After his grandfather Abdul Mutallib died, the 8-year-old Muhammad (saw)

was taken under the guardianship of his uncle Abu Talib

1.

Abu Talib was an extremely caring uncle, & raised Muhammad among his own
children
There are differences in narrations as to the age of Muhammad when this
incident with the monk took place

The minority position is that Muhammad was 9 years old

The majority position is that Muhammad was 12 years old
Abu Talib was a businessman

Makkah was a strategic business center, where the products were imported &
sold from all over the Arab world
Also the Kabah attracted lots of pilgrims, so Makkah was the ideal business
center
Abu Talib decided to go to business trip to As-Sham (modern day Syria &
surrounding regions)
As-Sham was ruled by Roman Empire at the time & had a strong Christian
presence
Muhammads entire world revolves around Abu Talib. The child had lost his
mother & grandfather in a short time, so hes very attached to his uncle.

As Abu Talib gets ready to leave for his business trip & says farewell to his family,
Muhammad starts to cry very profusely
Dont leave me here by myself.
Abu Talib tries to comfort his nephew. Other family members are saying, Oh,
hes just a child, hell forget about it come tomorrow.
Travel those days was not a walk in the park. Hashim died, Abdullah died,
Aminah died all during travels. Its out of the question to take a child on a long
journey
Muhammad was very distraught & Abu Talib was equally troubled by his
nephews distress
Abu Talib says, I cant go like this. I swear by Allah, that Im going to take him
with me. I will never leave him, and hell never leave me. I dont care if the rest of
the business caravan refuses to take us along. I dont care what the family has to
say. Dont worry son, Im never going to leave you by yourself.
While they travel to As Shaam, the business caravan stop at a place called
Busra, a small type of village on the outskirts. Busra was a safe place, like a rest
stop for food & shelter.
There was a temple in Busra not certain whether its a church or synagogue
Buhaira ar Rahib was the one who occupied the place of worship. Most say hes
Christian, but there are some narrations that say that hes Jewish.
Hes also known as Sergius the Monk
That monastery has always been inhabited by one of the greatest scholars of

the Christian-Jewish history at the time

The temple was reserved for a well-educated academic. They werent public
preachers
The temple was a research center. It had a library that was one of the most wellstacked libraries of ancient texts of the Christian tradition
1 Whenever the monk/priest occupying the monastery would be old
& near death, hed handpick his successor
Bhaira was the latest resident monk of that monastery
1 He was a bit anti-social. He wasnt very conversational or friendly.
The locals of that area would avoid him
2 Hed also actively avoid the idol-worshipping Arab caravans that
would make the rest stop. He wouldnt come outside of the
monastery to greet the pagans whenever he saw them
In the old Christian tradition, there were 3 people who were most educated
from that era of Jahiliya (pre-Prophethood era)
Bhaira ar Rahib (the Monk)
His original name was Surgis, from Banu Abdul Kais
Reyab as Shanni (aka ibnul Barra)
He was a very pious man. He was one of the Hunafa, one of the few people who at
the time was on the righteous monotheistic path
His grave would have a light drizzle (as a Rahma)
Al Muntadhar
We still await his arrival
Possibly refers to Muhammad
So Abu Talib & his business caravan makes a rest stop at Busra
Bhaira is sitting in his monastery on a hill with a great view into the distance
He sees the Quryash and Makkans arriving; Oh great here we go again.
Something catches his attention
What he spots is that theres a cloud moving along with the caravan, casting a
shadow
When they stop where the Quraysh usually stops, the cloud stops as well
Now Bhair comes out of his monastery to take a closer look. He notices that the
cloud follows a boy
Others in the caravan have all sat down under the shade under a tree. All the
spots in the shade of the tree have been taken
The boy goes to lean against the other side of the tree, where theres no shade
Branches literally bend to provide shade for the boy
Now Bhaira is completely blown away
Is this the moment Ive been waiting for?
He flips the monastery & goes through all the manuscripts & refreshes on the
description of Prophet of the Last Times
He reads that a shade will always cover the Prophet. All the trees & nature will
show respect to the Prophet

Bhaira calls for his devotees & students

Heres some money. Gather a lot of food for a large feast.
Bhaira then leaves his monastery & goes down to the place where the Qurayss
are chillin

The Quraysh are startled, because Bhaira usually avoids them. Look who it is.
Its the cranky old guy. Watch him, he wont even acknowledge us. Hes just
gonna walk on by without even waving at us.
Instead, Bhair awalks right up to the Quraysh. Bhaira greets them & is polite &
friendly with them.
1 Bhaira says, Id like to invite you all to my monastery for a feast.
The Quraysh quickly get past their surprise & are excited for some hospitality & a
nice meal
In the evening, the Quraysh gets ready for Bhairas feast. Most of the caravan
considered Muhammad a burden on the trip, who came with them on Abu Talibs
insistence

