Growing up in the care and love of his uncle Abu Talib
After the death of Abd-al-Muttalib , his son Abu Talib became the care taker of Muhammad’s pbuh affairs . He always lived with him and loved him more than his own chlidren . He did not eat anything without Muhammad pbuh . First of all the bowl of milk was offered to Muhammad pbuh and then to the other members of his family even the last person drank it . Abu Talib often used to say that Muhammad is the blessed child .
Once upon a time , it was famine in Makkah , the Makkans came to Abu Talib to ask pray for rain . Abu Talib came out with Muhammad pbuh and stood him along the wall of Ka’aba and pray to Allah for rain by his delegacy . There was not a single piece of cloud at the sky at that time , suddenly the clouds came and it ranied heavily until the valley filled with water . Abu Talib had described this incident in a poetic phrase ;
وابیض یستسقی الغمام بوجھہٖ
ثمال الیتامیٰ، عصمة للا رامل
” The white face , by his delegacy the rains are requested for
The shelter of orphans , the guardian of the widows “
Ibn e Jozi had reported in his book ” Alwafa bi ahwal e Mustafa ” that when Muhammad pbuh was about ten years old , he travelled to Yemen , with his uncle Zubair bin Abd-al-Muttalib . On their way , they had to face a camel which was making hurdles for travellers to cross the valley . When this camel saw Muhammad pbuh , he knelt down before him . Muhammad rode on it until they crossed the valley, then he left the camel . Another incident of the same journey was that when the carvan was near a valley , they saw it was filled with water and it was impossible to cross it in this condition . Muhammad pbuh said , ” follow me ” . He entered the valley , the Lord Almighty made the valley dry for him , so they all crossed it easily . When they reached Makkah and told all what happened to them , all the Makkans said , ” This child will be of the great dignity . ”
Ibn e Sa’ad and Ibn e Asaakir ( famous Muslim historians ) had mentioned in their books that when the Prophet pbuh was of twelve years old , Quraysh prepared a trade carvan to Syria . Abu Talib was going with them and he took Muhammad pbuh with him . When they reached Basrah , they stayed under a tree , near a church . In this church lived a monk called Bahira , who was the scholar of the old scriptures .
Bahira saw the carvan in the distance and was amazed to see that over it was a large white cloud which appeared to be shading one of the travellers . He was more surprised when he saw that the cloud seemed to follow the carvan disappeared when the person it was shading sat down under the tree . Bahira knew from the scripts that the Last Messenger of God , after Jesus , was to come . He believed that the time of that Prophet had arrived .
Bahira sent an invitation to the carvan to come and eat with him . The Quraysh surprised because they often passed by this church but Bahira had never invited them before . However, when they reached there , the monk asked them , ” Is this every one ” ? , ” No ” , said someone , “A boy was left watching the camels . ” Bahira insisted that the boy should join them . The boy was Muhammad pbuh. When Muhammad pbuh reached there the monk tried to make him swear by the idols in the Ka’aba . Muhammad pbuh said , ” There is nothing in this world I hate more . ” Then he took oath by the name of Allah Almighty and asked some questions . What was said made Bahira certain that he was indeed the Prophet of Allah .
Bahira asked Abu Talib , “Who is this of you ? ” , he replied , ” My son ” . Bahira said that it was not possible because the boy was destined to be grow up as orphan . Then Abu Talib told him that he was his nephew , his father was died before his birth. Bahira said , ” Now you have told the truth . He advised Abu Talib to take the child back to Makkah because if the Jews would know about him they would try to harm the child. He insisted too much that Abu Talib cancelled his further journey and came back to Makkah with him.
Muhammad pbuh used to take the family’s sheep to graze , while they grazed , he would sit thinking about the mysteries of nature . He never worshipped idols and never swore by them . He was a quiet thoughtful boy and rare played with other boys of his age . On one occasion , however, he went with some of the boys of his age to see a wedding in Makkah but when they reached near , suddenly he felt tired and asleep and thus missed the music and dance and all the celebrations . In this way Allah prevented him from doing anything foolish for He Almighty was keeping Muhammad pbuh much more important .
