| Born | 545 |
|---|---|
| Died | 570 (aged 25) |
| Cause of death | Illness |
| Resting place | Jannatul Mualla, Mecca, Saudi Arabia |
| Spouse | Aminah bint Wahb |
| Children | Son: Muhammad |
| Parents | Father: 'Abd al-Mutallib |
| This article is part of the series: |
| Islam |
|---|
|
|
|
See also
|
Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muṭṭalib (Arabic: عبدالله بن عبد المطلب) (545-570) was the father of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the son of Shaiba ibn Hashim (`Abd al-Muttalib), and was married to Aminah bint Wahb.
Contents |
Vow to Sacrifice `Abdullah ibn `Abdul MuttalibFor a long time, `Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim had only one son Harith. He always prayed for more sons. He also made a vow to Allah, he would sacrifice one of them, if all of them grew up to young age. With time `Abdul Muttalib had nine more sons. When all his sons grew up into fine young men, `Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim remembered that he had made a vow to sacrifice one of them to Allah. Before Islam, Arabs used to make their decisions by drawing arrows of divinity placed at the feet of their deities. `Abdul Muttalib took all of his sons to Ka'bah. He had to select one of his sons for sacrifice. `Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim decided to select one of his sons for sacrifice, by drawing arrows that were placed at the feet of Hubal, a statue inside Ka'bah. `Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim asked each of his sons to bring an arrow each with his name written on it which were then drawn at the feet of Hubal inside Ka'bah. `Abdul Muttalib approached the arrows and picked one of them. The name of his youngest son `Abdullah ibn `Abdul Muttalib was picked up for the sacrifice. `Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim took `Abdullah ibn `Abdul Muttalib to the sacrificial spot near Ka'bah, for sacrificing him.
`Abdullah ibn `Abdul Muttalib was loved by every one. His sisters, brothers and other residents of Makkah requested `Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim to spare the life of `Abdullah ibn `Abdul Muttalib. They advised `Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim to get another opinion. `Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim and his family went to Yathrib (Madinah) to seek advise from a priestess, Shiya, who lived there. She advised them to barter the life of `Abdullah with ten camels, the normal Diyya (Blood Money) for murder. She further advised them to go on adding ten camels till `Abdullah's name was not picked.
`Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim and his family returned to Makkah and tried their luck again at the feet of Hubal. Another draw was made between `Abdullah ibn `Abdul Muttalib and ten (10) camels. Again, the `Abdullah ibn `Abdul Muttalib name was picked-up. Ten camels were added to the lot. Another draw by made. This process was repeated many times. Finally, a draw was made between `Abdullah ibn `Abdul Muttalib and one hundred camels. This time the camels were picked up. `Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim got this result verified. One hundred camels were picked up three times in a row. One hundred camels were slaughtered in exchange of `Abdullah ibn `Abdul Muttalib.
His father chose for him Aminah daughter of Wahb ibn 'Abd Manaf who was the grandson of Zuhrah, the brother of his great-great-grandfather Qusai. Wahb had been the chief of Banu Zuhrah as well as its eldest and noblest member but had died some previously and Aminah became a ward of his brother Wuhaib who had succeeded him as chief of the clan.
His father went with him to the quarter of Banu Zuhrah. There, he sought the residence of Wahaib and went in to ask for the hand of Wahb's daughter for his son. 'Abd Allah's father fixed his marriage with Aminah.[1] It was said that a light shun out of his forhead and that this light was the promise of a Prophet as offspring. Countless woman of Arabia approached 'Abd Allah, which according to several traditions, was a handsome man; so that they might gain the honour of producing the offspring. However everyone believes that as decided by God, the light was destined to be transferred to Aminah through 'Abd Allah after consumating the marriage.[2] 'Abd Allah's father was the custodian of the Holy Ka'ba in Makkah. 'Abd Allah lived with Aminah among her relatives the first three days of the marriage. Afterwards, they moved together to the quarter of `Abd al-Muttalib.
Soon after their marriage 'Abd Allah would be called to Palestine and as-Sham (present day Syria) on a trading caravan trip, when he left Aminah was pregnant. 'Abd Allah was absent for several months in Gaza. On his way back he stopped for a longer rest with the family of his maternal grandmother (Sahre bint Tahmur ibn Ubeyd ibn Qusai) in Madinah, where his maternal uncles also lived. While preparing to join a caravan to Makkah when he fell ill when the caravan reached.
The caravan went on without him to Makkah with news of his absence and disease. 'Abd al-Muttalib immediately sent his eldest son Harith to Madinah in order to accompany 'Abd Allah on the trip back to Makkah after his recovery. However upon arriving at Madinah Harith learned that his brother had died and that he had been buried in Makkah a month after the start of that same caravan to Madinah. Harith returned to Madinah to announce the death of `Abd Allah to his aged father and his bereaved wife Aminah.[3]
`Abd Allah left five camels, a herd of sheep and goats, and a slave nurse, called Umm Ayman, who was to take care of his son Muhammad. This patrimony does not prove that `Abd Allah was wealthy, but at the same time it does not prove that he was poor. Furthermore, `Abd Allah was still a young man capable of working and of amassing a fortune. His father was still alive and none of his wealth had as yet been transferred to his sons.[4]
His full name includes the name "Abdullah". Allah is the word for "God" in Arabic and is related to the word for "God" in Aramaic and other Semitic languages. Abd Allah means "servant of God" or "slave of God".
In Latin script, 'Abdullah ibn 'Abdul Muttalib (Shaiba) ibn Hashim (Amr) ibn Abd Manaf (al-Mughira) ibn Qusai (Zaid) ibn Kilab ibn Murra ibn Ka`b ibn Lu'ay ibn Ghalib ibn Fahr (Quraish) ibn Malik ibn an-Nadr (Qais) ibn Kinanah ibn Khuzaimah ibn Mudrikah (Amir) ibn Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Ma'ad ibn Adnan. (ibn means "son of" in Arabic; alternate names of people with two names are given in parentheses.) [5]