Abdullah (the father of the Holy Prophet)

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Summary

Abdullah, the father of the Holy Prophet, was born twenty-six years before the Year of the Elephant. He is known as Dhabih (the sacrifice) which refers to the story of his sacrifice by Abd al-Muttalib. His wife was Aminah bint Wahab. Abdullah died from illness at the age of twenty-five before the birth of his son Muhammad in Madinah and was buried there.

Abdullah’s ancestry

Abdullah was the youngest son of Abd al-Muttalib and the father of the Holy Prophet. His nicknames were Aba Qaim, Aba al-Qasim and Aba Muhammad [1] and with due attention to his age at the time of his death, he was born twenty-five or twenty-six years before the Year of Elephant.

Abdullah’s sacrifice

According to some reports, Abd al-Muttalib was faced with objection by the Quraysh when digging the Zamzam Well. He made an oath that if Allah gave him ten sons, he would sacrifice one of them in the way of Allah beside the Kaabah, and Allah gave him ten sons. [2] [3] After he had his tenth son, he drew lots between them and the lots fell upon Abdullah, the father of the Holy Prophet. Eventually, he sacrificed one hundred camels in place of Abdullah.

As Abd al-Muttalib was a monotheist and making an oath to kill a child was one of the polytheistic customs, as well as the fact that the chain of narrators who narrated this event are unrecognised and weak individuals, Ali Dawwani believes that this story is a tale created by the Umayyads. According to him, by doing this, the Umayyads wanted to bring down the position of the Holy Prophet and Ali by slandering their ancestors, [4] but there are narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt which mention that this event occurred, including a narration from Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (the eighth Shiite Imam) who mentioned regarding the narration of the Holy Prophet,

“I am the son of the two sacrifices,” “What is meant by those two are Prophet Ismail and Abdullah, the father of the Holy Prophet.” [5] [6]

Irrespective of the chain of narrations, this event may have occurred and wouldn’t damage Abd al-Muttalib’s position as he was a follower of Ibrahim’s creed and making an oath to sacrifice a child is according to the event of Ibrahim sacrificing Ismail.

It is clear that in the story of Ismail’s sacrifice, Allah’s command to sacrifice a child was to test His servant. [7] Abd al-Muttalib was also under special circumstances. The life of the Kaabah and many people was dependent upon Zamzam being dug. When he saw that this duty was necessary, he made such a great oath. Of course, it is clear that neither of these stories ended in the sacrifice and killing of a child for Allah but rather, it ended in the custom of sacrificing animals which in this day and age, Muslims all around the globe replicate and feed many hungry people. Also, one must say that sacrificing a child is only something performed by people in the position of Ibrahim and Abd al-Muttalib and some of those close to Allah and is not in the sharia.

Abdullah’s marriage

Abd al-Muttalib married by son to Aminah bint Wahab who herself was from the Quraysh, the lady who gave birth to the Holy Prophet. [8] In those days, Aminah was considered the best of women in regard to position and ancestry. [9] It is narrated regarding Abdullah’s marriage:

Before his marriage to Aminah, it was suggested to Abdullah to marry Fatimah bint Murr or Qatilah bint Nawfal (or both) who were chaste and knowledgeable women in Makkah, but he didn’t accept their suggestion. A short while after marrying Aminah, Abdullah wished to marry them, but they didn’t accept. He asked why, and they answered,

“There was a radiant light emitting from you which showed that you held the prophethood, but now, that light is in Aminah’s womb and Allah knows better where to place it.” [10]

Some claim that Qatilah heard from her brother Waraqah ibn Nawfal (a great priest of Makkah) that Abdullah would father a prophet who would emerge soon and for that reason, she wanted to marry him. [11]

Abdullah’s death

Apparently, a while after Aminah became pregnant with the Holy Prophet, Abdullah passed away before he was born. [12] Of course, there is also a narration which mentions that the Holy Prophet had been born when his father died. [13] Abdullah set off on a journey with a business caravan. When they reached Madinah, Abdullah fell ill and so, he asked them to leave him with his relatives and return to Makkah. When Abd al-Muttalib heard that Abdullah had fallen ill, he sent his eldest son Harith to Madinah to see how he was, but when he reached Madinah, he saw that his brother had passed away and been buried by his relatives. This news caused great pain for Abd al-Muttalib and the Quraysh. Abdullah was twenty-five years old at the time of his death. [14]


References

  1. ↑ ‘Ansāb ‘al-‘Ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 91
  2. ↑ Tārīkh Ya`qūbī, vol. 1, p. 246, 251
  3. ↑ ‘al-Kāmil, vol. 2, p. 5-7
  4. ↑ Tārīkh ‘Islām ‘az ‘Āghāz tā Hijrat, p. 54
  5. ↑ Khiṣāl, vol. 1, p. 55
  6. ↑ `Uyūn ‘Akhbār ‘al-Riḍa, vol. 1, p. 210
  7. ↑ Sūrah Ṣāffāt, verses 102-107
  8. ↑ Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 76
  9. ↑ ‘al-Sīraḧ ‘al-Nabawiyyaḧ, vol. 1, p. 156
  10. ↑ Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 77
  11. ↑ ‘al-Sīraḧ ‘al-Nabawiyyaḧ, vol. 1, p. 157
  12. ↑ ‘al-Sīraḧ ‘al-Nabawiyyaḧ, vol. 1, p. 158
  13. ↑ Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 81
  14. ↑ Ṭabaqāt, vol. 1, p. 80-1
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