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587 and the Romans in 70 A.D. Al-Ka‘bah, by Divine Grace, never came under the hold of
the Christians – the Muslims of that time – although Makkah was populated by polytheists.
News of the Elephant Event reached the most distant corners of the then civilized world.
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) maintained strong ties with the Romans, while the Persians on the other
hand, were on the vigil with respect to any strategic changes that were looming on the
socio-political horizon, and soon came to occupy Yemen. Incidentally, the Roman and
Persian Empires stood for the powerful civilized world at that time. The Elephant Raid Event
riveted the world’s attention to the sacredness of Allâh’s House, and showed that this House
had been chosen by Allâh for its ho. It followed then if any of its people claimed
Prophethood, it would be congruous with the outcome of the Elephant Event, and would
provide a justifiable explanation for the ulterior Divine Wisdom that lay behind backing
polytheists against Christians in a manner that transcended the cause-and-effect formula.
‘Abdul-Muttalib had ten sons, Al-Harith, Az-Zubair, Abu Talib, ‘Abdullah, Hamzah, Abu
Lahab, Ghidaq, Maqwam, Safar and Al-‘Abbas. He also had six daughters, who were Umm
Al-Hakim – the only white one, Barrah, ‘Atikah, Safiya, Arwa and Omaima.
4. ‘Abdullah: The father of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). His mother was Fatimah,
daughter of ‘Amr bin ‘A’idh bin ‘Imran bin Makhzum bin Yaqdha bin Murra. ‘Abdullah was the
smartest of ‘Abdul-Muttalib’s sons, the chastest and the most loved. He was also the son
whom the divination arrows pointed at to be slaughtered as a sacrifice to Al-Ka‘bah. When
‘Abdul-Muttalib had ten sons and they reached maturity, he divulged to them his secret vow
in which they silently and obediently acquiesced. Their names were written on divination
arrows and given to the guardian of their most beloved goddess, Hubal. The arrows were
shuffled and drawn. An arrow showed that it was ‘Abdullah to be sacrificed. ‘Abdul-Muttalib
then took the boy to Al-Ka‘bah with a razor to slaughter the boy. Quraish, his uncles from
Makhzum tribe and his brother Abu Talib, however, tried to dissuade him from
consummating his purpose. He then sought their advice as regards his vow. They suggested
that he summon a she-diviner to judge whereabout. She ordered that the divination arrows
should be drawn with respect to ‘Abdullah as well as ten camels. She added that drawing the
lots should be repeated with ten more camels every time the arrow showed ‘Abdullah. The
operation was thus repeated until the number of the camels amounted to one hundred. At
this point the arrow showed the camels, consequently they were all slaughtered (to the
satisfaction of Hubal) instead of his son. The slaughtered camels were left for anyone to eat
from, human or animal.
·
This incident produced a change in the amount of blood-money usually accepted in
Arabia. It had been ten camels, but after this event it was increased to a hundred. Islam,
later on, approved of this. Another thing closely relevant to the above issue goes to the
effect that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) once said:
“I am the offspring of the slaughtered two,” meaning Ishmael and ‘Abdullah.
‘Abdul-Muttalib chose Amina, daughter of Wahab bin ‘Abd Munaf bin Zahra bin Kilab, as a wife for
his son, ‘Abdullah. She thus, in the light of this ancestral lineage, stood eminent in respect of
nobility of position and descent. Her father was the chief of Bani Zahra to whom great honour was
attributed. They were married in Makkah, and soon after ‘Abdullah was sent by his father to buy
dates in Madinah where he died. In another version, ‘Abdullah went to Syria on a trade journey and
died in Madinah on his way back. He was buried in the house of An-Nabigha Al-Ju‘di. He was twenty-
five years old when he died. Most historians state that his death was two months before the birth of
Muhammad Õáì Çááå Úáíå æÓáã . Some others said that his death was two months after the
Prophet’s birth. When Amina was informed of her husband’s death, she celebrated his memory in a
most heart-touching elegy.
‘Abdullah left very little wealth —five camels, a small number of goats, a she-servant, called
Barakah – Umm Aiman – who would later serve as the Prophet’s nursemaid.
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