The Opening of the Chest

In the vast expanse of the Arabian desert, where the Banu Sa'd tribe lived their nomadic life... a miraculous event was about to unfold that would mark the beginning of the spiritual preparation of the future Prophet of Islam.

Muhammad, by then about four years old, had been living with his foster mother Halima al-Sadiya and her family for several years — growing strong and healthy in the pure desert air, learning the eloquent Arabic of the Bedouins.

It was a bright afternoon when young Muhammad was playing with the other children of the tribe near their encampment.

The children were engaged in their usual games, running and laughing under the warm desert sun... when suddenly, two figures appeared that were unlike any beings the children had ever seen!

These were angels sent by Allah — though they appeared to the children as men dressed in brilliant white garments that seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly light.

Their presence commanded both awe and reverence... and their faces carried an expression of divine purpose that set them apart from any mortal being.

The angels approached Muhammad specifically — recognizing him despite his young age as the chosen one who would one day carry the final revelation to humanity.

The other children watched in wonder and growing concern as the angels took hold of Muhammad with gentle but firm hands.

Without any sign of distress or pain, the angels laid Muhammad down on the soft desert sand.

What happened next would be remembered throughout Islamic history as one of the most significant preparatory miracles in the life of the Prophet.

With divine precision and care, the angels opened Muhammad's chest — revealing his pure heart.

The child felt no pain, no fear... only a sense of peace and divine presence.

From within the heart, the angels extracted a small clot, described in the hadith as the "portion of Shaytan" (hazz ash-Shaytan). Some scholars connect it with the touch of Shaytan at birth, the spiritual vulnerability through which temptation enters the heart. According to a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari, every child cries at the moment of birth because Shaytan touches it — except Maryam and her son Isa.

The angels removed this clot and cast it away. Then they brought a golden basin filled with Zamzam water — the blessed water that an angel had brought forth from the earth for Hajar and the infant Ismail centuries earlier, water that carries within it the barakah (blessing) of Allah. With this sacred water, they washed the heart of Muhammad, peace be upon him, purifying it completely, removing every trace of spiritual impurity, every potential foothold for Shaytan's influence.

This cleansing prepared in him the spiritual capacity that would one day allow this child to receive the words of Allah directly from Angel Jibreel, to carry the weight of the final revelation, to stand firm against the persecution of Quraysh, and to lead an entire nation to the worship of Allah alone.

Then, with the same divine precision with which they had opened it, the angels replaced the heart and sealed the chest. The mark of the incision remained — stitch marks that Anas ibn Malik later said he had seen on the Prophet's chest. It was a physical reminder of a spiritual reality: that this man had been prepared by Allah Himself for a mission unlike any other.

When the other children witnessed what had happened, they ran in terror to Halimah, crying: "Muhammad has been killed!" Halimah rushed to find the young boy standing, his face pale but otherwise unharmed. She examined him, found the mark on his chest, and was overcome with fear. Though she had experienced many blessings since taking Muhammad into her care — her barren land had become fertile, her thin animals had grown strong — this event was beyond anything she could comprehend.

Concerned for the boy's safety and unable to explain what had occurred, Halimah returned Muhammad to his mother Aminah in Makkah. Some narrations say she feared that the child might be affected by the jinn, not yet understanding that what she had witnessed was a miracle of the highest order — the direct intervention of Allah's angels in the preparation of His final messenger.

This event — known in Arabic as Shaq al-Sadr (the splitting or opening of the chest) — is narrated in Sahih Muslim by Anas ibn Malik.

Years later, on the night of the Isra and Mi'raj — the miraculous Night Journey from Makkah to Jerusalem and the ascension through the seven heavens — the Opening of the Chest occurred a second time. In the narration recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet described how Jibreel opened his chest, washed his heart with Zamzam water, and filled it with faith and wisdom before the journey began. This second purification was a preparation for the most extraordinary experience any human being has ever had: standing in the presence of Allah beyond the seventh heaven, receiving the commandment of the five daily prayers.

The theological significance of the Opening of the Chest cannot be overstated. It established that Muhammad, peace be upon him, was not an ordinary man who happened to receive revelation — he was divinely prepared from childhood. Every aspect of his being was purified and fortified for the task ahead. The removal of Shaytan's portion meant that the Prophet was uniquely immune to the whispers and temptations that affect all other human beings. This does not diminish his humanity — he still experienced hunger, fatigue, grief, and joy — but it ensured that his spiritual compass always pointed toward Allah, undistorted by the influence of evil.

The use of Zamzam water is also deeply symbolic. This blessed water connects the Opening of the Chest to the broader tapestry of prophetic history — from Hajar's desperate search for water in the desert, to Ismail's miraculous spring, to the purification of the heart of the final messenger. Zamzam is the water of faith, and many see meaning in its use here: the water that sprang up for Hajar and Ismail purified the heart of their descendant, the final messenger, peace be upon him. Explore the full journey of the Prophet through the stories of the Quran and the Seerah collection in the Qissah app.