Amina bt. Wahb (AS) (Arabic: آمنة بنت وَهْب) (forty-six years before Hijra / 575–6 CE) was the mother of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and one of the noble women of the Quraysh. Amina married Abdullah ibn Abdul al-Muttalib (AS) in the fifty-fourth or fifty-third year before Hijra (568 to 570 CE). Despite the short duration of their marriage, she gave birth to Muhammad (SAW) in the fifty-second year before Hijra (570 CE). When the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was four or six years old, Amina passed away in a place called al-Abwa' while returning from Madina.
Birth and Lineage
Amina was born in Mecca. Her father, Wahb, was a chief of the Banu Zuhra clan. They were called "Manafites" due to their honour. Her paternal grandmother, Atika, daughter of Awqas b. Murra b. Hilal al-Sulamiyya, was one of the three Atikas whom the Messenger of Allah (SAW) took pride in descending from, saying: "I am the descendant of the Awatik from Banu Sulaym." Her mother was Barra bt. Awf.
Indeed, the womb of Amina bint Wahb was the most exalted and noble of all wombs, for it was the womb that carried the seal of all prophets and the leader of the messengers.
In this great womb, the noble embryo (the Messenger of Allah) resided.
This lineage continued from generation to generation until Allah, in His wisdom, decreed it to be placed in Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib (AS), the young Qurayshite who excelled in his time.
Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib was ransomed from sacrifice, after his father had vowed to sacrifice him and sought to fulfil his oath. He was the most honourable man known to the Arabs.
He was not sacrificed by Allah's permission, for the Lord's choice was confirmed and established in human history, all bearing witness to Allah's complete will.
"Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of 'Imran over the worlds — descendants, some of them from others. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing." (Qur'an 3:33-34)
Abdullah went out with his father Abdul-Muttalib after he was saved from sacrifice. A woman from Bani Asad ibn Abdul Uzza saw him by the Ka'aba and said to him, after looking at his face:
"I will give you the equivalent of the camels that were slaughtered for your ransom if you will be with me now."
For she saw something extraordinary in him. Abdullah (AS) declined, saying that it was better for him to die than to commit a forbidden act, and that a noble person preserving his honour and religion was more worthy.
Abdulmuttalib chose Amina bint Wahb from the Zuhra clan to be the wife of his son Abdullah. At that time, Amina was the best Quraysh woman in lineage and status.
A soothsayer from Tibala, known as Fatimah bint Murr al-Khath'amiyah, also saw Abdullah. This woman was one of the most beautiful and purest Arab women. She saw the light of prophethood on Abdullah's face and proposed marriage to him, but he refused her.
The story of a prophet who would come from the descendants of Ishmael (peace be upon him) was widespread among the Arabs everywhere in the region.
This account was based on what the People of the Book narrated and what they reported from what was written in the Torah, implicitly and explicitly. People also learned of it from soothsayers and astrologers.
Despite Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib (AS) being a handsome young man who possessed remarkable character and nobility — because of his purity and excellent morals — many women sought his hand in marriage, but Allah decreed that Amina would be Abdullah's wife.
Amina gave birth to the noble Prophet. A few months into her pregnancy, Abdullah travelled to the land of Sham (Syria, according to the Arab geographical sense, a region comprising Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip on the Palestinian coast — one of the major towns the Quraysh merchants frequently visited). But on his return journey, he fell ill and stayed with his maternal uncles from the Banu Najjar tribe in Yathrib, where they cared for him. He passed away there due to his illness.
Amina was grief-stricken at the death of her beloved husband, who had lived with her for only a few months after their marriage. She wept bitterly and became a widow before giving birth. But she remained patient and steadfast. She received much care from Abdul-Muttalib. Some historical reports indicate that Abdullah died shortly after the birth of the Messenger of Allah (SAW).
The Birth of Muhammad (SAW)
She gave birth to him on the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal, 570 CE. The news of his birth brought such great joy to Banu Hashim that Abu Lahab freed his slave girl Thuwayba al-Aslamiyya, who had brought him the news of the birth. Abdul al-Muttalib named him Muhammad. When the Quraysh asked why he named his grandson thus, he said: "I want him to be praised in the heavens and on the earth."
Journey to Madina and Death
Amina took Muhammad to visit her husband Abdullah's grave in Madina in the seventh year after the Year of the Elephant. Her paternal uncles from Banu Najjar were there. She fell ill while returning from Madina and passed away at al-Abwa'. Umm Ayman brought the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) back to Mecca after five days.