What Was the Splitting of the Prophet's (PBUH) Chest, and When Did It Happen?
ما هي حادثة شق صدر الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم، ومتى وقعت؟
He was four or five years old, and he was still in Bani Saad. Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Jibrīl came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) while he was playing with his playmates. He took hold of him, laid him on the ground, split open his chest, took the heart out and then extracted a blood clot out of it and said: “That was the devil’s share in you.” Then he washed it with Zamzam water in a golden basin and then joined it together and restored it to its place. The boys came running to his mother, i.e. his wet nurse, and said: “Muhammad has been killed.” They rushed to him and found his color was changed.
Halimah feared for him after this incident, and took him back to his mother, so he stayed with his mother until he was six years old.
كان عمره عليه الصلاة والسلام أربع أو خمس سنوات، وكان ما زال في بني سعد، روى مسلم عن أنس أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، أتاه جبريل، وهو يلعب مع الغلمان، فأخذه فصرعه، فشق عن قلبه، فاستخرج القلب، فاستخرج منه علقة، فقال: هذا حظ الشيطان منك، ثم غسله في طست من ذهب بماء زمزم، ثم لأمه، ثم أعاده إلى مكانه، وجاء الغلمان يسعون إلى حليمة، فقالوا إن محمدا قد قتل، فوجدته حليمة وهو منتقع اللون
وخشيت عليه حليمة بعد هذه الوقعة، فردته إلى أمه، فكان عند أمه آمنة إلى أن بلغ ست سنوات.
1. The Occurrence in the Desert of Banu Sa'd | وقوع الحادثة في بادية بني سعد في الطفولة المبكرة
The scholar dates it to when he was four or five and still among Banu Sa'd. Halimah's own account, which Ibn Ishaq reports, places it a few months after she brought him back from Mecca for a further stay, when he was a little over two: his foster brother ran to them saying that two men in white had laid him down and opened his chest.
أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ (سورة الشرح: 1)
يذكر الشيخ أنها وقعت وهو في الرابعة أو الخامسة من عمره في بني سعد، وفي رواية ابن إسحاق عن حليمة أنها كانت بعد أن رجعت به من مكة ليبقى عندها مدة أخرى، وقد جاوز السنتين بأشهر، فجاء أخوه من الرضاعة يشتد ويقول: جاءه رجلان عليهما ثياب بيض فأضجعاه فشقا بطنه.
2. Removing the Clot: Satan's Share | استخراج حظ الشيطان وتطهير القلب المبارك
In Anas's report in Sahih Muslim (162), Jibril took out the heart, removed a clot from it and said: "This is Satan's share of you." In the Prophet's own description, which Ibn Ishaq reports and Ibn Kathir says has a good, strong chain, the clot was black, and the two angels then weighed him against a thousand of his nation and he outweighed them.
وفي رواية أنس في صحيح مسلم (162) أن جبريل استخرج القلب فاستخرج منه علقة فقال: هذا حظ الشيطان منك. وفي وصف النبي ﷺ للحادثة عند ابن إسحاق، وقد قال ابن كثير: هذا إسناد جيد قوي، أن العلقة كانت سوداء، وأن الملكين وزناه بألف من أمته فرجح بهم.
3. Washing with Zamzam Water in a Gold Basin | غسله بماء زمزم في طست من ذهب
Jibril washed the heart in a golden basin with Zamzam water, joined it and put it back in its place. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) added: "I used to see the trace of that stitching on his chest" (Sahih Muslim 162).
غسل جبريل القلب في طست من ذهب بماء زمزم، ثم لأمه وأعاده إلى مكانه. قال أنس: وقد كنت أرى أثر ذلك المخيط في صدره (صحيح مسلم 162).
4. The Alarm of the Children and Halimah's Return | فزع الغلمان وقلق حليمة وخوفها عليه
The boys ran to his nurse crying "Muhammad has been killed!" and found him pale (Sahih Muslim 162). In Halimah's account, her husband feared the boy had been struck by something and urged her to take him back to his family, and when Aminah heard why, she answered: "Did you fear Satan for him? No, by Allah, Satan has no way to him."
جاء الغلمان يسعون إلى ظئره فقالوا: إن محمدًا قد قتل، فاستقبلوه وهو منتقع اللون (صحيح مسلم 162). وفي رواية حليمة أن زوجها خشي أن يكون قد أصيب فقال: انطلقي بنا نرده إلى أهله، فلما أخبرا آمنة قالت: أخشيتما عليه الشيطان؟ كلا والله ما للشيطان عليه من سبيل.
5. A Second Opening Before the Night Journey | شق الصدر مرة ثانية قبل الإسراء
It happened a second time before the Night Journey: the Prophet ﷺ said that Jibril opened his chest in Mecca, washed it with Zamzam water and emptied into it a golden basin full of wisdom and faith (Sahih al-Bukhari 349, narrated by Abu Dharr).
وتكرر شق صدره ﷺ قبل الإسراء؛ فقد أخبر أن جبريل فرج صدره بمكة ثم غسله بماء زمزم، ثم جاء بطست من ذهب ممتلئ حكمة وإيمانًا فأفرغه في صدره (صحيح البخاري 349، عن أبي ذر).
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Where did the incident of the splitting of the chest occur?
In the desert of Banu Sa'd while Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was a young child living with Halimah.
Who performed the splitting of the chest?
Angel Gabriel (Jibril), according to the hadith in Sahih Muslim (162).
What did Gabriel remove from the Prophet's heart?
He took a clot out of it and said that this was Satan's share of him (Sahih Muslim 162).
What was his heart washed with?
It was washed with Zamzam water in a golden basin; filling the heart with faith and wisdom is reported in the second splitting before the Night Journey (Sahih al-Bukhari 349).