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The Prophet of Islam  (may Allah exalt the mention of his name at the highest Angelic Sphere)

Allah the Almighty revealed: <<And (remember) when your Rabb said to the Angels: "Verily, I am going to place (mankind) generations after generations on earth." They said: "Will you place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, ----- while we confirm that You are free of every imperfection and praise, thank and sanctify You." He (Allah) said: "I know that which you do not know.">> Quran 2:30

Abu Musa Al-Sha’ara’I narrated that Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alaihi wa sallam said: "Allah created Adam from a handful of dust taken from different lands, so the children of Adam have been created according to the composition of the land. Therefore, from mankind we have white, red, black, and yellow ones; we have good and evil, ease and sorrow, and what comes in between them." Sahih Al-Bukhari

Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alaihi wa sallam said: "O Muslims! I advise you to be gentle with women, for they are created from a rib, and the most crooked portion of the rib is the upper part. If you try to straighten it, it will break, and if you leave it, it will remain crooked, so I urge you to take care of the women." Sahih Al-Bukhari

Adam and Hawwa (Eve), alaihi salam, witnessed the birth of their first children, on earth, a set of twins, one male and one female. His name was Qabil (Cain) and his sister. Later Eve gave birth to another set of male-female twins named Habil (Abel) and his sister. The rights of marriage that Allah ordained for them at that time was for the male from one set of twins to marry his sister from the other set. However, Qabil was not agreeable to marry Habils twin sister as his own twin sister was much prettier than her and therefore killed his brother, Habil, by dashing a sone against his head. This was the first murder ever committed amongst the human species.

Muhammad Ibn Ishaq related: that when Adam’s (alaihi salam) death drew near, he appointed his son Shiith (Seth) to be his successor, and taught him the hours of the day and the night along with their appropriate acts of worship. He also foretold him of the flood that would come. Adam (alaihi salam) also reassured his children that Allah would send His prophets to guide man on earth. The prophets would have different names, traits and miracles, yet they would be united in one thing: the call to worship Allah alone.

According to a Hadith narrated by Abu Dharr that Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alaihi wa sallam said: "Allah sent down one hundred and four psalms, of which fifty were sent to Seth" Sahih Al-Bukhari

With respect to the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, from the first created man, Prophet Adam Alaihi Salam, there are three separate sections with their respective degree of authenticity. The first has been authenticated by biographers and genealogists and states that Prophet Muhammad’s Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam’s genealogy has been traced to ‘Adnan. The second is subject to controversies and doubt, and traces his lineage beyond ‘Adnan back to Prophet Ibrahim Alaihi Salam. The third, with some parts definitely incorrect, traces his lineage beyond Prophet Ibrahim Alaihi Salam all the way back to Prophet Adam Alaihi Salaam, the first of human creation.

The Prophetic Family

The family of Prophet Muhammed Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam is called the Hashemite family after his grandfather Hashim bin ‘Abd Munaf.

Hashim

Hashim was the one responsible for giving food and water to the piligrims. This had been his charge when the sons of ‘Abd Munaf and those of ‘Abd Ad-Dar compromised on dividing the charges between them. Hashim was wealthy and honest. He was the first to offer the piligrims sopped bread in broth. His first name was ‘Amr but he was called Hashim because he had been in the practice of crumbling bread (for the piligrims). He was also the first man who started Quraish’s two journeys of summer and winter. It was reported that he went to Syria as a merchant.

In Madinah, he married Salma, the daughter of ‘Amr from Bani ‘Adi bin An-Najjar. He spent time with her in Madinah and subsequently left for Syria again while she was pregnat with child. Hashim died in Ghazza in Palestine in 497AD. Later, his wife gave birth to ‘Abdul-Muttalib and named him Shaiba for the white hair on his head. She brought him up in her father;s house in Madinah. None of his family in Makkah learned of his birth.

Hashim had four sons; Asad, Abu Saifi, Nadla and ‘Abdul Muttalib, and five daughters; Ash-Shifa, Khalida, Da’ifa, Ruqyah, and Jannah.

