حَلِيمَةُ بِنْتُ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ السَّعْدِيَّةُ «وَاسْمُ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ حِبَّانِ بْنِ سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرٍ مِنْ بَنِي سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرِ بْنِ هَوَازِنَ وَهِيَ أُمُّ رَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ الَّتِي أَرْضَعَتْهُ وفَصَلَتْهُ»
[Machine] Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb al-Sa'diyyah, the nursing mother of the Prophet ﷺ , informed me that she said, "We were afflicted with a year of drought in which nothing was left for us. So we set out, a group of women from the tribe of Sa'd ibn Bakr, to seek nursing in Makkah. When we arrived in Makkah, there was not a single woman among us whom the Prophet of Allah ﷺ did not propose to marry. Some accepted and some refused. This was because he had no father and the Arabs used to hope for goodness from their fathers. The women used to say, 'What will I do with him? How can his mother, who is like my mother, dislike him?' So, he was offered to me, and I accepted him. There was not a woman from my people who did not find a nursing infant. When they were about to return to their lands, I feared that I would go back without an infant. So, I said to my husband, 'If I were to take that orphaned boy, it would be better than going back without a nursing infant.' So, I went to his mother and took him from her, and I brought him to my home. I had a son whom I was nursing, and he used to stay awake at night due to hunger and would not sleep. But when I placed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on my bosom, he would suckle from me until he was satisfied. He suckled, and his brother also confirmed this. Then he went to sleep and my husband woke up in the middle of the night to go to Sham (Syria). I feared that they would both starve. So, I said to him, 'Take him to his people before any harm comes to him.' He said, 'O daughter of Wahb! I think that this boy is blessed. Then he informed me of what the fortune teller had told him, so I informed him of what I had seen with my own eyes. We set out on our animals. They used to say that we left nothing that resembled a red camel except that they would complain to it, saying, 'Woe to you! Where are you going, being led by the shepherd of the daughter of Abi Dhuayb?' This continued until there was a day when we were behind our houses in Bani Sa'd. As we were playing, his brother came running to us and said, 'That Quraishi boy has been killed. So we hurried to reach him, me and his father. When we arrived, we found him lying motionless. His father took him from me and said, 'I don't see this boy except that he has been harmed. Take him back to his family before things get worse for us.' I didn't have any inclination to do so, until I took him to his mother in Makkah and I said to her, 'O Zahrah! I have weaned my son and he has been freed from the illness. So, return him to his family.' She said, 'Why are you in such a hurry to get rid of him? Weren't you asking me to leave him with you? It's as if you feared that Satan would harm him. First, let me tell you about me and him. When I gave birth to him, I saw a light emanating from me that illuminated the castles of Busra in Sham.'"
