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foster sister, Shayma’ composed a
sincere supplication:
Our Lord, keep us in Muhammad’s a
presence
Until I see him mature to adolescence
Then, into one who is a chosen leader
Crush his enemies and enviers together
And grant him honor lasting forever
Indeed, Allah would answer her sincere
supplication in full. She would
meet him much later in their lives
when she would accept Islam. The
entirety of Banu Sa`d, too, would find
freedom in this world and the next
from these few years spent together.
For the time being, duty bound, they
brought him back to his mother. As it
happens however, a plague broke out
in Makkah around that time. Halimah
capitalized on the events and urged
Aminah to return the child with
them for a time. “We fear he may be
afflicted by the Makkan plague. Let
him return until you are free of your
disease.” Having finally been reunited
with her beloved son, she reluctantly
agreed to a second separation.
Now old enough to walk and by all
accounts larger and stronger than his
age would suggest, he began to go out
with his foster siblings into the grazing
fields. Then, one day, his foster
brother came running to Halimah
and her husband and breathlessly
said, “Two men wearing white tunics
seized my Qurayshi brother! They
laid him down and slashed open his
chest!”
Horrified, his foster parents tore
across the fields and found Muhammad
a standing alone, pale in color.
They pulled him close crying over
the trust placed in their care. He
described the same events his foster
brother mentioned and added that
the two beings removed his heart and
cleansed it of a clot. The clot was the
physical representation of any Shaytani
component found within men.
Having been freed of it, his heart was
returned, and his chest closed with a
seal to protect it. Fearing the events
that just occurred and the breaking of
their trust, Halimah brought the child
back to Aminah. For her part, Aminah
remained calm having witnessed signs
prior which allayed her fears and convinced
her son had a great purpose
ahead of him. This was a child who
Allah Himself will look over.
A Mother’s Loss
Our Prophet a found himself back in
the endearing embrace of his family.
Two years later, Aminah, her son a,
and Barakah had been visiting his
maternal homeland and burial place
of his father, who they had lost before
his birth. His child was now six years
old and more self-sufficient. Though,
he still had much nurturing and
education ahead. The reminder of
Abdullah’s death must have brought
renewed pain to his family; a wife
having lost her companion, a servant
her patron, and a child his parent.
They found comfort in one another
and began their journey back to
Makkah.
During their return, Aminah fell ill
and was taken by her Rabb in a place
called al-Abwa. Like her husband
before, she had fulfilled her purpose
in life. Now that their son a was old
enough to be physically independent
from his mother, his Rabb would take
sole responsibility for his rearing. As
she had been by Abdullah and then by
Aminah, Barakah stood by our Prophet
a. With a composure that would
serve her through their lives, she delivered
the now completely parentless
child back to his grandfather.
Back in Makkah, Abdul Muttalib
received his grandson with great
grief. Henceforth, the child remained
mostly by his side, a familiar fixwww.
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