Wednesday 10 February 2010 (25 Safar 1431)

 THE CHILDREN OF ISHMAEL
 OVER the years Ishmael's children themselves had children. His descendants increased and formed tribes which spread out all over Arabia. One of these tribes was called Quraysh. Its people never moved away from Mecca and always lived near the Ka'bah.

 One of the duties of the leader of Quraysh was to look after those who came on pilgrimage to the Ka'bah. The pilgrims would come from all over Arabia and it was a great honor to provide them with food and water.
 As time passed, however, the Arabs stopped worshipping Allah directly and started bringing idols back with them from the different countries they visited. These idols were placed at the Ka 'bah, which was no longer regarded as the Sanctuary of Allah, as Abraham had intended it. It was, however, still respected by the Arabs. Around this time the well of Zamzam disappeared beneath the sand.

 Also at this time, Qusayy, one of the leaders of Quraysh, became ruler over Mecca. He held the keys of the temple and had the right to give water to the pilgrims, to feed them, to take charge of meetings, and to hand out war banners before battle. It was also in his house that Quraysh settled their affairs.

 After Qusayy's death, his son ‘Abdu Manaf, who had become famous during his father's lifetime, took over the leadership of Quraysh. After him came his son Hashim. It is said that Hashim was the first to begin the two great caravan journeys of Quraysh, one in the summer to Syria and the north, and one in the winter to Yemen and the south. As a result, Mecca grew rich and became a large and important centre of trade.

 One summer Hashim went north to buy goods to sell in Yemen. On his way he stopped in Yathrib to trade in the market and there he saw a beautiful woman. She was Salma, the daughter of 'Amr ibn Zeid, who was from a much respected family. Hashim proposed marriage to her and was accepted because he was an honorable and distinguished man. In time, Salma gave birth to a beautiful son and as some of his hair was white they called him Shaybah, which in Arabic means 'grey-haired'.  Mother and son stayed in the cooler, healthier climate of Yathrib, while Hashim returned to Mecca, but he would visit them each time he took his caravan to the north. During one of these journeys, however, Hashim became ill and died.
 Shaybah, a handsome, intelligent boy, grew up in his uncle's house in Yathrib. He was proud of being the son of Hashim ibn 'Abdi Manaf, the head of Quraysh, guardian of the Ka'bah and protector of the pilgrims, even though he had not known his father, who had died while Shaybah was very young.

 At Hashim's death his brother al-Muttalib took over his duties and responsibilities. He traveled to Yathrib to see his nephew, Shaybah, and decided that as the boy would one day inherit his father's place, the time had come for him to live in Mecca.

It was hard for Salma, Shaybah's mother, to let her son go with his uncle but she finally realized that it was for the best. Al-Muttalib returned to Mecca, entering the city at noon on his camel with Shaybah behind him. When the people of Mecca saw the boy they thought he was a slave and, pointing at him, called out' 'Abd al-Muttalib', 'Abd' being the Arabic for 'slave'. Al-Muttalib told them that Shaybah was not a slave but his nephew who had come to live with them. From that day on, however, Shaybah was always affectionately called 'Abd al-Muttalib.

 On the death of al-Muttalib, who died in Yemen where he had gone to trade, 'Abd al-Muttalib took his place. He became the most respected member of his family, loved and admired by all. He was, however, unlike those Arabs who had given up the teachings of Abraham.

 THE PROMISE AT ZAMZAM

 The well of Zamzam, which disappeared when the Arabs placed idols at the Ka'bah, remained buried under the sand. Thus, for many years the people of Quraysh had to fetch their water from far away. One day 'Abd al-Muttalib was very tired from doing this and fell asleep next to the Ka 'bah. He had a dream in which he was told to dig up Zamzam. When he woke up he was puzzled because he did not know what Zamzam was, the well having disappeared many years before he was born. The next day he had the same dream, but this time he was told where to find the well.

'Abd al-Muttalib had one son at that time, and together they began to dig. The work was so difficult that 'Abd al-Muttalib made an oath to Allah that if one day he were to have ten sons to help him and stand by him; in return he would sacrifice one of them in Allah’s honor. After working for three days they finally found the well of Zamzam. Pilgrims have been drinking from it ever since.

The years passed by and 'Abd al-Muttalib did have ten sons. They grew into fine, strong men and the time came for him to keep his promise to Allah. He told his sons about the promise and they agreed that he had to sacrifice one of them. To see which one it would be, they decided to draw lots, which was the custom of Quraysh when deciding important matters. 'Abd al-Muttalib told each son to get an arrow and write his own name upon it and then to bring it to him. This they did, after which he took them to the Ka 'bah where there was a man whose special task it was to cast arrows and pick one from among them. This man solemnly proceeded to do this. On the arrow he chose was written the name of 'Abd Allah, the youngest and favorite son of 'Abd al-Muttalib. Even so, the father took his son near the Ka'bah and prepared to sacrifice him.

Many of the Quraysh leaders were present and they became very angry because 'Abd Allah was very young and much loved by everyone. They tried to think of a way to save his life. Someone suggested that the advice of a wise old woman who lived in Yathrib should be sought, and so 'Abd al-Muttalib took his son and went to see if she could decide what to do. Some of the Meccans went with them and when they got there the woman asked, 'What is the price of a man's life?'

They told her, 'Ten camels', for at that time if one man killed another, his family would have to give ten camels to the dead man's family in order to keep the peace among them. So the woman told them to go back to the Ka'bah and draw lots between 'Abd Allah and ten camels. If the camels were chosen, they were to be killed and the meat given to the poor. If 'Abd Allah was picked then ten more camels were to be added and the lots drawn again and again until they finally fell on the camels.

'Abd al-Muttalib returned to the Ka'bah with his son and the people of Mecca. There they started to draw lots between 'Abd Allah and the camels, starting with ten camels. 'Abd al-Muttalib prayed to Allah to spare his son and everyone waited in silence for the result. The choice fell on 'Abd Allah, so his father added ten more camels. Again the choice fell on 'Abd Allah, so they did the same thing again and again, adding ten camels each time. Finally they reached one hundred camels, and only then did the lot fall on the camels.

'Abd Allah was saved and everyone was very happy. 'Abd al-Muttalib, however, wanted to make sure that this was the true result so he repeated the draw three times and each time it fell on the camels. He then gave thanks to Allah that He had spared 'Abd Allah's life. The camels were sacrificed and there was enough food for the entire city, even the animals and birds.

 'Abd Allah grew up to be a handsome young man and his father eventually chose Aminah, the daughter of Wahb, as a wife for him. It was a good match, for she was the finest of Quraysh women and 'Abd Allah the best of the men. He spent several months with his wife but then he had to leave her and travel with one of the caravans to trade with Syria. On his way back to Mecca from Syria 'Abd Allah became ill and had to stop off in Yathrib to recover. The caravan, however, continued on its way and arrived back in Mecca without him. On hearing of 'Abd Allah’s illness, 'Abd al-Muttalib sent another son, al-Harith, to bring 'Abd Allah back to Mecca, but he was too late. When he arrived in Yathrib 'Abd Allah was dead.

Aminah was heart-broken to lose her husband and the father of the child she would soon give birth to. Only Allah knew that this orphan child would one day be a great Prophet.