In Makkah Early Life

ABDULLAH AND AMINA
‘Abdul Muttalib, chieftain of the Quraysh, had ten sons who were all worthy and outstanding, but ‘Abdullah was the noblest and most prominent among them. ‘Abdul Muttalib wedded his son to Amina, the daughter of Wahb Ibn ‘Abdu Munaf, who was the leading man of Bani Zuhra. She (Amina) was the most excellent woman among the Quraysh in birth and stature at that time. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, p. 110)
Muhammed's father `Abdullah died before Muhammed was born. The Prophet () was born on Monday, the 12th of Rab'i-ul Awwal in the Year of the Elephant. Certainly, it was the most auspicious day in the history of mankind.
Muhammed was the son of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib, Ibn Hashim, Ibn ‘Abdul Munaf, Ibn Qusayy, Ibn Kilab, Ibn Murra, Ibn Ka’b Ibn Lu’ayy, Ibn Ghalib, Ibn Fihr, Ibn Malik, Ibn al-Nadr, Ibn Kinana, Ibn Khusayma, Ibn Mudrika, Ibn Ilyas, Ibn Mudar Ibn Nizar Ibn Ma’add, Ibn ‘Adnan.
The parentage of ‘Adnan is further traced to Ismail the son of Ibrahim by Arab genealogists.
After the birth of Muhammed, Amina sent someone to inform his grandfather. He came, looked at the baby lovingly and took him to the Ka'bah where he praised Allah and prayed for the infant. ‘Abdul Muttalib then gave him the name Muhammed, which means, ‘He who is praised’. The Arabs were surprised at the unfamiliar name given to the newborn babe by ‘Abdul Muttalib. (Ibn Hisham, pp. 159-60)

THE SUCKLING PERIOD
Thuwaybah, a bondwoman of the Prophet’s uncle Abu Lahab, suckled him momentarily for a few days while ‘Abdul Muttalib continued to look for a wet-nurse to nurture his favorite grandson. It was customary in Makkah to place the suckling babies under the care of a desert tribeswoman, where the child grows up in the free, chivalrous air away from the cramp, contaminating atmosphere of the city, and learn the wholesome ways of the Bedouins. Those were the days when the chaste, unaffected and natural expression of the desert people was considered as the finest model of grace and elegance of the Arabic language. Together with the milk of a Bedouin woman, the babies imbibed the fluent language that flew across the desert.
The people from the tribe of Bani S’ad were known for the gracefulness of their speech. Halima S’adiya, a member of this tribe, ultimately came to have the precious baby under her wings. This was a year of famine wherein Bani S’ad had been rendered miserable. The tribe came to Makkah to look for children to be suckled, but no woman to whom the Prophet of God () was offered, agreed to take the child because none expected a goodly return for nurturing or nursing an infant whose father was already dead. They said, “An orphan! What will his mother and grandfather give in return?” At first, Halima also declined the offer but suddenly she felt a craving for the baby. She had also failed to get a charge for her and, therefore, before going back home, she returned and finally took the baby back with her. Halima found before long that her household was blest with luck, her breasts overflowed with milk, the udders of her she-camel were full and everything seemed to bring forth happiness. The women of Halima’s tribe now spread out the rumor: “Halima, you have certainly got a blessed child.” They began to feel envious of her already.
Halima weaned the baby when he was two years old, for it is customary upon the foster-children to return to their respective families at such an age. Besides, the boy was also developing faster than the other children, and by the time he was two, he was already a well-grown child. Thus, Halima brought the Prophet of God () back to Amina but begged her to be allowed to keep the boy for some extended time as he had brought her luck. Amina agreed and allowed Halima to take Muhammed back with her.
Some months after his return to Bani S’ad, two angels seized the Prophet of God (), opened up his chest and extracted a black drop from it. Then they thoroughly cleaned his heart and healed the wound after putting his heart back in its place.
Muhammed () tended the lambs with his foster-brothers in the boundless wilderness of the desert, far away from the pretensions, hypocrisy, pomp and pride of the city, rendering his thoughts dry and clear like the desert air. His life was as simple as the sand and he learned to endure with the hardships and dangers of the wilderness. And with the people of Bani S’ad, his ears became accustomed to the rhetoric and eloquence of the pure and classical language of the Bedouins. The Prophet () often used to tell his companions: “I am the most Arab of you all for I am of Quraysh origin and I was suckled among Bani S’ad Ibn Bakr. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, 167).

