.

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Hazrat Abdullah The Father of Prophet Muhammad SAW Abdullah was the eighth among the ten sons. He was much different than his siblings in terms of looks and character.

As soon as he came into this world, the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) noor that shone on his father’s forehead passed to his. This noor brought out a magnificent beauty and an exceptional cuteness/sweetness to his face. However, nobody noticed from where and how this beauty and cuteness came.

Abdulmuttalib’s Conversation with His Sons All ten of his sons had grown.

Abdulmuttalib, who had not forgotten his promise, gathered them together and by explaining the story, he let them know that one of them had to be sacrificed.

All of them accepted without hesitation and asked their father: “Very well, then how should we do this? How are we going to determine who is to be sacrificed?”

Abdulmuttalib knew what to do in this type of circumstance. He answered: “All of you should take an arrow, write your own name on it, and then give it to me!”

The obedient children immediately followed their father’s command. Each of them pulled an arrow, and 27

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after they wrote their own name on it, they handed it to their father.

Abdulmuttalib collected all of the arrows and went straight towards the Kaa’ba. The method of resolving this situation had already been explained: An arrow would be drawn by the Hubal statue, and whosever name was drawn would be the one to be sacrificed…

Qurayshis would apply this method in these types of situations.

The Drawing of Lots The city’s inhabitants gathered around Abdulmuttalib when he neared the Kaa’ba. Without hesitation, he handed the arrows to an arrow-drawing civil servant so that he would not be considered to have retracted his promise to Allah. All of those arrows had the names of his beloved children. Regardless of whichever arrow was drawn, a piece of him would be missing.

The civil servant pulled one of those arrows and read the name on the arrow with a quivering tone: “Ab-dullah!”

The compassionate father did not want to believe what he had heard. He pulled the arrow from the government official’s hands and looked over it carefully and read: “Abdullah”.

In an instant, his eyes were filled with tears and his throat was tangled with sobs. His compassion and feelings bulged and overflowed to such an extent that 28

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for a moment, it was as if he was going to shout “no”.

At the last minute, he remembered the promise he had made to Allah and his steel-like will bridled his feelings and compassion. Devastated, Abdulmuttalib turned his face from the Kaaba to his house and walked hopelessly.

Everybody was waiting for him at home. Nobody was aware of the result of the draw. The eyes of Abdulmuttalib, who entered the house, stared at Abdullah’s face, which was shining brightly. When he felt that his compassion and mercy overwhelmed, he turned his face away. He did not want to keep his sons, who were looking at him submissively, in curiosity and said: “My son, Abdullah! Allah has chosen you to be sacrificed for Him. Among your siblings, he has granted this honor to you”.

This news, which burned and bit the family of Abdulmuttalib and saddened the people of Makkah at once.

Everyone asked one another: “Abdullah? Is that beautiful and sweet child going to be sacrificed?”

Abdulmuttalib did not pay attention to his burning heart, hurricane of emotions, and feelings of compassion and mercy that resembled an ocean’s waves as he grasped his dearest son’s wrist and took him towards the statues of Isaf and Naila. It was as if Abdullah, whose face was covered with noor, had Hazrat Ismail’s submission. Not the slightest sign of displeasure appeared on his face.

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Abdulmuttalib had a knife in one of his hands, and his son’s hand in the other. Everything was ready for his sacrifice. In the meantime, some noise was heard. The Qurayshi gentry was coming and one of them called out: “Oh, Abdulmuttalib! What is it that you want to do?”

As Abdulmuttalib was looking at his son’s face which was covered with noor, he answered: “I’m going to sacrifice him!”

As this answer emerged, it generated a wave of excitement and amazement in the crowd. They intervened by saying: “Oh, Abdulmuttalib, how can this be? You are one of Mecca’s dignities. If you do this, then will everyone not follow you and do the same? If everyone sacrifices their son, then will our descent not come to an end?”

The entire crowd was opposed to Abdulmuttalib’s decision; even his emotions and feelings were in opposition. The only thing in favor of him was his steel-like will. He had made a promise to Allah and had to fulfill it definitely since Allah gave him his wish.

Allah granted him ten sons and not sacrificing one of them would mean that he was being ungrateful.

In the meantime, Abdullah’s uncle, Abdullah bin Mughira came forward and said: “Oh Abdulmuttalib,

by God, you cannot sacrifice him unless there is a legitimate excuse. If giving away all our property is necessary to save him, then we are ready to do so!”

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It was as if Abdulmuttalib’s emotions, compassion, and mercy began to talk and were shouting the same things to him. However, his will would not make any concessions.

After the Qurayshis and their sons saw that their pleas yielded no results, they submitted the following proposal: “Oh Abdulmuttalib, take Abdullah and go to Damascus. There is a woman there who is clairvoyant and wise. Everyone from east to west, who is in difficulty, transcends countries to go to her. She finds a cure for everyone’s difficulty. She will surely find a cure for you. If she says to slaughter Abdullah, then do so, but if she finds a cure to save you, Abdullah, and us from sadness, then act according to that”.

This idea stood to reason for Abdulmuttalib. He immediately took Abdullah by his side and they set off to Damascus. When they arrived in Medina, they learnt that the clairvoyant woman was in Khyber, thus they went there from Medina. They found the soothsayer called Arrafa.

Abdulmuttalib explained the situation completely to her.

The woman asked: “What is the amount of ransom for one person in your area?”

Abdulmuttalib answered, “10 camels”.

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Upon this, the clairvoyant woman said, “Go and prepare 10 camels. With the child, take the 10 camels and go to the place where the arrows were drawn. Have your child stand on one side and have the camels stand on the other, and draw an arrow between them. If the arrow comes out for the camels, then sacrifice the camels and save the child. If the arrow comes out for the child, then continue to add an amount of ransom to the number of camels and draw arrows until your Creator is pleased with you! Whenever the arrow is drawn for the camels, then sacrifice them. In this way, both your Creator will be pleased with you and you will have saved your child from being sacrificed.” 3 Abdulmuttalib found this solution to be suitable and was about to walk on air. Without wasting time, he returned to Mecca. Abdulmuttalib’s family and the Meccan community were immensely happy upon hearing this news.

The Results of the Drawing It was the following day after his return to Mecca.

Abdulmuttalib took his beloved son and his 10 camels to the Kaa’ba. In accordance with the clairvoyant woman’s advice, a drawing of lots was about to be made between Abdullah and the camels.

In his state of happiness, Abdulmuttalib told the civil servant to “draw”.

The arrow was drawn for Abdullah.

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They increased the number of camels to 20.

The civil servant drew another arrow and again, it pointed to Abdullah.

They increased the number of camels to 30. The arrow landed on Abdullah again.

So they increased the number of camels to 40. The arrow came out for Abdullah once more.

The number of camels was increased to 50; it was as if the arrow was insisting to be drawn for Abdullah.

It became 60, 70, 80, and 90. The arrow was pointing to Abdullah with persistence. It was as if the arrow was receiving orders from another realm.

Abdulmuttalib was in a state of excitement and astonishment. During the course of every drawing, Abdulmuttalib did not abstain from raising his hands to the sky to offer a supplication.

The number of camels finally reached a hundred.

When the arrow was drawn again, those who were watching with curiosity took a deep breath because the arrow pointed to the camels.

Like everyone else, Abdulmuttalib’s eyes gleamed with happiness. However, his happiness did not last long and he immediately became serious. He did not allow much time for others to congratulate him and he spoke in this way:

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“By God, I am going to draw three arrows on end so that my heart will be satisfied”.

The drawing continued thrice more. Happiness was expressed through screams during each drawing because the arrows were pointing to the camels in all three rounds.

Abdulmuttalib expressed his happiness by shouting, “Allahu Akbar! ,Allahu Akbar!” (Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest) and offered a supplication as he kneeled on the ground.

In this way, Abdullah was saved from being sacrificed.

Abdulmuttalib, who was immensely happy that his beloved son was saved from being sacrificed, ordered a hundred camels to be taken to the place between Safa and Marwa, and to be sacrificed there, side-by-side.

His order was followed immediately. The Meccan community greatly benefited from the meat of the camels that were sacrificed. The wolves, birds, dogs, wild, and domestic animals shared the remaining meat.

From that day onward, the custom of accepting a hundred camels for the amount of ransom has been embraced among the Qurayshis and Arabs.

And our Holy Prophet (PBUH) did not change this custom.

Hazrat Abdullah’s Chastity It was the same day…

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Everyone was pleased by the result and was leaving the place of drawing. Abdulmuttalib and his beloved son were coming to the city. Abdullah was far behind his father as they were passing by the Kaa’ba, and it was then that a woman approached him. This woman was named Ruqiyyah. She was Waraqa bin Nawfal’s sister and one of the many admirers of Abdullah’s legendary beauty. Like her sibling, Waraqa, she read the old Holy Books and in those books, she saw and learned about the characteristics of the Prophet that would appear during the end of time. When she faced Abdullah, she established a connection in her mind between the characteristics that she read about and the immense brightness that was on Abdullah’s face as she had never seen such brightness on anyone’s face till then. Forgetting her grace and chastity, Ruqiyya approached Abdullah so that nobody else could obtain this glory and whispered: “Young man, wait a moment.”

Abdullah stopped.

She asked, “Where are you going?”

With the innocence of the noor (light) that shone on his face, he answered: “We are going with my father”.

The woman did not dwell long upon this innocent answer and expressed her true intention. She offered to have illicit relations with him.

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In an instant, Abdullah’s face turned crimson red. He did not pay attention to this illicit offer. He wanted to continue on his way.

Yet Ruqiyyah wanted him all for herself. She rendered her desire into a more enticing offer: “I have as many camels as the ones that were sacrificed on your behalf, so if you accept my offer then I will give them all to you”.

Abdullah did not heed this appealing offer and provided an answer that promoted his innocence: “Haram is so painful that the pain of death is lighter in comparison to it whereas halal is so sweet. Oh, woman, go and openly seek what is halal! Those who possess honor and chastity protect their faith scrupulously.

How can they attempt and dare to commit an action that is deemed dishonorable?”

After his dignified answer, Abdullah continued on his way in front the beautiful Ruqiyyah, whose eyes were combined with looks of admiration and sadness.

Days later, Abdullah was married and came across the same woman on the streets of Mecca once more. The same Ruqiyyah did not exhibit the slightest signs of desire and longing. On the contrary, she was very apathetic and dull.

Abdullah asked, “What happened to you? Your condition has changed”.

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Ruqiyyah answered, “That day a mysterious noor (light) was shining on your forehead. I lost myself in the face of that noor, but now I cannot see it”.

Yes, the noor that shone on Hazrat Abdullah’s forehead was no longer there.

Because it had transferred to the forehead of the greatest mother, Hazrat Amina, who was carrying the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in her womb.

Actually, she was not the only woman who admired and was amazed by Hazrat Abdullah. All of the Qurayshi girls turned their eyes to this young man who was immaculate, free of bad conduct, and adorned with the best of traits and virtue. However, it was without being able to conceive the secret of the brightness on his face and without comprehending the wisdom of God Almighty having foreordained him with the greatest of honors, being the father of the Prophet (PBUH) of the end of time.

