The Prophet (PBUH) is referred to as the Master of Prophets and was born in either 570 or 571 CE. He was born in the city of Makkah to the tribe of Quraish which was the dominant tribe of the region and consisted of numerous sub tribes. One of the sub tribes was Banu Hashim, which the Prophet (PBUH) belonged to. His mother was Amina who belonged to the Banu Zahra tribe and the head of Banu Hashim when the Prophet (PBUH) was born was his paternal grandfather Abdul Muttalib. It is recorded that Amina said, “When he was born, a light emitted, lighting the palaces of Greater Syria.” Also it had been reported that upon the Prophet’s (PBUH), 14 balconies of Kisrah (Khusroes), Emperor of Persia collapsed and the holy fire of the Zoroastrians went out. The Prophet's (PBUH) father, Abdullah had gone on a business trip to Gazza and passed away on the way back, therefore he wasn’t able to witness the Prophet’s (PBUH) birth. When Abdul Muttalib heard of the birth of his grandson, he was elated and carried him to the Ka’abah and named him “Muhammad” which meant the praised one. He was fed by his mother Amina and later a slave girl of his uncle Abu Lahab, Thuwaibah.

It was a custom of the Arabs at the time to send their children into the desert with wet nurses so they could be exposed to challenges in life early on and acquire essential life skills like being a shepherd or looking after one’s self. It also allowed the children to interact with other individuals early on in life with various mindsets and qualities. Moreover, in a bustling city like Makkah, where people from all over Arabia and even Syria and Persia would come to trade or for religious tourism, the Arabic language began to evolve and linguistic nuances of these foreigners, initiated variations in language altering it from its pure self, hence Arab families would send their children to learn and be able to speak the pure, untainted form of Arabic.

However, when the wet nurses came to Makkah, they all turned a blind eye upon the Prophet (PBUH) as he was seen as an orphan and low wages were expected from him. His mother held him high, desperately yearning for someone to take him but was ignored. Ultimately, one wet nurse Halima Al Sa’adiyyah arrived late as her donkey was slower compared to the others, and couldn’t find a child. Only the Prophet (PBUH) was left, and seeing no other options, signed a two-year contract with Amina and took the Prophet (PBUH). Miracles immediately began descending upon Halima. For once, her slow donkey began galloping rapidly and was much faster than the rest. Her barren land, back home, began giving produce and became green. Even her scrawny goat, which no one expected to produce milk, gave enough that she became well off. Gradually, Halima began to notice that the Prophet (PBUH) was no ordinary boy and was the sole reason for the numerous blessings showered upon her and her family.

Once, when the Prophet (PBUH) was playing with the other children, Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) (AS) came down and opened the chest of the Prophet (PBUH). He took his heart out and extracted a specific blood clot and exclaimed, “This was the bit of Satan in you.” He then washed the Prophet’s (PBUH) heart with ZamZam water in a gold basin and put the heart back in place. The other children were absolutely horrified and rushed to Halim Al Sa’adiyyah shouting, “Verily Muhammad has been murdered!” Halima rushed to the scene to see the Prophet (PBUH) alright but pale in the face. This experience shook Halima to the core and she decided to return Prophet (PBUH) back to Amina

The Prophet (PBUH) was six years old at the time. Amina had decided to visit her late husband’s grave which was in Yathrib (now Madina), A servant, Umm Ayman and the Prophet's(PBUH) grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, also accompanied them. On the way back, Amina fell ill and passed away at Abwa. The Prophet (PBUH) was deeply grieved at his mother’ death and Abdul Muttalib brought him back to Makkah. Abdul Muttalib took great care of the Prophet (PBUH) and as he was the chief of Banu Hashim, a mattress was set for him near the Ka’bah and all his children would sit around it however, he let the Prophet (PBUH) sit on it, portraying his love for the Prophet (PBUH). He used to say, “Leave this child alone, for by Allah I swear, this boy will hold a significant position.” Unfortunately, he passed away just two years later when the Prophet (PBUH) was still only eight years old and he was entrusted to his uncle, Abu Talib.

Abu Talib followed his father’s footsteps and showed benevolence towards the Prophet (PBUH). He would prefer him over his own kids, he would not eat without him and let the Prophet (PBUH) sleep on his bed. Now think about that for a second. You being an orphan, recently losing your mother and grandfather, never seen your father and then your uncle holds you in such high regard, not eating until you are present and letting you sleep on his bed. That truly was an act of kindness and significantly boosted the Prophet’s (PBUH) overall morale and provided him some relief.
Children were made to ponder on these concepts in our 5th Seerat club event The Chosen Heart. Highlights from the event can be viewed in the youtube link provided below.

Abu Talib would often go to Syria for business trips and once took the Prophet (PBUH) along inorder to let him be exposed to foreign cultures and interact with people in a completely new environment. Upon reaching a city in Syria, Basra, Abu Talib was approached by a monk called Jurjais or Bahira. Jurjais immediately recognized the Prophet (PBUH), even though he had never met him and exclaimed, “This is the master of all humans. He will be sent with a divine message and will be a mercy to all beings.” He then explained how he identified the Prophet (PBUH). “When you appeared from the direction of Aqabah (a valley), all stones and trees prostrated themselves which they never did, except to a Prophet. I can also recognize the seal of prophethood below his shoulder.” Jurjais also advised Abu Talib to take the Prophet (PBUH) to Makkah as here he wasn’t safe as threats from the Jews lingered, thus the Prophet (PBUH) returned to Makkah.

