964 — Abū Alī al-Husayn ibn Zakariyyā al-Sukkarī narrated to us: Ahmad ⦗1428⦘ ibn Abd al-Jabbār al-Utāridī narrated to us: Yūnus ibn Bukayr narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn Ishāq, who said: Ibn Abī Jahm—a client of a woman from Banū Tamīm who was married to al-Hārith ibn Hātib, and who was known as the client of al-Hārith ibn Hātib—narrated to me, saying: Someone who heard Abd Allah ibn Jafar ibn Abī Tālib narrated to me that he said: I was told that Halīma bint al-Hārith, the foster-mother of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who nursed him, said:
“I came to Mecca with a group of women from Banū Sad ibn Bakr to seek infants to nurse during a year of severe drought. I arrived riding a white she-ass of mine that was holding the caravan back. I had our infant son with me, as well as an aged she-camel. By Allah, we did not sleep at all that entire night because of our child: he could find nothing in my breasts to satisfy him, nor anything in our she-camel to nourish him.
“When we reached Mecca, ⦗1429⦘ by Allah, as far as I knew, there was not a woman among us to whom the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was not offered. Whenever we were told that he was an orphan, we left him, saying, ‘What could his mother possibly do for us? We hope to receive generosity from the child’s father, but what could his mother possibly do for us?’
“By Allah, every one of my companions took an infant except me. When I could find no other, I said to my husband, al-Hārith ibn Abd al-Uzzā, ‘By Allah, I would hate to return among my companions without an infant. I shall go to that orphan and take him.’ He replied, ‘There is no harm in doing so.’ I therefore went and took him. By Allah, I took him only because I could find no other.
“As soon as I took him and brought him back to my camp, my breasts filled for him with as much milk as Allah willed. He drank until he was satisfied, and his foster brother also drank until he was satisfied. My husband then went to our she-camel and found her udder full. He milked her, and both he and I drank until we were satisfied. We spent the finest of nights.
“My husband said, ‘Halīma, by Allah, I believe you have taken a blessed soul. Do you not see all the good we enjoyed tonight after taking him? Allah, mighty and majestic, has never ceased increasing us in goodness.’
“We then set out to return to our homeland. By Allah, my she-ass outstripped the entire caravan, and no donkey could keep pace with her. My companions began saying, ‘Goodness, daughter of Abū Dhuʾayb! Is this the same she-ass that you rode when you set out with us?’ I would reply, ‘Yes, by Allah, she is the very same.’ They would say, ‘By Allah, something extraordinary has happened to her!’
“We eventually reached the land of Banū Sad, and I know of no land belonging to Allah, mighty and majestic, that was more barren. Yet my sheep would go out to graze and return sated, with their udders full of milk, so we milked as much as we wished. Not one of those around us had a ewe that yielded even a drop of milk, and their flocks came home ⦗1430⦘ hungry. They even began telling their shepherds, ‘Watch where the daughter of Abū Dhuʾayb’s sheep graze, and graze ours with hers.’ Their sheep would graze wherever mine grazed, yet they would drive their flocks home hungry and without a drop of milk, while mine returned sated and full of milk, and we milked as much as we wished.
“Allah, mighty and majestic, continued to show us blessings that we plainly recognized until he reached two years of age. His growth was unlike that of other boys; by Allah, by the time he reached two, he was already a sturdy young boy. We brought him back to his mother, though we were more reluctant than anyone to part with him because of the blessings we had seen through him.
“When his mother saw him, we said to her, ‘O foster-mother, let us keep our son for one more year. We fear that the diseases of Mecca may harm him.’ By Allah, we continued pleading with her until she agreed, saying, ‘Very well,’ and allowed him to go with us.
“We remained with him for two or three months. One day, while he was behind our dwellings with one of his foster brothers among some young animals of ours, his brother came running to us and said, ‘That Qurashī brother of mine! Two men wearing white came to him, laid him down, and split open his belly!’
“His foster father and I ran toward him and found him standing there, his face drained of color. His foster father embraced him and asked, ‘My dear son, what happened to you?’ He replied, ‘Two men wearing white garments came to me, laid me down, and split open my belly. They then removed something from it and cast it away, after which they restored me to my former state.’
“We took him back with us. His foster father said, ‘Halīma, I fear that my son may have been afflicted. Come, let us return him to his family before the signs of what we fear appear upon him.’
“She said: ‘We picked him up, and his mother was taken by surprise when we arrived and presented him to her. She asked, ‘Why have you brought him back? You were so eager to keep him.’
“We replied, ‘No, by Allah, ⦗1431⦘ O foster-mother. Allah, mighty and majestic, has discharged our responsibility, and we have fulfilled our duty. We feared that he might come to harm or that some mishap might befall him, so we decided to return him to his family.’
“She said, ‘That is not your true reason. Tell me honestly what has happened to you.’ She would not leave us until we told her what had happened to him. She then asked, ‘Did you fear that Satan might harm him? Never! By Allah, Satan has no power over him. This son of mine will certainly be of great importance. Shall I tell you his story?’
“We said, ‘Yes.’
“She said, ‘When I carried him, I had never borne a pregnancy lighter than his. While I was carrying him, I was shown in a dream what seemed to be a light emerging from me, by which the palaces of Syria were illuminated. Then, when I gave birth to him, he fell in a manner unlike any newborn, supporting himself upon his hands and raising his head toward heaven. So leave him alone and go in peace.’”