Al-Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib الْعَبَّاس بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِب

Overview

al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib (Arabic: الْعَبَّاس بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِب; c. 568–653 CE) was a paternal uncle of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and a senior Companion. He was three years older than the Prophet ﷺ. He was father of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās and ancestor of the Abbasid caliphal dynasty (749–1258 CE), which derives its name from him.

Role

al-ʿAbbās accepted Islam shortly before the Conquest of Mecca (8 AH / 630 CE), though he had been secretly sympathetic to the Muslim community for years and is reported to have provided intelligence and support during the Pledge of ʿAqabah. He was captured at the Battle of Badr (with the Quraysh army) and ransomed; his subsequent emigration to Medina was met by the Prophet ﷺ with great honour. He was a tall, strong man with a powerful voice — at the Battle of Ḥunayn (8 AH) the Prophet ﷺ asked him to call out to the Anṣār to rally them.

Famous narration

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb used to invoke Allah for rain through al-ʿAbbās in years of drought, saying: "O Allah, we used to seek rain through our Prophet ﷺ and You gave us rain; now we seek rain through the uncle of our Prophet ﷺ — so give us rain." — Sahih al-Bukhari 1010

Death

Died in Medina in 32 AH (653 CE), aged about 88. Buried at al-Baqīʿ.

See also

• Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
• Ibn Abbas
• Abdul-Muttalib
• Sahaba

References

1. Sahih al-Bukhari 1010.
2. al-Dhahabī, Siyar Aʿlām an-Nubalāʾ, vol. 2.
3. Ibn Hisham, al-Sīrah; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidāyah.