The Story of Mother Halima

 What Happened to Mother Halima After Adopting Muhammad (PBUH)

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was then only a ten-day-old baby. At that time, to keep them safe from various diseases and adversities, the noble Arabs who lived in the city would entrust their babies to the Bedouin women who used to engage in milking them. And the Bedouin women would adopt the children for a fixed amount of money and return them to their families after a certain period of time. Since the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was the son of the noble Quraish clan of Makkah, He was also given as a foster child immediately after His birth to a Bedouin woman of the Banu Saad tribe named Halima As-Sadia who lived with her family at the foot of a mountain ninety kilometers away from the city of Taif. Let’s know the miracle that happened to mother Halima after Prophet (PBUH) was adopted as a foster child.

         That was a year of famine for the Arabs. All around there were cries and sufferings of want and hunger. The plight of the Bedouin tribes was even more deplorable. There was no rain throughout the year. As a result, the pastures were almost dead and cracked and there was no food in the pastures for their livestock. So, the animals could not give enough milk. Meanwhile, mother Halima’s breast was not getting milk as she could not eat properly due to scarcity. As a result, their suckling child Abdullah used to squirm all the time due to hunger. Even their camels did not give milk properly. As a result, they could not sleep at night due to hunger, suffering, and anxiety. They were waiting like a thirsty bird for rain and good days.

         In such a time of scarcity, in search of a baby to suckle, mother Halima rode out of her village on a she-ass with her husband Haris, suckling son Abdullah, and a few other women of her tribe, including their she-camel. Her donkey became so weak that she could not walk properly. The donkey was moving so slowly that the rest of the caravan became very annoyed with her. In this way, their fleet arrived at Makkah.

          In search of adoptable children Mother Halima’s caravan came to the Quraish tribe in Makkah. At that time, the baby Muhammad (PBUH) was presented to all the women of that caravan for suckling. Since the child Muhammad (PBUH) was fatherless i.e., an orphan, all the women including mother Halima refused to adopt Him as a pet. Because they were all expecting a good amount of remuneration from the families of the children in those days of scarcity. And they all thought that mother Amina might not be able to give as much as they were expecting.

         Meanwhile, except for mother Halima, all the women in the caravan got children for them. So, mother Halima got frustrated. When it was time to return, she objected to her husband returning empty-handed and also expressed her desire to receive the baby Muhammad (PBUH). After getting her husband’s consent, she received Him.

          Immediately after receiving the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a suckling son, some miracles started to happen with mother Halima. When mother Halima returned to their tent with the child Muhammad (PBUH), she noticed something very surprising. She noticed that both of her breasts were incredibly full of milk. Then she fed the baby Muhammad (PBUH) and her other son Abdullah with full milk. She noticed that the child who used to toss and turn every day because of hunger, after eating his fill, fell asleep peacefully with the child Muhammad (PBUH). While her husband went for milking their camel, he saw that her breast was also full of milk. He milked so much milk that they all drank their fill. Then they rested and spent the night peacefully. In the morning, mother Halima’s husband said, “O Halima, by Allah, you have adopted a blessed child. Mother Halima agreed and said, ‘I think so.’

        Then their caravan left for Taif. Mother Halima took the baby son Muhammad (PBUH) in her arms and rode on the back of that weak donkey as usual. Now that donkey started moving so fast that it immediately passed everyone else’s donkeys. The accompanying women were also surprised. They addressed mother Halima and said, O daughter of Abu Zubair, ‘Is this the donkey on which you came? What a surprise! He replied, ‘Yes, you are right. This is it.’ They then began to say with amazement, ‘There must be something special about this!’

        Then they returned to their own tribes. That area of Taif was the worst affected by famine. But after accepting Muhammad (PBUH), all the hardships were miraculously removed from mother Halima’s family. Their goats would return from the pasture with full bellies and give copious amounts of milk. However, at that time no one else could get such milk. So, the people of their tribe were angry and said to the shepherds, ‘Unfortunate group, graze your goats where Zubair’s daughter grazes.’ But still, their goats would return on empty stomach. As a result, they could not give enough milk. Thus, mother Halima Sadia began to witness many mercy and blessings of Almighty Allah for the sake of the child Muhammad (PBUH).

            Thus, when Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) reached the age of two years, His mother Halima Sadia weaned Him. At that time, He was healthier and more well-behaved than the other children in the tribe. Then they took Him back to Makkah to His mother Amina. But since the foster mother Halima was witnessing many blessings because of Him, she wanted Muhammad (PBUH) to stay with her for a few more years. So, she informed His mother Amina about this desire. Mother Amina was overjoyed to get her beloved child back after many days. So, she did not agree to her proposal at all. But mother Halima kept pleading with her again and again. As the baby Muhammad (PBUH) also wanted to stay with mother Halima, mother Amina gave Him back to her once again. After that, He stayed with His foster mother Halima till the age of five.

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