Hazrat Abdullah’s marriage to Hazrat Amina Hazrat Abdullah was growing up day by day and the girls started to turn round him like a moth. However, he did not turn and look at any of them, preserving his chastity and honor. When Abdulmuttalib saw that his beloved son reached the age of marriage, he wanted him to have a happy family. However, it was necessary to find someone equal to him in every aspect. Abdulmuttalib soon found what he wanted. He went to Wahb b. Abdi Manaf, the chief of Bani Zuhra tribe, and told 37

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him that he wanted his son, Abdullah to marry Wahb’s daughter, Amina. Wahb accepted the proposal and said: “O my cousin! We received this proposal before you.

Amina’s mother had a dream a few days ago.

According to what she narrated, a light entered our house and it illuminated the earth and the sky. Last night, I saw our grandfather, Ibrahim (pbuh), in my dream. He said to me, ‘I married Abdullah, Abdulmuttalib’s son, off to your daughter, Amina. When he comes, accept it.’ I have been under the influence of this dream since this morning. I constantly asked myself, ‘When will they come?’”

When Abdulmuttalibheard it, he shouted, “Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!” joyfully.

Amina, Wahb’s daughter had a high rank among the girls of the Qurayshis in terms of beauty, ethics and nobility. She was equal to Abdullah; she was only 14 then. Abdullah was twenty-four years old. They soon had a wedding and got married; the family that would bring the Master of the Universe into the world was set up.

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Death of Hazrat Abdullah A few weeks after their marriage, something strange happened but not many people noticed it. The light that had been on the face of Hazrat Abdullah started to shine on the forehead of Amina. It meant Hazrat Amina was pregnant; she was going to give birth to the Master of the Universe.

A few months passed after their marriage.

Hazrat Abdullah went to Syria with a trade caravan.

That was all. Hazrat Abdullah never returned to Makkah. When the caravan returned to Makkah a few months later, Hazrat Abdullah was not among them.

Only the ill news arrived. Hazrat Abdullah had become ill in Madinah while returning from the journey. They had left him with his maternal uncles there.

When Abdulmuttalib received this news, he sent Harith, his son, to Madinah at once. When Harith arrived in Madinah, it was too late. Hazrat Abdullah had died without seeing his son, the Master of the Universe, even once. He had been buried in the yard of Nabigha, from the sons of Adiyy b. Najjar. Harith returned to Makkah with this sorrowful news. Makkah was mourning for him. The fact that death, which does not discriminate between the young and the old, took Abdullah at a very young age and grieved the family of Abdulmuttalib extremely. The people of Makkah shared their sorrow by shedding tears for him.

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It was impossible to describe the sorrow and grief of Amina, who was very young. When she heard the news, she started to melt like a candle. She could not help crying for days. She cried and cried. There were two months left for the birth of the person to come to the world; he would wipe the tears of the humanity with his light and stop their pains.

Hazrat Amina expressed her deep sorrow with the lines of this poem, which she wrote in tears: From now on, the Batha branch of Makkah has no sons of Hashim. Makkah will be deprived of the fame of sons of Hashim!

He left his home in coverings and shrouds obeying the call of death.

If death walked around among people for years, it could not find a brave man like him and fill his gap.

His friends rushed to carry his coffin and carried him on their hands.

Unfortunately, death took him away from us at an unexpected time. In fact, he was so good-looking, generous and merciful!

The Inheritance Hazrat Abdullah left Hazrat Abdullah had been newly wed. He died while he was getting ready to earn something for the future.

Therefore, he left a very modest inheritance. He left a female slave called Umm Ayman Baraka, who loved 40

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the Master of the Universe a lot, five camels, a few sheep, a sword and some silver coins.

However, he left a very good child, who would be the Sun of the World, with the grace of Allah: a person to illuminate the world with his light; the Master of the Universe, Hazrat Muhammad, (pbuh).

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The Year of Elephant War It was soon before the birth of the Sun of the Universe (PBUH). People were flooding into the Kaba during Hajj season from all over the region.

The fact that the Kaba was filled with plenty of people disturbed some people. One of those resenting it was Abraha Ashram, the governor of Yemen of the Abyssinian ruler at the time.

In order to prevent the rush of people into the Kaba, Abraha had a church built called Qulleys in the city of San’a with the aid of Byzantium emperor. He went to all the expense of decorating inside with gold and silver. The outer side of it was decked out with extremely precious jewels that he had brought from various places. It was so much so that the church he had built had no match anywhere else!

Abraha was planning to attract people’s attention into here with all this ornament and embellishment. So, in the end, he was thinking of breaking the favor people hugely had with Kaba.

After the building of the church was completed, Abraha wrote a letter to the Abyssinian ruler to gain his approval further. In the letter, he wrote: “I have had a church built for you such that neither Arabs nor Farsis have ever made something alike. I shall never halt unless I make here a place for Arabs’ pilgrimage.”

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However, all the expenses and efforts of Abraha came to nothing. Many people came to see the unique embellishment and gorgeous structure of the church.

They came but only to see its beauty. The number of people visiting the Kaba did not diminish but increased.

The Fouling of Qulleys and Abraha’s Decision That Abraha had a magnificent church built to alienate people from the Kaba was heard by the Arabs as well.

In the meanwhile, someone named Nawfal from the Qinana tribe had made up his mind to foil this church.

At one midnight, he went to the church foiling inside and outside of it and then turning back where he came from.

This incident exasperated Abraha further, who already flew into a rage with the fact that people still favored the Kaba. On learning that the one who foiled the church was an Arab, he swore with fury by saying; “Arabs did it since I made some of them turn away from their Kaba. So I shall raze it to the ground.” Then he prepared to advance towards Mecca with the intention of tearing the Kaba down. He asked the Negus of Abyssinia for the famous elephant, Mahmoud, to be given to him. The Negus met the demand of the Negus and sent him the elephant, which was then matchless in terms of size and power in the world.

Abraha prepared his army and set off toward Makkah.

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He started to proceed to Makkah with the elephant called Mahmud in front of the army.

Meanwhile some Arab tribes opposed that big army but they could not succeed in stopping them; they were defeated by Abraha.

When Abraha came somewhere named Mogammish near Mecca, he sent a group of cavalry to spearhead the attack.

Cavalrymen made their way into Mecca and extorted the herds of the Quraishians and Tikhamese, including two hundred camels of Abdulmuttalib, the grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

At that time Abdulmuttalib was the head of the Quraish tribe.

Abraha and Abdulmuttalib Abraha sent an envoy to the Quraishians to deliver his message: “I am not here to fight you, but to tear the Kaba down.

If you do not resist me, I shall not shed your blood. Let the chief of the Quraish tribe come to me if he does not want me to fight against him.” (5) Abdulmuttalib’s answer to the envoy was as follows: “We swear by God that we do not want to fight him.

We are not capable of that anyway. The Kaba is not ours but it is God Almighty’s. Only God Almighty can protect it from being ruined. If He shall not protect His 45

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holy home, we have no power to dissuade Abraha from his attack.”

After this talk, Abdulmuttalib and the envoy went to Abraha.

Abdulmuttalib had an imposing appearance. Abraha felt an involuntary respect toward him. He treated him as an honorable guest and asked him what his wish was.

Abdulmuttalib stated his wish: “Your men took my two hundred camels. My wish is that they be returned to me.”

Abraha did not like it and spoke mockingly; “When I saw you, I thought you of being an important man; I soon realized that you are not so when you started to speak! I am here to demolish the Kaba which is your and your forefathers’ temple. You are not talking about that but you are thinking of your two hundred camels.”

Abdulmuttalib spoke recklessly; “I possess my own camels; the Kaba has its owner and protector. He is sure to protect it.”

“Nobody can protect it!” Abraha shouted.

Abdulmuttalib replied calmly; “I am not interested in that; this is between you and Him!” After this conversation, Abraha gave Abdulmuttalib’s camels back. Later on Abdulmuttalib left there and came back home in Mecca and told the Quraishians all 46

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about what had happened. Besides, he put on a mark on his two hundred camels to be sacrificed to God. Mecca is evacuated Abdulmuttalib recommended the folks to evacuate Mecca to protect themselves from the cruelty and oppression of Abraha and his army. He went to the Kaba with a couple of people with himself. He clung on to the door handle of the Kaba and prayed; “O my Lord! Even your servants protect their homes. You protect your own home too so that this army may not come out victorious.” (8) Mecca was evacuated. The natives began to take shelter on mountain hills and solitary places and to wait what Abraha and his army will do.

Everyone was worried about what was going to happen.

The Army is Ready, But… It was the morning of the following day.

All the preparations were completed in the army of Abraha that was about to destroy the Kaba. The army was waiting for the order of “March!”

The year was 571, seventeenth of the month of Muharram, on Sunday.

At the moment the army was to move, a man named Nufail Bin Habib, who then acted as a guide to Abraha,

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bent down to whisper into the ears of the great elephant Mahmoud: “Mahmoud! Kneel down! Turn back where you come from without being hurt. You are in a place where God Almighty deems holy.”

After he whispered those words into the ears of Mahmoud, he ran away to take shelter in a mountain.

After Nufail’s words, the huge elephant suddenly knelt down.

They resorted to any ways to make it get up, but all was in vain. When they directed it to Yemen, to Damascus, or to the eastern side, he was running; but when they direct it to Mecca, it kept kneeling down as if it had no power to run.

At the moment when everybody was astonished at this sight, God Almighty sent the birds against the Abraha army called Ababel (goatsucker) from the other side of the sea.

Each of those birds was leaving from above three small stones as big as chickpea to the army. Every soldier to whom those stones hit immediately was severely wounded and died.

The soldiers who met with the bombardment of stones were petrified with fear. The area was filled with men and animals lying around dead or wounded. Those who were hit with no stones started to flee around. Abraha

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was among them. But he, too, soon died because of a wound made to his body by a stone.

Mahmoud, the elephant, survived due to its refusal to march into Mecca.

Having perished the army of Abraha with stonecarrying birds, God Almighty cleaned the area with rain, which later dragged the bodies into the sea.

God Almighty informs of this event in the Holy Qur’an.

Have you considered how your Lord dealt with the people of the Elephant? Did He not bring their evil scheme to nothing? He sent down upon them flocks of birds (unknown in the land), Shooting them with bullet-like stones of baked clay (an emblem of the punishment due to them), And so He rendered them like a field of grain devoured and trampled. (Al-Fil Surah, 105:1-5) (14) This event was a proof to Muhammad’s (PBUH) prophethood. Because, God Almighty saved his future homeland and the place he was to turn his face towards from Abraha’s army before he was born.

The mercy and wisdom of God Almighty would not and did not let the Abraha’s army destroy this honorable place out of His love to His Beloved Prophet (PBUH).

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The Birth of Prophet Muhammad SAW Last Messenger of God The earth was covered with incorporeal darkness.

Everything that existed was in a state of mourning because of the oppression and atrocities committed by mankind. It was not eyes that shed tears, but soul and heart. There was a general lamentation in the world.

People had become wild like monsters eating each other; they were about to be drowned in the swamp of unbelief, polytheism, ignorance and oppression. The oppressed were groaning bitterly under the whips of the oppressors.

The world was sorrowful; the beings were sorrowful; the hearts and the faces were sorrowful and grievous.

The infinite mercy of Allah would not let the unbelief, polytheism, deviation, ignorance, sorrow and trouble that spiritually squeezed the minds, spirits and hearts hard make the humanity suffer any longer. He would definitely send a person that would end all of those troubles as an indication of His compassion and mercy.

And, he was coming!

The unmatched person, the last Prophet of Allah, who would change the spiritual form of the world with the light that he would bring, was coming!

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Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), who would lead the jinn and human beings to the way of endless bliss was coming!

