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Abdul-Muttalib عَبْدُ الْمُطَّلِب

In review — pending scholar verification

Paternal grandfather of the Prophet ﷺ, leader of Quraysh in his time, custodian of the Kaaba — present at the Year of the Elephant (570 CE); raised the orphaned Muhammad ﷺ for the first eight years of his life.

Overview

ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim (Arabic: عَبْدُ الْمُطَّلِب; given name Shaybah; c. 497–578 CE) was the paternal grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, leader (sayyid) of the Quraysh tribe in his time, and chief custodian of the Kaaba in Mecca. He raised the orphaned Muhammad ﷺ for the first eight years of his life, before his own death.

Role in Sirah

ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was alive at the Year of the Elephant (Sūrat Al-Fīl, 105) — the year of the Prophet's ﷺ birth (c. 570 CE). When Abrahah's army marched on Mecca to destroy the Kaaba, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib reportedly told the army commander: "I am the lord of the camels, and the House has a Lord who will protect it." The famous defeat of Abrahah by birds carrying stones (Surah Al-Fil) followed.

He is also remembered for re-discovering and re-excavating the well of Zamzam, which had been buried for centuries.

Children

He had ten sons; the most prominent in Islamic history are ʿAbd Allāh (the Prophet's ﷺ father, who died before the Prophet's ﷺ birth), Abū Ṭālib (the Prophet's ﷺ later guardian), al-ʿAbbās (an early Companion), and Ḥamzah (a Companion martyred at Uhud).

Death

Died around 578 CE when the Prophet ﷺ was eight years old. Guardianship of Muhammad ﷺ was then transferred to Abū Ṭālib.

See also

References

  1. Ibn Hisham, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah, opening volumes.
  2. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidāyah wa-an-Nihāyah, vol. 2.
  3. al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh ar-Rusul wa-l-Mulūk, vol. 2.
  4. Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum, opening chapters.