In Allah’s Care – Getting Married

The child Mohamed the son of Abd Allah lived with his mother Amana the daughter of Wahb after returning from the care of Halima and her family.  This orphan child lived under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather Abd El-Motaleb who was the chief of Makah, and who had a soft spot for this particular grandson. 

Abd El-Motaleb sons used to prepare a place for him to sit and rest in the shad of the Kabba, and they never sat on his place out of respect.  However, when the grandson Mohamed wants to sit there and they wanted to stop him, Abd El-Motaleb will let him and will give a great deal of affection and attention.

The Death of Amana:

When Mohamed was 6 years old, his mother Amana took him on a tribe to Yathrib (Medina) to visit his relatives on her mother’s side of Bani Adi Ibn Najar and she took with her a woman servant called Om Aymen.   Om Aymen said: “One day I found two men of the Jews of town (Yathrib-Medina) and they said to me: Let Ahmed come out for us to look at.  He came out and they looked at him all around, then one said to the other: This is the prophet, and here is where he will migrate to, and there will be a great deal of killing and war prisoner taking”

When his mother Amana heard about this, she feared for his safety and decided to take him and Om Aymen and leave and return to Makah.  On the way Amana fell ill and soon died in the desert.  Om Aymen and Mohamed buried her at a place called Al-Abwa, and continued their journey to Makah.  Mohamed left Makah an orphan without a father, and returned an orphan without father or mother, and he was only six years of age.

Mohamed lived under the care of his grandfather and Abd El-Motaleb Ibn Hashem, who was an old man then and died 2 years later when Mohamed was eight years old.  This was eight years following the incident of the Elephant.

His Uncle’s Guardianship: 

After the death of Abd El-Motaleb, Mohamed’s grandfather, he went into the care of his uncle Abu Taleb. Abu Taleb and Abd Allah Mohamed’s father were brothers to the same father and mother.  Their mother was called Fatima Bent Amro.

Abu Taleb was a very kind and loving father to his orphan nephew Mohamed, and his wife was similar.  He was not kind and loving to Mohamed as an orphan boy only, but this continued into Mohamed’s adulthood and until Abu Tale’s death.  Of the kindness of Abu Taleb to Mohamed was when Abu Taleb was travelling north to Syria for trade, Mohamed cried and sobbed to see his uncle departing, so much that Abu Taleb decided to take Mohamed with him on this tribe, in which some interesting events took place.

Bahera the Monk:

The caravan travelled from Makah northwards and on the way they stopped at an area called Basra near a monastery of a monk called Bahera.  They often passed by him, without seeing Bahera.   This time Bahera looked at the caravan resting by the monastery, and saw that boy Mohamed sitting under a tree, and the branches of the tree coming down and around him to shade him.

Bahera prepared food and asked every one in the caravan to come, and that no one should stay behind.  It is said that the caravan left Mohamed behind with the camels, but Bahera insisted that Mohamed should join them.

When Mohamed came, Bahera rose to receive him, put his arm around him and sate him down to eat.  He asked Mohamed: “Tell me by the Lat and Oza about the things I shall ask you about”.  Mohamed said: “Do not ask me by the Lat and Oza, for by Allah I do not hate any thing more than them”.  Bahera said: “Then by Allah, answer my questions”. Mohamed said: “Ask what you like”.  He went on asking him many questions about his back ground and life, and then he looked at his back and found the “seal of prophecy” between his shoulders (this was a birth mark on his back)

Bahera went to Abu Taleb and asked him about Mohamed.  Abu Taleb first said: “Mohamed is my son”.  Bahera said: “This boy’s father is could not be alive”.  Abu Taleb said: “Well, he is my nephew”.  Bahera said: “What happened to his father?”  Abu Taleb said: “Died while his mother was pregnant”.  Bahera said: “You told me the truth, take your nephew home soon”. 

Abu Taleb rushed to finish his business selling his goods and returning home with Mohamed.

