The Prophet Is Born

One day, while travelling north, one of the Arab tribes from

Mecca met a hermit in the desert. Some of the men stopped to

Speak with him. Hermits were known to be wise and the Arabs

often asked their advice. The hermit asked where they had

come from. When they replied that they were from Mecca, he

told them that Allah would soon send a prophet, who would

come from their people. They asked the name of this prophet

and the hermit answered that his name would be Muhammad

and that he would guide them to a new way of life.

Meanwhile in Mecca, Aminah, although saddened by the loss

of her husband, felt especially well and strong as she awaited

the birth of her baby. During this time she dreamt of many

things. On one occasion it was as if a great light were shining

out of her, and on another she heard a voice telling her that

she would have a boy and that his name would be Muhammad.

She never forgot that voice but she told no one about it.

On Monday, the twelfth day of Rabi al-Awwal in the Year of

the Elephant, Aminah gave birth to a son. Allah sends man

many signs when one of His chosen Prophets is born and on

that twelfth day of Rabi al-Awwal in the year 570 A.D, many

such signs were seen. Some were seen by Jewish scholars who

had read in their scriptures of a coming Prophet. One of these

learned men in Yathrib, for instance, saw a brilliant new star

he had never seen before as he studied the heavens that

night. He called the people around him and, pointing the star

out to them, told them a Prophet must have been born. That

same night another Jew was passing by the meeting place of

the leaders of Quraysh in Mecca. He asked them if a baby boy

had just been born and told them that if it were true, this

would be the Prophet of the Arab nation.

Aminah sent news of the birth to her father-in-law, 'Abd al-

Muttalib, who was sitting near the Ka'bah at the time. He was

very happy and began at once to think of a name for the boy.

An ordinary name would not do. Six days came and went and

still he had not decided. But on the seventh day, as he lay

asleep near the Ka’bah, 'Abd al-Muttalib dreamt that he should

give the baby the unusual name of Muhammad, just as

Aminah herself had dreamt. And the child was called

Muhammad (pbuh), which means 'the Praised One'. When 'Abd

al-Muttalib told the leaders of Quraysh what he had named his

grandson, many of them asked, 'Why did you not choose the

sort of name that is used by our people?' At once he replied, 'I

want him to be praised by Allah in the heavens and praised by

men on earth.