At a glance
Stage 1The Prophet ﷺ lost his mother at six and his grandfather at eight, and was then raised in Makkah by his uncle Abu Talib.
- When
- c. 575 to c. 582 CE
- Where
- Makkah, Yathrib and the road to Ash-Sham
- Known as
- The orphan years
- Key people
- Aminah, Umm Ayman, Abdul-Muttalib, Abu Talib, Fatimah bint Asad
- Key places
- Makkah, Yathrib, al-Abwa, Busra
- Read time
- 3 minutes
Part oneLosing a mother, then a grandfather
In Arabic, a child who has lost his father is called a yatim, an orphan, and the Prophet ﷺ was one before he was born. When he was about six, his mother Aminah took him on a trip to Yathrib. She wanted him to meet his father's relatives there and to visit the grave of Abdullah. A young woman called Umm Ayman (may Allah be pleased with her), who looked after the boy, went with them.
On the road home, Aminah fell ill at a place called al-Abwa, between Yathrib and Makkah, and died there. She was buried at the spot. Umm Ayman brought the boy back to Makkah, and she stayed close to him for the rest of her life. At six, he had lost both his parents. Many years later, he would visit his mother's grave at al-Abwa, and he wept there, and so did those who were with him.
His grandfather Abdul-Muttalib then took him in, and loved him dearly. Abdul-Muttalib was the chief of the Quraysh and was now an old man. He gave water to the pilgrims and fed the guests of the House, and he was known for his generosity. A cushion was set for him in the shade beside the Kaaba, and his sons would stand around it out of respect without sitting on it. The little boy would walk up and sit on it. When his uncles tried to move him, Abdul-Muttalib told them to leave the child alone, because he was sure the boy would have a great future. From that cushion the boy watched the leaders of the tribes come and go, talking over matters of importance.
It did not last. When the Prophet ﷺ was about eight, Abdul-Muttalib died. By the age of eight, he had lost his father, his mother and his grandfather.
From the Quran
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَـَٔاوَىٰ ٦ وَوَجَدَكَ ضَآلًّا فَهَدَىٰ ٧ وَوَجَدَكَ عَآئِلًا فَأَغْنَىٰ ٨
6Did He not find you as an orphan then sheltered you? 7Did He not find you unguided then guided you? 8And did He not find you needy then satisfied your needs?
Part twoAbu Talib's house
Before he died, Abdul-Muttalib had placed the boy in the care of Abu Talib, one of his sons. Abu Talib was a full brother of Abdullah, and he took the boy as his own. He and his wife, Fatimah bint Asad (may Allah be pleased with her), already had children, and the family had little money. She treated her nephew with great tenderness, and the Prophet ﷺ remembered her kindly all his life.
Abu Talib was a respected man among the Quraysh, but he was not rich. As a boy, the Prophet ﷺ helped the household by taking sheep out to graze. Abu Talib became his protector, and he would protect him until his own death, many years later.
An orphan in Makkah had no state to protect him, only his clan, so an uncle's decision mattered a great deal. Abu Talib gave his nephew a place at his table when he already had many mouths to feed, and he gave him his name and his protection. The Quran would later return again and again to the duty of caring for orphans, and the Prophet ﷺ would be known for gentleness towards them. Surah ad-Duha, revealed in later years, reminds the Prophet ﷺ of this time, when Allah found him an orphan and gave him shelter.
When the boy was about twelve, Abu Talib prepared a caravan to Ash-Sham. The boy begged to go along, and his uncle could not refuse him. Busra lay weeks away to the north, along the oasis towns of the Hijaz and across the desert beyond, and it was a first long road for a boy who had grown up between Makkah and the tents of the Bedouin. At Busra, a market town in southern Syria, a Christian monk named Bahira spoke with him. Bahira noticed something in the boy and urged Abu Talib to take him home and keep him safe from those who might wish him harm. Accounts differ on the details of that meeting, but the boy was soon back in Makkah. He grew up there, quiet and observant, in a house that was not his own but always felt like his.
By the age of eight, he had lost his father, his mother and his grandfather.
More on How to Muslim
WatchLectures for this chapter
The mapWhere it happened
- Makkah
- al-Abwa
- Yathrib
- Busra
This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.
SourcesSources for this chapter
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