Childhood of the Prophet ﷺ ─ Narrations on Ḥalīmah al-Sa‘diyyah, His Mother, and His Grandfather
Compiled by: Abu Abdul Aziz Muhammad Yusuf Madani
✦ Introduction
Books of Sīrah narrate a lengthy story about how the Prophet ﷺ, in his infancy, was sent to the tribe of Banī Sa‘d to be nursed, where Ḥalīmah al-Sa‘diyyah رضي الله عنها took care of him. It is said that blessings descended upon her household during this period, and after two years she insisted on keeping him longer due to those blessings.
This story is very popular among the masses, but what is the authenticity of its chain? Let us examine it in light of hadith criticism.
✦ The Story as Reported
➊ According to Ibn Isḥāq, Ḥalīmah al-Sa‘diyyah said:
“I went with my husband and a young child in search of suckling infants during a time of drought. My donkey was weak and my she-camel’s milk had dried up. When we reached Makkah, no woman agreed to take the Prophet ﷺ since he was an orphan. At last, I took him, and through his presence, blessings came to our household. By the age of two he had grown strong and healthy. When we returned him to his mother, I insisted on keeping him longer due to the blessings we experienced.”
References: Sīrah Ibn Hishām (1/162–164), Ar-Raheeq al-Makhtoom (p. 85–87)✦ Research and Analysis
The story is weak in chain.Shaykh al-Albani رحمه الله (Al-Difā‘ ‘an al-Hadīth al-Nabawī wa al-Sīrah, p. 39–40):
• The story is not established with a chain fit for proof.
• The well-known chain is: Muhammad ibn Isḥāq → Jahm ibn Abī Jahm → ‘Abdullah ibn Ja‘far → Ḥalīmah.
• Ibn Isḥāq was a mudallis and there is discontinuity in the chain.
• Jahm ibn Abī Jahm is majhool al-ḥaal; no other report is narrated from him.
Other Routes:
• Abū Nu‘aym and al-Bayhaqi narrate it via al-Wāqidī, who is extremely weak and accused of lying.
• Other isnads contain unknown narrators, thus also unreliable.
Scholarly Opinions:
• Imam al-Dhahabi once remarked: “The chain of this story is sound,” but later scholars clarified this was a slip.
• Ibn Kathīr said: “The story is well-known among sīrah authors, but its chain is strange (gharīb).”
• Ibn ‘Asākir: “It is a very weak narration; its wordings do not appear sound.”
✦ Subsequent Childhood Events
➊ Return to Mother’s Care
Ḥalīmah reportedly returned him to his mother Āminah after sensing danger, and he remained with her until the age of six.
→ Reported in Musnad Ahmad, Sunan al-Dārimī, Mustadrak al-Hakim, but in its chain is Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd (mudallis) without explicit proof of hearing. Hence, weak. (Akram al-‘Umari, al-Sīrah al-Sahīhah 1/105)
➋ Journey to Madinah and Mother’s Death
It is said that Āminah took him to Madinah and passed away on the return journey at Abwā’.
→ No authentic narration supports this account. (Akram al-‘Umari, al-Sīrah al-Sahīhah 1/105)
➌ Care under His Grandfather ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib
Ibn Hishām reports: ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib would spread a carpet near the Ka‘bah, and the Prophet ﷺ as a child would sit beside him.
→ The isnad is disconnected, as Ibn Isḥāq narrated through an unknown source. Al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Sa‘d also narrated via al-Wāqidī (abandoned).
Even the report of ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib’s death and entrusting the Prophet ﷺ to Abū Ṭālib comes only through weak chains.
✦ Conclusion
① The detailed story of Ḥalīmah al-Sa‘diyyah is famous in sīrah books but weak and not suitable as proof.
② The accounts of his stay with his mother and the journey to Madinah are also not authentically established.
③ Narrations of his upbringing under ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib are weak in chain.
④ Scholars have clarified that these are popular sīrah reports but not authentic hadith reports.
Therefore, the childhood stories of the Prophet ﷺ are to be seen as popular narrations of sīrah but not proven through sound hadith chains.