Allah’s Care:

 Mohamed Ibn Abd Allah grow up in Allah’s care, protected from all that the people at the time used to do or Idle worshiping, Adultery, drinking intoxicants, lying and all ill deeds.  He became known for his honesty, truthfulness, trustfulness and general decency, so much that he his people gave him the title “Amen” and he was known by it (it means honest and trustworthy).

Allah’s messenger prayer and peace upon him mentioned some of the occasions in which Allah the Highest looked after him, he said: “I was with other boys in Qurish playing and carrying stones to play with, and all of us lifted his cloak to put by his neck to carry the stones.  While I was going with them, some one I did not see hit me and said: Pull your cloak down”  so I pulled it down, and went on playing carrying the stones with my cloak down while the other boys did not.

It is also reported that while Mohamed was young and was working as a Sheppard, he wanted to see what the people in Makah do while they had good time.  He asked another boy to mind his sheep and went to see.  As soon as he sat down, he fell asleep to wake up in the morning.  He tried to do the same again, and again he slept, then he did not go again.  This was part of Allah’s care for him from a young age, keeping him away from sinning and preparing him for prophecy and its duties.

The battle of Fujar (meaning wicked doers):

This is a battle which took place between Qurish and Kenanah on one side and Qise Elan on the other.   It was called this name because it was the result of a man killing another during the sacred month.  Mohamed the son of Abd took part in this battle when he was between 14 and 15 years old, he said: “I used to protect my uncles from the arrows”.  His side (Qurish and Kenanah) won the battle.

Marrying Khadija:

She is Khadija the daughter of Khowayled the son of Asad.  She was a rich and noble woman in Makah.  She used to hire men to trade for her, for a share of the prophet.  When she heard about Mohamed’s character, honesty and truthfulness, she asked him to trade for her in Sham with her money, and that she will giving the highest rate she gives a man, and he agreed.  He travelling with her trade accompanied with a servant man of hers called Misarah. 

Mohamed sold the goods he took from Makah and with the money he bought goods to bring to Makah.  Throughout the journey, Misarah noticed how honest he is in trading and how people liked him.  At the end of the transaction, Mohamed made a good profit, it was said that he doubled Khadija’s money.  Misarah also noticed during the journey that a cloud always shaded Mohamed while travelling. 

All this made Khadija interested in Mohamed and she wished to marry him.  She asked one of her lady relatives to approach him with this proposal, and he agreed.  He was 25 and she was 40 at the time. Mohamed went to Khadija’s father Khowayled accompanied by his uncle Hamza, and her father agreed, and they got married.  She was the first woman to marry, and he did not marry another woman while she was with him, and he did not marry for 3 years following her death.  (This shows that is alright for a man to approach a good righteous man, offering him his daughter in marriage)

He had all his children from her except for Ibrahim whom he had from the Egyptian lady Maria.  He had from Khadija Al-Qasim, Al-Tayeb, Zinab, Roqayah, Om-Kolthom, and Fatima.  Khadija was a very tender, loving and supportive wife to Mohamed, and he always remembered her.  When his wife Aysha was upset of him mentioning her and said: “Why do you keep remembering this old woman when Allah has given you better?” He said: “He did not”

Al-Fodol Alliance:

This alliance was between a number of the noble families in Makah, and it was considered the most noble of the alliances the Arabs had. 

The reason behind this alliance is that a man from a place called Zobid came to Makah with some good which a Makan man called Al-Ase Ibn Wael, but Al-Ase refused to give the man his money.

The man from Zobid went to the Kabba and went on complaining about his predicament and composing poetry about it.  When people heard this, Zobir Ibn Abd El-Motaleb rose and he called upon the families of Hashem, Zahra, and Team, to meet at the house of Abd Allah Ibn Gedan, where they met and made a covenant to be together if any one suffer injustice in Makah, against the unjust and with the person suffering injustice until justice is being done.  Then they all went to Al-Ase Ibn wael and took the money of the man from Zobid from him and give the man his money.

Mohamed was twenty years old then.   After Islam he used to say that if he was to be called upon to honour this alliance, he would.  This is because it was an alliance aiming to uphold justice and give people their rights; therefore it was in harmony with Islam.

Dr Ahmed Saafan