Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 13841

Sayyiduna Utbah bin Abd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), saying: "O Messenger of Allah, how did your affair begin?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "My nurse was from Banu Sa'd bin Bakr. Once her son and I were among the young animals, and we had nothing with us to eat. I said: 'O my brother, go and bring us something to eat from our mother.' My brother went and I stayed with the animals. Meanwhile two white birds came, which looked like two vultures. One of them said to the other: 'Is this he?' The other said: 'Yes.' The two of them rushed to me, seized me and laid me flat on my back. They split open my belly, then took out my heart, split it, and took out of it two black clots. Then one of them said to the other: 'Bring me snow water.' The two of them washed my abdomen with that water. Then he said: 'Bring me hail water.' They washed my heart with it. Then he said: 'Bring me tranquillity (sakinah).' They placed it in my heart. Then one of them said to the other: 'Stitch him up.' He stitched him up and placed the seal of prophethood on him." In one narration the words are: "Place the seal of prophethood on him." "One of them said to the other: 'Put him in one pan of the scale and put a thousand of his nation in the other pan.'" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When I saw the thousand people above me, I feared that some of them might fall on me. He said: 'If his entire nation were weighed against him, he would outweigh them all.' Then the two of them went away and left me, and I became very frightened. Then I came to my mother and told her about what I had encountered. She too became anxious for me, fearing that something had befallen me, and she said: 'I commit you to the protection of Allah.' Then she saddled her camel, mounted me on the saddle with her and sat behind me herself, until we reached my mother. Sayyidah Halimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: 'I have fulfilled my trust and my responsibility.' Then she told my mother about the situation I had faced, and my mother was not alarmed by it. She said: 'I saw a light come out of me by which the palaces of Syria were lit up.'"
Imam Ahmad and at-Tabarani recorded it, though he (at-Tabarani) did not quote its text; the chain of Imam Ahmad is hasan (good).