Halima al-Sa'diyya
| Wet-nurse of the Prophet (s) | |
|---|---|
 A grave in al-Baqi' Cemetery in Medina attributed to Halima al-Sa'diyya | |
| Full Name | Halima bt. Abu Dhu'ayb b. Harith al-Sa'diyya |
| Religious Affiliation | Islam |
| Lineage | Hawazin |
| Birth | Before Islam |
| Place of Birth | Mecca |
| Places of Residence | Mecca, Medina |
| Death/Martyrdom | 8/629-30 |
| Burial Place | Al-Baqi' Cemetery in Medina |
| Era | Early Islam |
Ḥalīma al-Saʿdīyya (Arabic: حَلیمة السَعدیّة) is the Prophet's (s) wet nurse and foster mother. She fed the Prophet (s) after Thuwayba.
Soon after she started nursing the Prophet (s), many blessings showed up in her life.
The Prophet (s) stayed in Banu Sa'd tribe until he was 4 or 5. Historians related the fabricated event of Shaqq al-Sadr to this period.
The Prophet (s) respected Halima and, on several occasions, helped her generously.
Family and Lineage
Her father was Abu Dhu'ayb b. al-Harith b. Shijna al-Sa'di from Sa'd b. Bakr b. Hawazin tribe.[1] Her husband was al-Harith b. 'Abd al-'Uzza, whose teknonym was Abu Kabsha. This is one of the reasons Quraysh called the Prophet (s) "Ibn Abi Kabsha".[2]
Halima wet-nursed the Prophet (s) after Thuwayba (Abu Lahab's handmaiden) fed him for a few days.[3]
Infancy Narrations
The events of this period, in all sources, are narrated by Halima.
Because the Prophet (s) had spent his infancy and childhood in Banu Sa'd b. Bakr b. Hawazin tribe; he considered himself as the most eloquent Arab.[4]
Wet-Nursing Muhammad (s)
Apparently, people of Mecca would send their children to Bedouin tribes so that they would be more eloquent. Banu Sa'd suffered from a severe famine, so Halima and nine other women of the tribe headed to Mecca to make a living by wet-nursing children of wealthy tribes of Mecca. Due to poverty and famine, her camel was very weak and skinny, so she was left behind and consequently arrived late to Mecca. When she arrived, the grandson of 'Abd al-Muttalib was the only child left because he was an orphan, and they were afraid not to receive an appropriate fee.[5] Halima wet-nursed Muhammad (s).
Blessings in Life
Immediately after she accepted wet-nursing of Muhammad (s), blessings showed up in her life. Her milk that was barely enough for her child due to poverty was easily fed the Muhammad (s) and his son. Even her emaciated camel overflowed with milk and got so strong that she overtook other women on the way back. While other wet-nurses were wondering about the reason for these sudden changes in her life, Halima believed that they were because of the child of Banu Hashim, and she repeated that several times.[6]
Emphasizing on Keeping Muhammad (s) More
When Muhammad (s) was 2, she weaned him and took him to Mecca to his mother, Amina bt. Wahb. Since the presence of Muhammad (s) caused Halima's herd of sheep to be more productive than any other's in Banu Sa'd, she preferred to keep the child with her. Eventually, at her insistence and because of the cholera outbreak in Mecca, Amina was convinced to let Halima take care of her baby again for a few more years.[7]
Event of Shaqq al-Sadr
It is said that when Muhammad (s) was living with Halima, a strange incident happened to the child Muhammad (s), which is known as "Shaqq al-Sadr" (split of the chest). Man-like angels dressed in white appeared, split his chest, took a dark clot out of his heart, washed it in a gold tub, put it back in his chest and then healed his chest. His foster brother, who witnessed this in a valley near their house, informed Halima frantically.[8]
Halima got very nervous and took him to a soothsayer. After listening to the child, the soothsayer warned her that he would change people's religion. Halima got more nervous and decided to return him to his mother in Mecca to protect him.[9]
Authors have mentioned ample evidence that disproves this event –which is said to have happened several times in Prophet's life- and demonstrated that the narrations about this event are fabricated.[10]
The Prophet Muhammad (s) was among Banu Sa'd tribe for 4 or 5 years, and then Halima returned him to his mother and grandfather, 'Abd al-Muttalib.[11]
Prophet's Respect for Halima
A few years after Muhammad (s) married Khadija (a), Halima went to him in Mecca complaining about the difficulties of life. The Prophet (s) talked with Khadija about her, and Khadija gave her some sheep and camels. After the emergence of Islam, Halima and her husband came to the Prophet (s), converted to Islam and swore allegiance to him. Sometimes, when Halima visited the Prophet (s), he laid his cloak on the ground –as a sign of respect-, so that she would sit on it.[12]
After Hawazin were defeated in the Battle of Hunayn, the Prophet (s) renounced all Banu Hashim and his shares of booties and slaves, due to his respect for Halima, his relation with that tribe and the request of her foster sister, Shayma'. Consequently, all the Muslims did the same to have followed the Prophet (s).[13]
Demise
According to one narration, Halima passed away before the Conquest of Mecca by Muslims in Ramadan, 8/January, 630. After the conquest of Mecca when the Prophet (s) visited Shayma' –his foster sister- asked her about Halima, and she told him that she has passed away. The Prophet's (s) eyes filled with tears as he heard the news and then asked about her next of kin. Afterward, Shayma' asked him a favor and the Prophet (s) fulfilled her request.[14]
But another narration reports that after the Battle of Hunayn in Shawwal, 8/January-February 630, Halima came to the Prophet (s) in al-Ji'irrana and he respected her.[15] There is also a narration which says that Halima experienced the caliphate period of Abu Bakr and 'Umar and they treated her with respect.[16]
Notes
- ↑ Ibn Isḥāq, Sīra, 1401/1981, p. 25. Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410/1990, vol. 1, p. 110.
