Halima Sadia was anArabic Beduin woman. She was a foster mother and took care of theprophetMuhammad for the first four years of his life. Halimah and her husband were from the tribe ofSa'd b. Bakr (a large North Arabian tribe).[1]
Foster mothers came toMecca to feed children. It was the custom at that time inMakkah that families send their children to live for a while with a nurse who lived in the desert. This was healthier for their bodies to be around a natural environment instead of living in the city. They preferred that the fathers of the children they took care of were still alive. Although Muhammad's father was dead, Halimah took him just eight days after he was born. He grew up inHudaybiyah, then inMedina before he was returned to his mother,Aminah bint Wahb.
Years after Muhammad's mother died and he became married toKhadijah, Halimah came to him complaining of her poverty. He asked Khadijah to give her 40 sheep. After Muhammad got his first revelation, Halimah and her husband came to Muhammad and embracedIslam. When she came to Muhammad on the day ofHunayn, he took off his robe and put it on the ground for her to sit.
When the group of foster mothers arrived at theMakkah city and they picked up most of the children, the last nurse arrived with her husband (Al-Harith) riding adonkey and oldcamel. She found only oneorphan boy who had no father to pay her. She was ready to go back but she did not want to return without a baby. She decided to go back and pick up the orphan. As soon as she lifted that boy, her life changed and became filled with immense good fortune and blessings. The old camel, which had not given a drop of milk, was soon over flowing with milk. Although she was the last women leaving makkah on her donkey, she passed her friends. This was indeed a great blessing for her and for this poorBedouin family.
After two years,Muhammad was returned to his motherAmina. She told Amina about the great blessings that she had received whenMuhammad was in her care, but soon, Amina waspersuaded by Halima and her husband (Al-Harith) to return the child back with them for another two years to protect him from a spreading disease inMakkah.