He was born into a family belonging to a clan of Quraish, the ruling tribe of Makkah. The city of Makkah was dominated by powerful merchant families among whom the men of Quraish were prominent. Prophet Muhammad SAW’s father, ‘Abd Allah ibn’Abd al-Muttalib, died before he was born, his mother, Bibi Aminah, died when he was six. Just before his birth, Bibi Amina had a dream wherein she saw a light issuing forth from her and illuminating the palaces of Basra. As was the custom in those days, upon his birth he nursed from Halima Al-Saadia. He lived for two years with her. In addition to enduring the hardships of desert life, he acquired a taste for the rich language so loved by the Arabs, whose speech was their proudest art, and learned the patience and forbearance of the herdsmen, whose life of solitude he first shared and then came to understand and appreciate. After the death of his mother Bibi Amina, Prophet Muhammad SAW was consigned to the care of his grandfather Abdul Muttalib, the head of the clan of Hashim. After the death of his grandfather, Prophet Muhammad SAW was raised by his uncle, Hazrat Abu Talib.