That Moment…

The universe was waiting for its Master in awe and respect. Every being was ready to welcome this unmatched person with their own tongues, languages, states and acts joyfully.

Date: 571 AD, Twentieth of April.

Fifty or fifty-five nights after the Event of the Elephant.

The twelfth night of the lunar month of Rabiulawwal.

A modest house in Makkah. It is Monday. The time of dawn.

A magnificent and unmatched thing happened in this modest house and at that unmatched time: Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), the master of the Universe, was born!

When he opened his eyes, it was as if the world forgot about its pains and mourning, and was overwhelmed with joy. It was as if the universe shouted with joy and excitement: “The Sultan of the Religion was born at that time / The skies and the earth were overwhelmed with light”.

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From the narrations by his mother…

Reverend mother, Hazrat Amina, who was deemed worthy of such a unique honor that no any other mother ever was, describes that blissful moment as follows: “Someone came towards me in my dream in the sixth month of my pregnancy and said: “O Amina! Know that you are pregnant to the most decent person of the universe. When you give birth to him, name him Muhammad and do not tell about it to anyone!”

Then the time for birth came. My father-in-law was away, performing Hajj. I was at home. Suddenly I heard a voice. I felt as if I would melt with horror. It was there. A white bird appeared and came to me; and it patted my back with its wing. I did not feel any fear or anxiety from then on. I had a look around. They were serving me syrup in a white jug. As soon as I drank it, I was covered with a sea of light and Mohammad was born.”

The reverend Mother tells about afterbirth as follows: “I saw a flag in the east, a flag in the west and a flag on the Qaaba. The birth was over. I looked at the baby.

He was on sajdah (prostration) and his finger was raised up towards sky. Then a white cloud came down and swaddled the baby. I heard a voice: Show him around the east and the west, show the seas, so that creatures will know Muhammad with his name, his title and his face then the cloud disappeared away.”

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Also at the same night, Hazrat Amina saw a divine light and in the brightness of that light, she watched palaces and mansions in Damascus.

Observations by Midwives Shifa and Fatima At the time the Lord of the Universe (Prophet Mohammad) was born, Shifa who was Abdurrahman bin Awf’s mother and Fatima who was Uthman bin Abul’l As’s mother were together with the reverend mother.

Shifa, who was one of the midwives, described her observations at that time as follows: “I was there when The Messenger of Allah was born. I quickly came there for help. I heard a voice: “May Allah’s mercy be upon him.” The distance between the south and the north was filled with divine light. And I saw some palaces of Byzantine in that light. Then I took the Messenger of Allah in my arms and started to suckle him. I started to tremble and almost fainted. The baby disappeared in front of my eyes. A voice asked: ‘Where has he gone?’ Another one replied: ‘They took him to the east.’

I never forgot those words. Therefore, as soon as the Messenger of Allah declared his prophethood I went to him and accepted his faith together with the first Muslims.”

Fatima said that the house where the birth took place was filled with divine light and the stars in the sky seemed as if they would fall into the house.

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Another specialty of Prophet Mohammad was that he was born circumcised and his umbilical cord was already cut off. There was “The seal of prophethood” between his shoulder blades on his back, just in the line with his heart. It was formed by hairy, raised and reddish freckles which looked like pearls and it was in the size of a partridge egg. The seal was a sign indicating that he was the last prophet being awaited for a long time.

Saib bin Yazid, one of the Companions, tells about the seal as follows: “When I was a child, my aunt took me to the Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah, there is a pain in my nephew’s foot. The Messenger of Allah patted my head with his hand and prayed for me. Then he took ablution. I drank from the ablution water. Then I stood behind him and I saw the seal of prophethood between his shoulders; it was as big as the huge buttons of the tent (or a partridge egg).”

Describing the Messenger of Allah, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “He was broad between his shoulder blades and it was obvious that he was the last prophet from the seal of prophethood between his shoulder blades.”

Glad Tiding Given to Abdulmuttalib…

When the Master of the Universe, our Prophet, was born, Abdulmuttalib, his grandfather, was talking with some of the notables of Quraysh near the Kaaba.

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He was given the news. Abdulmuttalib, who became very happy, went straight to see his grandson. He hugged and kissed his grandson. Then, he gave his grandson to Abu Talib, his son, and said, “This child is entrusted to you. He will be an honorable, well-known person.”

Abdulmuttalib slaughtered camels and sheep on the seventh day of the birth of the Master of the Universe and held three banquets for the people of Makkah in the honor of this joyful event; he also slaughtered camels in each district of the city and left the meat there so that the poor people would take and the animals would eat them.

The luminous child was given the name Muhammad (pbuh) After the banquet, they asked Abdulmuttalib what name he had given to his grandson. He said, “Muhammad...”

“Why did you not give one of the names of your ancestors but this name?”

He replied: “I wanted Allah and the people to praise him!”

Indeed, the Master of the Universe, our Prophet, is the only person in the world that was praised by Allah, the people and the angels because he deserved that praise, interest, love and respect. He deserved the praise with his unmatched belief, understanding, worshipping, 56

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loyalty, fear of Allah, trust, effort and hard work, sincerity and high ethics. Therefore, there is and there will be nobody that will reach his rank of praise.

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Extraordinary Events that Took Place When the Prophet was Born The greatest event in the universe, for sure, is the birth of Prophet Mohammad SAW, the Lord of the Universe.

This is because he is the seed of the tree of creation. If Allah had not willed his birth, there would neither be universe nor human beings now. Therefore, the door to the world of testing would not be opened. “If one looks at this great universe as if it were a book, the divine light of Prophet (pbuh) will be the ink of the pen of that book’s writer. If one considers this great universe as if it were a family tree, the divine light of Muhammad will be both its seed and fruit. If one considers the world a great living being, this divine light will be its spirit. If one considers it an enormous human being, that divine light will be its wit.”

This is mystery to which the hadith “But for you, the dearest, I would not have created the skies (the universe)” indicates.

Moreover, Hazrat Muhammad’s prophethood is not particular to a specific community, but general and universal. Accordingly, some miraculous events would certainly occur when he honored the world with his arrival. And these events would make intelligent and sagacious people think.

During the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, the following miraculous events occurred: 59

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A star was born at the night he was born There were many scholars amongst Jews. They deduced from their books that the Messenger of Allah would come. They were expert in making conclusions from the movements of stars. At the night the Prophet was born, a star shone in the sky and Jewish scholars understood that the last Prophet was born.

Famous poet of the Prophet, Hassan bin Thabit describes it as follows: “I was about eight years old. One morning a Jewish man was running crying out ‘Hey Jews!’ Jews gathered around the man saying ‘What is it? Why are you shouting?’ The man was crying out: ‘Let me give this news to you, Ahmad’s star was born tonight. Ahmad was born tonight.”

The following is narrated by Ibn al-Sa’d regarding the issue: “There was a Jewish man living in Mecca. In the morning after the night the Messenger of Allah was born, he went and stood in front of the people of Quraish and asked: “Was a baby boy born tonight in your tribe?” People of Quraish answered: We do not know. Upon this answer, he continued his speech: “Go, search and seek; the prophet of this community was born tonight. He has got a sign on his back.”

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People of Quraish went and made a search. They came to the Jewish man and gave the news: “Abdullah had a son tonight; he has got a sign on his back.”

The Jewish man went and saw the seal of prophethood.

And he cried out as if he had lost his mind: “Prophethood is not with Israelites anymore. The people of Quraish will be bestowed with such a great fame that it will be heard everywhere from east to west.”

The sky was celebrating the birth of the Great Prophet with cressets of stars shining brightly.

Fourteen towers of Kisra’s Palace in the city of Madayin fell down It was the night the Lord of the Universe was born. The clock struck the hour he was born.

The city of Madayin, which was in a deep sleep, woke up with a terrible crackling noise. The scene was terrifying and hectic. Fourteen towers of the Sovereignty Palace, which were so firm, had crackled and fallen down.

Kisra, who spent the night in fear, called religious leaders of the country for a meeting as soon as the morning broke. They would discuss about what happened that night in the meeting.

Kisra sat in his throne with his crown on. No sooner had they started the meeting than a man on horseback, running at a full gallop brought a letter. In the letter, it 61

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was written that the fires which had been burning brightly for thousands of years in Istahrabad died out.

This news added to Kisra’s fear and excitement.

At that time, Iran’s head qadi (judge), Mubezan, took the floor and told them a dream he had: “I saw that hundreds of roaring camels, with rearing Arabian horses before them, swam across the River Tigris and spread into the lands of Iran.”

Kisra found this dream of honest, knowledgeable and just Mubezan very meaningful. He grew nervous to the utmost. He wanted to solve this puzzle. He asked Mubezan, whose knowledge and wisdom he trusted: “Then, what does it mean?”

The head qadi’s answer was short and yet succinct: “It means that something very important will happen on the Arabian side.”

Upon this, Kisra wrote a letter to Numan bin Munzir, the governer of Hira. In the letter, he said ‘If there is anyone from the scholars there who are knowledgeable enough to answer my questions, send him here right away!”

Having received the letter, Numan understood the seriousness of the issue and sent a scholar named Abdul-Masih bin Amr to Madayin right away.

The ruler gave audience to the scholar right away.

After telling the scholar what happened, Kisra asked him to explain them.

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Abdul-Masih told him that he could not give information to Kisra about what happened and he added: “My uncle Satih, who lives near Damascus, has got enough knowledge to answer them.”

Upon this, Kisra assigned Abdul Masih to go and get information about the events from Satih.

Famous prognosticator of Damascus, Satih, was a freak of nature, his body being boneless and having almost no organs, his face being on his chest, and he was very old. He would lie on his back all the time.

When he was called to a place, they would fold him like a packet. The news of the unknown and unseen he said was true and he was very popular with people of the time.

Abdul Masih covering a long, hard way, he arrived in his uncle Satih’s. Satih was living the last days of his life. He was suffering severely from a serious illness.

The severity of the illness left him no strength to speak and he could neither salute him nor speak.

However, when Abdul Masih told him what happened, he suddenly changed. Satih, who was in throes of death in his bed, opened his eyes and started to cry out in excitement as if he was at the door of life and not of the grave: “O Abdul Masih! Divine revelation will be read more. The owner of the baton has been sent as a prophet. The Valley of Samawa had been flooded. The fire of the Persians has died out. And Damascus is not Damascus anymore for Satih. Keep in mind that the Unique Judge who can rule the time willed this and He 63

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tied up the both ends of the rope of prophethood.” He took a deep breath and added: “As many as the number of the towers that fell down, Rulers will come out from the Sasanids and then the promise will be realized.”

Those words were the last words Satih spoke; as if he had waited to put this truth into words before dying. As soon as he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and submitted his soul to Allah.

Famous prognosticator Satih heralded the birth of The Last Prophet clearly with those words.

This event, which nothing like it was ever seen before, indicated that the sovereignty of Persia which was writhing in four dark beliefs of Mazdaism would be swept away by the undying light which the prominent person who was born that night brought with himself.

As a matter of fact; history witnessed it and what Satih foresaw occurred: the State of Persia was included into the lands of Islam by the Prophet’s army is Qadisiyya, after the sovereignty of fourteen rulers which lasted for 67 years.

Most of the idols, which covered the Qaaba with darkness and filthiness, broke and fell down The idolaters of Quraish had covered the Qaaba with darkness of idols, which once was the place where Allah’s oneness had become an honored symbol for the first time. However, these idols which were clinched with lead, could not stand before the greatness of the

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birth of Great Prophet, the representative of the creed of Tawhid (Allah’s Oneness) and fell down.

