The Life of Muhammad

by M. Husayn Haykal

  Al Muttalib

  Several years later Hashim died on one of his trips and was buried in Gaza. His brother, al Muttalib, succeeded him in his posts. Though al Muttalib was younger than ‘Abd Shams, he was well esteemed by the people. The Quraysh used to call him “Mr. Abundance” for his generosity and goodness. Naturally, with such competence and prestige as al Muttalib enjoyed, the situation in Makkah continued to be prosperous and peaceful.

  One day al Muttalib thought of his nephew Shaybah. He went to Yathrib and asked Salma to hand the child over now that he had become fully grown. On return to Makkah, al Muttalib allowed the young man to precede him on his camel. The Quraysh thought that he was a servant of al Muttalib and called him so, namely ‘Abd al Muttalib. When al Muttalib heard of this he said, “Hold it, Fellow Tribesmen. This man is not my servant but my nephew, son of Hashim, whom I brought back from Yathrib.” The title ‘Abd al Muttalib was so popular, however, that the young man’s old name, Shaybah, was forgotten.

  Abd al Muttalib (495 C.E.)

  When al Muttalib sought to return to his nephew the wealth which Hashim left behind, Nawfal objected and seized the wealth. ‘Abd al Muttalib waited until he grew and then asked for the support of his uncles in Yathrib against his uncles in Makkah. Eighty Khazraj horsemen arrived from Yathrib ready to give him the military support he needed in order to reclaim his rights. Nawfal refused to fight and returned the seized wealth. ‘Abd al Muttalib then was assigned the offices which Hashim occupied, namely the siqayah and the rifadah, after al Muttalib passed away. He experienced no little difficulty in discharging the requisite duties because at that time he had only one son, al Harith. As the well of Zamzam had been destroyed, water had to be brought in from a number of sub-sidiary wells in the outskirts of Makkah and placed in smaller reservoirs near the Ka’bah. Plurality of descendants was an asset in the execution of such a task as this but ‘Abd al Muttalib had only one son, and the task nearly exhausted him. Naturally, he gave the matter a good deal of thought.

  The Redigging of Zamzam

  The Makkans still had memories of the Zamzam well which was filled with dirt by Mudad ibn ‘Amr of the Jurhum tribe a few hundred years back and wished that it could be reactivated. This matter concerned ‘Abd al Muttalib more than anyone else, and he gave it all his attention. Suffering under his duties, he thought so much about the matter that he even saw in his dreams a spirit calling him to re-dig the well whose waters sprang under the feet of his ancestor, Isma’il. But no one knew where the old well stood. Finally, after much investigation, ‘Abd al Muttalib was inspired to try the place between the two idols, Isaf and Na’ilah. Helped by his second son al Mughirah, he dug at the place until water sprang forth and the two golden gazelles and swords of Mudad of the Jurhum tribe appeared. The Quraysh wanted to share his find with ‘Abd al Muttalib. After objecting, he finally came to an agreement with them to determine the rightful ownership of the treasure by the drawing of lots among three equal partners, namely the Ka’bah, the Quraysh, and himself. The divinatory arrows were drawn near the idol Hubal within the Ka’bah, and the result was that the Quraysh lost completely, ‘Abd al Muttalib won the swords, and the Ka’bah won the two gazelles. ‘Abd al Muttalib ordered his part, namely the swords, reforged as a door for the Ka’bah, and placed the two golden gazelles within the holy house as a decoration. Now that the Zamzam water was close by, ‘Abd al Muttalib performed his siqayah duties with ease.

