Death
of Abdul-Muttalib
After being brought up for two years
under the care and guardianship of Abdul-Muttalib, he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) reached eight years of age that
Abdul-Muttalib passed away. When Abdul-Muttalib’s funeral procession was
proceeding, he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
joined it with tearful eyes. However, Abdul-Muttalib had entrusted him to his
son Abu Talib before his death, stressing the utmost care and protection for
the boy. Despite having several other sons, Abdul-Muttalib was wise enough to
give him the care of Abu Talib because he and Abdullah, the father of the boy,
were born of the same mother. The assessment of Abdul-Muttalib came true and
the nephew became Abu Talib’s favorite.
Support
of Abu Talib
Abu Talib took special care of his
nephew and held him dearer than his own sons. He made him sleep on his own bed.
He (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) passed his childhood
days in a manner quite strange for the Arabian society. Instead of playing with
children of his age group, he felt disgusted in their company and preferred to
be in solitude. Allah the Almighty had kept him aloof from every kind of
debasement and depravity. A few boys of Quraish forced him to enjoy a marriage
celebration where there was once dance and music. But as he reached the spot he
was overtaken by sleep and kept sleeping the whole night and got up only when
the assembly had dispersed at the end of the celebration. He (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was thus saved from the undesirable and
forbidden activities of the marriage ceremony.
He (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) was, perhaps, seven years old when the
Quraish started rebuilding the Ka'bah which had suffered damage from a flood.
During the construction work, he (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) joined the party of workers carrying stones and giving them to
the masons. He was wearing Izâr (waist sheet) which was causing him some
trouble doing the work. The nakedness of a boy of seven was not then considered
something improper. So, his uncle Abbâs grabbed hold of the waist sheet and
pulled it so violently that he (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم) became naked. He grew shameful to the extent that he fell down
unconscious. At last, the people felt the gravity of the situation and put his
waist sheet back on and he recovered.
First
Journey to Syria
He (صلى
الله عليه وآله وسلم) was twelve years old when Abu Tâlib
planned to go with a merchant caravan to Syria leaving him behind in Makkah.
But he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was so used to the
company of Abu Tâlib that he could not bear separation from his uncle. Abu
Tâlib felt moved and agreed to take him to Syria. When the caravan reached
Busra, the southeastern part of Syria, a Christian monk named Bahira saw and
recognized him as the Last Prophet. He came to Abu Tâlib and let him know that
his nephew was set to become a Prophet as he had noticed with him all the signs
of Prophethood written in the Torah and the Gospel. He then advised Abu Tâlib
to hurry back with his nephew. Abu Tâlib acted upon the advice.
Harb
Al-Fijâr, First Participation in Battle
A great fair was regularly held at
Ukâz. This fair would organize a number of programs including horse races,
wrestling, demonstrations of the art of combat and poetic competitions. All the
tribes of Arabia were highly belligerent by nature and drew swords against one
another at the smallest incident.
Once, in the course of the fair at
Ukâz, the Hawâzin and Quraish tribes challenged each other due to a slight
provocation. At the outset some wise and sober people stood in the way and put
the matter right. But some mischief-mongers worsened the situation which led to
large-scale fighting and killing on both sides. The war was known as
Harb' Al-Fijâr because it took place
in the month of Dhul-Qa'dah when fighting was altogether forbidden. This war
was based on a series of four wars in which three firsts were small and the
fourth war happened to be more fierce than the preceding one as all the tribes
of Qais joined the Hawâzin tribe while all the tribes of Kinânah came to the
help of the Quraish. Thus this war developed to become a war between the Qais
and Kinânah tribes. The fourth and the last war was so terrible that some of
the chieftains had their feet chained so they couldn't leave from the field of
battle.
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) joined this fourth war for the first time
armed with weapons. Among Banu Kinânah, every tribe had its separate commander.
Thus the commander of Banu Hâshim was Zubair bin Abdul-Muttalib, an uncle of
the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم)
while Harb bin Umayyah was the commander of all the troops of Banu Kinânah.
Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) was then fifteen or
twenty years of age. He was entrusted with the service of picking up the arrows
for his uncles. However, he was saved from combat action. At the outset Banu
Hawâzin seemed to be dominating, but at last, Banu Kinânah turned the table
against the Banu Qais and war ended on peace treaty.
Trade
When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) became a young man, he turned towards
trade as a vocation. His uncle Abu Tâlib also liked this work for his nephew.
Several times he accompanied trade caravans with his merchandise and every time
he returned with a substantial profit. The people during these journeys had
ample opportunity to observe his qualities of honest dealings and graceful
behavior. Besides, all those in Makkah with whom he entered into business
terms, became witness to his trusty, truthful, upright and gracious character.
A Companion, Abdullah bin Abul-Hamsa
relates: "Before his deputation to the Prophethood, I had entered into a
business dealing with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله
وسلم). The dealing was not yet concluded when I had to leave for
another place in haste. But, before leaving I asked the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) to wait until I
returned to finalize the deal. After taking leave from him I forgot our
appointment and when I returned by the same route on the third day, I found the
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) waiting at the
people often referred to the name of that organization in their conversations.
After the Harb Al-Fijâr, Zubair bin Abdul-Muttalib, an uncle of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) felt the need of
reviving the movement. Thus a few people assembled at the house of Abdullah bin
Jad'ân and pledged afresh to combat the oppressors and help the oppressed. The
Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) also joined that
pledge.
After a period he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) brought to the chieftains and
distinguished people around him the idea to rise as one man to redeem the Arab
society from evils like oppression, highway robbery, excesses perpetrated on
the weak and the poor on the part of the strong and wealthy. His sincere
efforts brought fruit and an organization of Banu Hâshim, Banu Al-Muttalib,
Banu Asad, Banu Zuhrah and Banu Tamim was set up. Every member had to pledge:
(1) We shall wipe out disorder from the country; (2) Safeguard the travelers
and wayfarers; (3) Help the poor; and (4) Check the tyrants from doing wrong.
The organization served the people gracefully. During his Prophethood he (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) would say: "If
I were invited to have a hand in it even after the advent of Islam, I would
have undoubtedly joined again."
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