Sa’diya narrates:
“I arrived in Makkah in a state of distress. As soon as I met his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, I said, ‘I was bringing Muhammad with me last night. When I reached the upper area, he suddenly disappeared. By Allah, I do not know where he is now.’
Hearing this, Abdul Muttalib immediately stood near the Ka’bah and prayed for his safe return. Then, he set out to search for him, accompanied by Waraqah bin Nawfal. Together, they searched until they reached the valley of Tihamah. There, under a tree with dense branches, they saw a boy standing.
Abdul Muttalib asked, ‘Boy, who are you?’
Since the Prophet (ﷺ) had grown taller by then, Abdul Muttalib could not recognize him. The Prophet (ﷺ), whose height was increasing rapidly, replied:
‘I am Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, the son of Abdul Muttalib.’
Hearing this, Abdul Muttalib exclaimed:
‘May my life be sacrificed for you; I am your grandfather, Abdul Muttalib.’
He then picked him up, hugged him tightly, and began to weep. He placed him on his horse and brought him back to Makkah. Upon reaching home, he sacrificed goats and cows and invited the people of Makkah to feast.
When Halimah Sa’diya brought him back to his mother, Amina, she asked her:
‘Halimah, why have you brought the child back? You wished for him to stay with you longer.’
Halimah replied:
‘This child has grown older, and by Allah, I have fulfilled my responsibility. I constantly fear that something might happen to him. Thus, I hand him back to you.’
Hearing this, Amina was astonished and asked:
‘Tell me the truth, what has happened?’
Halimah then narrated the whole story. She had, in fact, witnessed several strange and extraordinary events. These incidents caused her great worry. The most notable event was the opening of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) chest, which compelled her to return him immediately. Halimah narrated the events as follows:
One day, a group of Jews passed by me. These people claimed to believe in the heavenly book, the Torah. I asked them, ‘Can you tell me anything about this child?’ At the same time, I shared details about the birth of the Prophet (ﷺ).
Hearing this, the Jews began whispering among themselves:
‘This child must be killed.’
They then asked me, ‘Is this child an orphan?’
Overhearing their intentions to kill him, I quickly pointed to my husband and said:
‘No! Here is the father of this child.’
At this, they remarked:
‘If this child were an orphan, we would have killed him.’
They said this because they had read in ancient scriptures that the last Prophet would come, whose religion would spread across the world. He would meet specific signs in his birth and childhood and would be an orphan. Since I told them he was not an orphan, they assumed he was not the prophesied one, and they abandoned their plan to kill him.
Another incident occurred when I took the Prophet (ﷺ) to the fair at ‘Ukaz. During the era of ignorance, this fair was very popular and was held between Ta’if and Nakhla. Arabs who came for Hajj spent the month of Shawwal at this fair, engaging in games and boasting about their achievements.
While Halimah Sa’diya (رضي الله عنها) was roaming the marketplace with the Prophet (ﷺ), a soothsayer spotted him. Observing all the signs of Prophethood in him, he called out:
‘People, kill this boy!’
Frightened by his words, Halimah quickly left the place with the Prophet (ﷺ). Thus, Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) protected the Prophet (ﷺ).
Hearing the soothsayer’s voice, the crowd began searching for the boy to kill, but they couldn’t find anyone. When they asked the soothsayer about it, he said:
‘I have just seen a boy. By the gods, he will kill the followers of your religion, break your idols, and prevail over you all.’
People rushed to find the boy, but their efforts were in vain.
Another incident took place at the fair in Dhi Al-Jaz. Passing by a fortune-teller, Halimah noticed that the fortune-teller caught sight of the Prophet (ﷺ). He saw the Seal of Prophethood between his shoulders and the distinct redness in his eyes. The fortune-teller exclaimed:
‘O Arabs, kill this boy! He will destroy your religion, break your idols, and prevail over you.’
He lunged toward the Prophet (ﷺ), but immediately, he went mad and eventually died in his madness.
Yet another incident is recorded in Seerat Ibn Hisham. A group of Abyssinian Christians passed by while Halimah was taking the Prophet (ﷺ) back to his mother, Amina. They observed the Seal of Prophethood between his shoulders and the redness in his eyes. They asked Halimah:
‘Does this child have an eye condition?’
She replied:
‘No! This redness is natural.’
The Christians said:
‘Hand this child over to us. We will take him to our country. This child is a Prophet and will achieve great prominence. We know everything about him.’
Halimah, hearing this, hurried away and finally returned the Prophet (ﷺ) to his mother, Amina.
The most significant of all these incidents was the opening of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) chest. It is established through narrations that there were marks on his blessed chest, similar to surgical stitches made by doctors today. These marks remained even after the stitching was removed.
After this incident, Halimah Sa’diya and her husband decided it was no longer safe to keep the child. When Halimah handed the Prophet (ﷺ) back to Amina, he was either four, five, or six years old, according to different narrations. Shortly after this, Amina passed away, leaving the Prophet (ﷺ) orphaned once again.
Amina’s death occurred at Abwa, a place between Makkah and Madinah. She was buried there. This happened when Amina was returning to Makkah after visiting her maternal family in Madinah. Umm Ayman, who accompanied them, narrated:
‘One day, two Jews came to me in Madinah and said, “Bring Muhammad before us; we wish to see him.”‘
When Umm Ayman brought the Prophet (ﷺ), they observed him closely and said to each other:
‘This is indeed the Prophet of this Ummah. His migration will be to this city, and a great battle will take place here, with captives being taken.’
When Amina learned about this, she became afraid and quickly set out for Makkah. However, she passed away on the way at Abwa.”