This had an important meaning: The person who was just born would sweep away the idolatry as the duty assigned to him required. The creed of Tawhid, so pure and blissful, would bloom in peoples’ hearts.

The world witnessed it. The Honorable Prophet set the Qaaba free from those lifeless idols and also replaced the idols in hearts by the faith of Islam.

Enormous fire of Zoroastrians which had been burning for thousands of years in Istihrabad suddenly died out Zoroastrians regarded that fire as their god. Upon the birth of the Prophet, that enormous fire died out like a simple fire killed by flood from the ocean.

That is to say; the person who was just born would sweep away Zoroastrianism, like Idolatry, too in a short time and would light up the earth with the cresset of Tawhid.

The famous Lake of Sawa (Tabariyya), which was deemed holy, dried up all of a sudden It also indicated that the person who was just born would prohibit glorifying the things which Allah does not allow.

A divine light, which lit up the east and the west as if they had been a small room, was observed at the time of his birth 65

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It meant that the religion which would be conveyed by the person who was just born would embrace the east and the west and would train and educate one fifth of humankind affectionately.

The Valley of Samawa disappeared under the floods It was the night The Great Prophet was born.

Floods covered the Valley of Samawa and the city of Samawa. The people of the city sought refuge by climbing up the hills and mountains in horror. Then they wrote a letter to Kisra, explaining the situation, and asked for food and drink from him.

Stars fell down from the sky Stars fell down from the sky like the leaves in autumn at the night the Prophet was born.

That event indicated that the devil and the jinn would not be able to take information from the sky anymore. “As The Messenger was born with revelation, of course it was necessary to hinder prognosticators and the jinn who gave superficial information mixed with lies so that they would not mix doubts into revelation.

Yes, prognostication was very wide-spread before the prophet. After the Quran was sent, it gave an end to them. Moreover, many prognosticators became believers, because they could not find their informants from the jinn anymore�.

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Of course, it was not coincidental that those events which had not been seen before occurred at the time the Prophet was born. They occurred with the will of the Eternal Might and heralded the world about the birth of the Last Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).

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The Prophet is Given to a Foster Mother The universe, which rejoined its master was joyful.

The heart of the Arabia, which harbored the person that would provide the heart of the humanity with light and peace, was very excited.

Makkah, in which the unmatched event of the universe took place, was so excited and joyful that it was as if it wanted to fly to the lofty realms.

Hazrat Amina was peaceful and jubilant. It was as if the sweet smiles of her lovely child were helping her to forget a tinge of the intense pain that she felt over her husband’s death. Her child was her only consolation that secured her hope for the future.

The fortunate Amina could only suckle her glorious child for week. After this, Abu Lahab’s handmaiden, Lady Suwayba became the wet nurse of the Master of the Universe and suckled him for days.

Before that, Lady Suwayba had nourished Hazrat Hamza. In this way, she had attained the fortune and honor of being the means in joining the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his esteemed uncle as foster brothers.

The Master of the Universe (PBUH), who possessed such virtue and feelings of faithfulness, never forgot the smallest favors that people did for him, nor did he leave them unrequited. Throughout his entire life, he never forgot Lady Suwayba who nourished him for a period of time. He would frequently visit her and 69

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would always show her kindness, respect, and pay her compliments.

Yes, faithfulness was the foundation of good manners that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) brought to the face of the Earth. The smallest trace of ingratitude cannot be found in the immaculate and upright life of our Beloved Messenger (PBUH).

At one point in time, Hazrat Khadija, who had taken lessons from the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) virtue and gratitude, wanted to purchase Lady Suwayba, who would frequently visit Hazrat Khadija’s home, for the purpose of setting her free; however, Abu Lahab did not lend himself to this idea. It was not until after the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) migration to Medina that Abu Lahab freed Lady Suwayba on his own.

Abu Lahab was our Holy Prophet ‘s (PBUH) own paternal uncle. Afterwards he did not testify and admit to the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) Prophethood; he did not forsake being a pagan and did not refrain from his attempts in being our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) biggest enemy, either. For this reason, he incurred the wrath of Allah and did not earn a value that is equivalent to the nail of his slave, Lady Suwayba. In fact, it has been explained that because of Lady Suwayba, Abu Lahab has obtained a driblet of grace in the afterlife.

After his death, he was seen in a dream where he was found screaming in the severe punishment of hell.

They asked him: “Why are you screaming? What is the matter?”

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He answered: “What else could be the matter? The absence of water is making me burn! I never saw any good in my life, yet I did find one fortune: Because I set the woman, who nourished Muhammad, free, I have been spared the opportunity to absorb water and be watered” and as he said this, he showed his index finger (the finger that testifies faith).

This incident is certainly a case in point. A ferocious enemy of Islam, like Abu Lahab, who did not refrain from oppressing, torturing, and insulting the Master of the Universe throughout his entire life, was the recipient of such beneficence and grace and a tinge of his punishment in hell was alleviated. This means that goodness done not only upon our Beloved Messenger PBUH, but also upon those who have served him, is also not left unrequited by God Almighty’s grace and beneficence.

In addition, one should think of the greatness in gifts, favors, and Divine endowments of the eternal realm that are awaiting those who have made the Master of the Universe (PBUH) their absolute imam and guide in every matter and the true believers who have felt honored to uphold his Sunnah on the Earth.

The Custom of Giving Babies to Wet Nurses Mecca’s weather was hot and muggy. It did was not good for the children’s delicate nature and was not a favorable condition for a healthy upbringing. In the desert, the weather was nice, the water was sweet and clean, life was easy, and the climate was mild. Besides, 71

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some of the tribes that lived in the desert had a language and diction that was smooth and sharp. They maintained their nobility and practiced good conduct.

Based on this, the Qurayshi gentry and leading figures practiced the custom of handing their children over to the tribal women in the desert to be breastfed for a cost, so that their children could grow and be brought up under healthier conditions and to learn and speak a dialect of Arabic that was appropriate in its essential form. The child would remain with his/her wet nurse for 2-3 years, and sometimes even more.

For this reason, many tribes that lived in the uplands/prairies, Sa’d bin Bakr’s tribe in particular, would have a caravan of women go to Mecca a few times a year in which the women would take the newly-born infants with them to their homeland for the purpose of nourishment.

Among the tribes in the vicinity of Mecca, Sa’d bin Bakr’s tribe was the one that had acquired fame since it was distinguished for its honor, generosity, chivalry, humility, and speaking Arabic properly. For this reason, the leading figures of Quraysh mostly wanted to hand the custody of their children over to the women of this tribe.

The Arrival of the Women from Bani Bakr’s Tribe to Mecca The Holy Prophet (PBUH) was being nourished by Lady Suwayba.

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At that time, a strong drought was prevalent in the homeland of Sad’s sons although such a strong drought had not occurred till then. The drought resulted in a famine that left the tribal community poor and miserable. It was so bad that they had difficulty finding something to eat. Their camels and sheep had weakened and their milk had ceased.

During this year of intense famine and drought, the tribeswomen of the Bani Bakr had gone to Mecca in a crowded procession with the intention of finding a child to nourish and of obtaining a portion of their livelihood.

All of the women, with the exception of one extraordinary lady, had chosen a child who was appropriate for them. Strangely enough, none of them chose nor approached our Beloved Messenger (PBUH) because they thought they would not be able to obtain much money and help since he was an orphan.

There was only one woman who arrived late in Mecca.

She was distinguished among her tribe for her decency, cleanliness, gentleness, and modesty. Due to their old and frail donkey, Halima and her husband had fallen behind the rest of the procession. When they entered Mecca, all of the newly-born Qurayshi children, with the exception of one very extraordinary infant, had been chosen by the women of the Bani Bakr tribe that were in the forefront. With the fate and wisdom of the Possessor of the Absolute Power, Halima could not find anyone in need of nourishment.

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Her husband, Harith, was sad, too. All of their friends shared the children of the wealthy families among themselves. She was the only one who was left emptyhanded and it was only because she arrived late.

This virtuous woman, who now had a pale and sad countenance and was unaware of the plan that Divine fate had drawn for her, wandered the streets of Mecca with despair and the distress of not being able to find an appropriate fitting child.

Incidentally, she encountered an old man with a friendly face and who, through his presence, summoned the respect of his surroundings. This individual was Abdulmuttalib, the grandfather of the Master of the Universe (PBUH). They looked each other as if they had been looking to become the relief for their troubles. Then they began to engage in conversation: Abdulmuttalib asked, “Where are you from?”

Halima: “I am a woman from the Bani Sa’d Tribe” (Sons of Fortune/Luck) Abdulmuttalib: “What is your name?”

She answered, “Halima”.

Abdulmuttalib: “How wonderful!

How wonderful! Fortune and gentleness are two traits that carry the beneficence of this world and the honor and glory of the afterlife” After he said this, Abdulmuttalib took a deep breath and followed with: "Oh, Halima! I 74

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have an orphaned child next to me. I offered him to the women of the Sons of Sa’d but they did not accept him.

Come and be the wet nurse of this child. Maybe you will attain prosperity, wealth, and fortune for taking care of him”.

At first, Halima became hesitant upon hearing this unexpected offer. However, she did not want to return to her homeland empty-handed. For this reason, she overcame her hesitation and accepted the offer from within. Nevertheless, she did not want to disclose her answer without first asking and receiving permission from her husband. She immediately returned to her husband and after she explained everything to him she said, “I was unable to find a child to nourish. I do not favor going back empty-handed among my friends. By God, I am going to take that orphan”.

Her husband, Harith, supported her view and said, “There is no harm in taking him. Perhaps Allah will endow us with prosperity and blessings thanks to him”.

Upon this, they returned to Abdulmuttalib.

Abdulmuttalib took Halima to Hazrat Amina’s modest home which the Beloved Prophet (PBUH) illuminated.

Halima went to our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) bedside.

Our lovely Master (PBUH) was wrapped in a white fabric made from wool and was sleeping soundly on a blanket of green yarn. The surrounding smelled like musk!

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Halima was in a state of amazement. She immediately warmed up to this child so much that she could not bear to wake him up!

The cloud of gloom and anguish had left Halima. She was so happy that it was as if she was walking on air.

It was such a great bliss to have suddenly come across an infant of excessive beauty after squirming in the distress of not being able to find a child.

Halima could not resist anymore. She neared the Master of the Universe’s (PBUH) bedside very closely and slightly lifted the corner of his blanket. With a mother’s love and compassion, she kissed his forehead and hands that smelled like roses and that were softer than cotton and as white as snow.

At that moment, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) opened his eyes and replied to Halima’s kisses with a sweet smile.

They got along with one another.

While one of them was in despair because of not being able to find a child, worn out, and downhearted, the other was a radiant orphan who had been rejected by the women. Fate had filled both of their worlds with happiness.

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The First Abundance Our lovely Master (PBUH), who had captivated Halima’s heart, was now in her arms.

Yet, what was this? The breasts that had lacked milk for days were immediately filled with milk as soon as our Holy Prophet (PBUH) began to suck from them.

Halima was surprised and her husband, Harith, was in a state of amazement.

Her right nipple was in our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) mouth and her left nipple was in the mouth of his new foster brother, Abdullah, who was Halima’s son. From then on, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) would always drink from the right breast.

The Camel’s Breasts were filled with Milk Halima was not willing to put the radiant orphan (PBUH) down from her lap for one second. They immediately bid their farewells to Abdulmuttalib and Hazrat Amina and departed from Mecca.

