The Life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

The Children of Ishmael

  The Children of Ishmael 

Over the years Ishmael's children themselves had children. Hisdescendants increased and formed tribes which spread out all overArabia. One of these tribes was called Quraysh. Its people never movedaway from Mecca and always lived near the Ka'bah. One of the duties ofthe leader of Quraysh was to look after those who came on pilgrimage tothe Ka'bah. The, pilgrims would come from all over Arabia and it was agreat honor to provide them with food and water.   

  As time passed, however, the Arabs stopped worshipping Allahdirectly and started bringing idols back with them from the differentcountries they visited. These idols were placed at the Ka'bah, which wasno 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 ofZamzam disappeared beneath the sand. Also at this time, Qusayy, one ofthe leaders of Quraysh, became ruler over Mecca. He held the keys of thetemple and had the right to give water to the pilgrims, to feed them, totake charge of meetings, and to hand out war banners before battle. It wasalso in his house that Quraysh settled their affairs. 

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

One summer Hashim went north to buy goods to sell in Yemen. Onhis way he stopped in Yathrib to trade in the market and there he saw abeautiful woman. She was Salma', the daughter of 'Amr ibn Zeid, whowas from a much respected family. Hashim proposed marriage to her andwas accepted because he was an honorable and distinguished man.

In time, Salma' gave birth to a beautiful son and as some of his hairwas 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 hetook his caravan to the north. During one of these journeys, however,Hashim became ill and died. Shaybah, a handsome, intelligent boy, grewup in his uncle's house in Yathrib. He was proud of being the son ofHashim ibn 'Abdi Manaf, the head of Quraysh, guardian of the Ka'bahand 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 andresponsibilities. He traveled to Yathrib to see his nephew, Shaybah, anddecided that as the boy would one day inherit his father's place, the timehad come for him to live in Mecca. It was hard for Salma', Shaybah'smother, to let her son go with his uncle but she finally realized that it wasfor the best. Al-Muttalib returned to Mecca, entering the city at noon onhis camel with Shaybah behind him. When the people of Mecca saw theboy they thought he was a slave and, pointing at him, called out „Abd alMuttalib','Abd' being the Arabic for 'slave'. 

Al-Muttalib told them that Shaybah was not a slave but his nephewwho had come to live with them. From that day on, however, Shaybahwas always affectionately called Abd al-Muttalib. On the death of alMuttalib,who died in Yemen where he had gone to trade, 'Abd alMuttalibtook his place. He became the most respected member of hisfamily, loved and admired by all. He was, however, unlike those Arabswho had given up the teachings of Abraham.