Abd Al Muttalib Takes A Vow

To many it would have appeared that Abd Al Muttalib had everything he could desire. He was the Custodian of Ka'ba, handsome, wealthy, generous, and of noble character that had won him the respect of the people of Mecca. However, he only had one son, Harith, whereas his cousins Umayyah, chief of the tribe of Abdu Shams and Mughirah, chief of the tribe of Makhzum had many. The fact that he had just one son hadn't concerned him greatly until he met with resistance from his fellow Meccans during the excavation of Zamzam. At that time he felt weaker than at any other and wished he had more sons to support him. He felt humble to be chosen as the one to be honored to restore the well and was grateful to Allah for His blessings to him, but his heart prompted him to supplicate to Him for ten sons. As he supplicated in earnest, he promised Allah that if He would favor him with ten sons that reached the age of manhood, he would sacrifice one of them in the Ka'ba. Allah heard his supplication and as the years passed he had, to his great pleasure, nine more sons. He never forgot the promise he made to Allah and as his sons reached manhood the matter pressed hard upon his mind, especially as the youngest of his sons, Abdullah, had now reached maturity. Abdullah had grown into a handsome, fine, upstanding young man like his father and although Abd Al Muttalib loved his other sons, Abdullah had become his favorite. Abd Al Muttalib knew that the time had come to fulfill his vow. He was a man of his word and had no intention of turning away from his oath. Until this time, Abd Al Muttalib had kept the matter between Allah and himself secret, no one in his family knew of the oath he had taken many years before.

The Sacrifice

Abd Al Muttalib had raised his sons to be true men, and all were obedient to him. One day he called his ten sons together and told them of the oath he had taken. They all accepted, their father's vow was their vow, and bravely they asked him how the matter would be decided. He told them that the matter would be determined by arrow divining and that they must each take an arrow and make their mark on it. After their marks had been made, Abd Al Muttalib sent a message to the arrow-diviner of the Koraysh tribe to meet him in the Ka'ba. Then he took his ten sons into the Sanctuary and led them inside the Ka'ba, then, when the arrow-diviner arrived he told him of his oath. Each son presented his arrow and Abd Al Muttalib stood ready with his knife drawn. The arrows were cast, and the lot fell against Abdullah. Without hesitation, Abd Al Muttalib took his son's hand and led him to the door intending to make straight for the place of sacrifice.

Abdullah's Remale Relatives

Abd Al Muttalib had not considered the fact that he might have to deal with his wives as he did not know they had learned of his intention. Fatima, the mother of Zubair, Abu Talib and Abdullah who were all candidates for the sacrifice, was, on her mother's side, descended from Abd, one of the sons of Ksay and belonged to the very influential tribe of Makhzum. When Fatima learned of the vow, she immediately rallied her co-wives, who were from less influential tribes, and together with her own powerful tribe they now marched in force to the Ka'ba to prevent the sacrifice. As Abd Al Muttalib opened the door of Ka'ba his eyes fell upon the large crowd assembled in the courtyard. Everyone noticed that the expression on Abd Al Muttalib and Abdullah's faces had changed. Fatima and her kinsmen were quick to realize that it was Abdullah who had been chosen as the sacrifice. Just then, someone in the crowd called out, "For whom is the knife!" and others took up the cry although it was evident for whom the knife was intended. Abd Al Muttalib tried to tell them of his vow, but was interrupted by Mughirah, the chief of Makhzum who told him that they would not permit him to make the sacrifice. He told him that they were prepared to offer a sacrifice in his stead, even to the extent of ransoming Abdullah with all the property of the sons of Makhzum. They were adamant, and prepared to take whatever steps were necessary in order to spare the life of Abdullah. By this time Abdullah's brothers had come out of Ka'ba. Until then none had spoken, but now they too turned to their father imploring him to spare the life of their brother and to offer some other kind of sacrifice instead. There was no one present who did not urge him not to do so. Being an upright man, Abd Al Muttalib did not want to break the vow he had taken, but the pressure upon him was great. Reluctantly he agreed to consult with a wise, Jewess who lived in Yathrib and was familiar with matters such as this and could tell him whether a substitution was in fact permissible in this case, and if it was, what form of ransom would be required.

The Wise Woman of Yathrib

Abd Al Muttalib set off with Abdullah and several of his brothers for Yathrib -- Abd Al Muttalib's birth-place. When they reached Yathrib they inquired the whereabouts of the wise lady and were told she no longer lived there but in Khyber that was approximately ninety miles north of Yathrib. So they continued their journey through the hot desert until the reached Khyber were they found the wise woman. Abd Al Muttalib told her of the oath he had taken and inquired whether it was possible to offer a ransom instead. She listened intently and told them to return the following day after she had time to consider the matter and that she would give them an answer. Abd Al Muttalib prayed fervently to Allah and the next morning he and his sons returned for the verdict. The wise woman greeted them and asked what was the usual compensation offered amongst their tribe, so they told her that it was common place to offer ten camels. Upon hearing this she told them to return home and as soon as they arrived to put Abdullah and ten camels side by side and cast lots between them. She told them that in the event the arrow should fall against Abdullah they were to increase the number of camels by ten, and cast lots yet again until Allah accepted them by the arrow falling against the camels. She also told them that once the number of camels had been determined all were to be sacrificed immediately in order that Abdullah might live.