Teardrops were combined with Amina’s sadness. She had virtually become a cloud as she followed her radiant child.

That night, the Harith family had a peaceful sleep outside Mecca. When the morning came, Harith ran to milk their camels. Every nipple he touched had become a fountain of milk. He called out to Halima in amazement: “Oh Halima, know that you have taken a very holy and auspicious child!”

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Halima affirmed her husband’s statement: “By God, I hope he is” Mecca was left behind.

Halima was riding on a female donkey and had the Master of the Universe (PBUH) in her arms. What happened to the weak, frail donkey that had fallen behind her friends? Where did this speed and steadiness come from? It was as if she was not the same donkey that Halima rode on her way to Mecca.

When she passed and left all the animals in the procession behind, Halima’s traveling companions were surprised and asked with astonishment, “Oh, Abu Zuaib’s daughter, shame on you. Why do you not wait for us? Or is the donkey that you are riding not the same as the one that you rode when you first came?”

The donkey was the same donkey. The only difference was that there was someone else on her, and he was the Master of the Universe (PBUH). The honor of carrying him (PBUH) had exhilarated that weak and frail animal.

“No, by God she is the same donkey; in fact, I’m not directing her. She is going steadily on her own. There is something strange about this”.

It was a shame that nobody from the procession was able to discern the reason for this difference and from where it came.

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Yes, all of these occurrences were open proofs that this radiant-faced infant (PBUH) would embrace the future with his grandeur!

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) in the Homeland of the Sons of Sa’d Halima and her husband returned to their homeland after these peculiar occurrences.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would now remain in the land of the Sons of Sa’d.

At that time, an intense drought and famine were prevalent in the area. The soil’s abundance had been cut-off, the wells and fountains did not have water, faces were pale, and the animals did not have the strength to stand on their feet.

However, the view suddenly changed when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) arrived. Before his arrival, the animals were not able to find any grasses to eat but now they were filled to repletion. Their breasts were overflowing with milk and like a fountain of mercy, they were pouring it continuously. There were no longer any pale faces in Halima’s home.

The other inhabitants of the area were still experiencing a famine and were continuing to suffer in a circle of hardship. Their animals were still frail, weak, and did not provide adequate milk.

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It was as if those who did not accept our Holy Prophet (PBUH) for being an “orphan” were being punished by having to remain in deprivation.

The upland folk was about to burst from curiosity when they saw this situation before their eyes. They could not understand what they saw. They were blaming their shepherds and were scolding them: “How do Halima’s sheep get full? As they walk, milk continuously drops from their nipples. Who knows where she is grazing her sheep? Why do you not go to the place where she goes and graze your sheep there!?”

The shepherds knew for certain that their employers were being unfair in blaming them. The place where Halima was grazing her sheep was no different from where they were grazing theirs. For this reason, the shepherds were disputing this, however their objections made no difference. This time, their employers added: “Very well, how is it that while the sheep in your herd are having difficulty carrying themselves due to starvation, hers are being satiated and are returning with milk-filled breasts?”

Neither the shepherds nor their employers were able to find the answer to this question. All they could do was look at one another with wonder and bewilderment.

However, there was a reason for this and at that time, nobody other than Hazrat Halima and her husband

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knew what it was. When the shepherds came and asked what the reason was, Halima gave them this answer: “By God, this is not about pasture or grass. This work is one of the many secrets of the Lord. Everything began on our return from Mecca!�

Of course, the shepherds were not able to understand much from these words; thus, they were unable to get rid of their curiosity.

This was the secret that the prairie folk were unable to conceive: Since Halima had displayed generosity in accepting our Holy Prophet (PBUH), who is the most beloved to the Possessor of the Universe, Allah, her household was generously being endowed with gifts from His mercy.

Halima and her husband were very well aware of this and for that reason, they looked at this radiant infant in a different light. So to speak, they would protect him from a flying bird and the rising sun as they fluttered around him with great love and care.

The Upland was freed from the drought The drought and famine that were prevalent in the land of the sons of Sa’d had still not ended. Every week, the upland folk continued to recite a prayer for rain in accordance with their own beliefs and customs.

However, they returned sad and empty-handed each time.

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It was a Friday.

The entire tribal community went on top of a hill and took their milkless sheep and hungry camels along with them for the purpose of praying once more for rain. After they sacrificed their animals, they began to pray. They were begging and invoking the Lord of the universe to send rain. Even though they had been praying for hours, a single raindrop did not fall.

Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) wet nurse, Halima and her husband, Harith, were also in the crowd. Halima would always protect the Master of the Universe (PBUH), and for that reason, she did not bring him among the crowd and had left him at home with his foster brother, Unais.

The end of the prayer was reached. Everyone was hopeless, exhausted, and was preparing to leave. In the meantime, a woman, who was one of Halima’s neighbors, approached the priest upon the completion of his prayer, and said: “Oh Priest, we prayed so much; however, we received no result. If there was someone favorable and auspicious among us, then maybe the Lord of the universe would accept our prayer”.

It was as if the priest was bothered by the old woman’s words and said, “All we can do is pray to Him; however, we are not able to know His plan. Only He knows what is right and what is favorable”.

This time, the old woman shared her real intention: “I know, what you have said is true; however, I meant to 82

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say something else. In our neighbor Halima’s home, there is child from Mecca. Ever since he came, Halima’s home has been overflowing with abundance.

It appears like he is a very favorable and auspicious child”. Maybe his presence will bring us luck and the Lord of the universe may accept our prayer by granting us rain for his sake”.

At first, the priest was hesitant, but consented to the idea of our Holy Prophet (PBUH) being brought after the woman insisted.

The old woman looked for Halima and once she found her, she explained the offer that she had made to the priest.

Halima found this idea as being feasible since she was the one who saw what an auspicious and favorable child he was the most. She quickly ran home and once she arrived there, she hugged our Holy Prophet (PBUH). Afterwards, she bundled him and covered his face with a cloth to protect him from the impact of the burning sun. Then, the two went outside.

The sun was severely thrusting its flaming arrows towards the face of the Earth. It was as if blazing fire was rising from the ground. After leaving the house and having walked for a bit, Halima’s eyes noticed something strange. A cloud had been following them.

At first, she did not pay much attention and said “could be” to herself while she continued walking; however, this cloud did not leave. In fact, it had undertaken the duty of protecting them from the sun’s boiling heat by 83

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acting as an umbrella. Inevitably, she was overcome with wonder and was surprised, and on the one hand, she was happy. It was no longer necessary to cover the radiant infant’s face with a cloth. When she lifted the cover, his cute eyes looked at her very sweetly and it was as if his smile was saying, “That cloud is shading me”.

They continued their way underneath the cloud that acted as an umbrella, and mixed in with the crowd once they arrived at their destination. Although the priest had been initially uncomfortable when the request was made, he was now greeting the two with a smile because he had seen a cloud from afar shading Halima and her companion as soon as they had left their home.

The priest took our Holy Prophet (PBUH) from his wet nurse’s arms and shouted to the crowd: “Oh, people!

This is the child from Mecca that brings blessings to whichever household he is found in. Altogether, let us pray for the Lord of the Universe to deliver rain with the love and kindness that He has towards this favorable child”.

Everyone opened their hands once more and their lips began to excitedly recite a new prayer.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) stood like a ball of light in the priest’s arms and while everyone was begging Allah the-Almighty, he was looking at the sky with hopefulness as his eyes emitted an intense light. The priest was captured by this radiant infant’s large and 84

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eminent black eyes that were incomparable in beauty and he forgot everything at once.

The final moments of the waiting period that persisted for months with sadness and longing were finally nearing. The tiny cloud above of Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was seen to have begun expanding and spreading across the horizon. In a short period, that tiny cloud abandoned its location in favor of becoming a huge cloud that covered the entire sky. Instantly, screams of happiness were combined with sounds of prayer. The coming of clouds meant that the arrival of rain was near, and a short while later, the area resonated with shrieks of happiness. “Rain….!!!

Rain….!!! Rain….!!!”

Yes, two weeks of deprivation was enough for the Sons of Sa’d to understand the nature of the warning. For the sake of this radiant infant, clear and sweet raindrops began to harmoniously fall from the trove of God Almighty upon their homeland. Supposedly, mercy had embodied the form of rain and was pouring on the face of the Earth as it bestowed hope upon the hopeless people. Because of the drought, the face of the Earth had cracked, but it displayed its happiness too by releasing a sweet fragrance.

This community still did not know the secret as to why their continuous prayers for months on end were not accepted until that day. It was a secret that would remain a secret. The cause of such mercy was just yet a baby in the eyes of the people. In reality, Hazrat 85

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Muhammad (PBUH) was the Prophet of all Prophets, was recognized as the Beloved of Allah by the angels and Allah Himself, and was the Sun of both realms.

The mercy that brought smiles to the homeland of Sad’s sons continued for a week with intervals in between.

The soil was saturated all the way to its pith by the rain.

The grass sprung up again, the trees sprouted young and fresh buds, crops grew tall, and the breasts of sheep began to be filled with milk.

Among the people, only a few understood the reason for the arrival of rain.

They said, “This child is very auspicious and beneficial” among themselves.

The weather was clear and nice in the pure and wide desert. It was a suitable condition for the children to have a prompt and healthy growth.

Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) growth was different from that of the other children. He began to speak when he was eight months old, spoke smoothly and without error when he was nine months old, and was strong and robust enough to throw arrows like the other children when he was ten months old.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) stopped being breastfed when he reached two years of age. Until that time, Halima and the upland folk had been fully endowed with a rain of abundance, mercy, and bounty.

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Even at this age, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) possessed a far greater beauty, charm, and superior manner of conduct than his peers. He was earnest and dignified like a grown adult.

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is brought to His Mother The season of returning the foster children had arrived.

So, Halima, who had taken our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under her wing and who loved him much more than her own children, had a cloud of sadness pervade her heart since she was about to be separated from him.

She was going to be far from his fragrance of roses that reminded her of heaven.

However, she had no choice other than to deliver him and that is what they did. They took the radiant Muhammad (PBUH), went to Mecca, and delivered him to his mother in the midst of heartfelt tears.

The foster mother’s world was filled with sorrow whereas the real mother’s world was filled with happiness. One of them was in bliss for being reunited with her child and the other was burning in the fiery pain of being separated from him.

At that moment, it was as if an inspiration came to Halima’s heart and she pleadingly made the following offer with the fullest sincerity in her heart: “Would you please allow my son to stay with me for a longer period of time? I am also afraid that he will come into contact with the Meccan plague”.

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This offer and wish was sincere. It was as if these sentences were spilt from the heart rather than her lips.

Dear Mother Amina was unable to oppose this genuine and heartfelt appeal and consented to her beloved child staying in the homeland of the Sa’d’s for some more time.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) is in Sa’d’s Homeland once again Halima had attained her desire. In the endless pleasure of having her wish accepted, she returned to her homeland together with our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) sometimes went with his foster brother, Abdullah, to graze the sheep.

The sheep would respond to his sweet smiles by bleating.

Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) eyes always faced towards the skies. He would look up attentively and meaningfully as though he was going to discover something. It was as if he was waiting for a hand to reach down and take him to the high heavens.

In the meantime, a strange incident took place that did not go unnoticed: There was usually a cloud over our Holy Prophet (PBUH) that traveled over him and protected him from the sun.

All eyes were now on him. His beauty was on everyone’s tongue while his sweet love was in

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everyone’s heart. His honesty, good manners, and earnestness were always talked about.

