The Formative
Years – Childhood
By M. Dr. Mateen Khan
Barakah found herself dripping
tears as she hovered over a hunched
and broken child. The sky and the
universe above it weighed down upon
them, the world constrained and suffocating.
The area in which she stood
was devoid of life much like their
hearts felt. A dry wind blew around
a well and over a mound of dirt. It
covered the grave of Aminah.
The Foster Family
Six years earlier, a small group was
traversing the expansive desert. The
dry heat ripped moisture from their
faces and sand particles nestled into
crevices. The weak cry of children
rumbled with the wind. They found
little to drink from their mothers,
and their embrace only gave so much
comfort in the face of their hunger.
Among them was a family of three -
husband, wife, and a suckling infant.
Their days marked by incapacitating
thirst and their nights by the sleeplessness
of stomach pangs. With no
other option, they trekked on with
only an emaciated donkey and a dry
camel. Like a stray comet traversing
through the solar system, they headed
towards the center of Makkah. Halima,
her husband Harith, their child
Masruh, and others from the Banu
Sa`d tribe were making an annual trip
to collect some of the town’s children
with whom they would return into
the sandy void.
Meanwhile in Makkah, the orphan
newborn Muhammad a found
himself the focal point of his mother
Aminah and his now nurse mother
Barakah. Like the sun to its planets,
they intently surrounded and attended
to him. Joining in this orbit was
his guardian and grandfather Abdul
Muttalib. Despite being without a
father’s patronage and born into
relative poverty, he was rich in loving
attention. However, age-old customs
meant he would be separated from
them. The town’s people having realized
long ago the harms of city-life,
sent their infants into the purity of
the desert. The desert, it seems, not
only stripped away water, but also
pollution, plagues, and immorality.
It strengthened young bodies and
purified minds. The Arabs, ever proud
of their language, knew Bedouin life
preserved it and were keen on the
tongue being accustomed to it from
birth. So, every year their infants
would go out to live for a time with
paid, foster parents; and Muhammad
a would be no different. Although
it meant separation from their Sun,
they were willing to sacrifice for him.
Love both pulls and pushes away.
Halimah arrived along with the
other potential foster mothers and
sought out her child. They darted
from house to house looking for a
nursing infant. However, each one
of them, blinded by financial needs,
overlooked the newborn in favor of
one with a father who could guarantee
proper compensation. After each
child was paired with her foster child,
Halimah remained without a match
and the newborn Muhammad a, too.
Not wanting to remain empty-handed
and having abandoned hope for
financial benefit, she returned to the
house of Abdul Muttalib seeking her
destiny. She immediately fell in love
with this child. Like his mother, she
found miraculous ease accompanied
him. She was able to produce milk
sufficient for him and her son. The
donkey became invigorated and
strong. The camel became enlivened
and produced plentiful milk for the
family. “Wait for us! Is this the same
animal you brought with you?” the
others asked. When once they lagged
behind the caravan, they now left
it behind. Halimah exclaimed, “By
Allah! I am carrying a blessed boy
upon it.” After returning home with
him, their grazing land grew lush, and
their sheep became plush. The now
family of four found their days serene
and their nights restful. The child was
a cool sight for the dry, injected eyes
of Banu Sa`d. They had never beheld
another child like him.
The child remained with his foster
family for two years which marked
the time of his return. They did not
wish to detach from him or relinquish
the goodness they came to enjoy.
Their hearts mourned, “By Allah! We
will never part from him while we
can!” Wanting greatness for him, his
Seerah
14 November – December 2021 | AL-MADINAH