The Opening of His Chest

One day, Muhammad (peace be upon him) was playing with his foster brother. His foster brother came in rushing and said, "My brother from Quraysh —" They said, "What happened to him?" He said, "Two men dressed in white came down and knocked him to the ground, and then they opened up his abdomen." So Ḥalīmah said: my husband and I went rushing, and we came to see Muhammad (peace be upon him). His colour was pale, and we asked him what happened. He said, "Two men came and they opened my chest, and they took out something from it."

Ḥalīmah loved Muhammad so much, and she didn't want anything to harm him — plus she didn't want anything bad to happen to him while he was with her. So she rushed back to Makkah and went to Āminah and said, "Here is Muhammad, you can now have him — we have fulfilled our responsibility." Āminah said, "How come you're bringing him back, when you were so interested in keeping him?" They said nothing. She insisted: "Tell me what happened. You were so insistent on keeping him, and now you want to bring him back — what happened?" Ḥalīmah said she kept on questioning us until we eventually told her.

Āminah responded and said, "Are you afraid for him, that Satan might hurt him? By Allah, that will not happen. When I was pregnant with him, it was the lightest pregnancy, and when I delivered him, his birth was unlike any other child, and when he came out, I saw a light that was reaching to al-Shām. So the protection of Allah is with him, and I am sure that he will have a great future." So now Muhammad (peace be upon him) was back with his mother.