After Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was fed by Sayyidah Thuwaibah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), he was next fed by Sayyidah Haleemah Sa’diyyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha).
Among the noble Arab families, when a child would be born, they would send the child to grow up in the countryside, away from the city. They would do this because the air in the countryside was clean and pure, so growing up in the countryside would make the child strong and healthy. Also, the people in the countryside spoke very good Arabic, so the children would learn to speak good Arabic from them, and they would also learn the excellent qualities of the Arabs.
The Banu Sa’d was one tribe of the Arabs who lived in the countryside. Every year, the women of this tribe would come to Makkah Mukarramah and look for children to take back to the countryside with them. Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was from the Banu Sa’d tribe and also came to Makkah Mukarramah, looking for a child to take and raise in the countryside.
Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) came with her husband, and she also had her own baby boy who was drinking milk. To ride, they had a thin, weak donkey, and a camel that could hardly give any milk. They were very poor and had no food to eat. They were so hungry that it was difficult to sleep at night, and her son would cry at night because the milk was not enough.
When the women of the Banu Sa’d came to Makkah Mukarramah, they were all offered to take the baby, Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), with them to the countryside. However, when they heard that he did not have a father, then they did not want to take him. They thought that if he did not have a father, then who would pay them for looking after him? None of them knew that this boy was the most special boy in the world because he was going to be the greatest Nabi of Allah Ta‘ala!
Finally, all the women of the Banu Sa’d had taken at least one baby, and only Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was left. Suddenly, Allah Ta‘ala placed the feeling in her heart that she should take the orphan boy who nobody else wanted to take. When she said this to her husband, he replied, “No problem. Perhaps Allah Ta‘ala may give us barakah and blessings because of this child.”
When Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) took Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), Allah Ta‘ala immediately blessed her with barakah and began to help her. Before, she had very little milk, so her baby was always hungry and crying. Now, she had so much of milk that her son and Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) could both drink until they were full. In fact, even the camel began to give more milk than before! That night, through the barakah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), they were all full and comfortable, so they all slept happily.
The next morning, the husband of Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) said, “O Haleemah! The child that you have taken has brought us a lot of barakah and blessings!”
Thereafter, when they left Makkah Mukarramah, the thin and weak camel of Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was moving very fast. Before, it was weak and slow, but since Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was now on the camel, Allah Ta‘ala placed barakah in it and made it move quickly. When the other women saw how quickly the camel was moving, they could not believe it! They asked Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha), “Is this the same camel you came with? It seems like a completely different animal now!”
Finally, they reached the place where the Banu Sa’d lived in the countryside. At that time, the area had a very bad and severe drought. This meant that there was no rain, so there was very little grass and the animals were becoming very weak and thin. Because the goats had very little grass to eat, they were giving very little milk. However, when the goats of Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) would come home in the evening, they would give a lot of milk, while the goats of other people would come back hungry, without any milk. In this way, Allah Ta‘ala continued to bless them with barakah and His special help. Finally, the time came when Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was no longer drinking milk because he was now two years old.
At that time, Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) came back to Makkah Mukarramah to return Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to his mother, Aaminah. However, because she knew that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was a special child and a blessed child, she asked Aaminah to please let her keep him in the countryside for a little while longer. Aaminah allowed her to do so, so Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) returned with Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) to the Banu Sa’d. After a few months, as he grew older, he also started going out with his milk-brothers to the fields to graze the goats.
Lessons:
1. We must always make du‘aa for barakah. If Allah Ta‘ala blesses us with barakah, we will be comfortable and will not have to worry about anything.
2. When Sayyidah Haleemah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) took Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) into her home, Allah Ta‘ala blessed her with barakah and His special help. If we bring the love of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) into our hearts, and his sunnah into our lives, then Allah Ta‘ala will bless us with barakah and His special help.
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