Islamic Stories #1: The Prophet is Born

These weres stories I heard growing up and I wanted to share them.

One day, an Arab tribe of Mecca was traveling and met a hermit in the desert, and some of the men in the group stopped to speak with him. Hermits were known for being wise and the tribes relied on them for advice in those days. The hermit asked the group where they were from and they responded that they were from Mecca. Then, the hermit told them that soon Allah would send them a prophet, and that prophet would be born among their people. The hermit also told them that the new prophet’s name would be "Muhammad" and that he would guide them into a new way of life.

Meanwhile, back in Mecca, Aminah, the mother of our soon-to-be prophet, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him, was saddened by the loss of her husband, and was at the time pregnant with a boy. During her pregnancy, she had many dreams, and one occasion, she dreamt that there was a great light shining out of her, and on another occasion, she dreamt that she heard a voice telling her that she would have a boy and his name would be "Muhammad." She never forgot that voice, but kept her dream to herself.

On a Monday, the 12th day of Rabi al-Awwal, in the year of the Elephant, Aminah gave birth to her son. Allah had sent many signs that one of his chosen prophets would be born on that date in the year 570 A.D., and these signs were seen. Many Jewish scholars who read the scriptures knew of these signs. One of the scholars of the town of Yathrib saw a brillant new star in the sky that he had never seen before the night our prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was born. He called the people around him to show them the star and told them that that sign meant that the new prophet was born.

The same night, another Jew passed the meeting place of Qurayash in Mecca. He asked them if a baby boy had just been born among their people. His question was confirmed and he told them if that were true, then the boy would be the Prophet of the Arab nation.

Aminah sent news of the birth to her father-in-law, Abd al-Muttalib, who was sitting near the Kabah when the news came. He was delighted and began to think of a name for the child. Six days had passed and he was not able to find the right name for the child. On the seventh day, Abd al-Muttalib feel asleep near the Kabah, and dreamt that he should name the child "Muhammad", just as Aminah had dreamt. Thus, the child was called Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The name Muhammad means "the Praised One."

When Abd al-Muttalib was asked by the leaders of Qurayash what he named his grandson. Many asked him why he would choose such a name and not a name that their people would name. He told them that he wanted his grandson to be praised by "Allah in the heavens and by men on earth."