The Life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

The Prophet Is Born

  The Prophet Is Born 

One day, while travelling north, one of the Arab tribes from Mecca met ahermit in the desert. Some of the men stopped to speak with him. Hermitswere known to be wise and the Arabs often asked their advice. Thehermit asked where they had come from. When they replied that theywere from Mecca, he told them that Allah would soon send a prophet,who would come from their people. They asked the name of this prophetand the hermit answered that his name would be Muhammad and that hewould guide them to a new way of life  

  Meanwhile in Mecca, Aminah, although saddened by the loss of herhusband, felt especially well and strong as she awaited the birth of herbaby. During this time she dreamt of many things. On one occasion it wasas if a great light were shining out of her, and on another she heard avoice telling her that she would have a boy and that his name would beMuhammad. She never forgot that voice but she told no one about it. 

On Monday, the twelfth day of Rabi al-Awwal in the Year of theElephant, Aminah gave birth to a son. Allah sends man many signs whenone of His chosen Prophets is born and on that twelfth day of Rabi alAwwalin the year 570 A.D, many such signs were seen. Some were seenby Jewish scholars who had read in their scriptures of a coming Prophet. 

One of these learned men in Yathrib, for instance, saw a brilliant new starhe had never seen before as he studied the heavens that night. He calledthe people around him and, pointing the star out to them, told them aProphet must have been born. That same night another Jew was passingby the meeting place of the leaders of Quraysh in Mecca. He asked themif a baby boy had just been born and told them that if it were true, thiswould be the Prophet of the Arab nation.  

  Aminah sent news of the birth to her father-in-law, 'Abd al-Muttalib, whowas sitting near the Ka'bah at the time. He was very happy and began atonce to think of a name for the boy. An ordinary name would not do. Sixdays came and went and still he had not decided. But on the seventh day,as he lay asleep near the Ka'bah, 'Abd al-Muttalib dreamt that he shouldgive the baby the unusual name of Muhammad, just as Aminah herselfhad dreamt. And the child was called Muhammad (pbuh), which means'the Praised One'. 

When 'Abd al-Muttalib told the leaders of Qurayshwhat he had named his grandson, many of them asked, 'Why did you not choose the sort of name that is used by our people?' At once he replied, 'Iwant him to be praised by Allah in the heavens and praised by men onearth.'