NOTES FROM THE SECOND SESSION OF THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD. THIS CLASS IS HELD EVERY SATURDAY AT 6PM EASTERN WHICH IS 11PM UNITED KINGDOM TIME. Prophet Ismail Prophet Abraham leaves Hajar and Isma’il One day, Abraham woke up and asked his wife Hajar to get her son and prepare for a long journey. In a few days Abraham started out with his wife Hajar and their son Ishmael. The child was still nursing and not yet weaned. Abraham walked through cultivated land, desert, and mountains until he reached the desert of the Arabian Peninsula and came to an uncultivated valley having no fruit, no trees, no food, no water. The valley had no sign of life. After Abraham had helped his wife and child to dismount, he left them with a small amount of food and water which was hardly enough for 2 days. He turned around and walked away. He wife hurried after him asking: Where are you going Abrahim, leaving us in this barren valley? Abraham did not answer her, but continued walking. She repeated what she had said, but he remained silent. Finally she understood that he was not acting on his own initiative. she realized that Allah had commanded him to do this. She asked him : Did Allah command you to do so? He replied: Yes. Then his great wife said: We are not going to be lost, since Allah Who has commanded you is with us. Abraham invoked Almighty Allah thus: O Our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in a valley with no cultivation, by Your Sacred House (the Kaba at Mecca); in order, O our Lord, that they may offer prayers perfectly (Iqamat as salat) so fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and O Allah provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks. O our Lord! Certainly, You know what we conceal and what we reveal. Nothing on the earth or in the heavens is hidden from Allah. (Ch 14:37-38) Tribe of Jurhum There was tribe called Jurhum, who were nomads of that particular area. Jurhum was a tribe that moved out of Yemen. Many people migrated out from Yemen at different times. Allah (swt) tells one of the stories is in the Holy Quran, of a kingdom called Saba. The kingdom of Saba grew to huge numbers of people due to this water supply, in the middle of the Arabian desert. And it is mentioned in the Quran, that because of their wealth and cultivation they didn’t feel any hardship usually associated with travelling. They had a continuous series of colonies, which meant abundant places to rest and eat for travellers across the desert. Because of their disobedience to Allah’s message, Allah destroyed their dam, which flooded a vast expanse across Yemen. So as a result, there was a huge migration out of Yemen and this forced the people of Yemen, into An-Najd, Al- Hijaz, Iraq, Ash-shaam, etc. Jurhum too was one of the tribes that ended up moving out of Yemen into Hijaz or Makkah where they found Haajar and her child Ismaa’eel. They asked her permission to settle in that area where Zam Zam was located. She agreed on one condition. She said that the water belongs to us: Her and her son Ismaa’eel. But she wanted them to stay and so Ismael grew up with them and learned Arabic and married from their tribe beginning the lineage of RasoolAllah (s). Prophet Ismael maintained religious authority in Makkah and it continued with his descendants. Jurhum maintained political leadership for a very long time in Makkah until they became corrupt. Allah (swt) sent Khuzaa’a tribe to expel Jurhum from Makkah. Before leaving Makkah, Jurhum covered over the well of Zam Zam, and they erased all of its marks. Secondly they stole the treasures which were inside Al-Kaaba. Khuzaa’a now became the new leaders of Makkah, while the descendants of Ismael by that time had already increased in number, branched out, and spread all over Arabia. But there was one branch that remained in Makkah, and that branch was Quraish. Qusayy bin Kilaab, was able to unify Quraish and to lead a revolt against Khuzaa’a. He was able to drive them completely out of Makkah. And for the first time all powers including political and religious were under his authority: Qusayy bin Kilaab, the head of Quraish. Haashim, son of ‘Abdu Manaaf, was great grandfather of Prophet Muhammad (s). His real name was ‘Amr, grandson of Qusayy bin Kilaab, first political and religious leader in Makkah from Quraish. ‘Amr was nicknamed Haashim after he introduced crushed bread into soup fed to Pilgrims, and the word for crushing in Arabic is ‘Hashm’. Haashim had a son called Shaybah. Haashim died during a business trip to Palestine so Shaybah was raised by his family in Madinah. When Shaybah was 8 years old, Haahsim’s Brother Al-Muttalib claimed custody of his nephew, saying that he belonged to the noblest family of Quraish, and now he has to go back and learn about his heritage, family, and start assuming responsibilities in Makkah. When Al-Muttalaib and his nephew Shaybah entered Makkah, the people thought Shaybah was his slave so they called him ‘Abdul Muttalib and this is the grandfather of Rasool Allah (saw) his real name is Shayba. Abdul Muttallib The well of Zam Zam had been unknown for some 300 years or more ever since Jurhum had filled it up and erased all the marks. Abdul Muttallib saw a dream. Someone came to him and said, “Dig, tayyba” Tayyba means ‘pure’. Abdul Muttallib responded in his dream and said, “What is Tayyba?” He didn’t get a response. And that was the end of the dream. The following night the same voice told him in his dream, “Dig the precious.” Abdul Muttallib said, “What is the precious?” He didn’t get any reply. The third night, the voice came to him and said him, “Dig Zam Zam.” Abdul Muttallib asked, “And what is Zam Zam?” The voice responded, “Zam Zam, it will never fail or dry up, and it will water the grand pilgrims, it