Abdul Muttalib

After the death of Hashim, the charge of piliogrim’s food and water was passed on to his brother Al-Muttalib bin ‘Abd Munaf who was also honest, generous and trustworthy. When ‘Abdul Muttalib reached the age of boyhood, his uncle Al-Muttalib heard of him and went to Madinah to fetch him. When he saw him tears filled his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He embraced him and took him on his camel. The boy however abstained from going with him to Makkah until he took his mother’s consent. Al-Muttalib asked her to send the boy with him to Makkah, but she refused. He managed to convince her saying, "Your son is going to Makkah to restore his father’s authority, and to live in the vicinity of the Sacred House".

In Makkah, people wondered at seeing ‘Abdul Muttalib, and they considered him the slave of Al-Muttalib. Al-Muttalib said; "He is my nephew, the son of my brother, Hashim". The boy was brought up in Al-Muttalib’s house. Later on Al-Muttalib died in Bardman in Yemen and ‘Abdul Muttalib took over and managed to maintain his people’s prestige and outdo his grandfathers in his honourable behavious which gained him Makkah’s deep love and high esteem.

When ‘Al-Muttalib, his uncle, died, Nawfal usurped ‘Abdul Muttalib of his charges. ‘Abdul Muttalib sought help from the Quraish but they abstained from extending any sort of support to either of them. Subsequently he wrote to his uncles of Bani An-Najjar (his mother’s brothers) to come to his aid. His uncle, Abu Sa’d bin ‘Adi (his mother’s brother) marched to Makkah at the head of eighty horsemen and camped in Abtah in Makkah. ‘Abdul Muttalib received the men and invited them to go to his house but Abu Sa’d said; "Not before I meet Nawfal." He found Nawfal sitting with some old men of Quraish in the shade of Al-Ka’bah. Abu Sa’d drew his sword and said: "I swear by Allah that if you don’t restore to my nephew what you have taken, I will kill you with this sword." Nawfal was thus forced to give up what he had usurped, and the notables of Quraish were made to witness his words.

Abu Sa’d then went to ‘Abdul Muttalib’s house where he stayed for three nights, made Umra, and left back for Madinah. Later on Nawfal enetered into alliance with Bani ‘Abd Shams bin ‘Abd Munaf against Bani Hashim. When Khuza’a, a tribe, saw Bani An-Najjar’s support to ‘Abdul Muttalib, they said: "He is our son as he is yours. We have more reason to support him than you." ‘Abd Munaf’s mother was one of them. They went into An-Nadwa’s House and entered into alliance with Bani Hashim against Bani ‘Abd Shams and Nawfal. It was an alliance that was later to constitute the main reason for the conquest of Makkah. ‘Abdul Muttalib witnessed two important events in his lifetime, namely digging Zamzam well and the Elephant raid.

In brief ‘Abdul Muttalib received an order in his dream to dig Zamzam well in a particular place. He did that and found the things that Jurhum men had buried therein when they were forced to evacuate Makkah. He found the swords, armour and the two deer of gold. The gate of Al-Ka’bah was stamped from the gold swords and the two deer and then the tradition of providing Zamzam water to piligrims was established.

When the well of Zamzam gushed forth with water, the Quraish made a claim to partnership in the enterprise, but ‘Abdul Muttalib refused their demands on grounds that Allah had singled only him out for this honourable job. To settle the dispute, they agreed to consult Bani Sa’d’s diviner. On their way, Allah showed them His Signs that confirmed ‘Abdul Muttalib’s prerogative as regards the sacred spring. Only then did ‘Abdul Muttalib make a solemn vow to sacrifice one of his adult children to Al-Ka’bah if he had ten.

