al-Zubayr; yet this did not keep her from braving the hardships of the long journey. Hardly had she reached Qubaʾ (1) when she went into labor and delivered her child.

The Muslims cried “Allāhu akbar” and proclaimed His oneness, for he was the first baby born to the Emigrants in Madinah.

She carried him to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and placed him in his lap. He took a little of his own saliva, put it in the infant’s mouth, rubbed his palate with it (2), and prayed for him.

Thus the very first thing to enter the child’s stomach was the saliva of the Messenger of Allah.

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In Asmāʾ bint Abī Bakr were combined qualities of goodness, noble character, and sound judgment that are seldom found together even in the rarest of men.

So great was her generosity that people made it a byword.