The Sacrifice of 100 Camels

After having thanked the wise woman, Abd Al Muttalib and his sons set out for home straight away and upon reaching Mecca Abdullah and ten camels were taken into the courtyard of Ka'ba. Abd Al Muttalib went inside the Ka'ba and supplicated to Allah asking Him to accept what they were about to do. Upon the conclusion of his supplication he came out of the Ka'ba and the lots began to be cast. The first arrow fell against Abdullah, so ten more camels were added. The lot was cast again, but once more the arrow fell against Abdullah, and ten more camels were added and so it continued. It was only when the number of camels reached one hundred that the arrow finally fell against the camels.

The Ransom Is Accepted

Everyone was overjoyed including Abd Al Muttalib, however, he wanted to make quite sure that this was, without a shadow of a doubt the ransom required by Allah to decide the issue, so he insisted that the lots be cast twice more. Anxiously, everyone looked on as the lots were cast, but to everyone's relief on each occasion, the arrow fell against the camels. There was no doubt left in Abd Al Muttalib's mind that Allah had accepted his expiation, and the camels were sacrificed immediately and the abundant supply of meat was amply distributed amongst the poor, needy and the orphans. There was so much meat left over that every sector of the community ate from it and joined in the great celebration. 

The Marriage of Abdullah to Amina

There was great happiness amongst Abd al Muttalib's family, not to mention his tribe, and the day-to-day life resumed once more. Shortly after this significant event, Abd al Muttalib started to make plans for Abdullah's future. Abdullah was now eighteen years of age and his father thought it was time for him to marry, so he started to search for a suitable match. After much consideration he came to the conclusion that Amina, the orphaned daughter of Wahb, would be the most compatible bride for his son. Amina was of noble birth, her father, Wahb had been the chief of the Zuhra -- a branch of the Koraysh -- but upon his death, her paternal uncle, Wuhayb had become its new chieftain and taken care of her.

His own daughter, Halah, was of similar age and so the two girls had grown up together like sisters. Among Amina's many qualities she was known for her honorable, endearing character and to compliment these characteristics she was very intelligent. Years later, Prophet Muhammad, (sa) confirmed her status when he told his companions, "I have been chosen from the most choice." During Abd Al Muttalib's search for a suitable bride for his beloved son, it came to his notice that Wuhayb's daughter, Halah, was also of marriageable age, so he asked his permission to marry her himself. A proposal such as this was indeed a great honor and through these kind of arrangements essential inter-tribal ties were often strengthened.

Upon his return, Abd Al Muttalib told Abdullah that he had found the perfect match for him. Abdullah was overjoyed when he heard all the wonderful things his father had to say about Amina and so preparations for a double wedding were made. As soon as the wedding preparations had been finalized, the bridal party set out for the house of Wahb. On the way to the celebration, people came out of their houses to greet the procession and wish them well. Abdullah had always been handsome, but that day he looked more handsome than ever. As the party passed the homes of the Bani Asad, Abdullah's cousin, Kutaylah, sister of Warakah, called to him and with the permission of his father he stopped to speak with her.

Kutaylah had noticed something very special about Abdullah that day, she had seen a radiant light upon his face, the like of which she had never seen before. On impulse she asked Abdullah to marry her, offering him the same number of camels that been sacrificed in order to save him. Abdullah was astonished by the proposal but decline her offer and the bridal procession continued on its way. In those days it was the custom to stay in the house of the bride for several days after the marriage and then take her to her new home shortly afterwards.

However, a few days after Abdullah and Amina's marriage, it was necessary for Abdullah to return home. On his way he met Kutaylah who told him that she was no longer interested in him because the radiant light she had seen on his face was no longer there. Amina conceived on the first night of their marriage and the young couple were very happy together. Everything his father had told him proved to be true, and Abdullah was as delighted with Amina as she was with him. Two months after their marriage Abdullah joined a trading caravan destined for Al Shams. Today, Al Shams is a conglomerate of several countries known to us as Syria, Jordan and Palestine. On the return journey, Abdullah was taken seriously ill in Yathrib. Abdullah had many relatives in Yathrib and so the caravan left him in their care and continued on to Mecca without him.

The Death of Abdullah

A messenger bearing news of Abdullah's illness was sent on in advance of the caravan and as soon as Abd Al Muttalib heard the disturbing news he sent his eldest son, Harith, to Yathrib to bring Abdullah home. Harith was not destined to see his brother again as Abdullah died before he reached Yathrib and so he was buried near his cousins, the children of Adiyy, the son of Najjar in Yathrib. Harith returned to Mecca and conveyed the saddening news to his father and Amina whereupon great sorrow fell upon the entire family.

Lady Amina's Pregnancy

Allah, the Most High, made Lady Amina's pregnancy easy for her, in fact she commented that she didn't feel any different from her usual self. However, as her pregnancy progressed Lady Amina became aware of a light shinning from within her. One night in particular, the light was so spiritually, intensely bright that she had the ability to see the castles and turrets of far away Basra in Al Shams. During her pregnancy Lady Amina had many visions concerning her unborn baby. On one such occasion she heard a voice telling her, "You are carrying in your womb the master of this nation. When he is born say, 'I place him under the protection of the One from the evil of every envier; call him Muhammad.'"