The second event was of Abraha As-Sabah Al-Habashi, the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) viceroy in Yemen. He had seen that the Arabs bmade their piligrimage to Al-Ka’bah. Hence he built a large church in Sana’a in order to attract the Arab piligrims to it to the exclusion of Makkah. A man from Kinana tribe who understood his motive entered the church stealthily at night and besmeared its walls with excrement. When Abraha knew of that he was very much angered and led a great army, of sixty thousand warriors, to demolish the Ka’bah. he chose the bigger elephant for himself. His army included nine or thirteen elephants. He marched on until he reached a place called Al-Magmas. There, he mobilized his army, prepared his elephants and prepared to enter Makkah. When he reached Muhassar valley, between Muzdalifa and Mina, the elephant knelt down and refused to go forward. Whenever they directed it north, south or east, the elephants moved quickly, but when directed westwards towards Al-Ka’bah the elephants knelt down. Meanwhile, Allah loosened upon them birds in flights, hurling against them stones of baked clay and made them like green blades devoured by cattle. These birds were very much like swallows or sparrows, each carrying three stones; one in its beak and two in its claws. The stones hit Abraha’s men and cut their limbs and killed them. A large number of Abraha’s soldiers were killed in this way and the others fled at random and died everywhere. Abraha himself had an affliction that had his fingertips amputated. When he returned to Sana’a he was in a miserable state and died soon after.

The Quraishites, on their part, fled for their lives to the hillocks and mountain tops. Ehen the enemy had thus been routed, they returned home safely.

The Event of the Elephant took place in the month of Al-Muharram, fifty or fifty five days before the birth of the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam. This corresponds to approximately late February or early March 571 AD. It was a gift from Allah to His Prophet and his family. It could actually be regarded as a Divine auspicious precursor of the light to come and accompany the advent of the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam and his family. By contrast Jerusalem had suffered under the yoke of the atrocities of Allah’s enemies. Here we can recall Bukhtanassar in BC 587 and the Romans in 70 AD. Al-Ka’bah, by Divine Grace, never came under the hold of the Christians, the Muslims of that time, although Makkah was populated by polytheists.

News of the Elephant Event reached the most distant corners of the then civilized world. Abyssinia (Ethiopia) maintained strong ties with the Romans, while the Persians on the other hand, were on the vigil with respect to any strategic changes that were looming on the socio-political horizon, and soon came to occupy Yemen. Incidentally the Roman and the Persian Empires stood for the powerful civilized world at that time. The Elephant Raid Event riveted the world’s attention to the sacredness of Allah’s House and showed that this House had been chosen by Allah for its holiness. It followed then that if any of its people claimed Prophethood, it would be congruous with the outcome of the Elephant Event, and would provide a justifiable explanation for the ulterior Divine Wisdom that lay behind backing polytheists against Christians in a manner that transcended the cause-and-effect formula.

‘Abdul Muttalib had ten sons, Al-Harith, Az-Zubair, Abu Talib, ‘Abdullah, Hamzah, Abu Lahab, Ghidaq, Maqwam, Safar and Al-’Abbas. He also had six daughters, who were, Umm Al-Hakim - the only fair one, Barrah, ‘Atikah, Safiyah, Arwa and Omaima.

Abdullah

Abdullah was the father of Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam. His mother was Fathima, daughter of ‘Amr bin ‘Aidh bin ‘Imran bin Makhzum bin Yaqda bin Murra. ‘Abdullah was the smartest of ‘Abdul Muttalib’s sons, the chastest and the most loved. He was also the son whom the divination arrows pointed at to be slaughtered as a sacrifice to Al-Ka’bah. When ‘Abdul Muttalib had ten sons and they reached maturity, he divulged to them his secret vow in which they silently and obediently acquiesed. Their names were written on divination arrows and given to the guardian of their most beloved goddess, Hubal. The arrows were shuffled and drawn and indicated that ‘Abdullah was to be sacrificed. ‘Abdul Muttalib then took the boy to Al-Ka’bah with a razor to be slaughtered. Quraish, his uncles from the Makhzum tribe and his brother Abu Talib, however, tried to dissuade him from consummating his purpose. He then sought their advice as regards his vow. They suggested that he summon a she-diviner to judge whereabout. She ordered that the divination arrows should be drawn with Abdullah’s name and ten camels and ordered that every time ‘Abdullah’s name was drwan an additional ten camels should be added and the draw repeated. The operation was thus repeated until the number of the camels amounted to one hundred. At this point the arrows selected the camels. and consequently the were all slaughtered instead of his son. The slaughtered camels were left for anyone to consume, be it humans or animals.

