…a series of portents: a radiant light shone with him at birth, reaching as far as the palaces of Syria; on that same night the idols quaked, the audience hall of Kisra trembled, and several of its balconies collapsed. These were preludes to the Prophet’s future mission, and the jinn and devils were thrown into turmoil on that august night. He was born in a place called Shiʿb, very near the Kaʿbah—within Mecca, though the exact house cannot be pinpointed with certainty. [58] Thus the Prophet ﷺ was born in Mecca. He was later wet-nursed among Banu Saad by Halimah al-Saadiyah. His father Abdullah died while he was still in his mother’s womb, and his mother passed away not long after his birth. Umm Ayman, the Abyssinian woman he had inherited from his father, then cared for him, after which he came under the guardianship of his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib. When Abd al-Muttalib died, the care of the boy passed to his uncle Abu Talib. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ lived forty years before prophethood, renowned for honesty, trustworthiness, and generosity. He shunned idol-worship and abstained from wine, refusing the practices of the Jahiliyyah; rather, he would …