Aaminah bint Wahb (آمنہ بنت وھب) was the mother of Prophet Muhammad . She belonged to the tribe of Banu Zuhra, 1 which was a branch of Quraysh tribe. 2 Her father was Wahb ibn Abd Manaf ibn Zuhra ibn Kilab ibn Murrah ibn Ka‘b ibn Lu’ayy ibn Ghalib ibn Fihr, 3 while her mother’s name was Barra bint Abd Al-Uzza ibn Uthman ibn Abd Al-Dar ibn Qusayy ibn Kilab ibn Murra ibn Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy ibn Ghalib ibn Fihr. 4 Her father was a noble and respected leader of the Quraysh tribe and was considered as one of the best persons of Banu Zuhra tribe. 5
Since her father, Wahb ibn Abd Manaf worshipped Sirius in Makkah, all the Arabs disagreed with him in the matter of religion and called him Abu Kabsha. Similarly, when all the Arabs disagreed with Prophet Muhammad in the matter of religion, during early years of his mission, they called him Ibn Abi Kabsha (Son of Abu Kabsha), referring to his maternal grandfather Wahb. 6
Aaminah did not have any blood brother or sister. 7 However, she had two step brothers, Abd Yaghuth and Ubaid Yaghuth from Wahb’s other wife Da’eefah bint Hashim. 8 This is why, later on, people of Banu Zuhra tribe used to emphasize that they were the maternal uncles of Prophet Muhammad as Aaminah belonged to their tribe. 9
Aaminah was the most excellent woman among the Quraysh tribe in lineage and status, 10 both from the paternal and maternal side as her mother Barra was the daughter of Abd Al-Uzza ibn Uthman, a noble man among the Quraysh from Qusayy’s progeny, 11 while her father was considered as one of the best persons of Banu Zuhra tribe. 12 Thus, the Holy Prophet was the most noble, among the sons of Adam with respect to his descent, both from his father and his mother's side. 13 Aaminah was also valued and respected for her personal qualities and merits, hence, she was appointed as the head of the women of Banu Zuhra tribe. 14 Therefore, Aaminah stood prominent with respect to nobility, decency, dignity, status and lineage.
Aaminah was recognized as a highly esteemed girl from her early age. This fact was not only accepted by the people of her tribe, but was also acknowledged by a famous sorceress of Arabia known as Sawdah bint Zuhra. Al-Halabi cites that once, that famous sorceress or fortune teller of Quraysh visited the tribe of Banu Zuhra. She claimed there was a girl present in that tribe who was marked with greatness. She also said that either the girl herself or her son will soon warn the people about
هذه النذيرة أو تلد نذيرا له شأن وبرهان منيرا. 15
This is the girl who is the Warner or she will beget the Warner
Thus, Aaminah was recognised as a highly esteemed and admired woman of Banu Zuhra tribe, before her marriage with Abdullah , the son of Abdul Muttalib.
فأنت مبعوث إلى الأنام تبعث في الحل وفي الحرام
تبعث في التحقيق والإسلام دين أبيك البر إبراهام
فاللّٰه أنهاك عن الأصنام أن لا تواليها مع الأقوام 20
You are sent to the people, so you can distinguish for them between lawful and unlawful.
You are sent with reality and Islam, which is the religion of your righteous father Abraham .
So, by Allah! refrain from idols, do not ally with those who follow them.
These poetic verses are also quoted by Al-Qastallani, 21 Al-Zurqani, 22 Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Salihi Al-Shami,23 Hussain ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Diyar Bikri 24 and Ahmed ibn Zaini Al-Dahlan, 25 which affirms the fact that Aaminah was a monotheist.
Husain ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan quotes Jalal Al-Din Al-Suyuti and states that both parents of Prophet Muhammad were the forgiven ones, who attained salvation. 26 Furthermore, all of the ancestors of Prophet Muhammad , from Abraham (Ibrahim) till Abdul Muttalib were true believers, who believed in the monotheism of
لم يلتق ابواي قط على سفاح لم يزل اللّٰه ينقلني من الأصلاب الطيبة إلى الأرحام الطاهرة مصفى مهذبا لا تتشعب شعبتان إلا كنت في خيرهما. 28
My ancestors - people in my lineage- never approached adultery. Allah Almighty has consistently transferred me from noble lineages to pure wombs and whenever there were two households; I was placed in the better of the two.The Holy Quran states that the idolaters are impure, 29 and since the Holy Prophet was transferred via pure wombs, Al-Razi 30 and others 31 conclude that none amongst the direct ancestors of Prophet Muhammad , whether a man or woman, was an idol worshipper.
