Question:
What is the status of the story where the Prophet PBUH’s chest was being torn open when he was a child?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Based on the above presented question, the status of the story is sahih because there is a sahih hadith which proves that it happened. The hadith is narrated by Imam Muslim RA in his sahih and it is narrated by Anas bin Malik RA, where he said:
أَتَاهُ جِبْرِيلُ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهُوَ يَلْعَبُ مَعَ الْغِلْمَانِ فَأَخَذَهُ فَصَرَعَهُ فَشَقَّ عَنْ قَلْبِهِ فَاسْتَخْرَجَ الْقَلْبَ فَاسْتَخْرَجَ مِنْهُ عَلَقَةً فَقَالَ هَذَا حَظُّ الشَّيْطَانِ مِنْكَ . ثُمَّ غَسَلَهُ فِي طَسْتٍ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ بِمَاءِ زَمْزَمَ ثُمَّ لأَمَهُ ثُمَّ أَعَادَهُ فِي مَكَانِهِ وَجَاءَ الْغِلْمَانُ يَسْعَوْنَ إِلَى أُمِّهِ - يَعْنِي ظِئْرَهُ - فَقَالُوا إِنَّ مُحَمَّدًا قَدْ قُتِلَ . فَاسْتَقْبَلُوهُ وَهُوَ مُنْتَقَعُ اللَّوْنِ . قَالَ أَنَسٌ وَقَدْ كُنْتُ أَرَى أَثَرَ ذَلِكَ الْمِخْيَطِ فِي صَدْرِهِ
Gabriel came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) while he was playing with his playmates. He took hold of him and lay him prostrate on the ground and tore open his chest and took out the heart from it and then extracted a blood-clot out of it and said: That was the part of Satan in thee. And then he washed it with the water of Zamzam in a golden basin and then it was joined together and restored to it place. The boys came running to his mother, i. e. his nurse, and said: Verily Muhammad has been murdered. They all rushed toward him (and found him all right) His color was changed, Anas said. I myself saw the marks of needle on his chest.
Sahih Muslim (162)
Closing
In conclusion, there are several stories or sirah of the Prophet PBUH in sahih hadiths. For that, we should check and verify the status of a story before spreading it to others. This is because, it includes our beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH. Lastly, may Allah SWT protect our tongue from spreading lies upon His prophets and bless us with beneficial knowledge. Ameen.
Wallahua’lam.