What Blessings Did Halimah al-Sa'diyyah Receive While the Prophet (PBUH) Was With Her?
ما هي البركات التي حلت بحليمة السعدية بوجود الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم معها؟
Before she had him, her milk was scarce and insufficient for her own son when he was suckling, and after the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was brought to her to nurse, she had ample milk and the Prophet and her son drank until they were full.
The land of Banu Sa'd was a barren land, but after that, when Halimah grazed her sheep, she found grass and the sheep returned with udders filled with milk.
رضاع الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم، وابنها حتى رويا، بعد أن كان لبنها قليلًا ولا يكفي ابنها.
كانت أرض بني سعد جدباء، فلما كانت حليمة ترعى أغنامها تجد العشب وترجع الغنم ضرعها مليء باللبن.
1. Halimah's Initial Reluctance and Divine Selection | التردد الأول والاصطفاء الرباني لحليمة السعدية
In the account Ibn Ishaq reports from Halimah, which Ibn Kathir calls famous among the biographers and supported by other chains, the women of Banu Sa'd came to Mecca in a year of drought looking for infants to nurse. Every one of them was offered the Prophet ﷺ and turned him down when told he was an orphan, hoping for gifts from a child's father. Halimah, the only one left without a nursling, took him rather than go home empty-handed.
في رواية ابن إسحاق عن حليمة، وهي كما يقول ابن كثير من الأحاديث المشهورة بين أهل السير ولها طرق أخرى، قدمت نسوة بني سعد مكة في سنة شهباء يلتمسن الرضعاء، فما منهن امرأة إلا عرض عليها رسول الله ﷺ فتأباه إذا قيل إنه يتيم، ولما لم تجد حليمة غيره أخذته كراهة أن ترجع بلا رضيع.
2. The Immediate Flow of Abundant Milk | درور اللبن الفوري وشبع الرضيعين
As soon as she took him, she said, her breasts gave him all the milk he wanted: he drank his fill, and so did his foster brother, and her husband found their old she-camel full of milk that night. The scholar's answer records the same blessing: before him her milk was not enough for her own son.
قالت حليمة: فما هو إلا أن أخذته فأقبل عليه ثدياي بما شاء من لبن، فشرب حتى روي وشرب أخوه حتى روي، وقام زوجها إلى شارفهم فإذا هي حافل. وفي جواب الشيخ أن لبنها كان قبله قليلًا لا يكفي ابنها.
3. The Transformation of the Famished She-Donkey | النشاط المعجز للأتان الضعيفة وسبقها الركب
On the way home, her she-donkey, which had held the caravan back on the way to Mecca, now went ahead of all the other mounts, until her companions asked: "Is this the same donkey you came on?"
وفي طريق العودة سبقت أتانها الركب حتى ما يتعلق بها حمار، بعد أن كانت قد أخرت الركب في طريق القدوم، حتى قالت صواحبها: أهذه أتانك التي خرجت عليها معنا؟
4. Her Flock in a Year of Drought | بركة أغنام حليمة ووفرة ألبانها وسط القحط
Back in Banu Sa'd, the driest land she knew, her sheep came home well fed and full of milk while her neighbours' flocks came home hungry, even when their shepherds grazed them in the same place. Her husband had told her the morning after she took him: "By Allah, Halimah, I see you have taken a blessed soul."
وفي أرض بني سعد، وهي أجدب أرض تعلمها، كانت غنمها تروح شباعًا لبنًا وغنم جيرانها تروح جياعًا ولو سرحت معها، وقد قال لها زوجها صبيحة أخذته: يا حليمة، والله إني لأراك قد أخذت نسمة مباركة.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Why did other wet-nurses refuse to take baby Muhammad?
Because he was an orphan: they hoped for gifts from a child's father, according to Halimah's account reported by Ibn Ishaq.
What happened to Halimah's milk supply when she nursed him?
Her milk, too little for her own son before, became plentiful, and both infants drank their fill.
How did her mount behave on the return journey?
Her weak she-donkey went ahead of the whole caravan, astonishing her companions, according to her account reported by Ibn Ishaq.
What did Halimah's husband say to her after witnessing these signs?
He told her that, by Allah, she had taken a blessed soul, according to her account reported by Ibn Ishaq.