  The Vow and Its Fulfillment

  ‘Abd al Muttalib realized the limitations, which his lack of children imposed upon him. He vowed that should he be given ten sons to grow to maturity and to help him in his task he would sacrifice one of them to God near the Ka’bah. ‘Abd al Muttalib’s wish was to be fulfilled: he had ten fully-grown sons. When he called them to assist him in the fulfillment of his vow, they accepted. It was agreed that the name of each one of them would be written on a divinatory arrow, that the arrows would be drawn near Hubal within the Ka’bah and that he whose name appeared on the drawn arrow would be sacrificed. It was then customary among the Arabs whenever they faced an insoluble problem to resort to divination by means of arrows at the foot of the greatest idol in the area. When the arrows were drawn it was the arrow of ‘Abdullah, the youngest son of ‘Abd al Muttalib and the most beloved, that came out. Without hesitation ‘Abd al Muttalib took the young man by the hand and prepared to sacrifice him by the well of Zamzam between the idols of Isaf and Na’ilah. ‘Abd al Muttalib insisted upon the sacrifice, but the whole of Quraysh insisted that ‘Abdullah be spared and that some kind of indulgence be sought from the god Hubal. Finally, in answer to ‘Abd al Muttalib’s inquiry as to what should be done to please the gods, al Mughirah ibn ‘Abdullah al Makhzumi volunteered the answer, “Perhaps the youth can be ransomed with wealth; in that case, we shall be pleased to give up all the necessary wealth to save him.” After consultation with one another, they decided to consult a divineress in Yathrib renowned for her good insight. When they came to her, she asked them to wait until the morrow; upon their return she asked, “What, in your custom, is the amount of a man’s blood wit?” “Ten camels,” they answered. She said, “Return then to your country and draw near your god two arrows, one with the name of the youth and the other with the term ‘ten camels.’ If the arrow drawn is that of the youth, then multiply the number of camels and draw again until your god is satisfied. They accepted her solution and drew the divinatory arrows which they found to converge on ‘Abdullah. They kept multiplying the number of camels until the number reached one hundred. It was then that the camels’ arrow was drawn. The people were satisfied and told ‘Abd al Muttalib, who stood nearby in terror, “Thus did your god decide, O ‘Abd al Muttalib.” But he answered, “Not at all! I shall not be convinced that this is my god’s wish until the same result comes out three times consecutively.” The arrows were drawn three times, and in all three it was the camels’ arrow that came out. ‘Abd al Muttalib then felt sure that his god was contented, and he sacrified the one hundred camels.

  In this way the books of biography have reported to us some of the customs of the Arabs and of their religious doctrines. In this way they have informed us of the Arabs’ adherence to these doctrines and of their loyalty and devotion to their holy house. In confirming this custom al Tabari reports that a Muslim woman had once vowed to sacrifice one of her sons. She sought the advice of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar without much avail. She went to ‘Abdullah ibn al ‘Abbas who advised her to sacrifice one hundred camels after the example of ‘Abd al Muttalib. But when Marwan, the governor of Madinah, knew of what she was about, he forbade her to do it, holding to the Islamic principle that no vow is valid whose object is illegitimate.

  The Year of the Elephant (570 C.E.)

  The respect and esteem which Makkah and her holy house enjoyed suggested to some distant provinces in Arabia that they should construct holy houses in order to attract some of the people away from Makkah. The Ghassanis built such a house at al Hirah. Abrahah al Ashram built another in Yaman. Neither of them succeeded, however, in drawing the Arabs away from Makkah and its holy house. Indeed, Abrahah took a special care to decorate the house in Yaman and filled it with such beautiful furniture and statues that he thought that he could draw thereto not only the Arabs but the Makkans themselves. When later he found out that the Arabs were still going to the ancient house, that the inhabitants of Yaman were leaving behind the newly built house in their own territory and did not regard the pilgrimage valid except in Makkah, he came to the conclusion that there was no escape from destroying the house of Ibrahim and Isma’il. The viceroy of the Negus therefore prepared for war and brought a great army for that purpose from Abyssinia equipped with a great elephant on which he rode. When the Arabs heard of his war preparations, they became quite upset and feared the impending doom of Makkah, the Ka’bah, its statues, and the institution of pilgrimage. Dhu Nafar, a nobleman from Yaman, appealed to his fellow countrymen to revolt and fight Abrahah and thus prevent hi
m from the destruction of God’s house. Abrahah, however, was too strong to be fought with such tactics: Dhu Nafar as well as Nufayl ibn Habib al Khath’ami, leader of the two tribes of Shahran and Nahis, were taken prisoners after a brief but gallant fight. On the other hand, the people of al Ta’if, when they learned that it was not their house that he intended to destroy, cooperated with Abrahah and sent a guide with him to show him the way to Makkah.