حَدَّثَتْنِي حَلِيمَةُ بِنْتُ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ السَّعْدِيَّةُ مِنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرِ بْنِ هَوَازِنَ وَهِيَ أُمُّ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ الَّتِي أَرْضَعَتْهُ وفَصَلَتْهُ أَنَّهَا حَدَّثَتْ قَالَتْ أَصَابَتْنَا سَنَةٌ شَهْبَاءَ فَلَمْ تُبْقِ لَنَا شَيْئًا فَخَرَجْنَا فِي نِسْوَةٍ مِنْ بَنِي سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرٍ إِلَى مَكَّةَ نَلْتَمِسُ الرُّضَعَاءَ فَلَمَّا قَدِمْنَا مَكَّةَ لَمْ تَبْقَ مِنَّا امْرَأَةٌ إِلَّا عُرِضَ عَلَيْهَا نَبِيُّ اللهِ ﷺ فَتَأْبَاهُ وتَكْرَهُهُ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ لَا أَبَ لَهُ وَكَانَتِ الظُّوراتُ إِنَّمَا يَرْجُونَ الْخَيْرَ مِنَ الْآبَاءِ وَكَانَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ تَقُولُ مَا أَصْنَعُ بِهَذَا؟ مَا عَسَى أَنْ تَصْنَعَ بِي أُمُّهُ فَيَكْرَهْنَهُ قَالَتْ فَعُرِضَ عَلَيَّ فَأَبَيْتُهُ فَلَمْ تَبْقَ امْرَأَةٌ مِنْ قَوْمِي إِلَّا وَجَدَتْ رَضِيعًا وَحَضَرَ انْصِرافُهُنَّ إِلَى بِلادِهِنَّ فَخَشِيتُ أَنْ أَرْجِعَ بِغَيْرِ رَضِيعٍ فَقُلْتُ لِزَوْجِي لَوْ أَخَذْتُ ذَاكَ الْغُلَامَ الْيَتِيمَ كَانَ أَمْثَلَ مِنْ أَنْ أَرْجِعَ بِغَيْرِ رَضِيعٍ فَجِئْتُ إِلَى أُمِّهِ فَأَخَذْتُهُ وَجِئْتُ بِهِ إِلَى مَنْزِلِي وَكَانَ لِي ابْنٌ أُرْضِعُهُ وَكَانَ يَسْهَرُ كَثِيرًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ جُوعًا مَا يَنَامُ فَلَمَّا أَلْقَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ عَلَى ثَدْيَيَّ أقْبَلَا عَلَيْهِ بِمَا شَاءَ مِنَ اللَّبَنِ حَتَّى رَوَى وَرَوَى أَخُوهُ وَنَامَ وَقَامَ زَوْجِي فِي جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ إِلَى شَافٍ مَعَنَا وَاللهِ أَنْ يَبُضَّ بِقَطْرَةٍ قَالَتْ فَوَقَعَتْ يَدُهُ عَلَى ضَرْعِهَا فَإِذَا هُوَ حَافِلٌ مِحْلَبٌ فَجَاءَنِي فَقَالَ يَا ابْنَةَ وَهْبٍ وَاللهِ إِنِّي لَأَحْسَبُ هَذِهِ النَّسَمَةَ مُبَارَكَةً ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَنِي خَبَرَ الشَّارِفِ فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ خَبَرَ مَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْ ثَدْيَيَّ تِلْكَ اللَّيْلَةِ فَخَرَجْنَا عَلَى أَتَانٍ لَنَا كَانَتْ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ مَا يَلْحَقُ الْحُمُرَ ضَعْفًا فَلَمَّا صِرْنَا عَلَيْهَا مُتَوَجِّهِينَ إِلَى بِلَادِنَا كَانَتْ تَقْدُمَ الْقَوْمِ حَتَّى يَصِحْنَ بِي وَيْحَكِ يَا ابْنَةَ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ قُطِعْتِ مِنَّا إِنَّ لِأتانِكِ هَذِهِ لَشَأْنًا قَالَتْ فَقَدِمْنَا بِهِ بِلَادَ بَنِي سَعْدِ بْنِ بَكْرٍ لَا نَتَعَرَّفُ إِلَّا الْبَرَكَةَ حَتَّى إِنْ كَانَ رَاعِينَا لَيَذْهَبُ بِغَنَمِنا فَيَرْعاها وَيَبْعَثُ قَوْمُنَا بِأغْنامِهِمْ فَإِذَا كَانَ عِنْدَ اللَّيْلِ رَاحُوا فَتَجِيءُ أَغْنامُنا بِحُفْلانٍ مَا مِنْ أَغْنَامِهِمْ شَاةٌ تَبِضُّ بِقَطْرَةٍ فَيَقُولُونَ لِرُعْيانِهِمْ وَيْلَكُمِ ارْعَوْا حَيْثُ يَرْعَى رَاعِي بِنْتِ أَبِي ذُؤَيْبٍ قَالَتْ فَلَمْ يَزَلْ كَذَلِكَ مَعَنَا فَكَانَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ خَلْفَ بُيُوتِنَا فِي بِهِمٍ لَنَا هُوَ وَأَخُوهُ يَلْعَبَانِ إِذْ جَاءَ أَخُوهُ يَسْعَى فَقَالَ ذَاكَ أَخِي الْقُرَشِيُّ قَدْ قُتِلَ فَجِئْنَا نُبادِرُهُ أَنَا وَأَبُوهُ فَتَلَقَّانَا مُنْتَقِعَ اللَّوْنِ فَجَعَلْنَا نَضُمُّهُ إِلَيْنَا أَنَا مَرَّةً وَأَبُوهُ مَرَّةً نَقُولُ لَهُ مَا لَكَ يَا بُنَيُّ فَيَقُولُ لَا أَدْرِي أَتَانِي رَجُلَانِ فَصَرَعانِي فَشَقَّا بَطْنِي فَجَعَلَا يَسُوطانِهِ فَأَقْبَلَ عَلَيَّ أَبُوهُ فَقَالَ مَا أَرَى هَذَا الْغُلَامَ إِلَّا قَدْ أُصِيبَ فَبَادِرِي بِهِ أَهْلَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَتَفَاقَمَ بِهِ الْأَمْرُ عِنْدَنَا قَالَتْ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِي هِمَّةٌ حَتَّى أقْدَمْتُهُ مَكَّةَ عَلَى أُمِّهِ وَقُلْتُ لَهَا يَا ظِئْرُ إِنِّي قَدْ فَصَلْتُ ابْنِي وَارْتَفَعَ عَنِ الْعَاهَةِ فَأَخْبِلِيهِ فَقَالَتْ مَا لَكِ زاهدةٌ فِيهِ قَدْ كُنْتِ تَسْأَلِيني أَنْ أَتْرُكَهُ عِنْدَكِ كَأَنَّكِ خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانَ أَوَّلًا أُحَدِّثُكِ عَنِّي وَعَنْهُ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ حِينَ وَلَدْتُهُ أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ مِنِّي نُورٌ أَضَاءَتْ مِنْهُ قُصُورُ بُصْرَى مِنْ أَرْضِ الشَّامِ