Without a doubt, the birth of the divine prophets and their upbringing were not without divine attention and planning. According to the Qur’an, even before their birth, in childhood, and throughout their entire lives, they were under the special care of the Almighty. The Seal of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), received even greater divine attention than the other prophets: “Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter…” O Prophet, you were an orphan and without support in childhood, but God sheltered you. Elsewhere the Qur’an says about the Prophet’s spiritual rank: “As long as you are among them, God will not punish them.” In another verse it states: “And it is not for you to cause harm to the Messenger of God…” Thus, since prophets were under divine protection, their births were also accompanied by clear and remarkable signs. At the birth of the Noble Prophet, certain signs were mentioned, some of which are briefly referred to here.
The Noble Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was born on the 17th of Rabi‘ al-Awwal, in the year when the Companions of the Elephant came to destroy the Sacred Ka‘bah. At his birth, miracles and extraordinary events took place, among them:
The closing of the gates of heaven to Iblis and his followers. It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) that Iblis used to ascend to the seven heavens to hear heavenly news. When Jesus (peace be upon him) was born, he was barred from three heavens, and when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was born, he was barred from all the heavens. Devils were driven away from the gates of heaven by meteors.
During infancy, the Prophet only nursed from his mother for three days. It is firmly established that afterward, only Halimah had the honor of nursing him.
Halimah: After four months, the wet nurses of the Banu Sa‘d tribe came to Mecca. That year there was severe drought, and they were in great need of the help of noble families. Halimah, the daughter of Abu Dhu’ayb, was the only woman among them from whom the Noble Prophet suckled. Halimah had the honor of nursing the Prophet for five years.
According to the Qur’an, the Prophet was an orphan in childhood and under the special attention of God Almighty: “Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter?” Historians and scholars have all emphasized that the Prophet’s childhood was astonishing and full of wonders. From Halimah, many extraordinary incidents and miraculous signs of the Prophet’s infancy have been narrated. History testifies that from his early years until his mission, the life of the great leader of Muslims contained a series of wondrous events. All of these events were divine blessings, showing that his life and story were not ordinary.
The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), who was under the guardianship of his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, spent five years in the desert with his wet nurse. In this period, amazing stories have been narrated by Halimah and the Prophet himself, recorded in historical sources. Among Halimah’s accounts is that a dry tree in their place became green and bore fruit when she carried the Prophet near it. From his character during this period, it is narrated that he was very modest and chaste. From the time he entered Halimah’s household, abundance and blessings increased for her family. Ibn ‘Abbas narrated that when meals were brought for the children, they would snatch from each other, but the Prophet would not reach out. When the children awoke, their eyes were sticky with sleep, but the Prophet would wake with a clean, radiant, and fragrant face. Halimah said no one ever saw his body exposed; he always cared for his covering, and no one ever saw him relieving himself. He was extremely modest, pure, and luminous. It is also narrated that he never expressed hunger or thirst, for he would drink from Zamzam water.
Imam Ali (peace be upon him) says in Nahj al-Balagha: “God assigned a great angel to accompany His Prophet from childhood, day and night, and to guide him toward noble traits, divine manners, and virtues.”
17 ربیع الاول 1447
09 September 2025