Being thankful and having appreciation of one who offers good is praised so much that the Holy Quran addresses “Shakir” and “Shakour” among the holy name of Allah (SWT) and additionally says: “Allah will reward the thankful”1
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) was a true practitioner of this verse and always said:
“One who does not thank people [for their good] has not thanked Allah (SWT).”2
“One who does not thank people [for their good] has not thanked Allah (SWT).”2
Historians have written that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) lived with Bani Sa’d tribe until the age five and after that Halimah returned the Prophet to his mother Amina; the Messenger of Allah remain appreciative of Halimah and her children throughout his life and often would recall memories of his childhood3. It has been narrated that after the great Prophet (PBUH&HP) marriage with Khadija, Halimah came to Mecca; she complain about the drought in her area and drastic loss of livestock. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP) shared the matter with Lady Khadija, and Khadija (PBUH) gave 40 sheep and one camel to Halimah. With that, Halima returned to her clan very prosperous and returned once more after the birth of Islam and start of Prophet Mohammad’s misson came to Mecca and submitted to Islam and became Muslims. It has been reported that in the war of Hunain in Je’raneh, Halimah came to the Prophet of Allah and the Prophet (PBUH&HP) stood in front of her as a sign of respect and prepared an area for her to sit.
During the blockade of Taef, Muslim soldiers took Shima, the foster sister of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP), captive. She introduced herself to them and said, “I am the foster sister of your leader.”4 They took her to the Messenger (PBUH&HP) and reported what she had said. The Holy Prophet (PBUH&HP) asked for proof, to which she provided. The Prophet (PBUH&HP) was convinced and gave his respects. With tears in his eyes he said, “If you want, I can return you to your tribe, and if you want, you are welcome to stay with us in respect and dearness.” Shima expressed that she wanted to return to her tribe. She then became Muslim and the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HP) gave her several camels and sheep to take with her. It was in this manner, that the Holy Prophet expressed his appreciation to Halima.
(Selection taken from The Life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him and His Progeny) by Sayyed Hashim Rasuli Mahallati)
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Footnotes:
1. The Holy Quran, 3:144
2. Al-Faqih, vol. 2, pg. 343
3. The main reason on sending the Prophet while infant to early childhood to a remote location was primarily fear of his life. Based on the versus of the holy Quran, some groups of Jews/Christians had some signs for a child whose religion would take over the world and would endanger their very existence. Thus they were after finding this child to kill him. Thus, Abdul Mutallib and Wahab Ibn AbdulManaf (Amina’s father) who were amongst the wealthy men of Mecca decided to send the grandchild to a remote location and allow Halimah Sa’diyah as a foster parent and caregiver to grow the little Muhammad, far away from the eyes of those who had ill intentions (Correct History of Islam by Muhammad Niknam ArabShahi, vol. 1, pg. 114) OR Drought was a common problem for tribes outside of Mecca per their geographical location. Thus, such tribes always sought a way to earn additional income through caregiving to the children of wealthy families and breastfeeding their infants. This was also an advantage for the families to send off their infants and young children in the city as much disease lived within the city especially for infants and young children; this also saved them from other incidents, which normally takes place in a city. Further the children learned genuine Arabic by not being exposed to several dialects when away from the city. (Forouq Abadiat, Ja’far Subhani, vol. 1, pg.159)
4. The daughter of a woman who breastfeeds another boy, becomes a foster sister to that boy. This is equivalent to a biological sister.