His peers would compete for his amiable friendship.

Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) days would pass peacefully and happily in the upland of the Sons of Sa’d.

The slitting of our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) Chest It was a beautiful spring day and the mid-morning sun was emitting life everywhere.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) whose face was filled with noor (light), and his foster brother, Abdullah, were grazing their sheep in a meadow that was near their home. They sat on a carpet of grass as they were having a nice conversation underneath a tree. After a while, Abdullah fell asleep on the tree’s cool shadow while the Master of the Universe (PBUH) thought about the Creator who encompassed the universe with incomparable beauty. In the meantime, the sheep had dispersed far away. In order to have them turn back, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) walked away from Abdullah.

After a while, he saw two men clothed in white garments. Both of them had smiling faces and were pleasant. One of them had a golden bowl that was filled with snow in his hand. They quietly approached the Holy Prophet (PBUH). They held him; they laid him on top of the standing grass that was like a Divine carpet. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) made no sound and 89

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no fuss. He knew that these pleasant people with clean and smiling faces would not hurt him.

In the meanwhile, Abdullah, who had fallen asleep on the tree’s cool shadow, was now awake. When he saw the scene, he immediately began to run home in a hurry. He explained what he saw to his parents. Out of their excitement and worry, Halima and her husband did not notice how they rushed out of the house, as they hastily ran towards the Holy Prophet (PBUH). They reached the Holy Prophet (PBUH)’s side; however, the situation was not as Abdullah had described since nobody could be seen. In an instant, the men fulfilled their appointed duty and left. The Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) face had gone pale, and he lightly smiled as he stood on his feet.

Halima and her husband who were in too great of a flap, asked: “Sweetie, what happened to you?”

The Master of the Universe (PBUH) narrated the following: “Two people with white garments approached me. One of them had a golden bowl filled with snow in his hand.

They held me, slit my chest, took out my heart, and slit my heart as well. From my heart, they took out a black blood clot and threw it aside. They left after they cleaned my heart and chest with that snow”.

He would be given the duty of Prophethood after many years passed.

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One day, some of the Companions (Sahaba) had asked: “Oh Messenger of Allah, could you describe yourself to us?”

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) answered: I am the supplication of my father, Ibrahim. I am the glad tidings of my brother, Isa (Jesus). I am my mother’s dream. When she was pregnant with me, she saw a noor that rose from itself and lightened the castles of Damascus”. After his answer, he explained the aforementioned situation in this way: “I was nourished and brought up next to the sons of Sa’d bin Bakr. One day, I was grazing the sheep with my foster brother behind our home. In the meantime, two men in white garments approached me. One of them had a golden bowl filled with snow in his hand.

They held me, slit my chest, took out my heart, and slit my heart as well. They took out a black blood clot from my heart and threw it aside. They cleaned my chest and heart with that snow”.

In this phenomenon, our Beloved Messenger’s (PBUH) holy heart was widened with a soul and tranquility by the Divine Light and God Almighty. At the same time and from that day on, the nafs (soul) of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was filled with holy emotions. And with the testifying of Divine lights (noor), his nafs was cleaned from every type of apprehension and doubt. It should be remembered here that the heart should not be thought of as some piece of meat. It is a dominical subtle faculty, Latifa 91

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Rabbaniyya. To become better enlightened on this topic, it is beneficial to look at Hazrat Badiuzzaman’s explanation of the heart: What is meant by the heart is not just a piece of meat like a pine cone. Instead, it is a dominical subtle faculty (Latifa Rabbaniyya), and the conscience, the purpose of feelings, intentions, and ideas, are its intellect.

Therefore, an amenity has resulted from interpreting this piece of meat that contains the dominical subtle faculty: the dominical subtle faculty, the service that one does for his own spirituality, is like the service that is performed by the physical body. Yes, just as the One who has endowed this physical body with life is like a life-producing machine and this material life is extant because of His handiwork, the physical body reaches degradation when its material life is halted. He animates and illuminates the dominical subtle faculty with deeds and circumstances; and when the light of faith diminishes, its true essence will be left remaining like a lifeless and inanimate statue.

It is understood that the faith, knowledge, wisdom, and compassion of the material heart are closely connected to spirituality. In the same way, the relation between material and spiritual cleanliness is extant. In this regard, the filling of our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) heart with knowledge, wisdom, Divine light, and enlightenment after the cleansing of his material heart, should not be seen as unreasonable.

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The Prophet is Taken to his Mother The Sun of Happiness (Muhammad) was now four years old. He had become quite robust and had flourished considerably.

The peculiarities that were seen on him, particularly the slit on his chest, caused Hazrat Halima to think through and through and to worry deeply. In fact, she was now anxious because she was afraid that some ill fate would come upon to our Master (PBUH), who she loved as one of her own children.

This thought, anxiety, and fear forced Halima and her husband to make the following decision: “We must return this child to his mother before anything happens”.

Halima was burning sizzlingly inside, but what could she do?

After all, The Radiant Child was given to her for temporary custody and she was not going to seize what had been entrusted to her.

The Sun of Happiness, who had emitted radiance in Sa’ds’ homeland for four years, was now being brought to Mecca by his foster mother so that he could emit light to the world with a completely different kind of majesty and magnificence.

Halima and her husband arrived in Mecca at night. At one point, our Beloved Master (PBUH) 93

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disappeared. Halima and her husband began to panic.

They went to inform his grandfather, Abdulmuttalib.

The compassionate grandfather immediately became overwhelmed with concern as soon as he heard that his lovely grandson was missing. He rushed to look for him in sadness. However, our Master (PBUH) was nowhere to be seen. Abdulmuttalib was desperate. He opened his hands and begged, “My Lord, please return my Muhammad to me”.

In the meantime, two individuals were seen with a child alongside of them. They were Waraqa bin Nawfal, a friend of Waraqa, and our Holy Prophet (PBUH). Abdulmuttalib pressed his Sun of Happiness whom he had been yearning for against his chest, embraced him to his heart’s content, and then mounted him upon his neck. They went straight towards the Kaa’ba and circumambulated it together. Afterwards, he took our Beloved Holy Prophet (PBUH) to his mother.

At a later time, Abdulmuttalib had some animals sacrificed and threw a special banquet for the Meccans to celebrate the happy and blissful occasion of having been reunited with his grandson.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was now in his saintly mother’s warm lap, in between her compassionate arms, and in his happy and humble home.

His foster mother, Halima, left her Sun of Happiness in Mecca and returned to her homeland. However, 94

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neither she nor our Master (PBUH) forgot one another throughout their entire lives. He never lost deference and respect for the arms that embraced him for four years. Whenever he saw her, he would call her, “mother dearest”, would address her with respect and deference, and would always honor and be kind to her.

He would consistently ask if she needed anything, and if he she did, he would rush to fulfill her needs.

A long period of time would pass and yet another drought and famine would beset Sa’ds’ homeland.

Halima was unable to bare the dread of this famine and drought, so she went to Mecca hopes of seeing the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

When she saw the Master of the Universe (PBUH), she complained to him about the drought and famine in her homeland. Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) pure hearted wife, Hazrat Khadija, who was wealthy as well as appreciative and benevolent, immediately gave Halima forty sheep and a camel to carry both her and her luggage.

Here is another example of fidelity and benefaction: Shayma was one of our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) foster siblings. He spent many sweet and lovely days with her in Sa’ds’ homeland.

Many years later during the Hunain War, Shayma was among the slaves taken captive from the Muslims’ side. When Shayma introduced herself, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) showed her the utmost of affection that a little sister could ever receive.

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From time to time, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) would reminisce about the days from his childhood that he spent with his foster mother, Halima, to his companions (Sahaba) and would say: “I am the most pure Arab among you, because I am a Qurayshi. At the same time, I was nourished near Bani Sa’d bin Bakr and that is why my dialect is the same as theirs”.

The Prophet is with his Mother During the year 575 in the month Gregorian Calendar, our Venerable Master of the Universe (PBUH) was five years old when his wet nurse Halima returned him to his mother.

The pain of having been separated from her husband, Abdullah, who passed away during the first months of their marriage, sat in Halima’s heart like a punch having resulted from torture. Even if the degree of alleviation was small, her only son, Muhammad (PBUH), was her only consolation to this pain.

Hazrat Amina tried her best to hug her son with the utmost affection and compassion so that he would not feel the pain of being orphaned.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was the rose, light, blessing, peace, and happiness of his modest Meccan home. Even at a young age, he never refrained from helping his mother. In fact, his saintly mother was amazed by his diligence in cleanliness.

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He was not only helpful and considerate towards his mother, but towards everyone he knew. He would take pleasure in helping his friends. For this reason, his friends loved and respected him, and would yearn to spend time with him.

Yes, God Almighty was raising the one whom He was going to appoint as His messenger and who would uphold the highest and holiest duties of Prophethood in the best way possible and was disciplining him in the most excellent manner.

The Visit to His Father’s Grave Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was six years old when the desire to visit Medina had emerged within Hazrat Amina.

Her purpose was both to see the sons of Adiyy bin Najjar, who were her maternal uncles through Abdumuttalib’s mother, and to visit the grave of her fortunate husband who had been buried there.

Preparations were made with this intention in mind.

When the day came, she set off from Medina with her only son and his nanny, Umm Ayman. Although Hazrat Amina’s world was supposed to be filled with cheer and joy, it was covered with grief, instead. She kept turning her head to look back at Mecca as if she was never going to return to the sacred city and the holy home where this Sun of Happiness was born.

They arrived in Medina after completing their tiresome journey that occurred during the hottest days of the 97

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season. They visited the home of Nabigha, who was the son of our Holy Prophet’s paternal uncle.

Hazrat Amina collapsed by her husband’s grave that was in the courtyard of this home in the midst of tears.

Her teardrops abundantly watered the soil of Abdullah’s grave.

At the sight of this scene, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) felt the pain of orphanhood within his soul for the first time. He, too, sprinkled his holy tears upon his honorable father’s grave.

It was as if these tears were being presented to Hazrat Abdullah in place of a bouquet of roses.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) Captured the Attention of Jewish Scholars On one of the lovely days during his visit to Medina, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was sitting in front of the door of the home that they were visiting with his nanny, Umm Ayman. Two Jews clothed in religious garments were passing by and immediately focused their attention on him. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) went inside as if he were bothered by these stares.

The Jews did not walk on. Instead, they approached Umm Ayman and asked, “What is this child’s name?”

Umm Ayman did not know them; therefore, she considered the possibility that they might have malevolent intentions and so, she said, “Why do you ask?”

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The men replied in an assurance and confidence giving evoking manner, “We asked because he looks like a child we know. Could you please tell us his name?”

Umm Ayman then answered “His name is Ahmad’.

The two looked and smiled at one another as if they had found what they were looking for. Then one of them pleaded, “Could you please call him here?”

Umm Ayman was hesitant once more. Why did they want to see and speak with him so badly? However, the man helped to remove her doubt with this answer: “We do not think or want anything but goodness. We do not and will not harm anyone. We love him for the sake of Allah. Could you please call him here?”

Umm Ayman did not reject their plea. She went inside.

A little while later, she came outside with our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

As soon as they saw him, the two Jews bowed all the way to the ground. Afterwards, they approached our Master (PBUH) in a manner that was mixed with both love and reverence. They eyed him from head to toe.

Afterwards, they pulled up his clothing to see his back to look.

Excitement and astonishment were seen in their eyes.

