The Life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

The Promise At Zamzam

  The Promise At Zamzam 

The well of Zamzam, which disappeared when the Arabs placed idols atthe Ka'bah, remained buried under the sand. Thus, for many years thepeople of Quraysh had to fetch their water from far away. One day 'Abdal-Muttalib was very tired from doing this and fell asleep next to theKa‟bah. He had a dream in which he was told to dig up Zamzam. Whenhe 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 dayhe 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 todig. The work was so difficult that „Abd al-Muttalib made an oath toAllah that if one day he were to have ten sons to help him and stand byhim, in return he would sacrifice one of them in Allah's honor. Afterworking for three days they finally found the well of Zamzam. Pilgrimshave been drinking from it ever since. The years passed by and 'Abd alMuttalibdid have ten sons. They grew into fine, strong men and the timecame for him to keep his promise to Allah. He told his sons about thepromise and they agreed that he had to sacrifice one of them To seewhich one it would be, they decided to draw lots, which was the customof Quraysh when deciding important matters.

'Abd al-Muttalib told eachson to get an arrow and write his own name upon it and then to bring it tohim. This they did, after which he took them to the Ka'bah where therewas a man whose special task it was to cast arrows and pick one fromamong them. This man solemnly proceeded to do this. On the arrow hechose was written the name of 'Abd Allah, the youngest and favorite sonof 'Abd al-Muttalib. Even so, the father took his son near the Ka'bah andprepared to sacrifice him.   

Many of the Quraysh leaders were present and they became very angrybecause 'Abd Allah was very young and much loved by everyone. Theytried to think of a way to save his life. Someone suggested that the adviceof a wise old woman who lived in Yathrib should be sought, and so 'Abdal-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 womanasked, 'What is the price of a man's life?' They told her, 'Ten camels', forat that time if one man killed another, his family would have to give tencamels 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 bekilled and the meat given to the poor. If 'Abd Allah was picked then tenmore camels were to be added and the lots drawn again and again untilthey finally fell on the camels.   

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

'Abd Allah was saved and everyonewas very happy. 'Abd al-Muttalib however, wanted to make sure that thiswas the true result so he repeated the draw three times and each time itfell on the camels. He then gave thanks to Allah that He had spared 'AbdAllah's life. The camels were sacrificed and there was enough food forthe entire city, even the animals and birds. 'Abd Allah grew up to be ahandsome young man and his father eventually chose Aminah, thedaughter of Wahb, as a wife for him. It was a good match for she was thefinest of Quraysh women and 'Abd Allah the best of the men. He spentseveral months with his wife but then he had to leave her and travel withone of the caravans to trade with Syria. 

On his way back to Mecca fromSyria 'Abd Allah became ill and had to stop off in Yathrib to recover. Thecaravan, however, continued on its way and arrived back in Meccawithout him. On hearing of 'Abd Allah's illness, „Abd al-Muttalib sentanother son, al-Hareth, to bring 'Abd Allah back to Mecca, but he was toolate. 

When he arrived in Yathrib „Abd Allah was dead. Aminah was heartbrokento lose her husband and the father of the child she would soongive birth to. Only Allah knew that this orphan child would one day be agreat Prophet.