Leila Azzam and Aisha Gouverneur
The Children of Ishmael
OVER the years Ishmaels 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 Kabah.
One of the duties of the leader of Quraysh was to look after those who came
on pilgrimage to the Kabah. 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 Qusayys death, his son ‘Abdu Manaf, who had become famous during his
fathers 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 uncles house in
Yathrib. He was proud of being the son of Hashim ibn Abdi Manaf, the head
of Quraysh, guardian of the Kabah and protector of the pilgrims, even
though he had not known his father, who had died while Shaybah was very
young.
At Hashims 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 fathers place, the time
had come for him to live in Mecca.
It was hard for Salma, Shaybahs 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
Kabah, 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 Kabah 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 mans 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 mans family in order to
keep the peace among them. So the woman told them to go back to the Kabah
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 Kabah 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 Allahs 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.
