History of Islam – Pre-revelation: Abdul Muttalib’s protection of Prophet Muhammad – Part 7

History of Islam – Pre-revelation: Abdul Muttalib’s protection of Prophet Muhammad

Salam alaykum everyone, In this video, I will speak about Abdul Muttalib, who is the grandfather of Prophet Muhammad, pbuh.

As I said earlier, When Prophet Muhammad’s mother passed away, he was only 6 years old. He became a complete orphan, but he had guardians in his family. And one of his guardians was his grandfather Abdul Muttalib…First I want to talk about Abdul Muttalib’s personality. He was a friendly and generous man. He loved to offer food to the poor in Mecca. Also, during the pilgrimage time, he gave the best products he had, to the pilgrims as charity. He also gave the Zamzam water to the pilgrims, and also to his people in Mecca.

In terms of his beliefs; He believed in God, the afterlife, and the Divine Judgment. He was also far from Jahiliyya customs, which were the ignorant practices of polytheists in Mecca before Islam. He even avoided people from these customs, because he was a leader of his tribe Quraysh. He also prohibited adultery and drinking alcohol in his community.

And besides all these, maybe many of us did not know that Abdul Muttalib was the person who actually started the practice of isolation from the community and staying at the top of Mount Hira in the month of Ramadan.. We know that Prophet Muhammad pbuh used to go to the Mount Hira, which is outside of Mecca, every year, to retire, before his prophethood. Actually, he got the first revelation there; however, many of us, do not know that this practice was actually begun by his grandfather Abdul Muttalib.

So how was Abdul Muttalib’s relationship with his grandson? We can say that Abdul Muttalib showed great affection to his grandson. He wanted to help him forget the absence of his father and mother. And He always kept his grandson in his company.

Prophet Muhammad was the only person who could freely go into his room without asking permission. He would also sit with his grandfather near the Ka’ba and join his conversations with elder people. Abdul Muttalib would never eat without having Muhammad with him. And, He also educated his grandson in terms of manners.

Abdul Muttalib knew from Amina—the mother of the Prophet– that, his grandson was not an ordinary child, and he would have a serious position among human beings in the future. For this reason, some prominent people, warned Abdul Muttalib about the future of his grandson..One of them was the king of Yemen, whose name is Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan. When Abdul Muttalib visited him in his palace, the king wanted to share some secrets that he learned from the sacred books with him. He said to Abdul Muttalib that

“A boy will be born in Tihama, (close to the Red Sea in Arabia), and there will be a mark between his two shoulder blades. He should come into being around this time. His name is Muhammad. His father and mother will die when he is a child. First, his grandfather, and then his uncle will look after him. O Abdul Muttalib, I swear by the Ka’ba that you are his grandfather.

He also told him to Protect the child well, especially from the jealous men… After hearing all these things from the king, Abdul Muttalib was very concerned about his grandson and his future…One day he called one of his sons, nalled Abu Talib, and said to him that Muhammad will have great fame and glory, and that he entrusted his grandson to his son Abu Talib.”(W) Abu Talib was the most compassionate one among his sons. Also, Prophet Muhammad, loved him very much. So, Abu Talib accepted his father’s request gladly. Then, Abdul Muttalib gave his last breath when he was 82 years old, and Muhammad,pbuh, was 8 years old at that time.

He, once again, lost his guardian in an early age. But if think in a deeper sense, we can say that It was as if God was preparing the spirit and the heart of His messenger so that he could bear the troubles and hardships he would face in his later ages, due to his mission. In the next video, I will talk about the Uncle Abu Talib. Thank  you for watching.