Umm Ayman heard one of them telling the other: “This child is the Prophet of this community. He will migrate to this city. Many bloody wars, emigrations, and huge events are going to take place here”.

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After uttering these words, both men walked away.

According to another narration, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) learned how to swim in a body of water called, “The Well of Bani Najjar� during this visit.

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Death of Hazrat Aminah bint Wahb After spending a month in Medina with her son, the Master of the Universe (PBUH), Hazrat Aminah decided to return to Mecca. They said their goodbyes to their relatives and left the city.

There were three travelers in this desert: Hazrat Aminah, her glorious son, and Umm Ayman. They were all considered exceptional in the spiritual realm.

The breeze of longing and separation was blowing close by.

Hazrat Amina’s eyes resembled a stream of overflowing water when she thought about her husband who passed away at a very young age during the first months of their marriage. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) could not bear seeing his saintly mother’s teardrops; thus he began to cry ardently as well. His garment was soaked by his teardrops that fell like the rain.

Instantly, Hazrat Amina became ill while they were halfway through the road. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Umm Ayman were alarmed. What could they do in the face of an illness that was only getting worse in its intensity of pain?

They had no solution other than to encamp underneath a tree’s shade that was 23 miles to the south of Medina.

Strength and stamina had withdrawn from Hazrat Amina’s knees as she collapsed onto the ground without being able to contain herself. They covered 101

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her. Hazrat Amina was sweating due to the severity of her illness. Our Beloved Prophet’s (PBUH) teardrops fell out of fear of losing her and remaining motherless.

It was as if everything came to a halt. There was no sound, and stillness dominated the sky.

Hazrat Amina lay on the ground in a weak state.

At one point, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was able to collect himself and he asked his mother, “How are you, dear mother?”

The mother, whose heart was a trove of compassion, did not want her only child to be upset. In order not to rouse to her dear son the fact that she quivered with intense pain, she answered, "I am fine, my dear, nothing is wrong”.

She lost consciousness after speaking those few words.

This illness had now wrested her energy to speak. At one point, she was heard to have said “water”. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) brought water to his beloved mother at the speed of an arrow being sprung from its bow.

Hazrat Amina drank the water. She held the container of water and her beloved child’s very soft hands. She opened her eyes. She looked at our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) face that radiated noor (light) to her heart’s content, and caressed his hands with her motherly compassion.

At one point, the Master of the Universe (PBUH) slightly straightened out his mother’s position and put 102

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her head on his lap. The holy tears that dripped from his eyes were falling on his mother’s shoulders like April rain.

In addition to the anguish of losing her husband, was she now going to have to bid farewell to her son? This was an intolerable agony and an unbearable heartache.

She was tormented more by this separation than the illness that she had been afflicted with. Yet, what could she do? This was an unchangeable decree of the Divine fate.

Hazrat Amina now understood that she could not be saved from this illness. In her final moment, with a feeling of deep longing, she looked at her radiant child’s face that shone like the sun, and as she smelled his hands to her heart’s content, the following words spilled from her tongue: “You are the son of the man who was saved from the terrible arrow of death with Allah’s help and beneficence and in exchange for a hundred camels.

May Allah render you glorious and relentless. If what I have seen in my dreams is true, then you will be sent as a Prophet by Allah to inform the sons of Adam of what is lawful and unlawful, and upon this, you will possess majesty and many gifts. You will be sent to complete the submission and religion of our forefather, Ibrahim. Allah is going to protect and withhold you and nations from idol worshipping and idols. Every living being will die and everything new will wear out.

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is ephemeral, everything will leave. Yes, I am going to die as well. However, my name will remain forever because I have given birth to an immaculate child and am leaving a memorable and auspicious person behind me”.

After speaking these painful and foretelling words, Hazrat Amina’s eyes lapsed and she surrendered her soul to Allah.

Place: The Abwa Village, which is located in between Medina and Mecca.

Date: 576 AD. Hazrat Aminah Burial Our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) and Umm Ayman were frozen. In fact, their tongues were stiff. It was only our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) tears that spoke.

At one point, Umm Ayman was able to collect herself and she wiped the saintly child’s tears. Afterwards, she nestled and tried to comfort him. She said, “Do not be sad, and do not cry, my precious, Muhammad. We must surrender to Divine fate. Both life and possessions belong to Him. Everything has been entrusted to us; He takes back a trust just as He has given it”.

Our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) took a deep breath and said, “I know. I will always submit to His authority.

However, a mother’s face is unforgettable. I am sad that I will never be able to see her face again”.

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Afterwards, he immediately gathered himself, wiped his tears, and said to Ummi Ayman “Alright, she surrendered that trust to its owner. We should submit her corpse to the soil so that she can be in peace”.

They submitted the corpse of the world’s most fortunate mother, Hazrat Amina, to the bosom of the earth. Considering the fact that she gave birth to the Master of the Universe (PBUH), who knows how and at what heights her soul rejoiced with the angels.

After the Burial The duty of taking this precious orphan to Mecca had fallen on his nanny, Umm Ayman.

With all her effort, Umm Ayman was doing everything she could throughout the entire journey to not have him feel that he had been left motherless. She nestled him as if he was her own child and tried to comfort him. In fact, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) accepted her as a mother and began to refer to her with that title. Much later, he would pay her the compliment of being “the mother who came after my mother” each time he saw her.

Both Motherless and Fatherless!

The radiant-faced Master of the Universe (PBUH) was now an orphan without a father and mother. However, he had a true guardian and patron. That Guard kept our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under His impeccable custody and complete supervision and protected him from all 105

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kinds of danger and trouble throughout the his entire life.

We are reminded of this particular incident in the verse, “Did your Lord not find you an orphan and give you shelter and care?”

Years later, during the Hudaybiya Umrah, in the sixth year of the Hijra, the Master of the Universe (PBUH) passed through Abwa once more. With Allah’s permission, he visited his mother’s grave and tidied it up with his hands. Afterwards, he cried out of deep emotion.

The Sahaba (his companions) also cried after seeing his tears of longing and asked, “Oh Messenger of Allah, why are you crying?”

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) responded, “I remembered the compassion and mercy that my mother showed me and that is why I cried”.

The wisdom behind their early death This question may come to mind here: “Why did God Almighty not let his venerable mother and father see his prophethood and why they were not able to be Muslim?”

Badiuzzaman Said Nursi answers this question in his book “The Letters,” in The Risale-i Nur Collection: “Through His munificence, in order to gratify the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace's 106

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sentiments), Almighty God did not put His Noble Beloved’s parents under any obligation to him. His mercy required that to make them happy and to please His Noble Beloved, He did not take them from the rank of parenthood and put them in that of spiritual offspring; He did not place his parents and grandfather among his community. However, He bestowed on them the merit, virtues, and happiness of his community. Indeed, if an exalted field marshal's father, who has the rank of captain, entered his presence, he would be overwhelmed by two opposing emotions. So, compassionately, the king does not post the father to the retinue of his elevated lieutenant, the field marshal.�

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THE ISSUE OF THE BELIEF OF THE PARENTS OF THE PROPHET Islamic scholars agree that: "None of the noble individuals of the chain coming from Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them) was indifferent to the true religion and none of them blemished their heart with shirk (idol-worship, to associate anyone or anything with Allah) and kufr (disbelief, blasphemy)" Many Islamic scholars put forward with clear evidence that Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) parents will be among the people of salvation in the afterlife, through similar explanations. We can list those explanations as follows: 1) His parents, Hazrat Abdullah and Hazrat Amina, passed away long before their son undertook the task of the prophethood. So, they lived in the period of (fatrat) interregnum and they are regarded as people of interregnum. There is no torment of Hell for those who died during the period of interregnum.

One day someone asked a well-known scholar Sharaf al-Din al-Munawi, "Are our prophet’s parents in Hell?"

Al-Munawi replied, "They passed away during the interregnum. There is no torment before sending down a Prophet"

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It is well defined in the Quran and hadith (saying or tradition of the Prophet Muhammad) that no one who did not hear an invitation of a Prophet will have torment in the afterlife. It is also known that no previous Prophet’s invitation reached Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) parents. So, we can say that they will have no torment in the afterlife and they are among the people of salvation.

2) There is no information that the Prophet’s parents were in shirk and kufr. On the contrary, they were among the “Hanif” people who were practicing the beliefs and traditions coming from their grandfather Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh), like Zayd Ibn Amr Ibn Nufayl, Waraqa Ibn Nawfal and others.

3) Another piece of evidence that they were not in shirk is a hadith of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), "I come from a continuous line of clean fathers and always mothers" In the Quran, people of shirk is defined as “unclean people”. Since cleanness and uncleanness, faith and shirk, believers and unbelievers are opposites, and when we consider the above hadith, we must accept that no one from the ancestors of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was in shirk.

In short, “While Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is said to be a mercy to the universe by Allah, it would not be logical and harmonious with good manners to think that his parents, who carried him in their bodies before the sun of prophethood was born would be deprived of 110

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the prosperity and light of their sun. The parents of the Messenger of Allah lived in the Period of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah). They did not live during the time of the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).”

Then, a believer should know and accept the following: “The parents of Allah’s Messenger are surely from the people of salvation, people of Paradise and people of belief. Surely Allah Almighty will not hurt His dear messenger’s tender and compassionate heart.”

The following stanza expresses that truth in a nice way: While the sun of the two worlds were in the sign of bliss How would Allah not give his parents honor?

Oh my heart! Look at the diver with equitable eyes Would he take the pearl and throw away the motherof pearl?

Its Meaning: Is it possible that God Almighty will not honor the Prophet’s mother and father while Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), who is the sun of the both worlds, is in the sign of happiness?

O my heart! Look mercifully at the diver! Is it possible that he will take the pearl and throw away the motherof-pearl?

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The Prophet is Under the Care of Abdulmuttalib, his Grandfather When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) lost his mother at the age of six, his elderly grandfather took him under his care.

Abdulmuttalib, the leader of the Quraysh, had his share of the light of Ahmad. That light (noor) caused him to earn high merits and attributes. Excellent traits like a bright face, kind words, shyness, gentleness, and a superior code of conduct were added to his height, large head, and grandiose appearance. He was patient, clever, thoughtful, chivalrous and generous. Even animals were not exempted from his charity and generosity. He would even think about the hungry animals and birds on the mountains.

That light (noor) caused him to earn high merits and attributes. Excellent traits like a bright face, kind words, shyness, gentleness, and a superior code of conduct were added to his height, large head, and grandiose appearance. Even animals were not exempted from his charity and generosity. He always thought and was concerned about the ones that roamed with hunger and thirst on the mountain tops.

He was one of the fortunate people who had not separated from the path of light that was in between the vast darkness of the age of ignorance. He was very devoted to Allah and believed in the hereafter. Thus, he did not hesitate to place his most beloved son 113

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underneath a knife so that he could fulfill the promise that he had made to Allah. He would have sacrificed his son if the Qurayshis had not intervened. He would distance himself from the ugly rituals of the Age of Ignorance and would also prevent others from participating. At the same time, he would prevent others from the horrible practice of burying infant girls alive. He would always abstain from alcohol and adultery and would try to avert the occurring torture and injustice in Mecca with all his might.

He deeply enjoyed entertaining guests. He would pay close attention to his relatives and would show them compassion and loving kindness. Because of this wonderful quality, the Qurayshis would refer to him as “Ibrahim the Second”.

When Ramadan entered, he would retreat to the cave of Hira and would be preoccupied with worshipping; he was the first to have started this practice.

