to sleep the previous night. My husband then went to the she-camel to milk it and, to his  astonishment,  he found plenty of milk in it. He milked it and we drank to our fill, and enjoyed a sound sleep during  the  night. The next morning, my husband said: “By Allâh Haleemah, you must understand that you have  been able to get a blessed child.” And I replied: “By the grace of Allâh, I hope so.”
The tradition is explicit on the point that Haleemah’s return journey and her subsequent life, as long  as  the Prophet (Peace be upon him)stayed with her, was encircled with a halo of good fortune. The  donkey  that she rode when she came to Makkah was lean and almost foundered; it recovered speed much to  the amazement of Haleemah’s fellow travellers. By the time they reached the encampments in the  country of the clan of Sa‘d, they found the scales of fortune turned in their favour. The barren land  sprouted forth luxuriant grass and beasts came back to them satisfied and full of milk. Muhammad
(Peace be upon him) stayed with Haleemah for two years until he was weaned as Haleemah said:
We then took him back to his mother requesting her earnestly to have him stay with us and benefit by  the good fortune and blessings he had brought us. We persisted in our request which we substantiated  by our anxiety over the child catching a certain infection peculiar to Makkah. At last, we were granted  our wish and the Prophet (Peace be upon him) stayed with us until he was four or five years of age.
When, as related by Anas in Sahih Muslim, Gabriel came down and ripped his chest open and took out  the heart. He then extracted a blood-clot out of it and said: “That was the part of Satan in thee.” And  then he washed it with the water of Zamzam in a gold basin. After that the heart was joined together  and restored to its place. The boys and playmates came running to his mother, i.e. his nurse, and  said:
“Verily, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has been murdered.” They all rushed towards him and found  him all right only his face was white.
BACK TO HIS COMPASSIONATE MOTHER:
After this event, Haleemah was worried about the boy and returned him to his mother with whom he  stayed until he was six.
In respect of the memory of her late husband, Amina decided to visit his grave in Yathrib (Madinah).
She set out to cover a journey of 500 kilometers with her orphan boy, woman servant Umm Ayman  and  her father-in-law ‘Abdul-Muttalib. She spent a month there and then took her way back to Makkah. On  the way, she had a severe illness and died in Abwa on the road between Makkah and Madinah.
BACK TO HIS COMPASSIONATE GRANDFATHER:
‘Abdul-Muttalib brought the boy to Makkah. He had warm passions towards the boy, his orphan  grandson, whose recent disaster (his mother’s death) added more to the pains of the past. ‘Abdul-
Muttalib was more passionate with his grandson than with his own children. He never left the boy a  prey to loneliness, but always preferred him to his own kids. Ibn Hisham reported: A mattress was put  in the shade of Al-Ka‘bah for ‘Abdul-Muttalib. His children used to sit around that mattress in honour  to  their father, but Muhammad (Peace be upon him) used to sit on it. His uncles would take him back,  but  if ‘Abdul-Muttalib was present, he would say: “Leave my grandson. I swear by Allâh that this boy will  hold a significant position.” He used to seat the boy on his mattress, pat his back and was always  pleased with what the boy did.
When Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was eight years, two months and ten days old, his grandfather
‘Abdul-Muttalib passed away in Makkah. The charge of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was now  passed on to his uncle Abu Talib, who was the brother of the Prophet’s father.
Abu Talib tookthe charge of his nephew in the best way. He put him with his children and preferred  him  to them. He singled the boy out with great respect and high esteem. Abu Talib remained for forty  years  cherishing his nephew and extending all possible protection and support to him. His relations with the  others were determined in the light of the treatment they showed to the Prophet (Peace be upon him).
Ibn ‘Asakir reported on the authority of Jalhamah bin ‘Arfuta who said: “I came to Makkah when it was  a rainless year, so Quraish said ‘O Abu Talib, the valley has become leafless and the children hungry,  let us go and pray for rain-fall.’ Abu Talib went to Al-Ka‘bah with a young boy who was as beautiful as  the sun, and a black cloud was over his head. Abu Talib and the boy stood by the wall of Al-Ka‘bah