Muhammad was born

Muhammad was born She’eb Banu Hashim in Makkah. It was a Monday morning in spring, the ninth day of Rabi’ AlAwwal (according to some sources it was the twelfth of Rabi’ AlAwwal), fifty to fifty-five days after the Abraha’s failed attack on the Ka’bah. In Arabic, the word for an elephant is “Feel,” and hence the year came to be known as ‘Amm Al-Feel, (the year of the elephant).

In the Gregorian calendar, the date corresponds to April 22, 571 C.E. While Amina was pregnant, she had a dream that a light was emitted from her lower body that illuminated the places of Syria. When she went into labour, Shifa bint Amr, the mother of Abdul Rahman bin Auf, served as midwife. Abdul Muttalib received the news of his grandson’s birth with joy. He took the new-born to the Ka’bah and invoked Allah’s blessings and gave thanks. Believing his grandson would grow up to be highly praised, Abdul Muttalib named him Muhammad, which means “he who is praised.”

In keeping with Arab tradition, he then shaved the baby’s head and circumcised him on the seventh day. Afterwards, he invited his fellow-Makkans to a feast. Muhammad was first nursed by his mother, and then by Umm Ayman, his father’s slave. An Abyssinian whose name was Barakah, she embraced Islam and migrated to Madinah, where she died six months after the Prophet’s death.

Foster Brothers

Thuwaybah, the slave of Muhammad’s uncle Abu Lahab, also nursed the infant. At that time, Thuwaybah was also nursing her own child, Masrooh, as well as Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib and Abu Salamah bin Abdul Asad Makhzoomi. Hence, these three men became foster brothers because they were nursed at the same breast.