She noticed a radiant glow, resembling the star on a horse's forehead

والصَّلَاةُ والسَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ أَشْرَفِ اْلمُرْسَلِيْنَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ الطَّيّبِيْنَ الطَّاهِرِيْن

Allah ta^ala ordained that the birth of the Prophet ﷺ was the result of lawful marriage, with no trace of illegitimacy from 'Adam to his parents. As the Prophet ﷺ stated in a narration reported by Al-Bayhaqiyy: ' None of the illicit practices of the pre-Islamic era tainted my lineage; I was born only through lawful marriage, akin to that of Islam.'

Moreover, ^Abdu l-Muttalib ibnu Hashim, the grandfather of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sought to re-excavate the Well of Zamzam after it had been covered. Yet, he faced opposition from envious members of his tribe. He would labour during the day, only for them to come at night and undo what he had accomplished. At that time, he had but one son and no one to assist or support him against these envious detractors."

^Abdu l-Muttalib later married, and ten sons were born to him. He said: 'O Allah, I had pledged one of them to You', referring to the vow he made when his people opposed him. He had vowed that if Allah granted him ten sons, he would sacrifice one in devotion, as he mistakenly believed this to be a righteous act. He said: 'I will cast lots among them, and may You choose whomever You will.' The lot fell upon ^Abdu l-Lah, the father of the Messenger of Allah, who was the most beloved of ^Abdu l-Muttalib's children. ^Abdu l-Muttalib then prayed: 'O Lord, O Lord, is he dearer to You, or a hundred camels?' He cast lots again, this time between ^Abdu l-Lah and the camels, and the lot fell upon the camels. ^Abdu l-Muttalib then sacrificed the hundred camels in ^Abdu l-Lah’s place, ransoming him from the intended slaughter.

As for the Prophet's mother, she was ‘Aminah, the daughter of Wahb ibnu ^Abdi Manaf ibnu Zuhrah ibnu Kilab. She was raised under the care of her uncle, ‘Uhayb ibnu ^Abdi Manaf ibnu Zuhrah. Following the aforementioned event, ^Abdu l-Muttalib wished to arrange a marriage for his son ^Abdu l-Lah. He took ^Abdu l-Lah to ‘Uhayb, proposing that ^Abdu l-Lah marry ‘Aminah. ‘Uhayb consented and gave her in marriage to ^Abdu l-Lah. During the same gathering, ^Abdu l-Muttalib also proposed for himself to marry ‘Aminah’s sister, Halah bintu ‘Uhayb, which ‘Uhayb accepted. Thus, both ^Abdu l-Muttalib and his son ^Abdu l-Lah married in the same assembly. Earlier, as ^Abdu l-Lah made his way to propose to Aminah, he passed by a woman from Banu ^Abdi d-Dar. She noticed a radiant glow between ^Abdu l-Lah's eyes, resembling the star on a horse's forehead, a brilliance brighter than light.

She called out to him asking, 'Will you marry me?' He declined, saying, 'I am going with my father.' His father subsequently arranged his marriage to ‘Aminah. Later, ^Abdu l-Lah returned and encountered that woman again, asking, 'Do you wish to marry me?' She replied: 'No, for when you passed by me, there was a radiant glow between your eyes, and I hoped to receive that light from you, but it has now gone with ‘Aminah, the daughter of Wahb.'

 ‘Aminah then conceived the Prophet ﷺ. She said: "I felt no signs of pregnancy with him, nor did I experience the heaviness that women typically bear, except that I noticed the cessation of my menstruation, which surprised me." She would recount: " Someone came to me while I was in a state between sleep and wakefulness and asked, 'Did you realise that you are pregnant?' I seemed to respond, 'I don't know.' He then said, 'Indeed, you are carrying the master and prophet of this nation.' This occurred on a Monday." She added, "That convinced me that I was pregnant." After that, the visitor did not return and left me until the time of my delivery approached. As the birth drew near, the same one returned and said: "Say: 'I seek refuge for him with the One Who has no partner (Al-Wahid), the Self-Sufficient, upon Whom all depend (As-Samad), from the evil of every envious one.'"

^Abdu l-Lah, the father of the Prophet ﷺ, passed away while the Prophet ﷺ was still in his mother's womb. This occurred because ^Abdu l-Lah had travelled to Gaza in the Levant on one of Quraysh's trade expeditions. After completing their trade, they passed through Medina on the return journey, and ^Abdu l-Lah, at that time, fell ill. He told his brothers, 'Leave me with my maternal uncles from Banu ^Adiyy ibnu n-Najjar." He stayed with them, ill, for a month, while his brothers and companions continued to Mecca. Upon their arrival, ^Abdu l-Muttalib inquired about ^Abdu l-Lah. They replied, "We left him with his maternal uncles from Banu ^Adiyy ibnu n-Najjar, as he was ill." Hearing this, ^Abdu l-Muttalib sent his eldest son, Al-Harith, to check on him.

