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The Beloved Prophet ﷺ remained in the Banu Sa’d tribe for approximately 4 years. He ﷺ used to take goats for grazing with his milk-siblings. Taking goats to pastures and caring for them is a Sunnah of almost all the Prophets عليهم السلام. He ﷺ revealed one of his prophetic traits in his childhood through this action.
The first incident of the splitting of the chest of the Noble Prophet ﷺ occurred in the tribe of Banu Sa'd. In this regard, it is narrated by Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was with children when Sayyiduna Jibraeel عليه السلام came, took hold of him, laid him down, split open his chest, removed his heart, and took out a clot of blood from it, saying: هٰذَا حَظُّ الشَّيْطَانِ مِنْكَ — “This was the share of Shaytan in you.” Thereafter, Sayyiduna Jibraeel عليه السلام washed the blessed heart in a golden vessel with the water of Zamzam, stitched it, and placed it back in its position. Upon witnessing this scene, the children ran to the foster mother of the Beloved Prophet ﷺ, Sayyidatuna Haleema Sa'diyyah رضي الله عنها, and said, “Muhammad ﷺ has been killed.” Hearing this, the people hurried to him and saw that the color of his blessed face had changed. Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik رضي الله عنه stated that he used to see the marks of the stitching on the blessed chest.
(Muslim, p. 88, Hadith: 413)
Greatly alarmed by this incident, Sayyidatuna Haleema رضي الله عنها brought the Beloved Prophet ﷺ to Sayyidatuna Aminah رضي الله عنها and entrusted him to her care. After this, the Beloved Prophet ﷺ was brought up in the loving care of his noble mother.
Shaqq-al-Sadr is an Arabic term which means the splitting of the chest. In a miraculous event, the angels split open the blessed chest of the Final Messenger of Allah ﷺ, washed his heart, and then stitched it back up. This act, known as Shaqq-al-Sadr, occurred four times in his life: once when he was 4 years old, again at 10, a third time at 40, and finally before his miraculous night journey (Mi'raj).