Halimah bint Abi Dhu'ayb As-Saadiah was the foster-mother of Prophet Muhammad, she
came from a small suburban village, breastfed and took care of Prophet Muhammad as it
was the custom for the people of Mecca to send their babies to the Bedouin tribes in the
desert at least until they were weaned. This would not only keep the babies safe from the
epidemics which sometimes occurred in the towns, it would also ensure they grew up
healthy in body and mind. They would learn pure Arabic language and be raised well
before returning to their families.

The tribe of Bani Saad had a high reputation for nursing and rearing children, and
Sayyidatina Halimah was part of them, but even after all the women had collected other
foster children, Sayyidatina Halimah still had no baby. She and her husband were poorer
than their companions, so no one had entrusted their child to them.

At the end of the day, a poor woman did not have a child to take back and an orphaned
child did not have a woman to foster him… As they were about to leave Mecca,
Sayyidatina Halimah said to her husband, “I shall go to that orphan (Muhammad) and take
him”. Her husband agreed with this decision, saying, “Perhaps Allah will bless us because
of him”. And Sayyidatina Halimah’s decision to take in a fatherless child —despite being in
desperate need herself— changed her life forever.