PROPHET Muhammad (peace be upon him), was an orphan child. His father died while his mother was still pregnant. His mother also died when he was six years old. When she was dying, he cried but she told him as her last words “Muhammad, be a man.” And he was the best of all men. There are other four women who acted as Prophet Muhammad' mothers after the death of his real mother. The first woman was Thuaiba (may Allah be pleased with her), the maid servant of his uncle Abu Lahab, who was the first one to have the honor of breast-feeding the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet liked her so much and was grateful to her and her children till she died in the seventh year A.H (after Hijra). The second mother was Halimah Al-Sadiah (may Allah be pleased with her), one of the most famous wet-nurses in the Arabian Peninsula at that time. She came to Makkah to find a child from a rich family whom she could breast-feed as a means of making a living, but she did not find any child except for Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was a poor orphan rejected by the other wet-nurses who were searching for rich children, but Halimah (may Allah be pleased with her) had a strange feeling that that orphan boy would be a source of blessing and goodness to her and her family. The third one was Barakah Bint Tha'labah, commonly known as Umm Ayman, who took care of the Prophet (peace be upon him) immediately after the death of his mother. She was a slave and the Prophet (peace be upon him) set her free. She embraced Islam and became a good Muslim and the Prophet (peace be upon him) was grateful to her till she died. Fatimah Bint Asad (may Allah be pleased with her)' his uncle, Abu Talib's wife, and the mother of Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) also acted as his foster mother. She acted as foster mother after the death of the Prophet' grandfather when the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to live with his uncle. Fatimah noticed something strange: whenever her children gathered to eat, they never felt full except when Muhammad (peace be upon him) had eaten with them. Her love for that orphan child increased after she heard what her husband told her: he told her that one of the hermits told him that his nephew (Muhammad) would be the next prophet. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) remained grateful to her throughout her life and when she died, he buried her with his honorable hands and prayed for her. This means that although he had lost his mother, Allah gave him four foster mothers, to whom he was a grateful son. __
