Why did families in 6th century Mecca send their babies to be raised in the desert?

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Accepted answer

Because they believed their infant would have a better chance of surviving in the desert.

The child mortality rate from disease and malnutrition in Arab settlements was horrendously high, and it was believed that sending the child into the healthier environment of the desert increased the child's chance of survival.

- Gabriel, Richard A. Muhammad: Islam's First Great General. Vol. 11. University of Oklahoma Press, 2011.

I am no expert in 6th century Arabic health, but you should not presume "chance of survival" in Mecca would be better than in the desert. Historically, urban settlements tended to be demographic death traps, much of which took the form of child and infant mortality. It's a natural consequence of concentrating a population into an urban settlement, wealthy or otherwise.

For reference, this was true for Medieval Europe:

Medieval cities always suffered distinctly higher death rates than did the country side. Infant and child mortality was always high in these societies, but in the cities the rate was twice that of the countryside.

- Hoffmann, Richard. An environmental History of Medieval Europe. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

And during Classical Antiquity:

They were physically small, underdeveloped, and vulnerable ... Infant and child mortality was high in the classical city.

- Bunge, Marcia JoAnn, ed. The Child in Christian Thought. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2001.

Upvote:-3

Because simply, they wanted their children to be as best as possible in Arabic language.

This is because desert people Arabic is much better than in cities. A very critical part of Arabs life was poems, which of course require a good language tongue. That's why they were competing each other to send their children to deserts.

From wikipedia:

As was tradition among all the great families at the time, Aminah sent Muhammad into the desert as a baby. The belief was that in the desert, one would learn self-discipline, nobility, and freedom. This also gave Muhammad the chance to learn Arabic and Arab traditions. During this time, Muhammad was nursed by Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, a poor Bedouin woman from the tribe of Banu Sa'ad, a branch of the Hawāzin, who would be with him during his time in the desert.

Upvote:-2

The most common reason behind abandonment of a newborn baby is physical malformation. Prophet had a swelling on back since birth. He was expected to have a paralyzed infancy and early death...so he was abandoned at birth. No other Arab child was abandoned like this...not even his own cousins. His malformation happened to be Cervicothoracic Meningocoele with normal life span...So he was accepted back at 8 years of age. This back tumor is described as SEAL OF PROPHETHOOD a swelling between shoulders.

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