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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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Treasures of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).

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His childhood, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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and the incident of the opening of his noble chest.

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And so the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, remained among Banu Sa'd

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until he reached four or five years of age,

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when a remarkable event occurred.

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Namely, that while the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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was playing with the other boys, Gabriel came to him.

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He took hold of him, laid him down, and split open his chest.

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He extracted his heart and removed a blood clot from it,

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saying, "This was Satan's share in you."

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He then washed it in a golden basin with Zamzam water,

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and restored it to its place.

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The boys came rushing to his foster mother, crying out,

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"Muhammad has been killed!"

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For they had seen the angel come to him, split open his chest, and take out his heart.

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So Halimah and her husband rushed out to inspect where the Prophet, peace be upon him, had supposedly been slain.

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They found him standing upright, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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yet pale in complexion,

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as this experience was naturally shocking for him, peace be upon him.

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And this was one of the signs of Allah, Blessed and Exalted.

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And Allah, the Majestic and Exalted, has power over all things.

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Thereupon, Halimah feared for the Prophet, peace be upon him,

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and returned him to his mother.

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Treasures of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).

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The passing of his mother, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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When he reached six years of age,

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his mother set out with him to visit his father's grave along the road to Medina.

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She visited his father's grave,

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accompanied on this journey by his grandfather, 'Abd al-Muttalib,

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and her maidservant, Umm Ayman.

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After she had visited his father's grave,

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and while they were on the road back to Mecca,

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his mother passed away, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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at a place between Mecca and Medina

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called al-Abwa'.

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Thus, after having been fatherless, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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became orphaned of both father and mother at the age of six.

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May my father and mother be ransomed for him!

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Then his grandfather took custody of him and raised him.

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But when he reached eight years of age,

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his grandfather, 'Abd al-Muttalib, passed away.

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So his uncle Abu Talib took him in and nurtured him

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until he reached manhood, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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Abu Talib fulfilled his duty toward our master Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the finest manner,

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often favoring him even over his own children.

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When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, reached twelve years of age,

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he traveled with his uncle Abu Talib to the Levant on a trading expedition.

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The caravan passed by a monk named Bahira

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in a place called Busra.

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When Abu Talib and his companions stopped there,

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the monk treated them with lavish hospitality, and then asked,

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"Who is with you?"

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They said, "Just us."

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He asked, "Is there anyone else with you?"

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They replied, "We have a young boy guarding our provisions."

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He said, "Bring him to me."

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When the Prophet, peace be upon him, arrived

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and Bahira the monk saw him,

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he scrutinized his face.

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For he knew that this was the appointed time for a prophet to emerge.

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He then searched

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and found the Seal of Prophethood:

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an elevated mark on the Prophet's upper back, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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about the size of a pigeon's egg.

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Bahira said to Abu Talib,

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"When you approached from the mountain pass,

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not a single rock or tree remained except that it fell prostrate,

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and they do not prostrate except for a prophet.

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I recognize him by the Seal of Prophethood below the cartilage of his shoulder blade, like an apple,

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as we find it described in our scriptures.

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So take him back,

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for I fear for him from the Jews."

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So he took him back to Mecca.

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Al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"This hadith is extremely munkar (unacceptable).

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Where was Abu Bakr at that time?

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He would have been ten years old,

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since he was two and a half years younger than the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.

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And where was Bilal at that time?

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For Abu Bakr only purchased him after the Prophet's mission began;

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indeed, he was not even born yet!

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Furthermore:

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if a cloud was constantly shading him,

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how could the tree's shadow be said to lean toward him?

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For the shadow of the cloud would cancel out the shadow of the tree under which he sat.

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Moreover, we never find the Prophet, peace be upon him, ever reminding Abu Talib of what the monk said,

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nor did Quraysh ever discuss it among themselves,

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nor did those elder shaykhs recount it,

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despite their keen interest and motivation to report such things.

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Had it truly occurred,

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it would have become exceedingly famous among them,

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and there would have remained with him, peace be upon him, an awareness of his impending prophethood;

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he would not have been alarmed when the revelation first came to him in the cave of Hira',

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nor would he have gone to Khadijah fearing for his sanity,

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nor would he have sought mountain peaks in distress, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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Furthermore, if such fear had genuinely affected Abu Talib causing him to send him back,

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how could he later have willingly permitted him to travel to the Levant trading on behalf of Khadijah?

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Moreover, the hadith contains objectionable expressions reminiscent of Sufi lore."

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He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, also attended the Alliance of the Virtuous (Hilf al-Fudul),

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and that was when he reached fifteen years of age.

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This alliance was convened by Banu Hashim, Banu al-Muttalib,

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Banu Asad, Banu Zuhrah, and Banu Taym.

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They gathered in the house of 'Abdullah ibn Jud'an al-Taymi,

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on account of his seniority and nobility,

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and pledged that they would not find an oppressed person in Mecca—

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whether one of its residents or an outsider—

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without aiding him and securing his rightful dues.

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Later, the Prophet, peace be upon him, would say:

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"I witnessed an alliance in the house of 'Abdullah ibn Jud'an;

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I would not exchange it for the finest red camels,

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and were I invited to it in Islam, I would uphold it."

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Red camels were the most prized camels,

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highly coveted and cherished by the Arabs.

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Treasures of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).

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The misconception regarding the Prophet's exposure, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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In the Sahihayn, it is narrated on the authority of Jabir ibn 'Abdillah, may Allah be pleased with them both,

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who related that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

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was carrying stones with them for the reconstruction of the Ka'bah

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while wearing his waist-wrapper.

