ALL ABOUT PROPHET(SAL) - PART 1 - As An Orphan

"Your Lord shall give you, and you shall be satisfied. Did He not find you an orphan and shelter you ? .... Did He not find you needy and suffice you? As for the orphan, do not oppress him, and as for the beggar, scold him not" (Al- Duha: 94.5-6,8-10)

The Prophet Muhammed Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was, from his birth, brought up in the sight and under the care of Allah Ta'aalaa. He was deprived of his father whilst still in his mother's womb. With the death of his father, Allah deprived him of all human support and directed him to the realization that `there is no diety save Allah; He has no partners whatsoever'.

Resultantly, he was to be called the "Matchless Orphan Pearl." According to the noble families of Makkah, he was taken by a foster mother Halimah, who was from the tribe of Hawazin and the family of Banu Sa'ad to her village. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam lived for six years in the care of his foster parents, among the Banu Sa'ad, during which time he developed the purest dialect of Arabic. He used to respect and revere Halimah just like a real mother.

Abu - Tufayl reported that a woman met the Prophet at Ji'raanah. When he found her, he spread out his sheet for her where on she sat. Abu Tufayl enquired who the woman was. They replied, "She is his mother who suckled him."

When he was six years old Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam returned to Makkah. The noble Aaminah was very pleased to receive him; her only child. Even at such a young age Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was unlike his playful peers, but quite serene and scrupulous. He never wasted his time in wild games like the other children.

The Matchless Orphan Pearl not only lost his father, he lost also his mother, Aaminah at an early age. At the vulnerable age of only six years the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam experienced the pain of being left without father and mother. Indeed, there would be nothing he would not learn and no suffering he would not have to bear, since his very coming to the world was to be an open example for man.

After the demise of his mother, his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib took custody of the child, who brought him up with love and affection. However, his guardianship did not last too long as he died when the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was merely eight years of age. The honourable grandfather of Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, whom even the great army of Abraha could not bring to tears, wept bitterly when he took to his death bed. His son, Abu Talib, came to him and asked why he was weeping. He replied, "I am weeping because I will no longer be able to embrace Muhammad." He added, "I am afraid something might happen to my Matchless Pearl I entrust him to you for safe keeping."

Abu Talib, the Holy Prophet's Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam uncle took great care of him and became his guardian. He faithfully and kindly dicharged his duties. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam continued to develop into a well cultured youth. He was never perverse or stubborn in his ways. The Prophets were especially brought up by Allah Ta'aalaa. To cite an example, at the time when Ka'abah was rebuilt in the Prophet's Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam childhood, he fell unconscious when he lifted his lower garment in order to collect the stones in it.

The Prophet of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam endured so much in life. In his very childhood his parents died, a few years later the sad demise of his grandfather also occurred. He spent his boyhood tending the flocks of sheep and goats in the company of the bedouin boys. Education did not even scathe him; he was completely unlettered and unschooled. Never did he acquire the chance to sit in the company of the learned

Even so, the tribulations and trials that befell the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not in any way blemish the infallibility of the blessed Prophet. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam also remembers: `During the restoration of the Ka'abah, prior to my Prophethood, I was carrying stones and as everyone else I lifted the bottom of my clothes over my shoulder to avoid injury, which left some part of my thighs uncovered. All of a sudden, the angel that I had seen several times in my childhood appeared to me in all his majesty. I fell down and fainted. That was the first and last time I uncovered any part of my body which Allah has ordered to be covered." (Bukhari)

The Almighty protected the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam from falling even for a twinkle of the eye, since his going astray even an inch may have resulted in almost complete deviation of mankind.