The Birth of The Awaited One
Fifty days had passed since the Event of the Elephant…
Abdulmuttalib’s son, Abdullah, had gone away to visit his uncles. Sometime later news was received that Abdullah had fallen sick and had passed away…
Amina, Abdullah’s wife, was in labor at her father in law’s house… The day had faded and the dark of night had set in. There were a few ladies in the room, trying to comfort Amina as labor progressed. Though, some sources say Amina didn’t feel any labor pain while giving birth to Muhammad…
Then, Shifa, the mother of Abdurrahman bin Awf, held Amina’s hands and told her to push…
Almost in an otherworldly state, it was as if Amina was seeing something…
The concept and perception of time had changed…
Another big breath and push… and yes… there he was...
The awaited one, as grace and honor to the world, was born…
When the ladies attempted to cut his umbilical cord, they were surprised to see that it was already cut! He was immediately taken, wrapped in clean cloths, and put down in a basin. In was tradition that if a child was born during the night his face would not be looked at until the break of dawn…
Suddenly a loud crack was heard, the basin had split into two! The baby lying on the bottom was happily sucking on his thumb and smiling at them…
It was the 12th night of Rabiul awwal… That night many strange events transpired around the world…
The sacred fire of the Zoroastrians which had not turned out for 100 years suddenly turned out that night.
The marbles of the Kisra Palace broke and the mosaics on its walls fell off that night…
Oracles in various different places around the world made an announcement that night that the Ruler of the world had arrived and that he would be the final Nabi to honor the world…
The Jews knew that the awaited one, called Ahmad, was born that night and they began to investigate into his whereabouts…
A Jewish oracle happened to be in Mecca at the time for business purposes… He was notified via a jinn, with whom he had connection, that the Nabi of the final times was born… He immediately came to Haram al-Sharif and found Hisham bin Mugirah, Walid bin Mugirah, and Utbah bin Rabia and asked them for information.
“We don’t know! Why are you asking?”
“Indeed, I am disgraced and disappointed in you!” the Jewish oracle continued, “How can you not know? O people of Quraish, know that the final Nabi of Islam, Ahmad, came to life tonight. If there is any deceit in my words, I will disown the sacredness of Quraish! Between his shoulder blades he has a red birth mark, this mark is unique to him!”
That night there was much talk in the Quraishi households of the men to whom the oracle Jew had asked for information. When they shared the words of the Jew, their household told them that Abdulmuttalib’s grand-son had come to life that night…
The next morning, the three men found the Jewish oracle and asked him, “How did you know that the baby about whom you asked us last night was born in our community?”
“Forget about how I knew and tell me, was he born before I asked you or after I asked you?”
“Before you asked!” they answered…
“And is his name Ahmad?”
“Yes, his name is Ahmad!”
“Will you take me to him?” asked the oracle.
So, the three men took the Jewish oracle to Abdulmuttalib’s house. The oracle examined our Master and saw his birth mark. In great astonishment and surprise, he said “Shame on you that you do not know who this child is!”
“Why do you say this, he’s just an orphan?!” they asked, confused.
“No!” the oracle continued…
“As I have told you last night, he is the awaited Nabi of the final times! PROPHETHOOD FOR THE SONS OF ISRAEL HAS NOW COME TO END. THIS IS THE SIGN THAT THE JEWISH SCHOLARS AND ORACLES WILL NO LONGER HOLD VALUE! THIS IS THE SIGN THAT THE JEWS WILL BE MASSACRED AND THE ARABS, THROUGH THIS PROPHET, WILL BE LIBERATED AND REACH SALVATION!”
Abu Lahab, the uncle who was to be the greatest enemy to our Master, was at his home that night… Hours later, Suwayba, Abdulmuttalib’s maid came running to Abu Lahab’s house. Out of breath, she exclaimed:
“Glad tidings sir! Son of Abdulmuttalib, your brother Abdullah’s son came to life…!”
Abu Lahab was overjoyed; it was indeed good news that his late brother had a son…
“O Suwayba, you have indeed made me happy. I am freeing you of your slavery; you are now a free woman!”
But time and the ambition for power and expediency was going to change everyone and everything…
Our Master suckled his mother’s breasts for the first few days after his birth, then he was breastfed by Abu Lahab’s maid Shuwaib…
It was an Arab custom in those times that every year at the end of spring tribes from the outskirts of Mecca would come to the city, take the newborns with them and return to their homes. This was a mutually beneficial custom. The children were raised in clean and natural conditions, and the families were paid for their caretaking…
That year, around the 20th of Rabiulawwal, the Sa’d Tribe had set off to Mecca… This tribe was the most prominent for breastfeeding and babysitting. Amongst the strong and sturdy women in the tribe there was one comparatively skinnier and weaker looking woman… Her name was Halima. Her milk was very little…
She too, with her husband, had set out with the tribe, in search of her chance… They were relatively poor and travelling with a puny donkey and an underweight scraggy old camel with two humps. The donkey was hardly able to walk, and the camel took hours to give a single drop of milk…
In the vast sand sea, the wealthy and healthy mothers of the Sad Tribe were joyfully advancing toward Mecca, while the slow, limping pursue of Halima’s group had made them fall more and more behind. The distance between them and the rest of the tribe had reached almost two hours…
When they finally arrived in Mecca the flashy mothers of the Sad Tribe, who had an abundant supply of breastmilk, and who had arrived much earlier, had already taken all the babies! Halima was very sad… She was going to return home empty handed, not to mention the mocking and ridicule she was going to be prone to by the rest…
Then suddenly a voice was heard from the distance… Someone was looking for a wet-nurse…