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His uncle al-'Abbas said to him,

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"O my nephew!

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If only you would loosen your waist-wrapper and place it over your shoulder under the stones."

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He said: So he loosened it

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and placed it upon his shoulder,

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whereupon he fell unconscious.

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He said:

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And never after that day was he seen unclothed.

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Now, innovators have raised objections, claiming:

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"How could the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, be uncovered?"

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alleging that this narration is a fabrication against the Prophet, peace be upon him.

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The response to them is threefold:

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First:

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This hadith has an authentic chain of transmission without any defect;

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Imam al-Bukhari recorded it in his Sahih,

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in the Book of Prayer,

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under the chapter: "The Dislike of Uncovering Oneself in Prayer and Otherwise."

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Furthermore, this incident took place before the Prophet's commission, peace be upon him.

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Al-Zuhri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

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"When Quraysh rebuilt the Ka'bah,

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the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had not yet reached puberty."

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Second:

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Uncovering is permissible according to scholars

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when justified by an overriding legal interest,

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such as the permissibility of being uncovered during medical treatment.

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Thus, the uncovering of the Prophet, peace be upon him,

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occurred, first of all, before his commission,

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and secondly, it was done for a practical purpose:

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to place his garment upon his shoulder

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to cushion it while carrying heavy stones,

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and for an act of worship dedicated to Allah, the Majestic and Exalted,

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namely, the reconstruction of the Ka'bah.

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A similar situation occurred with the Prophet of Allah, Moses, peace be upon him,

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when his people slandered his physical wholeness,

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“O ye who believe! Be not as those who slandered Moses, but Allah proved his innocence of that which they alleged, and he was well esteemed in Allah's sight.” (33:69)

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as recorded by the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim)

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from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,

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from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:

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"The Children of Israel used to bathe unclothed,

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looking at one another,

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whereas Moses, peace be upon him,

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used to bathe alone.

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They said,

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'By Allah, nothing prevents Moses

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from bathing with us

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except that he has a scrotal hernia.'

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Once, he went to bathe

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and laid his garment upon a stone,

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whereupon the stone rolled away with his clothes.

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Moses ran after it, calling out,

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'My clothes, O stone! My clothes, O stone!'

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until the Children of Israel looked at Moses

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and said,

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'By Allah, there is no defect in Moses!'

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He then took his garment

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and began striking the stone."

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Abu Hurayrah said,

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"By Allah, the stone bore six or seven marks from the blows."

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Third:

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The hadith does not state that he was uncovered in the sight of people, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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Fourth:

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Even when he briefly loosened it before his uncle alone,

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it was not allowed to persist; he immediately collapsed unconscious,

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and he was never seen unclothed thereafter.

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Treasures of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).

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Before the Prophetic Mission:

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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to tend sheep during that period

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for modest wages from the people of Mecca.

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It is narrated on the authority of Jabir who said:

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We were with the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, at Marr al-Zahran,

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gathering the fruit of the arak tree (al-kabath),

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which is the berry of the arak tree—

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the tooth-stick tree.

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The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said,

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"Pick the black ones, for they are the best."

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He said:

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We asked, "O Messenger of Allah!

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Did you use to tend sheep?"

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He said, "Yes."

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And he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

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"Allah never sent a prophet but that he shepherded sheep."

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His Companions asked,

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"Even you?"

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He said, "Yes,

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I used to shepherd them for modest wages for the people of Mecca."

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The scholars observed:

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Perhaps the wisdom behind inspiring the prophets to tend sheep prior to prophethood

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was to train them through pasturing them

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for the future burden of guiding and managing their Ummah.

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For in tending sheep,

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they cultivated forbearance and deep compassion;

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since patiently shepherding them, rounding them up when scattered across pastures,

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and defending them from predators

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accustomed them to being patient with the Ummah.

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Sheep in particular were chosen for this

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because they are gentler and weaker than other livestock,

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and they scatter far more easily than camels or cattle.

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Following his time as a shepherd,

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the Prophet, peace be upon him, engaged in trade.

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Treasures of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah):

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His Marriage, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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News reached Khadijah bint Khuwaylid describing the Prophet, peace be upon him,

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and praising his noble character and trustworthiness.

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She therefore sent for him

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and offered him the opportunity to travel to the Levant trading with her merchandise.

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Khadijah was among the noblest of her people from Banu Asad—

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and she sent with him her servant named Maysarah.

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The Prophet, peace be upon him, departed with her wealth and traded on her behalf.

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Upon his return to Mecca,

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Maysarah informed her of what he had observed in the Prophet, peace be upon him:

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his exceptional character, honorable conduct,

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and the extraordinary blessings that accompanied him.

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All of this filled her with deep admiration for him,

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and she shared her high regard for him with her close friends.

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Among them was a dear friend named Nafisah.

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Thereupon, Nafisah approached the Prophet, peace be upon him,

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and suggested that he marry Khadijah.

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He accepted, peace be upon him,

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and went accompanied by his uncles to Khadijah's uncle,

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and the marriage was concluded.

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According to the most well-known view, she was forty years old,

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though it is also said she was twenty-eight,

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while the Prophet, peace be upon him, was twenty-five.

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The Prophet, peace be upon him, loved her with an immense love,

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and he never took another wife during her lifetime.

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His Children with Khadijah, peace be upon him:

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Allah, Blessed and Exalted, blessed him with children through Khadijah;

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she bore him 'Abdullah, al-Qasim, Fatimah, Zaynab,

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Ruqayyah, and Umm Kulthum, may Allah be pleased with them.

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Treasures of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah).