The Birth
The Arabs at the Ignorance Era did not have any constant historical starting
point; rather, they considered some significant local events, such as the
death of a distinguished man or a bloody war between two tribes as a
temporary historical point of reference.
[18]
No such historical point existed among all Arab tribes either. Rather, each
tribe used a specific historical point of reference of its own.
[19]
When the army of elephants, under the leadership of Abrahah, the Ethiopian
commander, came to Mecca to destroy God's House,[20]
it was severely defeated through God's hidden power. This event overpassed
all other events and that year became the historical point of reference for
many years to come.
[21]
On that same year, Prophet Muhammad (s) was born in Mecca.
[22]
This event, with regards to some pieces of evidence such as the emigration
(Hegira) in 622 AD and the Holy Prophet’s demise in 632 AD at the age of
60-63 years must have occurred in the years 569-570 AD.
[23]
Infancy and Childhood
When Prophet Muhammad (s) became two years old,[24]
his father, `Abdullah, on his mercantile journey from Damascus, passed away
in Yathrib, where he was buried.
[25]
Referring to the orphanage of the Holy Prophet, the Holy Qur'an states:
Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter; and find you lost (i.e.
unrecognized by men) and guide them to you; and find you in want and make
you to be free from want? (93:6-8)
aminah's infant was breast-fed by his mother for the first days of his
birth;[26]
he was then breastfed by Thuwaybah, a female servant freed by Abu-Lahab.
[27]
According to Arab customs,[28]
he was submitted to a nurse, named Halimah al-Sa`diyyah, from the tribe of
Banu-Sa`d ibn Bakr who used to live in the desert.
[29]
Halimah breastfed the Holy Prophet[30]
for two years, cared for him for five years and finally submitted him to his
family.
[31]
Most probably, they put the keeping of the Holy Prophet in the hands of a
desert-dwelling nurse because his wanted him to nourish in the clean air of
the desert and to stay away from the disease of cholera epidemic in Mecca.
[32]
Another reason was that they wanted him to learn the eloquent Arabic from
the nomadic tribes. Some historians have referred to this factor.
[33]
Attesting this fact, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said,
“I am more eloquent than all of you because I am both a Qurayshite and have
been breastfed among the tribe of Banu-Sa`d ibn Bakr.”[34]
Concerning the adoption of Halimah as the special nurse for Muhammad (s),
there are some accounts in historical documents to the effect that since
Muhammad (s) was an orphan, nobody would accept to take care of him. This
was because a nurse would receive some money from the child's parents and
such a means was not available to Muhammad (s). Halimah had to accept him
since there was no other option for her to be busy.
[35]
Lack of acceptance of Muhammad (s) on the part of nurses due to his
orphanage does not seem accurate for the following reasons:
As we have already said, `Abdullah passed away several months after
Muhammad's birth; thus, at that time, he was not yet an orphan.
Due to `Abd al-Muttalib's privileges in Mecca and because of his high
socio-economic status, nurses and caretakers would not refrain from taking
care of him; rather, they were extremely zealous to take care of such a
family.
This topic has not been discussed in many historical documents.
[36]
His Mother’s Demise and `Abd al-Muttalib's Guardianship
Upon receiving her child from Halimah, aminah, together with her child and
Umm-Ayman, `Abdullah's bondwoman, made a journey to Yathrib with a caravan
in order to pay a visit to his maternal uncles.
[37]
After a stay of one month in Yathrib and on her way back to Mecca, she
passed away at a house called Abwa, where she was buried. At that time,
Muhammad (s) was six years old.
[38]
Umm-Ayman took him to Mecca with the caravan and submitted him to `Abd
al-Muttalib[39]
who then resumed Muhammad's guardianship and took good care of him as long
as he was alive. He used to say, “Muhammad will definitely have a high
status.”[40]
`Abd al-Muttalib’s Demise and Abu-talib's Guardianship
When Muhammad (s) was eight years old, `Abd al-Muttalib died and Abu-talib,
his full uncle, resumed his guardianship.
[41]
From then on, Abu-talib, a generous and respectful dignitary, became
Muhammad's guardian[42]
although he was extremely poor.
[43]
He was a man of high self-esteem among Quraysh.
[44]
He was fond of THE Holy Prophet Muhammad (s) whom he loved more than his
children.
[45]
Abu-talib's wife, Fatimah bint Asad, had a significant role in the education
of Muhammad (s). She did her best in this regard. She loved him like a
genuine mother and preferred him to her own children. Never did Muhammad (s)
forget her care; he always referred to her as his genuine and natural
mother.
[46]
Journey to Damascus and the Monk's Prediction
On his journey to Damascus for trade, Abu-talib accompanied Muhammad with
him according to his request while he was 8, 9, 12 or 13 years of age,
according to different documents. When the caravan reached Busr,[47]
they rested next to a hermitage in which there was a monk, called Bahira,
who was a well-known Christian priest. Among the crowd, the monk paid a
special attention to Muhammad in whom he could see some signs of the
expected Prophet. Talking with Muhammad (s) for a short time and asking him
some questions, the monk predicted his prophethood and advised Abu-talib to
take good care of and protect him against the Jews' danger molestations.
