Halimah al-Sa'diyyah

Halimah bint Abi Dhu'ayb was the Bedouin woman from the Banu Sa'd ibn Bakr tribe who served as the wet nurse of the infant Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. It was the custom of noble Qurayshi families to send their newborns to the desert to be raised by Bedouin families — the desert air was considered purer, and the children would learn pure Arabic. Halimah came to Mecca one year with a group of women from Banu Sa'd seeking nursing children. The group was reluctant to take the orphan Muhammad ﷺ, as orphans brought no payment from a father. Halimah's own milk was scarce that season, her riding animal was weak, and the year had been one of drought. She and her husband took the orphan Muhammad only because they returned home childless after the other children were taken. From the moment she accepted the infant, blessing poured into her life. Her milk became abundant. The weak riding animal became strong. Her flocks grazed on barren land and returned full of milk while others found nothing. Her tribe noticed: 'Halimah bint Abi Dhu'ayb has found a blessed child!' The Prophet ﷺ spent the first two years with Halimah's family. The most significant event of this period was the opening of the chest (shaqq al-sadr) — when the infant was playing with the other children and the angel Jibril (Gabriel) appeared, opened the Prophet's chest, removed a black clot (described as Shaytan's portion in the son of Adam), washed the heart, and restored it. Halimah and her husband were alarmed when the other children reported seeing the infant Muhammad fall to the ground and turn pale, fearing he had suffered a seizure. They returned him to Aminah in Mecca. Halimah visited the Prophet ﷺ again after his prophethood was declared, and he honored her as a foster mother, spreading his cloak on the ground for her to sit upon.