This incident produced a change in the amount of blood-money usually accepted in Arabia. It had originally been ten camels, but after this event, it was increased to one hundred. Islam, later on, approved of this. Another thing closely relevant to the above issue goes to the effect that the Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, once said: "I am the offspring of the two slaughtered", meaning Ishmael and ‘Abdullah.

‘Abdul Muttalib chose Amina, daughter of Wahab bin ‘Abd Munaf bin Zahra bin Kilab, as a wife for his son, ‘Abdullah. She thus, in the light of this ancestral lineage, stood eminent in respect of nobility of position and descent. Her father was the chief of Bani Zahra to whom great honour was attributed. They were married in Makkah, and soon after ‘Abdullah was sent by his father to buy dates in Madinah where he died. In another account, ‘Abdullah went to Syria on a trade journey and died in Madinah on his way back. He was buried in the house of Al-Nabigha Al-Ju’di. He was twenty five years old. Most historians state that his death was two months before the birth of Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam. Some say that it was two months after. When Amina was informed of her husband’s death, she celebrated his memory in a most heart-touching elegy.

‘Abdullah left very little wealth behind - five camels, a small number of goats, a she-servant called Barakah Umm Aiman, who would later serve as the Prophet’s nursemaid.

Prophet Muhammad SAW.(may Allah exalt the mention of his name at the highest Angelic Sphere)

Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam was born in bani Hashim Lane in Makkah on Monday morning, the ninth (9) of Rabi’ Al Awwal, the same year of the Elephant Event, and forty years of the reign of Kisra (Khosru Nushirwan). ie; the twentieth (20) or twenty second (22) of April 571 AD.

His mother, Amina, immediately sent the good news to his grandfather ‘Abdul Muttalib. Happily he came to her, carried the baby to Al-Ka’bah, prayed to Allah and thanked Him. ‘Abdul Muttalib named the baby Muhammad, a name not then common amongst the Arabs. He circumsized him on the seventh day as was the custom then.

The first woman who suckled the new born baby after his mother was Thuyebah, the concubine of Abu Lahab, with her son, Masrouh. She had suckled Hamzah bin ‘Abdul Muttalib before and later Abu Salamah bin ‘Abd Al-Asad Al-Makhzumi.

The Prophet Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam was later entrusted to Haleemah bint Abi Dhuaib from Bani Sa’d bin Bakr. Her husband was Al-Harith bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza called Abi Kabshah, from the same tribe.

Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam had several foster brothers and sisters. They were Abdullah bin Al-Harith, Aneesah bint-Al-Harith, Hudhaifah or Judhamah bint Al-Harith (known as Ash-Shayma).

On the death of Amina, Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, was brought up by his grandfather ‘Abdul Muttalib in Makkah. He was loved very much by his grandfather even above the prefrence of his own children. When Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam was eight years two months and ten days old, his grandfather ‘Abdul Muttalib passed away in Makkah and he then came under the charge of his uncle Abu Talib who was his father’s brother.

Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam in his youth was modest, of virtuous behaviour and graceful manners. He proved himnself to be the ideal of manhood and to possess a spotless character. He was the most obliging to his compatriots, the most honest in his talks, and the mildest in temper. He was also the most gentle-hearted, chaste, hospitable, and always impressed people by his piety -inspiring countenance. He was the most truthful and the best to keep covenant. His fellow citizens, by common consent, gave him the title of "Al-Ameen", The Trustworthy.

His position as the Messenger of Allah was bestowed upon him in his fortieth year and he faced many a challenge both from his own people and others in bringing forth Islam into the world. The history of his Prophethood is much too lengthy to be accomodated in this genelaogical table and should be referred to in other texts.

Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wa Sallam died on Monday the 12th Rabi Ul-Awwal in the eleventh (11) year of Hijra. 634 AD. He was 63 years and 4 days old.

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