Halima as Saddiya (ra) and the Orphan Baby
Halima as-Sadiyya (ra), a wet nurse from the desert dwelling tribe of Banu Sad travelled to Makkah to find a child to nurse, as was Bedouin tradition. It brought her much-needed extra income; for the town-dwellers, their infants benefited by the Bedouin life.
Halima (ra) said; “We went out to Makkah on a slow skinny donkey, with an aged camel that didn’t give even a drop of milk. We could not sleep at night because our child was crying out of hunger.”
On reaching Makkah late, others had secured babies from the elite families, chosen for good financial prospects and connections. Searching hard, Halima (ra) learnt the only child left was an orphan boy, rejected by the nurses. Disappointed at the prospect of leaving Makkah without a child, she consulted her husband about the orphan. He replied, ‘Perhaps Allah will endow us with prosperity and blessings thanks to him’. He (swt) did. For the child was the Prophet ﷺ.
No sooner than swaddling him in his shawl, the prospects of her family brightened.
Halima (ra) said; “When I put Muhammad ﷺ on my lap my breasts overflowed with milk. He drank until quenched as did my son and they both slept. My husband went to his camel and milked her. We drank to our satisfaction, sleeping peacefully. In the morning I rode the donkey carrying Muhammad ﷺ with me, moving faster than the others. They said;
‘Daughter of Abu Dhu’ayb! Slow down! Is that the donkey on which you came?’
They said; ‘By Allah, this is something remarkable.’
Halima’s (ra) land once barren, became green and alive.
Getting the ‘short straw’ in life isn’t always a bad thing because success and barakah comes from Allah. None but He knows the future fates of lives or ventures in which we choose to endeavour. The other nurses assumed a fatherless orphan would not lead to financial recompense or connections. Yet, do good and good comes back. In prospering Halima (ra) received the best recompense from the true Provider, Allah (swt). And what better connection than to be the wet nurse of the greatest man, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Halima (ra) and her family were always received with honour and love by the Prophet ﷺ in his lifetime.
𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 of 𝗦.𝗡.𝗝𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗹𝗶 ✍🏼 (𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗯𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, Islamic chapter books for kids📚)