They said, Were gonna go get our grub on. The young one has to stay here and
watch the animals, merchandise, and the money.
The Makkans all freshen up & go up to eat with the famous monk
They show up for the food
Bhairas scanning the crowd, looking for the boy. He doesnt want to blow his
cover, so he says, Ya Quraysh. Is everybody here? I kind of notice someones
missing.
The Quraysh reply, Oh, hes nobody important. Hes just a child. Hes looking
after the animals & supplies. Dont worry, hes nobody.
Bhaira said, No, look. I invited all of you. I want to show hospitality to
everybody.
The Quraysh notice that Bhairas getting agitated; now their meal is in
jeopardy
Before Bhaira loses his cool, one of the Quraysh members goes to fetch
Muhammad
Quraysh: Oh how thoughtless of us! Hes Muhammad the son of Abdullah whos
the son of the famous Abdul Mutallib. Of course, Ill go get him.
With Muhammad there, the feast starts
While everyone is eating, Bhaira is sitting there & literally staring very intently
at the Muhammad the entire time, observing the young boys facial features &
mannerisms
As the food starts to flow & people start to loosen up (ice is broken, people are
laughing & talking), Bhaira makes his way over to Muhammad & shows a lot of
affection to him
1 Bhaira places his hand on Muhammads back, & says, How is
everything son? Is the food good? Bhaira places more food on

Muhammads plate
2 Bhaira was fully convinced that this is the final Nabi.
1 Bhaira is doing khidma. Hes doing whatever he can to show
respect to the final Prophet, serving more and more food
Now Bhaira starts asking Muhammad some questions. Muhammad was a child,
& hes honestly answers them, as is his nature
1 Bhaira: How do you sleep? What kind of thoughts do you have?
What do you during the day? What are your likes and dislikes? Do
you play with other children?
2 As Muhammad answers these questions, Bhaira gets more & more
convinced that this is the Final Prophet
1 Bhaira also notices the mark of Prophethood on the boys
back
Now everyone is full; theyve finished eating & waiting for tea. Bhaira then goes
to Abu Talib & asks of his relationship to the boy.
Abu Talib: This is my son.
1 Abu Talib always affectionately referred to Muhammad as his son
Bhaira: This cant be your son.
Abu Talib: This is my brothers son.
Bhaira: Where is his father?
Abu Talib: He passed away.
Bhaira: When did he pass away?
Abu Talib: He passed away before he was born, when his mother was expecting.
Bhaira: Now youre telling the truth. Theres something very special about your
nephew. Youre heading farther into as-Shaam. I strongly suggest that you dont
take him to as-Shaam. Just like Ive noticed something special about him, theres
other people in as-Shaam wholl notice these things. You people are not people of
the Kitab. They might not be merciful or hospitable as I am. Some of them might
have ill will toward that child. Youll be putting him in harms way.
Abu Talib decides best course of action is to take Muhammad back to Makkah
While the Makkans are encamped at Busra, about 5 people from as-Sham come
to Busra
They go to Bhaira & they tell him that, Weve been reading some of the ancient
sacred texts that we have, & all the signs & prophecies align to the fact that the
Final Nabi is supposed to be here in this region right now. No one knows about
these ancient traditions more than you do. Can you tell me if youve seen
anything?
Bhairas worried because he doesnt know if these people are trustworthy. Hold
up, he says, Let me go check my notes.
1 After Bhaira comes back, he tells them, I dont think youre reading
things correctly. I dont agree at all that hes supposed to be here.
Youve got your dates wrong.
Bhaira goes to Abu Talib and says, Look, some people just came asking about
your nephew. You should go now.
There are 3 narrations as to what happens next

Minority position says that Abu Talib takes care of business quickly in as-Sham
to be able to take care of bills back home & then takes Muhammad back to
Makkah
Majority of narrations says Abu Talib headed back home right then & there with
Muhammad
According to authentic books of hadith/seerah, in this business trip, the Quraysh
decided to let a young boy (Abu Bakr) to jump the business caravan since hes
talented so he can start learning about the art of business. Hes really good
childhood friends with Muhammad. Another young slave boy (Bilal, from
Abyssinia) was brought to do so menial tasks.
Abu Talib tells his caravan that hes about to hit the ground home, but the
caravan would like him to stay since hes a respectable businessman. We cant
lose you, we need you for our business needs/strategy. This business is supposed
to get us through until next season.
Abu Talib: What am I gonna do? I need to get my nephew home to safety.
Quraysh used to take this trip often, so they have fixed stops during these
business trips where they stop every year, to rest & get supplies. They said theyll
leave the boys at those stops, and theyll look out for each other.
The trio of Muhammad, Abu Bakr, & Bilaal bonded during this trip, a bond that
lasted throughout their lifetime
When Muhammad receives his divine revelation, one of the first people he told
was Abu Bakr & Bilal was one of the first to accept Islam
Such a bond was between these 3, that Abu Bakr would go out & give dawah &
that Bilal remained steadfast in his faith even though he was tortured for it
Muhammad was known as Al Sadiq, Al Amin. This character was established
early on
Other merchants would trust him to deliver their money
He was the go-to guy from his teenage years to take care of business matters