Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb
Halimah al-Sa'diyah (Arabic: حليمة السعدية) was the foster-mother of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Halimah and her husband were from the tribe of Sa'd b. Bakr, a subdivision of Hawazin (a large North Arabian tribe or group of tribes).[1]
Halimah al-Sa'diyah | |
---|---|
![]() Halimah al-Sa‘diyah standing before the astrologer at Dhil Majaz market. | |
Died | 630 C.E |
House | Banu Sa'ad |
Relationship with Muhammad
Aminah bint Wahb, the mother of Muhammad, was waiting for the arrival of the Banu Sa'd; the women within the tribe of the Banu Sa'd were wet nurses. They would take the children of Mecca to the desert and teach them classical Arabic and other skills; in return, they would receive a salary from the family of the child in Mecca.[2] Halimah's husband was al-Harith bin Abdul Uzza. Her son was named Abdullah, while the daughters were named Unaysa and Hudhafa. While traveling to Mecca, she was unable to feed her child because her she-camel stopped lactating. In Mecca, all those looking for foster children rejected taking care of the orphan Muhammad because they feared not getting paid on account of his father being dead. Halimah felt sad that every woman in her tribe had received a child except her. So she told her husband al-Harith: "By God, I do not like the idea of returning with my friends without a suckling; I will go and take that orphan." Her husband agreed.[3] Immediately after accepting him, blessing came to her and her family. Her husband's flock during a time of great famine was healthy and producing milk while the rest of the people's flocks were dying.[3]
When he was two years old, Halimah took him to Aminah and insisted that she let him remain with her, to which she relented. A strange and mysterious event happened a few months later. Muhammad's foster brother was playing with him, then suddenly Halimah and her husband saw their son (Muhammad's foster brother) who came running back and shouted: "two men dressed in white grabbed my brother and cut his chest." So then Halimah and Al-Harith ran to Muhammad and found him pale-faced. When they asked him what happened, he said: "Two men came and opened my chest and took a portion of it". After this event, she gave up fostering him and informed his mother about what had happened.[3]
She later accepted Islam after the Battle of Hunayn.
Death
She died in 9 A.H. and her grave lies in Jannatul Baqi, Medina.[4] The remains of the place she used to live in and where Muhammad grew up still stand today.
Family tree
Kilab ibn Murrah | Fatimah bint Sa'd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Zuhrah ibn Kilab (progenitor of Banu Zuhrah) maternal great-great-grandfather | Qusai ibn Kilab paternal great-great-great-grandfather | Hubba bint Hulail paternal great-great-great-grandmother | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
`Abd Manaf ibn Zuhrah maternal great-grandfather | `Abd Manaf ibn Qusai paternal great-great-grandfather | Atikah bint Murrah paternal great-great-grandmother | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wahb ibn `Abd Manaf maternal grandfather | Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf (progenitor of Banu Hashim) paternal great-grandfather | Salma bint `Amr paternal great-grandmother | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fatimah bint `Amr paternal grandmother | `Abdul-Muttalib paternal grandfather | Halah bint Wuhayb paternal step-grandmother | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aminah mother | `Abdullah father | Az-Zubayr paternal uncle | Harith paternal half-uncle | Hamza paternal half-uncle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thuwaybah first nurse | Halimah second nurse | Abu Talib paternal uncle | `Abbas paternal half-uncle | Abu Lahab paternal half-uncle | 6 other sons and 6 daughters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Muhammad | Khadija first wife | `Abd Allah ibn `Abbas paternal cousin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fatimah daughter | Ali paternal cousin and son-in-law family tree, descendants | Qasim son | `Abd-Allah son | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Zainab daughter | Ruqayyah daughter | Uthman second cousin and son-in-law family tree | Umm Kulthum daughter | Zayd adopted son | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ali ibn Zainab grandson | Umamah bint Zainab granddaughter | `Abd-Allah ibn Uthman grandson | Rayhana bint Zayd wife | Usama ibn Zayd adoptive grandson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Muhsin ibn Ali grandson | Hasan ibn Ali grandson | Husayn ibn Ali grandson family tree | Umm Kulthum bint Ali granddaughter | Zaynab bint Ali granddaughter | Safiyya tenth wife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Abu Bakr father-in-law family tree | Sawda third wife | Umar father-in-law family tree | Umm Salama sixth wife | Juwayriya eighth wife | Maymuna eleventh wife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aisha third wife Family tree | {{{Zaynab bint Khuzaymah}}} | Hafsa fourth wife | Zaynab seventh wife | Umm Habiba ninth wife | Maria al-Qibtiyya twelfth wife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ibrahim son | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- * indicates that the marriage order is disputed
- Note that direct lineage is marked in bold.
See also
- Sahaba
- Aminah bint Wahab
References
- Mubarakpuri, Safiur Rahman (1979). The Sealed Nectar. Saudi Arabia: Dar-us-Salam Publications. p. 56.
- Haykal, Muhammad Husyan (1968). The Life of Muhammad. India: Millat Book Center. p. 47.
- Alfred, Guillaume (1955). The Life of Muhammad. Oxford. p. 72.
- بلغة الظرفاء في تاريخ الخلفاء. January 2010. ISBN 9782745162526.
External links
- Giladi, Avner (2020). "Ḥalīma bt. Abī Dhuʾayb". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830.
- http://www.gulfson.com/vb/f136/t13052/