All the women obtained at least one infant to take home. Only Hazrat Halimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was left empty-handed. As the hour of departure drew closer, Hazrat Halimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) found it difficult to return home empty-handed. All of a sudden, from the unseen, a strong urge to take this orphan entered her heart. She went to her husband and said:
واللّٰه لأذهبن إلى ذلك اليتيم فلآخذنه
“By Allah! I will definitely go to this orphan and take him.”
Her husband responded:
لا عليك عسى اللّٰه أن يجعل لنا فيه بركة
“There is no harm in this. Perhaps Allah Ta‘ala may bless us with barakah because of him.”
Barakah refers to goodness provided by Allah Ta‘ala. In other words, barakah refers to divine goodness that comes directly from Allah Ta‘ala without any apparent cause.
Allah Ta‘ala says:
أنا عند ظن عبدي بي
“I will deal with my servant in the manner he expects Me to deal with him.”
In hope of acquiring this barakah, Hazrat Halimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) went to fetch Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). According to her expectation, Allah Ta‘ala opened the doors of barakah for Hazrat Halimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) and her family. The other women of Banu Sa’d had pinned their hopes on the creation whilst Hazrat Halimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) had pinned her hopes on Allah Ta‘ala alone. Hazrat Halimah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) recounts, “As soon as I placed this blessed child in my lap, my dried-out bosom began to fill with milk. I produced so much of milk that both he and his milk-brother were able to drink to their fill. When we went to milk our camel, we saw its udders full of milk. My husband and I both satiated ourselves with its milk. We passed the night in splendid comfort.”
The next morning, her husband commented:
تعلمي واللّٰه يا حليمة لقد اخذت نسمة مباركة
“O Halimah! By Allah! Understand that you have taken an exceptionally blessed child.”
To this she replied:
واللّٰه إني لأرجو ذلك
“By Allah! I say with conviction that this is what I hope for from Allah Ta‘ala.”
(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/70-72)