[48]
However, the following points should be taken into consideration concerning
this event:
(1) This event is referred to in some historical records briefly; while in
others, it is dealt with in more details. The essence of the event is not
doubtful, because in several verses of the Holy Qur'an, the predictions of
previous Prophets about Prophet Muhammad have been stated.
[49]
(2) The signs that the religious scholars had about Muhammad (s) were of two
kinds: indicative of his personal life and body features (for instance, his
orphanage, facial features and his name) and others related to his family
background (such as his being an Arab and his marriage).One of the most
distinguished signs on his body was a speckle (birthmark) between his
shoulders, which is called the Prophet's speckle or the Prophet’s
seal.
[50]
(3) Bahira's prediction was only new to the people of the caravan because
Abu-talib and Muhammad's other close relatives had already been aware of his
bright future.
[51]
Historical Distortions by the Christians
Some Orientalists have distorted the event of Muhammad's encounter with
Bahira, claiming that during this visit, Muhammad learned the teachings of
the Torah and the Gospel.
[52]
Will Durant, rather subtly, refers to this event:
“When Muhammad was twelve years old, his uncle Abu-talib took him with a
caravan to Busr, a city in Damascus. He probably learned some aspects of
Judaism and Christianity during this journey.”[53]
To answer these irrational claims and distortions, the following points
should be considered:
(1) Historians unanimously acknowledge that Muhammad (s) was illiterate.
(2) At that time, he was less than thirteen years old.
(3) The interval between this visit and his prophethood was a long time.
(4) His meeting with Bahira was rather short; it included the monk’s
questions and Muhammad's replies. How would it be possible to imagine that
an illiterate boy within a short period of time could have learned the
aspects of Judaism and Christianity so well that he could have presented it
as a complete religion at the age of forty?
(5) Had Muhammad (s) learnt anything from the monk, the aggressive and
excuse-seeking Quraysh would have used it against him. However, there is no
sign of this aggression against him in the history of Islam. Quoting
Quraysh's accusations and answering them, the Qur'an does not make any
reference to such an event.
(6) If such a thing were correct, how come those people on the caravan did
not refer to it?
p(7) If such an account were correct, why did Christian natives of Damascus
not claim at that time that they had been Muhammad's instructors?
(8) If this claim were correct, Islamic teachings would be the same as those
of the Torah and the Gospel. However, these teachings are not only
contradictory, but also most of the Jewish and Christian ideas and teachings
of the Torah and the Gospel have been rejected by the Holy Qur'an.
[54]
Once, `Umar ibn al-Khattab asked the Holy Prophet to let him write down the
narrations which he had heard from the Jews. The Holy Prophet remarked,
“Are you confused in your own religion like the Jews and the Christians? I
have brought you this holy and luminous religion. If Moses were alive, he
would follow my way now.”[55]
In Medina, where a great number of Jews used to live, Muhammad (s) used to
show his disagreements in many religious plans and orders with the Jews[56]
so much so that they used to say “This man wants to disagree with us in all
of our programs.”[57]
Constan Virgil Giorgio, a Christian who desired to spread lies against
Islam, has narrated the event with so many distortions and illogical details
that his account is not only contrary to any standard of thinking but also
in disharmony with the claims of the Christians themselves. He writes:
“Ibn Husham, an Arab narrator, writes: Contrary to people's beliefs, Bahira
was not Christian; he was Manichean, a follower of a man called Mani who
claimed prophethood at the time of the Sasanids. Bahram I, the Sasanid King,
ordered him to be crucified across the entrance of Gondi Shapur in Khuzestan
in 276 AD. Mani and his followers, including Bahira, believed that God is
not in the monopoly of a specific nation; rather, he belonged to men all
over the world. This is because all the world nations belong to Him and God
will send a prophet to a nation to speak with the people in their own
language whenever He wishes so.”[58]
By the name Ibn Husham, the writer most probably refers to `Abd al-Malik
ibn Husham (213 AH), the author of the famous book al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah,
one of the significant documents of the history of Islam. However, there is
neither any mention of the word Manichean relating to this issue in
Ibn Husham's book nor in any older Islamic sources. This man is introduced
as either Christian or even rarely Jew. Now the question is: How did Giorgio
get this information?
Furthermore, Manichaeism did not have any follower in Damascus; the center
for Manichaeism was Iran. In the word of a scholar, Manichaeism is ascribed
to Bahira for purpose of establishing that Islam has imitated the uniqueness
of God and the universalism of Islam from Manichaeism. During the last
centuries, Islam has been confronted with similar issues. It is not
important for the accusers to ascribe the most advanced form of thoughts to
the weakened religions because these old religions do not have genuine
followers to be proud of. Islam stands so high that the world of
Christianity even centuries after the Crusade campaigns, still worries about
the expansion of Islam and tries helplessly to de-emphasize Islam's glories.
[59]