Thuwayba

Thuwayba was a servant of Abu Lahab. It was she who announced to her master the birth of the Prophet ﷺ, and she was the first to nurse him after his mother Amina, before the arrival of Halima. She had also nursed Hamza, the Prophet's ﷺ uncle, who thus became his milk brother.

At the birth of the Prophet ﷺ, it was Thuwayba, servant of Abu Lahab, who brought the news to her master: 'This night, Abdullah has had a son.' According to the accounts, Abu Lahab, in his joy at the birth of his nephew, freed her.

Thuwayba then nursed the little Muhammad ﷺ during the first days, while a wet nurse was found in the desert. She had already nursed Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's ﷺ uncle, and also nursed Abu Salama: they all thus became milk brothers, a bond that Islam recognises as genuine kinship.

The Prophet ﷺ kept a lasting gratitude for Thuwayba. Having grown up and married Khadija, he continued to honour her and send her gifts, even from Medina. She died after the conquest of Khaybar.

Two things to distinguish, as they differ in solidity: What is CERTAIN: Thuwayba did nurse the Prophet ﷺ. This is reported in Bukhari (no. 5101). Likewise, the gratitude the Prophet ﷺ showed her is well attested. What is FRAGILE: the famous story according to which Abu Lahab would see his punishment lightened every Monday for having freed her. This account circulates widely, but scholars contest it: it is NOT a word of the Prophet ﷺ, it is a dream attributed to al-'Abbas, transmitted by an incomplete chain. Several great scholars (al-Qadi 'Iyad citing unanimity, al-'Ayni, Ibn Hajar with nuance) recall that the good deeds of a disbeliever do not benefit him in the Hereafter — and the Quran dedicated an entire surah (al-Masad, 111) to the loss of Abu Lahab. We report this detail as a well-known story, but honestly specify that it rests on no solid basis, unlike the nursing itself. A good example of distinguishing between what is established and what is merely widespread.

Thuwayba teaches the faithfulness of gratitude: the Prophet ﷺ never forgot the one who nourished him as a small child, and continued to honour her all his life. She also recalls the place of the milk bond in Islam, which creates genuine kinship. And her story invites us to distinguish, in what we hear, the solidly attested from what is merely popular.