Wet-nurses of Prophet Muhammad - II

05/01/2012| IslamWeb

Haleemah As-Sa’diyyah: Haleemah was the mother of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) by suckling. She narrates the story herself, saying,

“I went out from my land with my husband and my infant along with other women from the tribe of Banu Sa’d bin Bakr. We went looking for children to suckle during a year of drought which left nothing fertile. I set out riding a white female donkey and we were accompanied by an old she-camel from which but one drop of milk would come out, as dry as she was. All night long, we would stay up due to our infant crying out of hunger and I had no milk in my breast to feed him, but we were hoping that we would be relieved with the coming of rain soon. I went out on my she-donkey and was so slow that I delayed the others, and they suffered greatly because of me.
Upon arriving in Makkah, we started looking for babies who needed to nurse. All the women who came with me were offered to suckle the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) but we all refused to suckle him because he was an orphan. We usually would get more reward from the father of the infant after suckling him, so were saying to ourselves, `An orphan? What could the mother or grandfather of an orphan offer us?` Thus, we rejected him for this reason. All the women who came with me got an infant to suckle except me, and when we were about to return to our land, I said to my husband, `I swear by Allah! I hate to return whilst I am the only woman from the group who did not take any child to suckle; I will go and take that orphan`. My husband replied, `Why not, perhaps Allah would bless us due to him.` Hence, I went back and took him, and I only did so because I could not find anyone else to suckle. I took him, and as soon as I placed him on my breast, milk flowed abundantly.”
 
The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) would only suckle from one of her breasts; it was as if he felt that there was someone else sharing the milk with him, because Haleemah was also suckling her son.
They both nursed to their fill and slept, and then Haleemah’s husband went out to the she-camel they had with them on their trip and found her udder filled with milk. He milked it and they both drank their fill, and they slept in the best condition.
 
Haleemah continued,
“My husband told me after we drank the milk, `I swear by Allah! It seems that you have taken a blessed soul to suckle.` I replied, `I certainly hope so`. The next day we, along with the rest of our group, resumed our trip back home. I was riding my she-donkey, whilst carrying the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) with me, and she started going so fast that I exhausted the rest of the people, who said to me, `Slow down! Is this the same she-donkey you came with on the way up?` I replied, `It certainly is.’ They said, 'There is something strange about it indeed.’ When we arrived to our land of the tribe of Banu Sa’d, there was no land drier or more barren than it prior to our departure. Yet, after our return, I used to send out my sheep to graze and they would return having eaten and with their udders full with milk. We would milk them and drink to our satisfaction and no one around would find a drop of milk in their sheep, though our animals and theirs grazed together, to the point that the owners of the other cattle would say to the young boys who went to pasture their sheep, `Woe to you! Go and graze in the same area where the sheep of Bint Abi Thu’ayb (i.e. Haleemah) graze`. Their sheep would return empty of any trace of milk, while ours would return filled with it. This continued to be the case throughout the two years of the suckling of Muhammad.”
Haleemahtook him back after the two-year period of suckling had elapsed, although she was hoping to keep him for a longer time. She was able to convince her to send him back with her for another period.
Haleemah’shusband was the suckling father of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ). His name was Al-Haarith bin ‘Abd Al-‘Uzzaa bin Rifaa’ah bin Malaan bin Sa’d bin Bak bin Hawaazan. Haleemah's children were the brothers and sisters of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) through suckling. Their names were ‘Abdullaah bin Al-Haarith, Aneesah bint Al-Haarith, and Khuthaamah bint Al-Haarith, who was also known as Shaymaa’.
Wet-nurses of Prophet Muhammad - I

www.islamweb.net