When the Prophet (PBUH) was a teenager, a series of Sacrilegious wars broke out between the Prophet’s (PBUH) tribe, Quraish and another bedouin tribe called Qais. The Prophet (PBUH) was too young to physically fight; however, he assisted his uncles by picking up arrows and handing them to them. Peace was later restored under Half ul Fudhool and a confederacy was formed in Makkah in the house of a notable politician of Makkah, Abdullah bin Jad’aan. Members from the main sub-tribes of Quraish participated and the Prophet (PBUH) commented on it later saying, “I was present at a confederacy at the house of Abdullah bin Jad’aan. It was more appealing to me than herds of cattle. Even now, amidst Islam, I would respond positively to attending such a meeting if invited.”

By the age of twenty, the Prophet (PBUH) was known as Al Saadiq and Al Amin, which meant, the most honest and trustworthy and it was due to his honesty in trade and safely keeping people’s belongings with him, as at that time, there were no banks so people stored their wealth with a trustworthy source, which was Prophet (PBUH). Also, at that time, Arabian society was mostly ignorant, with the majority of individuals being illiterate and were dishonest among other things, so witnessing such an ethical and trustworthy being, was a rare sight. Around that time, lived a wealthy businesswomen called Khadija (RA) bint Khuwaylid. She was known as Ameerat ul Quraish or Princess of Quraish. She was a modest woman who stayed away from the vices of Makkha and was on the lookout for a trusted merchant to carry her goods to Syria and back. She had heard about the Prophet’s (PBUH) honesty as the Prophet’s (PBUH) trading partner, Saib (RA) once remarked, “May my mother and father be sacrificed for you; once you had been my trading partner in business and you always made fair dealings.” Khadija (RA) had offered the Prophet (PBUH) double the amount to take her goods to Syria and back. She sent her servant, Maysara, to observe the Prophet (PBUH). The trade journey turned out to be an absolute success and Maysara exclaimed, “Amongst all the men in Makkah, whom I know well, there are none comparable to Muhammad.” Such praise and success please Khadija (RA), and through her slave girl, Nafisa, she sent a marriage proposal to the Prophet (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) consulted this decision with his uncles and in the end agreed to it. Abu Talib conducted the marriage and Khadija (RA) bore six children in total, two boys, Abdulah (RA) and Qasim (RA) who passed away when they were just a few months old, and four daughters, Zainab (RA), Ruqayyah (RA), Umm Kulthum (RA) and Fatima (RA). Except for Fatima (RA), the rest of the daughters passed away in the lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH).

Consequently, Makkah had been swept by floods and the Ka’abah that had been built by the Prophet Abraham (AS) and Ishmaeel (AS) began to weaken. Therefore, the Makkan chiefs held a council where it was decided that funds had to be raised in order to renovate the Ka’abah and prevent it from collapsing. At first, the chiefs were hesitant to knock down the walls of the Ka’abah due to its holiness and fearing a punishment from God, but after seeing Al Walid bin Mugheerah breaking it, they too followed. As Makkah was filled with vices such as gambling, prostitution, usury and drinking, a large portion of the economy was dependent on them as they generated plenty of money, but the Makkan chiefs agreed to only use licit funds for Ka’abah as the Prophet’s (PBUH) uncle, Abu Wahab bin Amr said, “Allah is pure and He accepts only pure.” As the Quraish didn’t have enough licit funds, they couldn’t reconstruct the Ka’abah in its original rectangular shape and instead made it a cube and made a semi-circle around the extra area and named it the Hateem. The Prophet (PBUH) also participated in renovating the Ka’abah and all was well until a dispute broke out regarding which tribe would place the sacred black stone that had come from the heavens. Each tribe desired the honour and matters flared up to the extent that bloodshed was imminent. Suddenly, a senior chief, Umayyah bin Mugheerah suggested that whosoever would enter the sanctuary next would decide the matter and that person happened to be the Prophet (PBUH). As he was known as Al Saadiq and Al Amin, the people were satisfied with any decision of his and it was decided that the stone be placed upon a cloth, the corners of which would be held by each tribe leader. The cloth was brought towards the Ka’abah and the Prophet (PBUH), himself placed the stone with his blessed hands. This act of the Prophet’s (PBUH) warded off bloodshed amongst the Quraish once again and that too of a petty issue, showcasing the Prophet’s (PBUH) exemplary wisdom.

In conclusion, during his youth, the Prophet (PBUH), acquired numerous social skills and attributes as he interacted and witnessed people with various mindsets. His insight was flawless, and was blessed with the ability to make wise decisions early on in life, a trait distinct from the majority of the youth. Despite being surrounded by ignorant and dishonest people, the Prophet (PBUH) chose to remain honest and developed a sense of intelligence which helped him distance himself from the innumerable vices in Makkah. This is also another characteristic which is rare among the youth, as it requires extreme resilience and will power to avert oneself from depravity and immorality, especially when it's open and easily accessible. Moreover, he remained humble and kind to his people and displayed the attributes of a true young man.

Similar theme was covered in our 6th Seerat club event The Prophet in Making. Highlights from the event can be viewed in the youtube link provided below.