MUHAMMAD'S EARLY YEARS

   There are two main sources for the life of Muhammad, both of which are Islamic.  As far as is known, no ancient non-Muslim source on the life of Muhammad exists.  To construct a reliable biography of Muhammad apart from these Islamic sources id impossible.
   The Quran does not purport to be a biography of Muhammad.  However, the many biographical references in the Quran are invaluable because they are contemporary with Muhammed.  Their authenticity appears to be indisputable.  It is incumbent upon anyone, Muslim or non-Muslim, attempting to write about Muhammad to utilize the Quranic evidence as honestly and judiciously as possible, without distorting its witness.
   The ancient biographies of Muhammad based on the traditions of Muhammad (A.D. 833); and The Expeditions of Muhammad, by Al-Waqidi (A.D. 822).  Both have been combined in an English translation by A. Guillaume, titled The Life of Muhammad.  It was published by Oxford University Press in London in 1955.  A similar book titled Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, by Martin Lings, was published first by the Islamic Texts Society in London in 1983.

His Birth at Mecca A.D. 570.
Muhammad, the prophet of Arabia, was born at Mecca in 570.  He sprang from the Quaraish, a tribe that ruled over the city and the surrounding area.  His father was 'Abdu'llah, the son of 'Abdu'l-Mutalib, a leading citizen; his mother's name was 'Amina. 'Abdu'llah died on a trading trip at Yathrib, and soon after 'Amina gave birth to their son.  When this news was brought to 'Abdu'l-Muttalib, the grandfather, he went to 'Amina's house, and, taking the child in his arms, gave thanks to God and called the baby Muhammad, "The Praised One."1

Quraish mothers customarily gave their infants out to a nurse in some Bedouin tribe to gain them the healthy air of the desert.  Muhammad was entrusted to Halima, who nursed the infant until he was two years old before taking him back to 'Amina.  Delighted with his healthy look, Muhammad's mother said, "Take the child with thee back again, for much do I fear for him the unwholesome air of Mecca."  So Halima took him back.  Two years later she appeared again, but this time she was troubled.  The child had had numerous fits, which made Halima think he was demon possessed.  She was persuaded to carry him back once more, but after subsequent epileptic fits, she returned him to his mother when he was five.  Muhammad gratefully remembered Halima's care.

The Death of 'Amina
'Amina took the child on a trip to Yathrib.  She died on the way home, leaving Muhammad in the care of his grandfather, who died two years later at age eighty.2

Uncle Abu Talib Raises Muhammad
The child was then committed to the care of his paternal uncle, Abu Talib.  When Muhammad was twelve years old he was taken by his uncle on mercantile journeys to Damascus and other cities.

Muhammad's youth passed without any other incidents of interest.  He was employed, like other lads, in tending the sheep and goats of Mecca on the neighboring hills and valleys.  Many years later when passing near some shrubs with purple berries, he cried, "Pick me out the blackest ones, for they are sweet.  Even such I used to gather, feeding the flocks in the valley of Mecca: and truly no prophet hath been raised up but first he hath done the work of a shepherd."3