In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
Chapter One.
The Period Before His Mission (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
His Name and Lineage.
He is Muhammad, son of 'Abd Allah, son of 'Abd al-Muttalib,
son of Hashim, son of 'Abd Manaf,
son of Qusayy, son of Kilab, son of Murrah,
son of Ka'b, son of Lu'ayy, son of Ghalib, son of Fihr.
And this Fihr is Quraysh itself;
thus, every Qurayshi is a Fihri.
And he (peace be upon him) is Mudari—
meaning his lineage traces back to Mudar,
and ultimately to 'Adnan, from the offspring of Isma'il (peace be upon him).
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"Allah chose Kinanah from the descendants of Isma'il,
chose Quraysh from Kinanah,
chose Banu Hashim from Quraysh,
and chose me from Banu Hashim."
The Prophet's fifth grandfather was 'Abd Manaf,
who, according to the well-known accounts, had four sons:
Hashim, al-Muttalib,
'Abd Shams, and Nawfal.
So our Messenger's lineage traces back to Hashim.
And this Hashim's actual name was 'Amr;
he was given the epithet Hashim because he used to crumble bread—
meaning he would break it up, prepare it, and serve it to the pilgrims.
He was the first to feed tharid to the pilgrims,
tharid being bread soaked in broth with meat.
He was also the first to establish the two trade journeys for Quraysh:
the winter journey and the summer journey.
The poet said:
'Amr, who crumbled the bread for his people,
when the men of Mecca were suffering drought and emaciated;
For him the two journeys were established,
the winter travel and the summer trip.
The sons of Hashim were 'Abd al-Muttalib,
Asad, 'Amr, and Nadlah.
Hashim married from Banu al-Najjar among the people of Medina.
'Abd al-Muttalib was likewise an epithet;
his real name was Shaybat al-Hamd.
He was nicknamed 'Abd al-Muttalib only because
he was residing with his maternal uncles, Banu al-Najjar, in Medina
after his father passed away.
Then al-Muttalib, Hashim's brother, went to Medina
and brought his nephew back so he could be among his paternal uncles.
When he entered Mecca with him,
the people of Mecca assumed he was a slave al-Muttalib had bought,
so they said, "This is 'Abd al-Muttalib" (the slave of al-Muttalib).
Al-Muttalib said to them, "No,
he is simply my brother Hashim's son."
Yet that nickname stuck to him,
and he came to be known by no name other than 'Abd al-Muttalib.
'Abd al-Muttalib was the grandfather of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
During his lifetime, two major events occurred that history has never overlooked.
The First Event:
The Digging of Zamzam.
Abraham, the Intimate Friend of the Most Merciful (peace be upon him),
had married Sarah,
but he was not granted any child through her.
So Sarah gifted him a servant girl of hers named Hajar,
and she bore him Isma'il.
Subsequently, jealousy arose in Sarah's heart,
and she asked Abraham (peace be upon him) to take Hajar away from her.
So he set out with Isma'il and Isma'il's mother,
carrying with them a waterskin containing water,
heading toward Mecca the Blessed.
He left them both there.
Isma'il's mother followed after him,
until when they reached Kuda,
she called out to him from behind:
"O Abraham!
To whom are you leaving us?"
He said:
"To Allah."
She replied:
"I am content with Allah."
So she turned back and stayed in Mecca with her son Isma'il
until the water ran out.
She said to herself:
"If only I went and looked around,
perhaps I might sense someone."
The speaker said:
So she went and climbed Safa,
and looked and looked,
seeking to perceive anyone,
but she felt no one.
Then when she reached the valley floor,
she ran briskly until she reached Marwah.
She repeated this back and forth for several rounds.
Then she said:
"Let me go and see how he is doing"—
meaning the child.
She went and looked,
and found him in a dire state, as though gasping in the agony of death.
Unable to bear watching him,
she said:
"If only I went and looked around,
perhaps I might sense someone."
So she went and climbed Safa,
and looked and looked,
but perceived no one,
until she had completed seven circuits.
Then she said:
"Let me go and see how he is doing."
Suddenly, she heard a voice.
She said:
"Help, if you have any good to offer!"
Lo and behold, it was Gabriel.
He struck with his heel like this,
pressing his heel into the earth,
and water gushed forth.
Isma'il's mother was amazed,
and she began basin-making and scooping the earth around it.
Abul-Qasim (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Had she left it, the water would have flowed freely as a surface spring."
She began drinking from the water,
and her milk flowed abundantly for her child.
Then some people from the tribe of Jurhum passed through the bottom of the valley,
and noticed birds hovering,
which surprised them as unusual for that place.
They said:
"Birds only hover over water."
So they sent their scout,
who looked and found that water was indeed there.
They came to her and said:
"O mother of Isma'il,
will you permit us to stay with you or settle alongside you?"
And when Isma'il reached manhood,
he married a woman from among them.
