The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: The Year of the Elephant and Al-Amin

In Makkah, many years after Ibrahim and Isma'il built the Ka'bah, a ruler called Abraha marched towards the city with a huge army and an elephant. He wanted to destroy the Ka'bah. But Allah sent flocks of birds carrying small stones of baked clay, which they threw at the army, and Abraha's army was destroyed. Surah Al-Fil tells this story. That year became known as the Year of the Elephant, and it was the year Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was born.

Muhammad ﷺ was an orphan: his father, 'Abdullah, died before he was born, and his mother, Aminah, died when he was about six years old (seerah). As a baby he was looked after for a time by a kind woman called Halimah in the desert (seerah). Then his grandfather 'Abdul-Muttalib cared for him, and after him his uncle Abu Talib. Allah says in the Qur'an, "Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter?"

As a boy he looked after sheep (Sahih al-Bukhari 2262). He grew up to be so honest and trustworthy that the people of Makkah called him Al-Amin, "the trustworthy one". People left their valuable things with him for safekeeping.

Once, when the Ka'bah was being rebuilt, the tribes argued over who would have the honour of putting the Black Stone back in its place (seerah). They agreed to let the next man who walked in decide, and it was Muhammad ﷺ. He put the stone on a cloth and asked a leader from each tribe to hold a corner and lift it together. Then he placed it himself. Everyone was happy, and a fight was avoided.