In 569 C.E., the year before the year of elephants, 32 Aaminah was married to Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib , 33 who was known as the best man of Quraysh, both in character and physical appearance. 34 He was an extremely good-looking young man, 35 famous for his dignity and chastity. 36 Regarding Abdullah's beauty, Martin Lings state that he was known as the Joseph of his period. 37 Furthermore, the women of Makkah were fascinated by the incident of sacrificing hundred camels in exchange of Abdullah’s life. Thus, many wanted to marry him 38 but his father Abdul Muttalib, the leader of Banu Hashim branch of Quraysh, wanted to marry his son to a woman of Banu Zuhra tribe. 39
Hence, Abdul Muttalib visited the settlements of Wahb, the leader of Banu Zuhra tribe, with marriage proposals for Aaminah , daughter of Wahb for his son Abdullah and Hala, daughter of Wuhaib, for himself. Both proposals were accepted and thus, Aaminah was married to Abdullah , while her cousin Hala bint Wuhaib was married to Abdul Muttalib on the same day. It was a custom that the groom would live with his wife in her father's family for three nights. So, according to the tribal custom, Abdullah lived with Aaminah among her kinsfolks for first three days of the marriage. 40
Some historians have mentioned a number of stories about Abdullah's marriage with other women besides Aaminah , but those accounts have not been proven to be true. 41 Furthermore, it is an established fact that he was never married before or after his marriage with Aaminah . 42
On Friday, in the month of Dhu Al-Hajj, she conceived the Messenger of Allah . 43 Other historians suggest that, it occurred in the month of Rajab, 44 but those narrations are considered to be weak and the first narration is deemed to be authentic. The period of pregnancy continued for complete nine months. During her pregnancy period, Aaminah experienced no headache or stomach-aches, neither did she feel any other pain nor any type of anxiety, which other pregnant women normally experience during this period. 45
A few months after her marriage with Abdullah , Abdullah had to travel with the Quraysh’s trade caravan to Syria. At that time, Aaminah was pregnant with Prophet Muhammad . Abdullah remained busy in trade activities for few months in Gaza and other trade centres of Syria. On his way back to Makkah, he became ill and stayed at Yathrib (Madinah) with his maternal uncles in the tribe of Banu ‘Adi ibn Al-Najjar. He stayed there for a month, planning to continue his journey after his recovery, but he could never recover and left this mortal world at the age of twenty-five. 46 47
The death of her husband was a tremendous shock for Aaminah . She had become a widow at a very young age, only a few months after her marriage. Ibn Saad has cited Aaminah’s elegy in grief for her husband as:
عفا جانب البطحاء من ابن هاشم
وجاور لحدا خارجا في الغماغم
دعته المنايا دعوة فأجابها
وما تركت في الناس مثل ابن هاشم
عشية راحوا يحملون سريره
تعاوره أصحابه في التزاحم
فإن يك غالته المنايا وريبها
فقد كان معطاء كثير التراحم 48
It seems as if, the edge of Batha is effaced with the progeny of Hashim; and he was laid into the grave, amidst mourning, far away from this place. When death summoned him, he accepted the invitation and it (death) has not left in the mankind, anyone like that of son of Hashim. By night when they were carrying his bed, the fellows, in a large crowd, changed it from hand to hand. No matter, if he has died; because his upright deeds have lasted him, as he was very generous giving away and compassion.
This elegy not only depicts Aaminah’s heart-felt grief for Abdullah but also highlights his qualities of generosity and compassion. It also endorses Aaminah’s expertise in poetic expression, which was one of the common medium of expression among the learned Arabs.
Some biographers have narrated that Prophet Muhammad was an infant at the time of Abdullah’s death, but those accounts are incorrect. Some state that Prophet Muhammad was two months of age while others state that he was seven or eight months of age when Abdullah died. However, all these narrations are rejected by the more authentic biographers and historians, and it is established that when Abdullah passed away, Prophet Muhammad was still in his mother’s womb. 49
Aaminah gave birth to Prophet Muhammad on Monday, 12 Rabi Al-Awwal, in the Year of Elephant, 50 20th or 22nd of April, 571 C.E., according to the Gregorian calendar estimate. 51 Some historians have also estimated that his birth occurred in August 570 C.E. 52
When Aaminah delivered Prophet Muhammad , she sent this news to her father-in-law, Abdul Muttalib, who was in the Holy Ka’bah at that time. He was over joyed with the news and rushed to see the baby. Aaminah told him about the unusual things which she had experienced during the pregnancy and how she was directed to name the child. Abdul Muttalib took Muhammad to the Holy Ka’bah, prayed to
Halimah kept Prophet Muhammad for five to six years, 60 bringing him to Aaminah every year till the incident of the opening of his chest by the Angels. 61 After that, Muhammad was returned to Aaminah and he remained with his mother until she passed away. 62
When Muhammad was handed over to his mother Aaminah , she decided to visit Yathrib (Madinah) in order to familiarise Muhammad with his maternal relatives, the people of Banu Adi ibn al-Najjar. She took Umm Ayman , the servant she had inherited from her husband Abdullah , with her on that trip. They travelled on two camels and stayed at Dar Al-Nabigha in Yathrib, where Abdullah was buried. 63 According to some narrations Abdul Muttalib was also present in this journey. 64
Aaminah stayed in Yathrib for a month with her relatives, then, she decided to return to Makkah.65 According to Umm Ayman the reason for this decision was that a few Jews of Yathrib had recognised Muhammad as the Last Prophet of Allah . When Aaminah heard their conversation about Muhammad , she was so afraid 66 that she left Yathrib and set out for Makkah without any further delay. 67 On her way back to Makkah, she got ill 68 and passed away at a place called Abwa, a village near Medina, 23 miles from Al-Juhfa, 69 the Miqat for Syrian Pilgrimages. This region belonged to Banu Khuza’a and Banu Dhamra tribes. 70 Aaminah’s grave is located on a small hilly terrain.
After her demise, Umm Ayman brought Prophet Muhammad , a lonely and bereaved child at the time, back to Makkah. 71 The Holy Prophet always remembered his mother. He used to narrate to his companions about his very first journey to Madinah with her. On one of his visits to his mother’s grave, Prophet Muhammad wept so much that the people all around him started crying 72 then he stated that he wept because he remembered her affection, care and kindness for him. 73