  Abrahah and the Ka’bah

  Upon approaching Makkah, Abrahah sent a number of horsemen to seize whatever there was of Quraysh’s animal wealth in the outskirts. The horsemen returned with some cattle and a hundred camels belonging to ‘Abd al Muttalib. The Quraysh and other Makkans first thought of holding their ground and fighting Abrahah, but they soon realized that his power was far superior to theirs. Abrahah sent one of his men, Hunatah al Himyari to inform ‘Abd al Muttalib, chief of Makkah, that Abrahah had not come to make war against the Makkans but only to destroy the house and that should the Makkans not stand in his way, he would not fight them at all. When ‘Abd al Muttalib declared the intention of Makkah not to fight Abrahah, Hunatah invited ‘Abd al Muttalib and his sons and some of the leaders of Makkah to Abrahah’s encampment in order to talk to Abrahah directly. Abrahah received ‘Abd al Muttalib well and returned his seized camels. But he refused to entertain any suggestion of saving the Ka’bah from destruction as well as the Makkans’ offer to pay him one-third of the yearly crop of the Tihamah province. The conference therefore came to no conclusion, and ‘Abd al Muttalib returned to Makkah. He immediately advised the Makkans to evacuate the city and withdraw to the mountains and thus save their own persons.

  It was certainly a grave day on which the Makkans decided to evacuate their town and leave it an open city for destruction by Abrahah. ‘Abd al Muttalib and the leaders of the Quraysh grasped the lock of the door of the Ka’bah and prayed to their gods to stop this aggression against the house of God. As they left Makkah, and Abrahah prepared to send his terrifying and formidable army into the city to destroy the house, smallpox spread within its ranks and began to take its toll. The epidemic attacked the army with unheard of fury. Perhaps the microbes of the disease were carried there by the wind from the west. Abrahah himself was not spared; and terrified by what he saw, he ordered the army to return to Yaman. Attacked by death and desertion, Abrahah’s army dwindled to almost nothing, and, by the time he reached San’a’, his capital in Yaman, he himself succumbed to the disease. This phenomenon was so extraordinary that the Makkans reckoned time with it by calling that year “The Year of the Elephant.” The Qur’an had made this event immortal when it said,

  “Consider what your Lord had done to the people of the elephant. Did he not undo their evil plotting? And send upon them wave after wave of flying stones of fire? And made their ranks like a harvested cornfield trodden by herds of hungry cattle?” [Qur’an, 105:1-5]

  The Position of Makkah after the Year of the Elephant

  This extraordinary event enhanced the religious position of Makkah as well as her trade. Her people became more committed than ever to the preservation of their exalted city and to resist every attempt at reducing it.

