(Dr. Imran Khan & Mufti. Shah Rafi Uddin Hamdani)

Two or three months after Halimah Sadiyah and Prophet Muhammad returned from Makkah, the event of Shaq Al-Sadar (شق الصدر) i.e., “Opening of the Chest” took place. ¹ Before this event occured, Halimah had seen a similar incident in a dream, which felt extremely real. So, when she got up, she asked her husband to return Muhammad back to his mother before something wrong happened to the child, but her husband stopped her from doing so. Thus, that day, Halimah tried to stop Muhammad from going outside to the pastures with other children, but Muhammad insisted to go with his foster siblings to graze their cattle, and the event of Shaq Al-Sadar took place. ²

When Muhammad was grazing their cattle with the other children, Angel Gabriel (Jibraeel) appeared. Gabriel came nearer and took hold of Prophet Muhammad . Then, Gabriel laid him flat on the ground and ripped open his chest. He took out Muhammad’s heart, removed a clot of blood from it and said that this was the part of Satan. Then, he washed Muhammad’s heart with Zamzam in a bowl of gold and returned it to its place. Seeing this horrible scene, Abdullah ibn Harith, Prophet Muhammad's foster brother, along with the other boys, rushed to Halimah and informed her that Muhammad had been murdered. All of the family members ran towards the place and found Muhammad upright, but alone and pale. ³ They embraced him, and his foster father asked him about the incident. Muhammad told them the details. After listening to his account, Halimah and his husband got worried and instantly took him back to their residence. ⁴

Ibn Saad states that Muhammad stayed about one year with Halimah after this event, ⁵ but she was very protective about Muhammad and did not allow him to go far away from home. Ibn Ishaq states that when the event of Shaq Al-Sadar (Opening of the Chest) occurred Muhammad was of 2 years and a few months old, however, he looked older. ⁶ Ibn Saad mentions that when the event took place Muhammad was four years of age. ⁷ Al-Zurqani also states that it is endorsed by the scholars that he was 4 years old when this event took place. ⁸ Later on, the traces of the opening of the chest were visible in the form of a thin line which showed the incision. It is ascribed to Anas , that he himself witnessed the marks of “Opening of the Chest” on the Holy Prophet’s body. ⁹ Many scholars of the modern age consider it as the first reference of Cardiac Surgery in the known human history.

Historians’ View about Shaq Al-Sadar (Opening of the Chest)

Some of the historians think that the above-mentioned event was not a real occurrence, but a mere vision or an experience from spiritual domains. They claim that Muhammad spent a life of a common man which was free from irrational and mysterious happenings so, these events are not possible. ¹⁰ Although these are some extraordinary events, but they cannot be denied only on the grounds that they are against the common human experiences because nothing is impossible for God Almighty. Allah is the Omnipotent Lord and nothing is impossible for Him. He can do whatever He wills. This event is recorded in a Sahih Hadith so, it cannot be denied merely on the bases of weak human reasoning and speculations. ¹¹ Furthermore, Anas’ report of witnessing the mark, ¹² and the children’s approach to the family for rescuing Muhammad , and Halimah’s fear for Muhammad are solid evidences which establish the fact that the event occurred in reality.

Shaq Al-Saddar (Opening of the Chest) in Dreams

Beside the above-mentioned incident, Ibn Ishaq refers to another incident of “Opening of the Chest”, in which two angels appeared in the form of white birds and one of them purified Prophet Muhammad’s heart merely with its beak. ¹³ Many scholars are of the opinion that this took place in a dream. Further details of this event which occurred in a dream are quoted by Ibn Kathir. He states that one day, Prophet Muhammad went off with one of Halimah’s sons, along with their herd to a nearby pasture. That day, they had not taken any food with them for lunch so, Muhammad asked his foster brother to go back home and get some food. Prophet Muhammad’s foster brother hurried away while he remained with the animals in the pasture. Then, two white birds resembling eagles appeared and dived down, took hold of Prophet Muhammad and laid him down on his back. Then, they slit his abdomen open, pulled out his heart, cut it open and removed two black clots from it. Then, one of the birds asked his companion to bring him some ice water and with that, they cleaned his insides. The first bird then again asked his companion for some cold water. With that they washed the heart of Prophet Muhammad’s . Then the bird asked his companion to give Muhammad Al-Sakina (tranquility), which they sprinkled it into his heart. Then, the one asked the other to sew it up. He complied to his command and then placed on his heart “The Seal of Prophet Hood”. Then, they placed him in a weighing scale and put a thousand of his people in the other. And when Muhammad looked up, there were a thousand (men from his Ummah) above him so, he got concerned that some of them might tumble down upon him. Then, one of the birds commented, if his whole nation were balanced against him, he would still be heavier than them. Then, it put a seal between the shoulders, on the back of Prophet Muhammad . Then, both the birds went away, leaving him there. Prophet Muhammad was extremely scared and hurried back to Halimah and told her what had happened to him. ¹⁴ Some people state that this was a real-world experience as well, but according to the learned scholars, this incident occurred in a dream, while the incident in which Gabriel appeared and opened his chest, happened in reality.

• ¹  Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar Al-Madani (1978), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Ishaq, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 50.
• ²  Mughlatai ibn Qileej Al-Bakjarri (2012), Al-Zahr Al-Baasim fe-Siyar Abi Al-Qasim, Dar Al-Salam, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 1, Pg. 415.
• ³  Muslim ibn Al-Hajjaj Al-Neshapuri (2000), Sahih Al-Muslim, Hadith: 413, Dar Al-Salam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Pg. 83-84.
• ⁴  Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar Al-Madani (1978), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Ishaq, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 50.
• ⁵  Muhammad ibn Saad Al-Basri (1968), Tabqat Al-Kubra, Dar Sadir, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 112.
• ⁶  Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar Al-Madani (1978), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Ishaq, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 50.
• ⁷  Muhammad ibn Saad Al-Basri (1968), Tabqat Al-Kubra, Dar Sadir, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 112.
• ⁸  Muhammad ibn Abd Al-Baqi ibn Yusuf Al-Zurqani (1996), Sharah Al-Zurqani Ala Al-Mawahib Al-Laduniyyah, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 282.
• ⁹  Muslim ibn Al-Hajjaj Al-Neshapuri (2000), Sahih Al-Muslim, Hadith: 413, Dar Al-Salam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Pg. 83-84.
• ¹⁰  Husein Haykal (1976), The Life of Muhammad ﷺ (Translated by Ismail Raji Al-Faruqi), Islamic Book Trust, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Pg. 50-51.
• ¹¹  Muhammad ibn Yusuf Al-Salihi Al-Shami (1993), Subul Al-Huda wal-Rashad fe-Seerat Khair Al-Abad, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 65.
• ¹²  Muslim ibn Al-Hajjaj Al-Neshapuri (2000), Sahih Al-Muslim, Hadith: 413, Dar Al-Salam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Pg. 83-84.
• ¹³  Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar Al-Madani (1978), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Ishaq, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Pg. 51.
• ¹⁴  Abul Fida Ismael ibn Kathir Al-Damishqi (1986), Al-Bidayah wa Al-Nihayah, Dar Al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 275-276.