Abd al-Muttalib: Difference between revisions

'''ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib b. Ḥāshim b. ʿAbd Manāf''', 500-579 (127-45 before Hijrah) is the paternal grandfather of [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]], and the chief of the [[Quraysh]] tribe. He was also one of the nobles of Mecca. Born in Yasrib, he migrated to Mecca when he was seven and became a nobility. The astonishing event of the Companions of the Elephant (the offensive of Abrahah) occurred during his rule in Mecca.

'Abd al-Muttalib is from the Quraysh tribe and is the offspring of Hashim, thus related to the [[Banu Hashim]]. He descends from Prophet Ibrahim (a). His mother, Salam daughter of 'Amr, is from the Banu Najjar Khazraj clan. This family became the companions of the Prophet (s) after he migrated to Medina. All Shi’a Imams (a) and all Talibi’s (Banu 'Ali, Banu Ja’far, Banu 'Aqil) descend from Abu Talib b. 'Abdul-Muttalib. Banu 'Abbas, including their 37 Abbasid caliphs (132-656/750-1258) descend from 'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib. The 17 Abbasid caliphs of Egypt (659-923/1261-1518) descend from the 35th Abbasid caliph in Iraq, al-Zahir Billah (622-623/1225-1226).

'Abd al-Muttalib’s name was Shibah and his epithet was Abu al-Harith. It is said that he was addressed with other names and epithets as well, such as: Amir, Sayyid al-Batha`, Saqi al-Hajij, Saqi al-Ghayth, Ghayth al-Wara fi al-'Aam al-Judub, Abu al-Sadat al-'Ashra, 'Abd al-Muttalib, Hafir Zamzam, Ibrahim Thani, and Fayyad.

'Abd al-Muttalib’s father, Hashim, married with Salma daughter of 'Amr b. Zayd from the Banu Najjar clan, in one of his trips to Yasrib. Before the birth of his son, he traveled to Gaza in what is nowadays Palestine, died and was buried there. Based on various historians, 'Abd al-Muttalib lived with his mother in Medina for seven years or more, before he went to Mecca with his uncle, Muttalib.

Muttalib inherited his brother’s positions and was appointed as chieftain. Some time later, he died in Yemen, in a land called Ridman and the positions he had inherited from his father passed down to 'Abd al-Muttalib, who was his nephew. Muttalib became a noble in Mecca as a result of his magnanimity, good management and strategies. He became famous and his superiority became clear. Quraysh acknowledged his nobility as well.

'Abd al-Muttalib was the nobles of Quraysh in those days, for God had given him magnanimity that He had given to no one else before, and relieved his thirst from the Zamzam well (in Mecca) and Dhul-Haram (in Ta'if). Quraysh appointed him as referee for [issues relating to] their wealth. He fed the people in times of famine and hunger, so much that he had even fed the birds of the mountains. In this regard Abu Talib says:

Ya’qubi cites himself in a narration that quotes the Prophet (s), “God will resurrect my grandfather, 'Abd al-Muttalib, with looks of the Prophets and the awe of the kings.”

According to religious and regional narrations, Abrahah’s offensive against Mecca, famously known as the Companions of the Elephant, was contemporary to 'Abd al-Muttalib. Abrahah marched from Yemen to Mecca with an army of elephants to destroy the Kaaba. Abrahah’s army pillaged the camels of Quraysh, for which a meeting between 'Abd al-Muttalib and Abrahah was organized, where 'Abd al-Muttalib only requested his camels be freed. Abrahah said, “I thought you have come to negotiate about the Kaaba.” 'Abd al-Muttalib replied, “I am the master of the camels, and that house (i.e. the Kaaba) has a master for itself.” He went back to Mecca and told the people to go to the mountains and take their belongings with them. Only a couple of Abrahah’s men survived and fled the following day, when a giant flock of birds attacked his army.

According to reports 'Abd al-Muttalib faced disagreement and obstruction by the Quraysh when he decided to excavate the well. He made a pledge that if God gives him ten sons he would sacrifice one of them next to the Kaaba. God almighty blessed him with ten sons. He randomly selected one of his sons, and Abdullah's name came out, but instead he sacrificed a hundred camels.

'Ali Davani believes this story is not true and was composed by the Ammawids, arguing based on the weak chain of narrators that includes unknown or weak persons, and the fact that child sacrificing was a pagan tradition but 'Abd al-Muttalib was a monotheist. He believes that the Ammawids fabricated this story in order to decrease Imam 'Ali's (a) ancestral value.

According to some reports 'Abd al-Muttalib adhered to the religion of Hanif and was not an idol worshiper. Mas’udi, third lunar century historian, talks of dispute about the religion 'Abd al-Muttalib followed and explains that one belief is that neither he nor any of the Prophet's (s) ancestors were idol worshipers. [[Al-Shaykh al-Saduq]] narrates from [[Imam Sadiq (a)]] that the Noble Prophet (s) said to [[Imam Ali (a)]], "'Abd al-Muttalib never gambled and never worshiped idols and... and he always said, "I adhere to the religion of my father, Ibrahim.""

In his book, Khisal, al-Shaykh al-Saduq narrates from Imam Sadiq (a) that the Noble Prophet (s) said to Imam Ali (a), "'Abd al-Muttalib established five traditions during the Jahiliyya Era that God [also] obligated in Islam: He disallowed sons from marrying their father's wives and God has said in the Qur'an: وَ لا تَنْکِحُوا ما نَکَحَ آباؤُکُمْ مِنَ النِّساءِ (Do not marry any of the women whom your fathers had married, excluding what is already past. That is indeed an indecency, an outrage and an evil course.)

Ya'qubi wrote: He established traditions that the Prophet acted to, and verses were revealed for it, and they were:

Loyalty to pledges, a hundred camels for blood money, illegalized marriage with a non-foreign man or woman, refraining from entering a house from its roof, amputation of a thief's hand, disapproved of killing daughters, [[Mubahala]], prohibition of Alcohol, prohibition of adultery and appointing a punishment for it, lottery, prohibition of circumambulating the Kaaba naked, respect for guests, supplying Hajj expenses with legitimate money, respect for Haram months, rejecting ostentation and hypocrisy.

It is said that before his death 'Abd al-Muttalib summoned his daughters, "Cry for me and read the elegies you want to read about me, so I can hear what you want to read for me after death before I die." His daughters did so, they mourned and each read their elegies.

Umm Ayman has been quoted saying that the Prophet (s) followed the corpse of 'Abd al-Muttalib in his funeral and cried, until they buried him next to his grandfather, Qusai b. Kilab, in Juhoon.

'Abd al-Muttalib had ten sons: Harith, 'Abdullah, Zubayr, Abu Talib, Hamza, Maqwam, 'Abbas, Dhirar, Qithm, Abu Lahab (who was also called 'Abd al-'Uzza), Ghidaq.

He had six daughters: 'Atika, Safiyya, Amima, Bara, Irwi, and Umm Hakim who was Bayda'.

Apart from Hamza and 'Abbas, none of the Prophet's (s) paternal uncles, and none of his paternal aunts except Safiyya, and according to some narrations Irwa, became Muslim.