When Al-Harith arrived there, he found that ^Abdu l-Lah had already passed away and had been buried in the house of An-Nabighah, a man from Banu ^Adiyy ibnu n-Najjar. His maternal uncles informed Al-Harith about ^Abdu l-Lah's illness, how they had cared for him, and the efforts they made to treat him. They recounted everything they had done for him, including his burial. Al-Harith then returned to his father, ^Abdu l-Muttalib, and conveyed the news of ^Abdu l-Lah’s passing. ^Abdu l-Muttalib was deeply grieved, as were ^Abdu l-Lah’s brothers and sisters. At that time, the Prophet ﷺ had not yet been born. ^Abdu l-Lah passed away at the age of twenty-five.

Then, his mother gave birth to him after carrying him for nine months, and at his birth, signs appeared. One of these signs was the rising of his star—meaning a star known to certain people that would only appear when a prophet was born. That is why Zayd ibnu ^Amr ibnu Nufayl mentioned that a rabbi from the Levant said to him, "A prophet has appeared in your land, or he is about to emerge, or his emergence is near for his star has risen. Return to your homeland, believe in him, and follow him."

Hasan ibnu Thabit also said: "By Allah, I was a young boy, about seven or eight years old, fully aware of everything I heard. At that age, I heard a Jewish man shouting at the top of his voice from one of the forts of Yathrib"[Yathrib being the former name of Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah at that time] saying: 'O assembly of Jews!' The people gathered around him and asked, 'What is the matter with you?' He said: ‘Tonight, the star of ‘Ahmad has risen, marking the time of his birth!'"

One of the signs that also manifested was the emergence of light. ‘Aminah bintu Wahb said: "When I conceived him," referring to the Prophet ﷺ, "I experienced no difficulty until the moment of his birth. When he separated from me, light radiated from him, illuminating the space between the east and the west in his honour." Then he fell to the ground, supporting himself on his hands, showing strength unlike most newborns. After that, he took a handful of soil, clenched it, and raised his head towards the sky.

On the night that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was born, the Iwan[1] of Kisra trembled and fourteen of its balconies collapsed. The fire of Persia, which had not been extinguished for a thousand years, suddenly went out. The lake of Sawah dried up, as the earth swallowed its water. The mubadhan (like the supreme judge among the Persians) witnessed wild camels leading Arabic horses, meaning they were moving ahead of the Arabian steeds, having crossed the Tigris River, while the metropolis Al-Mada'in was to the east of it and they spread throughout its lands.

The next morning, Khosrow was alarmed when he learned of the vision but sought to compose himself and muster his courage. He resolved not to keep the matter hidden from his ministers and elite cavalry, as he could no longer bear the burden of concealing it. He summoned them, adorned himself with his crown, and sat upon his throne. Once they had gathered, he asked, "Do you know why I have called you?" They replied, "No, except that you will tell us." At that very moment, as he spoke, a messenger arrived with the news that the fire, which had burned for a thousand years, had been extinguished. This news deepened his distress.

Then, Khosrow informed them of the event that had shaken him—the trembling of the palace hall, the collapse of its balconies, and the cracks that appeared as a result. The mubadhan responded, "May God preserve the king. I too saw something unusual during the night," and recounted his vision of the camels. The king then asked, "What could this signify, O mubadhan?" as the mubadhan was considered the most knowledgeable among them. He replied, " I believe this indicates that a significant event has occurred in the Arabian Peninsula."

Khosrow then wrote to An-Nu^man ibnu l-Mundhir, one of the Arab kings, requesting that he send a knowledgeable man for inquiries about these matters. An-Nu^man dispatched a man named ^Abdu l-Masih ibnu ^Amr ibnu Hayyan Al-Ghassaniyy. Upon his arrival, Khosrow asked: "Do you possess knowledge of what I wish to inquire about?" ^Abdu l-Masih responded, "The king may either ask me or inform me; if I know, I will share it; otherwise, I will direct him to someone who does." Khosrow then detailed what he had witnessed. ^Abdu l-Masih replied, "I believe the one who knows the meaning of this is my maternal uncle, who resides near the borders of Ash-Sham, named Satih." Khosrow instructed him, "Go to him, ask him, and bring me his interpretation."

^Abdu l-Masih then set out and arrived at Satih, who was on the brink of death. He greeted him, but Satih did not respond. At that moment, ^Abdu l-Masih recited verses of poetry, and Satih opened his eyes and said, without being asked: "^Abdu l-Masih rides upon an earnest, hastening camel heading towards Satih, having reached the tomb. A king from the lineage of Sasan has sent you regarding the trembling of the palace hall, the extinguishing of the fires, and the vision of the mubadhan. He saw wild camels leading Arab steeds that had crossed the Tigris and spread across their lands. O ^Abdu l-Masih, when recitation increases and the bearer of the staff appears, when the valley of As-Samawah floods while the Lake of Sawah dries up, and the fire of Persia is extinguished, then the Levant will not be Levant for Satih; among them [he refers to the Persians], kings and queens will rule according to the number of balconies, and everything that is to come is indeed coming."

^Abdu l-Masih then rose and mounted his steed. Upon arriving before Khosrow, he conveyed Satih's words. Khosrow remarked: "According to the number of the balconies! [meaning fourteen kings] Until fourteen kings rule among us, there will be various affairs and events. " Indeed, ten of them reigned for four years, while the remaining four ruled until the death of ^Uthman ibnu ^Affan, may Allah accept his deeds.

[1] "Iwan" refers to a large vaulted hall or space, typically open at one end, commonly found in Persian architecture.  It is sometimes called the Arch of Ctesiphon