Prophet Muhammad's Trade Journeys in his Early Childhood

Muhammad went on trade journeys to Syria and Yemen with his uncles Zubair and Abu Talib at an age when children of Arabs generally spent their times playing. Out of many journeys, only a few are recorded by the biographers and transmitters. Among them, the most famous ones were his first journey to Syria with his uncle Abu Talib and the travel to Yemen with his uncle Zubair.

Abu Talib prepared for his annual journeys to Syria after attaining

Muhammad’s guardianship. In the beginning, he had refused to take Muhammad with him due to the hardships of the journey, ¹ however, young Prophet Muhammad stopped Abu Talib’s camel by holding its reins insisted to go. His uncle's heart softened and he agreed to take him along for the trade journey. ²

During this journey

Muhammad met a monk named Bahira, who was a learned scholar of the Christians. ³ Some people state that Prophet Muhammad was 12 ^{4 5 6} or 13 years old at that time. ^{7 8} However, the authentic view is that he was 9 years old at that time. ^{9 10 11 12}

It is also cited that around the age of 10, Muhammad travelled to Yemen with his uncle Zubair for a trade journey. During this journey when the caravan reached the valley, they found a camel who had blocked the way and did not allow anybody to pass. When the camel saw Muhammad , it knelt down and rubbed its chest on the ground. Then Muhammad mounted it ¹³ and crossed the valley on that camel. ¹⁴

Another important event on this journey took place when this trade caravan reached a valley which was flooded with water and looked impossible to cross. Muhammad asked the caravan to follow him and entered the valley.

kept the water away from drowning them until they all crossed it easily. ¹⁵ When they reached Makkah they narrated the event to the people and said that the boy possessed a great status.

 

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• ¹ Ahmed ibn Yahya ibn Jabir ibn Dawood Al-Baladhuri (1996), Jumal Min Ansab Al-Ahraf, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 96.
• ² Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar Al-Madani (1978), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Ishaq, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 73.
• ³ Ibid.
• ⁴ Muhammad ibn Saad Al-Basri (1968), Tabqat Al-Kubra, Dar Sadir, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 121.
• ⁵ Ahmed ibn Yahya ibn Jabir ibn Dawood Al-Baladhuri (1996), Jumal Min Ansab Al-Ahraf, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 96.
• ⁶ Abu Al-Faraj Abd Al-Rahman ibn Al-Jawzi (N.D.), Al-Wafa be-Ahwal Al-Mustafa, Al-Muassisah Al-Saeediyah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Vol. 1, Pg. 218.
• ⁷ Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Al-Hussain ibn Ali Al-Mas’udi (N.D.), Al-Tanbeeh wa Al-Ashraaf, Dar Al-Saavi, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 1, Pg. 197.
• ⁸ Yusuf ibn Abdullah ibn Abd Al-Barr Al-Qurtabi (1992), Al-Istia’ab fi M’arifat Al-Ashab, Dar Al-Jeel, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 34.
• ⁹ Muhammad ibn Jareer Al-Tabari (1387 A.H.), Tareekh Al-Tabari, Dar Al-Turath, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 278.
• ¹⁰ Izz Al-Din Ali ibn Muhammad Al-Shaibani ibn Athir (1997), Al-Kamil fe Al-Tareekh, Dar Al-Kitab Al-Arabi, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 638.
• ¹¹ Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Ahmed Al-Halabi (1427 A.H.), Al-Seerah Al-Halabiyah, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 171.
• ¹² Abu Al-Fatah Muhammad ibn Sayyid Al-Naas (1993), ‘Uyoon Al-Athar fe Funoon Al-Maghazi wal Shamail wal Seeyar, Dar Al-Qalam, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 52.
• ¹³ Abul Fida Ismael ibn Kathir Al-Damishqi (1976), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Kathir, Dar Al-Marifat lil Taba’at wal-Nashr wal-Tawzi, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 232.
• ¹⁴ Ahmed ibn Zaini Dahlan (2014), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah, Dar Al-Qalam Al-Arabi, Aleppo, Syria, Vol. 1, Pg. 97.
• ¹⁵ Abul Fida Ismael ibn Kathir Al-Damishqi (1976), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Kathir, Dar Al-Marifat lil Taba’at wal-Nashr wal-Tawzi, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 232.