  Makkan Luxury

  The prosperity, affluence, and luxury which Makkah provided for its citizens, like an island in a large barren desert, confirmed the Makkans in their parochial zeal. The Makkans loved their wine and the revelry it brought. It helped them satisfy their passionate search for pleasure and to find that pleasure in the slave girls with which they traded and who invited them to ever-increasing indulgence. Their pursuit of pleasure, on the other hand, confirmed their personal freedom and the freedom of their city, which they were prepared to protect against any aggressor at any cost. They loved to hold their celebrations and their drinking parties right in the center of the city around the Ka’bah. There, in the proximity of three hundred or more statues belonging to about three hundred Arab tribes, the elders of the Quraysh and the aristocracy of Makkah held their salons and told one another tales of trips across desert or fertile land, tales of the kings of Hirah on the east or of Ghassan on the west, which the caravans and the nomads brought back and forth. The tribes carried these tales and customs throughout their areas with great speed, efficiency, and application. Makkan pastimes consisted of telling these stories to neighbors and friends and of hearing others, of drinking wine, and of preparing for a big night around the Ka’bah or in recovering from such a night. The idols must have witnessed with their stone eyes all this revelry around them. The revelers were certain of protection since the idols had conferred upon the Ka’bah a halo of sanctity and peace. The protection, however, was mutual, for it was the obligation of the Makkans never to allow a scripturist, [Literally, “man with a book or scripture,” following the Qur’anic appellation for Jews and Christians, “People of the Book,” or “scripturists.”] i.e., Christian or Jew, to enter Makkah except in the capacity of a servant and under the binding covenant that he would not speak in Makkah either of his religion or of his scripture. Consequently, there were neither Jewish nor Christian communities in Makkah, as was the case in Yathrib and Najran. The Ka’bah was then the holy of holies of paganism and securely protected against any attack against its authorities or sanctity. Thus Makkah was as independent as the Arab tribes were, ever unyielding in its protection of that independence which the Makkans regarded as worthier than life. No tribe ever thought of rallying with another or more tribes in order to form a union with superior strength to Makkah, and none ever entertained any idea of conquering her. The tribes remained separated, leading a pastoral nomadic existence but enjoying to the full the independence, freedom, pride, and chivalry, as well as the individualism which the life of the desert implied.

  The Residences of Makkah

  The houses of the Makkans surrounded the Ka’bah and stood at a distance from it proportionate to the social position, descendance, and prestige these inhabitants enjoyed. The Qurayshis were the closest to the Ka’bah and the most related to it on account of the offices of sidanah and siqayah’ [”Siddnah” is synonymous to “hijabah.” For a definition of this and “siqayah,” see page 45] which they held. On this account no honorific title was withheld from them, and it was for the sake of these titles that wars were fought, pacts concluded, and treaties covenanted. The texts of all Makkan treaties and pacts were kept in the Ka’bah so that the gods who undoubtedly, were taken as witnesses thereto, might punish those covenanters who violated their promises. Beyond these stood the houses of the less important tribes, and further still stood the houses of the slaves, servants and those without honor. In Makkah the Jews and Christians were slaves, as we said earlier. They were therefore allowed to live only in these far away houses on the edge of the desert. Whatever religious stories they could tell regarding Christianity or Judaism would be too far removed from the ears of the lords and nobles of Quraysh and Makkah. This distance permitted the latter to stop their ears as well as their conscience against all serious concern. Whatever they heard of Judaism or Christianity they obtained from a monastery or a hermitage recluse in the desert which lay on some road of the caravans.

  Even so, the rumors circulating at the time about the possible rise of a prophet among the Arabs caused them great worry. Abu Sufyan one day strongly criticized Umayyah ibn Abu al Salt for repeating such Messianic stories as the monks circulated. One can imagine Abu Sufyan addressing Umayyah in some such words as these, “Those monks in the desert expect a Messiah because of their ignorance of their own religion. Surely they need a prophet to guide them thereto. As for us, we have the idols right here close by, and they do bring us close to God. We do not need any prophet, and we ought to combat any such suggestion.” Fanatically committed to his native city as well as to its paganism, it was apparently impossible for Abu Sufyan to realize that the hour of guidance was just about to strike, that the prophethood of Muhammad-may God’s blessing be upon him-had drawn near, and that from these pagan Arab lands a light was to shine over the
whole world to illuminate it with monotheism and truth.

  ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al Muttalib

  ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al Muttalib was a handsome young man admired by the unmarried women of his town. They were fascinated by the story of ransom and the hundred camels which the god Hubal insisted on receiving in his stead. But fate had already prepared ‘Abdullah for the noblest fatherhood that history had known, just as it had prepared Aminah, daughter of Wahb, to be mother to the son of ‘Abdullah. The couple were married and, a few months after their marriage, ‘Abdullah passed away. None could ransom him from this later fate. Aminah survived him, gave birth to Muhammad, and joined her husband while Muhammad was still an infant.

  Chapter 3

  Muhammad: From Birth to Marriage