The beginning of the affair of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the opening of his chest

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).

Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, how did your affair begin?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(I am the result of) the supplication of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and the glad tidings of Sayyiduna Isa (peace be upon him). My mother saw that a light came out of her, and by that light the palaces of Syria were lit up."
Imam Ahmad recorded it, and its chain is hasan (good); this narration has supporting reports (shawahid) that strengthen it. At-Tabarani also recorded it.

Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) had the boldness to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about things that no one else would ask him about. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, what was the first thing you saw concerning the matter of prophethood?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat up straight and said: "O Abu Hurayrah, you have asked an important question. Once I was in the desert, when I was ten years and some months old. Meanwhile I heard the sound of talking above me, and one person was saying to another: 'Is this he?' The other replied: 'Yes.' Then the two of them came towards me from the front, with faces such as I had never seen on any creature, and a fragrance such as I had never found from any creature, and their clothes were such that I had never seen such clothing on anyone's body. The two of them came walking to me until each of them took hold of my upper arm, but I did not feel the touch of either of them. One of them said to the other: 'Lay him down.' The two of them laid me down without any constriction and without breaking any limb. One of them said to the other: 'Split open his chest.' Then one of them bent over my chest and split it open, yet no blood came out and no pain was felt. He said to the other: 'Remove rancour and envy.' So he took out something like a clot of blood and then threw it aside. He said to the other: 'Put mercy and compassion into it.' Then something like silver was brought, similar to what had been taken out. Then he shook the big toe of my right foot and said: 'Get up and be safe.' When I came back from there, my state was that I was gentle towards the young and merciful towards the old."
Abdullah (bin Ahmad) recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy); Ibn Hibban declared them trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Sayyiduna Jibril (peace be upon him) took something out of his belly (that is, the blessed heart) into a basin of gold, washed it and then filled it with wisdom and light, and filled it with wisdom and knowledge. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: part of this narration is mentioned in the Sahih.
At-Tabarani recorded it; its chain contains Rishdin bin Sa'd, whom the majority declared da'if (weak).