Later on, Abraham said to Sarah:
"I am going to check on those I left behind."
So he came, greeted her, and asked:
"Where is Isma'il?"
His wife replied:
"He has gone hunting."
He said:
"Tell him when he returns:
'Change the threshold of your door.'"
When he returned,
she informed him.
He said:
"You were that threshold,
so return to your family."
The narrator said:
Then it occurred to Abraham to visit them again after Isma'il had remarried.
He came and asked:
"Where is Isma'il?"
His wife replied:
"He has gone hunting."
She added:
"Won't you step down and have something to eat and drink?"
He asked:
"What is your food and what is your drink?"
She said:
"Our food is meat,
and our drink is water."
He said:
"O Allah, bless them in their food and their drink."
Abul-Qasim (peace be upon him) said:
"That blessing is due to Abraham's supplication."
Then it occurred to Abraham to visit them a fourth time.
The scholar noted in the margin:
That is because he visited them when Isma'il was young,
when Allah commanded him to sacrifice his son,
then when Isma'il was with his first wife whom he divorced,
then with his second wife,
making this the fourth visit.
So he came and met Isma'il behind the site of Zamzam,
repairing his arrows.
He said:
"O Isma'il,
your Lord has commanded me to build a House for Him."
He replied:
"Obey your Lord."
Abraham said:
"He has commanded me that you assist me in building it."
He said:
"Then I shall do so,"
or as he said.
So he stood up,
and Abraham began building
while Isma'il handed him the stones,
both of them saying:
“And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House, (Abraham prayed): Our Lord! Accept from us (this duty). Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower.” (2:127)
until the structure rose high
and Abraham grew too weak to carry the heavy stones.
So he stood upon the stone of Maqam Ibrahim,
while Isma'il continued handing him the stones, both repeating:
“And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations of the House, (Abraham prayed): Our Lord! Accept from us (this duty). Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower.” (2:127)
Then years and centuries passed,
until the location and landmarks of Zamzam were lost to memory.
It is narrated that 'Abd al-Muttalib was sleeping one day
when he saw in a dream that he was commanded to dig Zamzam,
and its exact spot was shown to him in his sleep.
He went to the place he was commanded to dig in his dream,
dug there, and found the water.
Thereafter, he re-established the service of providing water to the pilgrims.
The Second Event:
The Coming of Abraha the Abyssinian to Destroy the Ka'bah.
The story of Abraha, as related by the scholars, is that
Abraha the Abyssinian built a magnificent cathedral in Sana'a,
the likes of which had never been seen in its time,
and wrote to the Negus:
"I have built for you a cathedral the likes of which was never built for any king before you,
and I shall not rest until I divert the pilgrimage of the Arabs to it,"
intending thereby to rival the Ka'bah.
When the Arabs learned of Abraha’s letter to the Negus,
a man from the tribe of Kinanah became enraged.
He set out and entered the cathedral when no one could see him,
and he defiled it;
that is, he defecated inside this cathedral.
When Abraha was informed of this,
he asked, "Who did this?"
He was told, "It was done by a man belonging to the people of that House
to which the Arabs make pilgrimage in Makkah,
after he heard your vow to divert the Arabs' pilgrimage to this church of yours."
Abraha was filled with immense fury and said,
"I shall surely demolish the Ka'bah!"
Here, an important point must be highlighted:
undoubtedly, this man learned of an evil act,
namely, that Abraha intended to divert the Arabs' pilgrimage from Makkah to this church,
so he became indignant for that reason
and denounced that evil
by defiling the cathedral with excrement.
Yet this, in turn, provoked Abraha's intense fury,
whereupon he resolved to demolish the Ka'bah.
The scholars have explicitly stated
that it is impermissible to forbid an evil
by bringing about an even greater evil;
rather, denouncing evil must always be done
in a manner that will not result,
in its wake, in an evil greater than itself.
Abraha was enraged by this deed
and swore to march against the House and tear it down.
He then commanded the Abyssinians to mobilize and make ready,
and he marched forth with an army of sixty thousand men,
bringing war elephants along with him—
creatures unknown to the Arabs at that time.
It is mentioned that the lead elephant among them was named Mahmud.
When he mobilized and set out,
the Arabs heard of it,
and they were appalled and deeply shaken by it,
deeming it their sacred duty to fight him;
for despite their polytheism,
they held the House of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, in the utmost veneration.
Among those who confronted him was a nobleman from the people of Yemen
named Dhu Nafar,
who called upon his people and whoever would answer him among the Arabs to wage war against Abraha.
But Abraha defeated Dhu Nafar and his followers,
taking him captive.
Abraha then passed through Ta'if,
where Mas'ud ibn Mu'attib al-Thaqafi came out to meet him
and said to him,
"O King,
we are merely your servants;
we hear you and obey you,
and we offer you no opposition.