DEATH OF AMINA AND ‘ABDUL MUTTALIB
When the Prophet () was six years old, his mother took him to Yathrib to pay a visit to her father. She also wanted to call on the grave of her late husband, but while on her way back to Makkah, she died at a place called Abwa. Muhammed () must have felt lonely and sorrowful at the death of his mother in the middle of his journey. Incidents of such nature had been a common fixture in his life since birth, perhaps as a divine dispensation for his upbringing in a particular way, one which is reminiscent of the great role that he has to play in the future. Finally, the Abyssinian bondwoman, Umm Ayman Barkah, brought him to his grandfather in Makkah. ‘Abdul Muttalib loved Muhammed () so dearly, making him the apple of his eye and never allowed him to be distant from his sight.
When Muhammed was eight years of age, ‘Abdul Muttalib also passed away. Muhammed () was now left behind, alone and abandoned. He had never seen his father, and would have had no recollection of him, but the death of the adoring grandfather must have been too depressing and inconsolable to bear.

ABU TALIB BECOMES THE GUARDIAN
Following the death of ‘Abdul Muttalib, Abu Talib took the Prophet () under his care for he and ‘Abdullah, the Prophet’s father, were brothers by the same mother. Abdul Muttalib had also been insisting upon Abu Talib to take care of Muhammed () himself. Accordingly, Abu Talib took Muhammed () under his protection and even treated him with more care and affection than his own two sons, ‘Ali J’afar and ‘Aqil. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, p. 179).
Once, when Muhammed () was nine years old, Abu Talib planned to go on a merchant caravan to Syria. Knowing this, Muhammed () approached his uncle, and nestling close to him, insisted on accompanying him in the journey. Abu Talib was moved and agreed to take Muhammed with him to Syria. When the caravan reached Busra in Syria, it broke the journey for a short stay and while there, they met a monk by the name of Buhaira who lived in his cell. He came out against his practice, to welcome the merchants and made a great feast for them. The caravan found favor with Buhaira, so they say, because of something that he had seen while he was in his cell. When Buhaira saw Muhammed, he observed in him the signs of the Prophethood that he had known and advised Abu Talib: “Return to your home with this youth and guard him from the Jews; for great dignity awaits your nephew”. Abu Talib immediately took Muhammed () back to Makkah by virtue of Buhaira’s advice.

DIVINE TUTELAGE
God had made special arrangements for broadening the mind of Muhammed () and had taken particular care to shut off the faults and failures of the pagan past from him. Since early youth, the reserved and unassuming young man was known for his gentle disposition and grave purity of life as well as for his candidness, honesty and integrity and his stern sense of duty. His was the straight and narrow path and none could find the slightest fault with him. The fair character and honorable bearing of Muhammed () won for him, in the pinnacle of his youth, the title of Al-Amin, meaning the Trustworthy, from his fellow populace. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, p. 183)
Evil were the ways of young men in Makkah, and no misconduct brought anybody into jeopardy or accountability. But God helped Muhammed () abandon the pleasures of life familiar to everybody in there. Such that on the contrary, he was rather kind to his kinsmen, alleviated the sufferings of others and spared or minimized expenses to meet their needs. Moreover, he entertained guests, was ever willing to join hands with anybody who had a noble and virtuous task and preferred to earn his livelihood by toiling hard for it even if it meant living a simple life to the point of austerity.
When the Prophet () was around fourteen or fifteen years of age, the sacrilegious war, known as the Harb-ul-Fijar, broke out between the Quraysh and the tribe of Qays. Muhammed () was present at this event such that he picked up the arrows that the enemy had shot and gave them back to the Qurayshite fighters. This was to mark his first experience of military operations. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, 186)
Now that Muhammed () was coming into grips of his own life, he turned his attention to scouting a means of livelihood. Like other lads of his age, he took a shot at the tendering of sheep and goats. It was not deemed a disgraceful occupation in those days; rather, it helped one to be watchful, alert and quick, kind and considerate, besides allowing an opportunity to inhale the freedom of Arabian air and the power of its sand. More than that, it had been the convention of all the Prophets of old which complied with his future Prophetic task. The Prophet () after all used to say: “Verily, there has been no Prophet () who has not tended the flocks of goats.” On being asked again whether he had also performed the work of a shepherd, the Prophet () affirmed. “Yes I did.”
Muhammed () was not completely new to the job for in his childhood days he used to accompany his foster-brothers in tending their flocks and herds. The reports in the Saheeh show that the Prophet () used to watch the goats upon the neighboring hills and valleys for a meager payment from their owners.