- ↑ Ibn Ḥabīb, al-Muḥabbar, 1942, p. 129-130. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-Ashrāf, 1996/2000, vol. 1, p. 104.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, 1387 AH, vol. 2, p. 158. Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Muntaẓam, 1412/1992, vol. 2, p. 260-261.
- ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-Nabawīyya, Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā, vol. 1, p. 176. Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410/1990, vol. 1, p. 110. Ibn Qutayba, al-Maʿārif, 1969, p. 132.
- ↑ Ibn Isḥāq, Sīra, 1401/1981, p. 26. Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410/1990, vol. 1, p. 110-111. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-Ashrāf, 1996/2000, vol. 1, p. 106-107. Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, 1387 AH, vol. 2, p. 158-159. Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Muntaẓam, 1412/1992, vol. 2, p. 261.
- ↑ Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-Nabawīyya, Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā, vol. 1, p. 172-173. Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410/1990, vol. 1, p. 151. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-Ashrāf, 1996/2000, vol. 1, p. 107. Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, 1387 AH, vol. 2, p. 159.
- ↑ Ibn Isḥāq, Sīra, 1401/1981, p. 27. Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-Nabawīyya, Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā, vol. 1, p. 173. Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, 1387 AH, vol. 2, p. 159-160. Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Muntaẓam, 1412/1992, vol. 2, p. 262-263.
- ↑ Ibn Isḥāq, Sīra, 1401/1981, p. 27. Ibn Hishām, al-Sīra al-Nabawīyya, Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā, vol. 1, p. 173-174. Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410/1990, vol. 1, p. 112.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh, 1387 AH, vol. 2, p. 163. Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Muntaẓam, 1412/1992, vol. 2, p. 267. Ibn Athīr, al-Kāmil, 1385 AH, vol. 1, p. 464-465.
- ↑ See Abu Rayya, Aḍwāʾ ʿalā l-sunnat al-Muḥammadīyya, Cairo, p. 187-188. Ḥasanī, Sīrat al-Muṣṭafā, 1406, p. 46. ʿĀmilī, al-Ṣaḥiḥ min sīrat al-Nabī al-Aʿẓam, 1385 Sh, vol. 2, p. 167-172.
- ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh, vol. 2, p. 10. Ibn Qutayba, al-Maʿārif, 1969, p. 132. Balādhurī, Ansāb al-Ashrāf, 1996/2000, vol. 1, p. 107. Masʿūdī, Tanbīh, p. 229-230.
- ↑ Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Muntaẓam, 1412/1992, vol. 2, p. 270.
- ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh, vol. 2, p. 63. Masʿūdī, Tanbīh, p. 229. Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410/1990, vol. 1, p. 114-115.
- ↑ Ibn Athīr, al-Kāmil, 1385 AH, vol. 1, p. 460.
- ↑ Ibn Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, 1415/1994, vol. 7, p. 69.
- ↑ Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā, 1410/1990, vol. 1, p. 114.
References
- Abu Rayya, Maḥmūd. Aḍwāʾ ʿalā l-sunnat al-Muḥammadīyya, Cairo, Dār al-Maʿārif, nd.
- ʿĀmilī, Jaʿfar Murtaḍā. Al-Ṣaḥiḥ min sīrat al-Nabī al-Aʿẓam. Qom, Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1385 Sh.
- Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Ansāb al-Ashrāf. Damascus, Maḥmūd Firdaws al-ʿAẓm, 1996/2000.
- Ḥasanī, Hāshim Maʿrūf. Sīrat al-Muṣṭafā. Beirut, Dār al-Taʿāruf, 1406/1986.
- Ibn al-Jawzī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAlī. Al-Muntaẓam fī tārīkh al-mulūk wa l-umam. Beirut, Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir ʿAṭāʾ et al. 1412/1992.
- Ibn Athīr, ʿIzz al-Dīn Usd al-ghāba. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, nd.
- Ibn Athīr, ʿIzz al-Dīn. Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh. Beirut, Dār Ṣādir Dār Beirut, 1385-1386/1965-1966.
- Ibn Ḥabīb, Muḥammad. Al-Muḥabbar. Hyderabad, Ilse Lichtenstadter, 1942.
- Ibn Hishām, ʿAbd al-Malik. Al-Sīra al-Nabawīyya. Edited by Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā et al. Beirut: Dār Iḥyā al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, [n.d].
- Ibn Isḥāq. Sīra. Konya, Muḥammad Ḥamīd Allāh, 1401/1981.
- Ibn Qutayba. Al-Maʿārif. Cario, Tharwa ʿUkasha, 1969.
- Ibn Saʿd, Muḥammad. Al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1410/1990.
- Masʿūdī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. Al-Tanbīh wa l-ishrāf, Leiden, Brill, 1893.
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī. Ed. Muḥammad Abu l-Faḍl Ibrāhīm. Beirut: Dar al-Turāth, 1387 AH.