At the same time, this elderly grandfather knew what loving a child and grandchild was like. It was a great pleasure to love a grandchild as sweet and immaculate as the Master of the Universe (PBUH).

Abdulmuttalib truly loved his grandson who disseminated light everywhere. He sheltered our Holy Prophet (PBUH) like a delicate nestling in between his affectionate wings. He did not want to go anywhere without him. Even at this age, our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) behavior was no different than that of an enlightened person. Immediately, everyone would 114

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notice this extraordinary circumstance wherever he went. In fact, from time to time, Abdulmuttalib would first consult with his grandson before he provided any answers to the questions asked during meetings and conversations.

At that age, the Prophet was like a sincere friend of his old grandfather, a sympathetic ear and a trustable consultant. However, he always acted respectfully toward his grandfather.

Only he was allowed to sit on the seat of his grandfather!

A mat would almost always be laid out for Abdulmuttalib upon the shadow of the Kaaba’s wall.

None of the children would get on top of this mat.

Instead, they would sit around it and wait until their fathers came.

Abdulmuttalib would not take any of his children on this mat except for his grandson whom he would hug and place alongside himself. Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) uncles would always want to separate him from this mat; however, their father would hinder them and say: “Release my son. By Allah, in the future, his reputation and glory are going to be great”.

He would then indicate his everlasting love for his venerable grandson by placing him alongside himself once more while gently rubbing his back.

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Nobody other than our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) had the courage to wake Abdulmuttalib up while he was sleeping. And nobody was able to enter Abdulmuttalib’s personal room without permission except for our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The elderly grandfather would have his radiant-faced grandson sit next to him or on his lap at the dining table. He would feed him the most delicious portion of the meal and would not allow the meal to begin until he came.

When the Prophet was a bit late!

One day, the Master of the Universe’s grandfather sent him to go look for his missing camel. When our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was running slightly late, his grandfather was overcome with worry that he was lost.

His sadness could easily be read on his face. He immediately ran to the Kaaba and opened his hands to pray to the Supreme Creator. He begged, “My Lord, please return my Muhammad back to me!” A little while later, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) suddenly appeared with the camel right next to him. His grandfather happily hugged him and said “my unique grandson, dear, I was so sad and worried about you. I bawled so much that I will never have you leave my side and send you somewhere on your own from now on”.

Indeed, Abdulmuttalib did not refrain from following his grandson like a shadow until his death.

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What did the Yemeni ruler, Saif bin dhi Yazan, say to Abdulmuttalib Abdulmuttalib, who loved our Holy Prophet (PBUH) wholeheartedly, was away from him for a short period of time only once during his life.

The Yemeni monarch, Saif bin Dhiyazan, recaptured his father’s country from the Habashis and occupied the throne in the city of Gumdan. Tribal chieftains were coming from all four sides of Arabia to congratulate him.

A committee representing Mecca that was headed by Abdulmuttalib was supposed to go to Gumdan. For this reason, by leaving Mecca, Abdulmuttalib was going to be far away from our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Following their long journey, Saif bin Dhiyazan accepted the Meccan committee upon their arrival to Gumdan. Abdulmuttalib received permission from the Emperor to mention his high merits and his father who had been an auspicious ruler. He made the following connection to specify and distinguish his committee: “We are the people of this nation that Allah has made inviolable. We are the ministrants of the Baytullah (the Kaaba)”.

This statement grabbed the monarch’s attention, therefore he asked, “Oh smooth-spoken person, who are you?”

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Abdulmuttalib answered, “I am Hashim’s son, Abdulmuttalib”.

Saif was interested in more. He said joyfully and excitedly, “So, you are my sister’s son”.

Abdulmuttalib said, “Yes.” Upon hearing this, Saif took a greater interest in Abdulmuttalib and wanted him to come closer. He then said, “I learned that we are related. I am very happy with your visit. You are worthy of being treated very hospitably and of being conversed with day and night.

You are a very honorable and esteemed people”.

Saif did not settle on those complimentary words. He proved that what he was sincere by entertaining Abdulmuttalib as a guest in his palace for a month.

The days in the palace were always spent by conversing. Saif had learned about the attributes of the forthcoming Prophet from the Holy Books and was finding some clues from his conversations. One day, he discreetly called Abdulmuttalib during a break so that no one would notice. He wanted to speak with him.

When Abdulmuttalib arrived next to him, he said, “Oh Abdulmuttalib, “I am going to entrust a secret to you and I believe that this secret is related to you. We have been hiding this very great and important news that I have found in a book”.

Abdulmuttalib asked, “What is it?”

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Saif then unveiled his secret: “It is probable that he is a living child. He is going to be or has been born in the region of Tihama, which is on your side of the country.

He has a mole in between his shoulder blades. His grandfather and uncle will take him under their care when both of his parents die. He will show hospitality to both his friends and helpers and will cause his enemies to suffer from contempt. He is going to conquer the most prosperous places and be the people’s guide and leader until Armageddon. He will remove false religions, eliminate idol worship, and worship the Compassionate Lord. His words will solve impasses and his work will be based upon foresight and justice. He will always order for goodness to be done, will do good deeds, and will prevent others from committing misdeeds”.

Abdulmuttalib was overcome with curiosity and excitement and wanted the Ruler to further explain and to further open this secret. He said, “Oh, Emperor!

May your life be long, your reign continuous, and your glory be great. Could you further describe this child?”

After the Emperor listed the other signs and proofs he said, “Oh, Abdulmuttalib. It means that when all these signs are considered, that you are probably the grandfather”.

Abdulmuttalib immediately prostrated from happiness.

This time, it was the Emperor’s turn to be curious and puzzled. He asked, “Oh Abdulmuttalib! Did you sense anything from what I have told you?”

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Saif was happy that he had not been mistaken and said, “Protect your grandchild very carefully. The Jews are enemy to him. Protect him so that they will not harm him. Nevertheless, Allah is not going to give his enemies the chance or the possibility to do so.

According to what I have found and learned in the ancient books, Yathrib (Medina) is going to be his place of emigration and he is going to receive much help there”.

Both the Emperor and Abdulmuttalib were relieved for having solved a great impasse.

Saif bin Dhiyazan was heralding our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) advent as a Prophet.

A while later, the Emperor saw off the Qurayshi committee to Mecca by treating them with immense respect and honor and giving them generous gifts.

Abdulmuttalib’s gifts were far more in number than everyone else’s. After he bid them farewell, the Emperor said, “I would like to you inform me of the changes that are seen in the child’s condition every year”.

However, in less than one year after this conversation, Saif bin Dhiyazan passed away without being able to receive any further news from the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) grandfather.

On their journey back, Abdulmuttalib’s companions asked him why the Emperor had given him more gifts and showed him more respect and kindness. He 120

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comforted them by saying, “Do not be jealous. There is a certain reason for this”.

When Abdulmuttalib arrived in Mecca after a month of separation, he hugged his radiant grandson with longing and tried to rid his pain of separation with the sweetness of having been reunited.

The Prophet, a means of “Mercy” Our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) was still under his grandfather, Abdulmuttalib’s care.

Mecca and its surroundings were suffering from terrible hardship and famine due to the drought.

Abdulmuttalib, who understood his grandson’s degree of importance, took him and his son, Abu Talib, to the Abu Qubays Mountain. The Qurayshis were coming right behind them.

Abdulmuttalib turned his face towards the Kaaba and lifted our Holy Prophet (PBUH) towards the sky three times and begged, “My Lord! Gladden us by sending rain for the sake of this child”.

The supplication that was done out of respect for the Master of the Universe (PBUH) was accepted.

Raindrops instantly mixed with the people’s and the gentry’s teardrops of happiness.

All of these occurrences further increased the love and attachment the grandfather had towards his grandson and strengthened his conviction that his grandson would become an exalted person in the future. And it 121

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was for this reason that he showed the utmost care to this radiant grandchild.

DEATH OF ABDULMUTTALİB Abdulmuttalib, who had become considerably old, fell ill one day. And his illness was gradually increasing its level of intensity.

He understood that his emigration to the afterlife was near. However, he had one necessary duty left to fulfill: To choose a dependable person that he could entrust our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) to.

For this reason, he called all of his sons. Abu Lahab came into his mind. However Abu Lahab was a coldhearted and merciless individual, therefore Abdulmuttalib said “no” to himself.

How about Abbas? No, he could not be, either. He had so many children and could only find time for them.

How about Hamza? He could not accept him either.

Hamza was young and interested in hunting. He would not be able to to show due attention and care to our Holy Prophet (PBUH).

Very well. Then how about Abu Talib? He had found his radiant grandson’s guardian! Although Abu Talib’s assets were little, his compassion and mercy were ample. Only he deserved taking our Holy Prophet (PBUH) under his care.

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Abdulmuttalib did not neglect asking our Holy Prophet (PBUH) for his opinion. He asked, “Which of your uncles’ custody would you like to be under?”

Upon hearing his grandfather’s question, our Beloved Prophet (PBUH) got up from his spot and went to embrace his Uncle Abu Talib. And it was in this manner that he expressed whom he would like as his guardian.

Abdulmuttalib was happy that he had preferred the best candidate. Afterwards, he turned to Abu Talib and said, “I am entrusting him to you. He is a Divine trust.

Promise me that you will protect him inspite of everything, even if it is at the cost of your own life so that I will not have to worry and my heart can be content”.

Abu Talib, who was deeply touched that our Master (PBUH) had favored him, responded to his father with teary eyes: “Do not worry, my dear father. You can be assured that I will prefer him over my own children and my life. I promise that I will not allow anyone to harm him as long as I live”.

Abdulmuttalib was pleased a lot by his son’s statement and his eyes were filled with tears of happiness. ...And Muhammad (pbuh) was delivered Abdulmuttalib to Abu Talib, his uncle.

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Abdulmuttalib, who was unable to be saved from his afflicted illness, passed away from this world as an elderly man having exceeded 80 years and who was not yet full of his grandson’s happiness, love, and affection 4 The date was 578 AD, eight years after the Year of the Elephant (Elephant Year).

The Meccan market was closed for days on account of Abdulmuttalib’s death. The Qurayshis and all those who loved and respected him mourned for days. His corpse was passed from one hand to the next in the highest esteem upon its burial. They then buried him in the Hajun cemetery next to his grandfather, Qusai. 5 Tears of the Prophet Beloved Prophet (PBUH) felt deep sorrow for having lost his grandfather. This incident reminded him of his parents’ emigration to the hereafter.

Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) could not contain his teardrops during his grandfather’s funeral and burial; sometimes he would sob and other times he would cry silently without making a single sound.

Many years later, they asked our Holy Prophet (PBUH) whether or not he remembered his grandfather’s death. He responded by saying, “Yes, I remember. I was eight years old at that time”.

The first eight years of Our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) blissful life were filled with pain, sadness, and sorrow.

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From that age onwards, his great soul and compassionate heart were molded with anguish and tribulations so that he could endure the hardships and catastrophes that he would have to face in his future.

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About Author Muhammad Vandestra has been a columnist, health writer, artist, soil scientist, magazine editor, web designer & kendo martial arts instructor. A writer by day and reader by night, he write fiction and nonfiction book for adult and children. He lives in West Jakarta City.

Muhammad Vandestra merupakan seorang seniman, kolumnis, editor majalah, perancang web & instruktur beladiri kendo. Seorang penulis pada siang hari dan pembaca di malam hari, Ia menulis buku fiksi dan nonfiksi untuk anak-anak dan dewasa. Sekarang ia menetap dan tinggal di Kota Jakarta Barat.

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