lies between the dung and the blood, near the nest of the crow with the white leg and the ant’s nest.” Abdul Muttallib was unable to decode all of these symbols which seemed obscure to him. The next day Abdul Muttallib was going around Al-Kaaba and he saw dung and blood, there was a camel that was slaughtered in that place and they left its insides and the blood on the other side. Then he saw a crow with a white leg in the same area, and there was a colony of ants. Abdul Muttallib realized that this is where the well of his grandfather is. So he called his son Haarith, and they started digging. The well of Zam Zam is not very far from Al-Kaaba so when people saw them they said, “What are you doing? Why are you digging next to Al-Kaaba?” People kept on protesting but he and his son Al-Haarith kept on digging. They kept on digging and digging and people kept on protesting. They could not understand why he was doing this. Eventually they left him alone. In a while they heard Abdul Muttallib shout, he was praising Allah. The people came rushing and to their amazement they found that Abdul Muttallib had uncovered the rim of the well of Zam Zam. All the leaders of Quraish came and said, “Yes, This is the well of our grand-father Ismael.” An Account of Abdul-Muttalibs vow to sacrifice one of his sons. Ibn Ishaq stated, It is claimed that when Abd al-Muttalib received such opposition from Quraysh over the digging of zamzam, he vowed that if ten sons were born to him who grew up and protected him, he would sacrifice one of them for God at the kaaba. Eventually he had ten sons grown up whom he knew would give him protection. Their names were al-Harith, al-Zubayr, Hajl, Dirar, al-Muqawwim, Abu Lahab, al-Abbas, Hamza, Abu Talib, and Abdullah. He assembled them and told them of his vow and asked them to honour his pledge to God, Almighty and All-glorious is He. They obeyed, and asked him what he wanted them to do. He asked each of them to take an arrow, write his name on it and return to him. They did so and he went with them inside the kaaba to the site of their god Hubal where there was the well in which offerings to the kaba would he placed. There, near Hubal, were seven arrows which they would use for divining a judgement over some matter of consequence, a question of blood-money, kinship, or the like. They would come to Hubal to seek a resolution, accepting whatever they were ordered to do or to refrain from. The outcome was that when Abd al-Muttalib came to seek judgement with the arrows from Hubal, the one with the name of his son Abdullah came forth. He was his youngest boy and the one he loved most, but Abd al-Muttalib took his son Abdullah by the hand, drew out his knife, and went to sacrifice him. At this Quraysh left their meeting-places and asked him what he intended to do. When he replied that he was going to sacrifice Abdullah, they, along with Abdullah brothers, said, By God, do not sacrifice him without seeking forgiveness for him; if you do this men will keep bringing their sons to sacrifice and how could that go on? Thereafter Quraysh advised that Abd al-Muttalib should go to the Hijaz where there was a woman diviner who had an attendant spirit, and that he should consult her. That, they said, is the best you can do. If she then orders you to sacrifice him, do so; but if she tells you to do something that provides you a way out, then accept it. So they left for Medina, where they found that the diviner whose name was Sajah. They rode off again and went to her and sought her advice, Abd al-Muttalib telling her of the whole problem regarding him and his son. She told them: Leave me today,until my attendant spirit comes and I can ask him. They left her and Abd al-Muttalib prayed to God. Next day they went back to her and she informed them that she had had a message. How much is the blood-money you prescribe? she asked. Ten camels, they told her, that being then the case. Then go back to your land and present your man as an offering and do the same with ten camels. Then cast arrows to decide between him and them. If the divining arrow points to him then add to the number of camels until your god is satisfied; if it points to the camels, then sacrifice them in his place. That way you will please your god and save your man. So they went back to Mecca and, when they had agreed to do as she had said, Abd al-Mutdib said prayers to God. Then they offered up ‘Abdullah and the ten camels as sacrifice and cast the arrow. It came out against ‘Abdullah so they added ten more camels and tried once more. Again it came out against him and they added ten more, then kept on doing so until the camels reached one hundred in number. When they next cast the arrow it came out for the camels. At that point the men of Quraysh told Abd al-Muttalib, who was standing near Hubal praying to God, Its all over! Your God is pleased, 0 Abd al-Muttalib. It is claimed that he then replied, No, not until I cast the arrows three times. So they did cast three times, the arrow always indicating the camels, which were slaughtered and left there for anyone to take without hindrance. And Ibn Hisham reported And it is said, for any wild beast to take as well. It is otherwise related that when the number of camels reached 100 the arrow was still against ‘Abdullah, so they added another 100, making 200, and the same thing happened. Likewise it did with 300. It was then that the arrow came out against the camels, whereupon ‘Abdul Muttalib slaughtered them. But the first account is the true one. Though God knows best. Later on Muhammad (saw), was told: “You are the son of the two sacrificed ones.” Who are they? Ismael and Abdullah.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 16:11:43 +0000
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