Allah The Exalted bestowed His Mercy upon mankind and honored humanity at the time of salvation when the beloved Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) was sent. Before discussing his birth, upbringing, and how Allah The Almighty took care of him until he was divinely dispatched as a messenger as well as his fragrant biography prior to this, let us talk about the great signs and the glorious events that took place before his birth. There were many great events before his birth, which portended the commencements of the emergence of prophethood.
It is the norm of Allah The Almighty in the universe to bring about release after adversity, light after darkness, and ease after difficulty.
The following is an example of the most important of those events:
The digging of the well of Zamzam by Abd-Al-Muttalib, the grandfather of the Messenger of Allah sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention )
In his valuable book, Saheeh As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah, Shaykh ’Ibraaheem Al-‘Aliyy relates an authentic narration about the story of the digging of the well of Zamzam by ‘Abd-Al-Muttalib on the authority of ‘Ali bin Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, who said ‘Abd-Al-Muttalib said, “While I was sleeping at Al-Hijr, someone came to me and said: ‘Dig Taybah!’ I asked, ‘What is Taybah?’ He went away and left me. The following night, I returned to my bed and slept, and he came to me once again and said, ‘Dig Barrah!’ I asked, ‘What is Barrah?’ He went away and left me. The third night, I returned to my bed and slept, and he came to me and said, ‘Dig Al-Madhnoonah!’ I asked, ‘What is Al-Madhnoonah?’ He went away. The following night, I returned to my bed and slept, and he came to me and said, ‘Dig Zamzam!’ I asked, ‘What is Zamzam?’ He replied, ‘It [is a well that] never dries out and which provides water for the great multitudes of pilgrims. Its place is in between excretion and blood, where the white-legged crow clicks, near the village of ants”’.
When it was made clear to him and he was guided to its location and knew that his vision was true, he set off the next morning with a mattock, in the company of his son Al-Haarith, who was his only child at the time. He began digging, and when the edge of the well appeared to ‘Abd-Al-Muttalib, he exalted Allah The Almighty. Thereupon, the Quraysh knew that he had attained his aim. They went to him and said, “O ‘Abd-Al-Muttalib, this is the well of our father ’Ismaa‘eel [Ishmael], may Allah exalt his mention, in which we have a right. Allow us to share it with you.” He said, “I shall not, for this matter was assigned to me in particular from amongst you.” They said, “Be just to us. We shall not let you do so until we appeal to someone to judge between us.” He said, “Then choose whomever you like and appeal to him for a decision.” They said, “Let it be the female soothsayer of Banu Sa‘d bin Huthaym,” and he assented. She lived near the borders of Ash-Shaam (greater Syria).
‘Abd-Al-Muttalib rode in the company of some of his paternal cousins from Banu ‘Abd Manaaf, and a man from each branch of his own tribe, the Quraysh, and they all set out on journey through the broad deserts. During this journey, the water of ‘Abd-Al-Muttalib and his companions was consumed and they suffered severe thirst and were sure of death. They asked those who were with them to give them water, but they rejected and said to them, “We are in the desert, and we are afraid of suffering as you are now.” ‘Abd-Al-Muttalib said, “I think that each of you should dig his grave now with the strength you still have, and whenever a man dies, his companions will push him into his ditch and bury him, until there will remain only one man, and to be sure, to save one man is much easier than to squander everyone.” They replied, “How good your advice is”!
Therefore, every man dug a ditch for himself, and they sat down, expecting death from thirst. Then, ‘Abd-Al-Muttalib said to his companions, “By Allah, this is happening due to the failure of us throwing ourselves into death with our own hands and not striking through the land or seeking a way of salvation. It may be that Allah would provide us with water elsewhere. Let us depart then!” They departed, and when ‘Abd-Al-Muttalib moved his riding mount, a spring of pure water burst from underneath its hoof. ‘Abd-Al-Muttalib exalted Allah The Almighty, and his companions exalted Him accordingly. He dismounted and drank and his companions also drank, and they all filled their water-skins. He then called out to the members who were representing the tribes of the Quraysh, while they were looking on, “Come to water! Allah The Almighty has provided us with water!” They came and drank and filled their water-skins. They then said, “By Allah, the matter has been decided in your favor against us. We shall never dispute with you over Zamzam. The One [Allah] who has provided you with water in that desert is the same One who provided you with Zamzam. So, return rightly-guided to your spring of water.” He returned, and they returned with him, before they reached the female soothsayer, and they left the well of Zamzam for him alone.
Ibn Ishaaq may Allaah have mercy upon him said, “This [i.e., the preceding story] is what was reported to me on the authority of ‘Ali bin Abi Taalib, may Allah be pleased with him, with regards to Zamzam”.
Concerning the excellence of the water of Zamzam, many Hadeeths are narrated in this respect, and mention may be made of the narration of Muslim in his Saheeh in the story of how Abu Tharr, may Allah be pleased with him, embraced Islam, that: “It satisfies hunger [just like] food does”.
It is narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) that he said: “The water of Zamzam serves for the purpose for which it is drank: if you drink it to get cured, Allah will cure you; if you drink it to attain satiety, Allah will satiate you; if you drink it to quench your thirst, Allah will quench your thirst. It burst from where Jibreel [Gabriel, may Allah exalt his mention], kicked the ground, and it was the water provided by Allah to Ismaa‘eel [Ishmael, may Allah exalt his mention.]” [Narrated by Ad-Daraqatni and Al-Haakim and authenticated by Al-Haafith Ad-Dumyaati]