Nor is this shrine of ours the one you seek"—
referring to al-Lat—
"rather, you seek the House in Makkah,
and we shall send with you someone to guide you to it."
So they sent with him a man named Abu Righal
to guide him along the way.
Abraha set out with Abu Righal accompanying him
until he encamped at al-Mughammas.
Once he had guided him there,
Abu Righal died at that spot,
after which the Arabs made a practice of stoning Abu Righal’s grave,
because they regarded him as a vile, treacherous man
for serving as Abraha’s guide to demolish the Sacred House of Allah.
Regarding him, Jarir said in his satire of al-Farazdaq—
as the two were constantly trading lampoons and feuding:
Jarir said,
"When al-Farazdaq dies, pelt his grave with stones,
just as you stone the grave of Abu Righal."
When Abraha encamped at al-Mughammas,
he dispatched an Abyssinian man named al-Aswad
with a detachment of horsemen until he reached Makkah,
and he seized the livestock of the people of Tihamah belonging to Quraysh and others,
capturing two hundred camels belonging to 'Abd al-Muttalib,
who was then the elder and chief of Quraysh.
Quraysh, Kinanah, Hudhayl, and all who resided in that Sanctuary resolved to fight him,
but they soon realized they lacked the strength to battle Abraha.
Then Abraha sent an emissary named Hunatah to Makkah,
saying, "Inquire about the chief and nobleman of the people of this land,
and then tell him:
'The King says:
I have not come to wage war against you;
I have only come to demolish this House.
If you do not stand between us and it,
I have no need to shed your blood;
and if he has no desire to fight me, bring him to me.'"
Hunatah arrived and conveyed to Quraysh what Abraha had said,
and 'Abd al-Muttalib went forth with him,
being the chief of Quraysh at that time.
When 'Abd al-Muttalib entered into Abraha’s presence,
Abraha was perplexed as to how to receive him;
he wished to honor 'Abd al-Muttalib,
yet thought: "If I seat him with me upon my throne,
it will demean my stature;
and if I remain on my throne while leaving him below,
it will demean his."
So he descended from his throne and sat with 'Abd al-Muttalib upon the ground.
The first thing he asked 'Abd al-Muttalib was:
"What is your request?"
He replied,
"You have seized two hundred camels belonging to me,
so return them to me."
Abraha grew angry and said,
"I thought far greater and nobler of you than this!
You come to me asking about your camels,
yet make no plea that I spare the House and refrain from demolishing it?"
Thereupon 'Abd al-Muttalib uttered words
that were profoundly momentous at the time,
and subsequently became a celebrated proverb.
'Abd al-Muttalib said,
"I am the master of the camels,
and the House has a Lord Who will protect it."
Abraha retorted,
"He cannot defend it against me!"
He said,
"That is between you and Him."
Abraha then ordered,
"Return his camels to him."
When 'Abd al-Muttalib returned to Quraysh,
he informed them of what had transpired
and told them,
"Evacuate Makkah,
for you have no power to fight Abraha."
So they took refuge in the mountains.
Then 'Abd al-Muttalib went and took hold of the ring of the Ka'bah's door,
accompanied by a group of men from Quraysh,
praying to Allah and imploring His aid against Abraha and his host.
'Abd al-Muttalib recited:
"O Allah, truly a man protects his camp, so protect Your sanctuary!
Let not their cross and their might ever triumph tomorrow over Your might!
If You leave them to destroy our Qiblah,
then do whatever You will!"
Then 'Abd al-Muttalib released the door-ring,
and he and those with him departed to take shelter in the mountains,
awaiting what Abraha would do.
When morning broke, Abraha
prepared to enter Makkah;
he readied his elephant and drew up his ranks.
Yet whenever they directed the elephant Mahmud toward Makkah,
it knelt down and refused to advance with them,
and consequently the remaining elephants halted as well.
Some of them asked,
"What is holding back the elephant?"
They replied, "We do not know."
He ordered, "Beat it!"
So they beat the elephant,
but it stubbornly refused.
Yet when they turned it toward Yemen, it sprang to its feet;
when they turned it toward the Levant, it stood up;
when they turned it toward the east, it stood up;
but whenever they turned it toward Makkah, it knelt down.
And shortly thereafter,
they were suddenly struck when Allah, Blessed and Exalted, sent swarms of birds against them,
just as Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said:
“Hast thou not seen how thy Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant?” (105:1)
“Did He not bring their stratagem to naught,” (105:2)
"And sent against them swarms of birds,
“Which pelted them with stones of baked clay,” (105:4)
and made them like eaten straw."
Yes;
thus did Allah, Blessed and Exalted, unleash the swarms of birds,
pelting Abraha and his host with stones of baked clay,
so that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, destroyed them all.
And it is said
that a remnant of them survived
only to inform their people of what Allah, Blessed and Exalted, had done to them.