Library Islam Islam: Faith, Practice & History Part I: Beliefs Lesson 11 2. The Birth of the Prophet of Islam
2. The Birth of the Prophet of Islam
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2. The Birth of the Prophet of Islam
Muhammad opened his eyes to the world on the 17th of RabÄ«‘u ’l-Awwal in the 53rd year before the hijrah (570 AD). His father, ‘AbdullÄh, was from the family of Prophet IsmÄ‘il, and had died before he could see his son. His mother was one of the most pious women of that time.
Muhammad was entrusted to a virtuous woman called Halīmah, who suckled him and nursed him.
One day, Muhammad (s.a.w.) who had not yet reached the age of four years, asked Halimah if he could go into the desert with the other boys. Halimah said, “I bathed Muhammad and anointed his hair with oil. I put collyrium on his eyes and hung a Yemenite stone on a string and put it round his neck so that no harm could come to him from the spirits of the desert. But Muhammad tore the stone from his neck and said, `Don't worry about me. My God is taking care of me!'"
So we see that from childhood he was blessed with God's favour and grace, and was always guided by Divine friendship and help in works that were in their right time and place.
Muhammad's behaviour and speech in childhood were such that everyone's attention was attracted. In his youth, also, he was far from all the evil deeds which tainted those people in its environment. He took no part in their riotous poetry gatherings. He drank no wine, was an enemy of the idols; he was perfect in his speech and behaviour.
Years before he became a prophet, the people called him as-SÄdiq (the truthful) and al-Amin (the trustworthy). He had a pure mind and radiant intellect, and a godly and heavenly character. Every year for one month he went to the cave of Hira and was with God in His mysteries and in prayers. At the end of the month, before returning to his home, he went to the Ka`bah and made seven or more circumambulations.
