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The Birth of Muhammad and the
Early Years of his Life
Abdullah was the favorite son of Abdul Muttalib.
When he was seventeen years old, he was married to Amina, a high-born lady of Yathrib, a
city in the north of Makkah. He was not, however, destined to live long, and died only
seven months after his marriage. Muhammad, the future apostle of God, was a
posthumous child.Shaikh Muhammad el-Khidhri Buck, professor of Islamic History, Egyptian
University, Cairo, says in his book, Noor-ulYaqeen fi Seeret Sayyed al-Mursaleen (1953).
He (Muhammad ibn Abdullah) was born in the house of his uncle, Abu Talib, in the
"quarter" of Banu Hashim in Makkah, on the 12th of Rabi al-Awal of the Year of
the Elephant, a date that corresponds to June 8, 570. His midwife was the mother of Abdur
Rahman ibn Auf. His mother, Amina, sent the tidings of the auspicious birth to his
grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, who came, took him in his arms, and gave him the name
Muhammad. Muhammad's share in his patrimony was one maid
servant, Umm Ayman; five camels and ten sheep. This is proof that prophets can inherit
property, and if they can inherit property from their parents, they can also bequeath
property to their own children. Being a prophet does not disqualify them from receiving
their own patrimony nor does it disqualify their children from receiving theirs. This
statement may appear to be a non-sequitur in this context but it is not. Muhammad, the
Prophet of Islam, may God bless him and his Ahlul-Bait, had bestowed upon his daughter,
Fatima, as a gift, the estate of Fadak. But when he died, Abu Bakr, the khalifa, and Umar,
his adviser, seized the estate on the plea that prophets do not bequeath any property to
their own children, and whatever wealth they possess, belongs, after their death, not to
their children, but to their umma (the people). It is a grim penalty that one has to pay
in Islam for being the son or daughter of its Prophet. Everyone else in the umma has the
right to inherit the wealth and property of one's father but not the daughter of Muhammad,
the Messenger of God! It was a custom among the Quraysh to send their
children into the desert to spend their early years in a climate that was more salubrious
than that of Mach. Children built up stronger bodies in the wide open spaces and pure air
of the desert than they could in the stifling and noisome air of the City. There was one more reason why the Arab aristocrats
sent their children to live in the desert. They were purists in speech, and were great
"aficionados" of words. They were fascinated by the Arabic language, its words,
their meanings and the various nuances of their meaning; and they took great pride in
their own eloquence. In fact, the upper classes in Makkah predicated their authority on
their rhetorical power. Makkah was the meeting-place of many caravans and its Arabic had
become corrupted into a kind of "pidgin Arabic". The Arab aristocrats did not
want their children to learn and to speak the pidgin Arabic of Makkah; they wanted them to
speak only the pure and uncontaminated language of the desert. They, therefore, sent their
children away from Makkah to protect them from all such deleterious effects during the
early years of their lives. Amina gave her child, Muhammad, to Halima, a woman
of the tribe of Banu Asad, living in the east of Makkah, for nursing. The infant Muhammad
spent the first four years of his life in the desert with his wet-nurse. Sometime in the
fifth year of his life, she is reported to have brought him back to his mother in Makkah. Muhammad was six years old when Amina, his mother,
died. He was then taken by Abdul Muttalib, his grandfather, to his home. But only two
years had passed when Abdul Muttalib also died. Just before his death, Abdul Muttalib called all his
sons together and told them that he was leaving two "bequests" for them; one was
the leadership of the clan of Banu Hashim, and the other was Muhammad ibn Abdullah, their
nephew, an orphan of eight. He then asked them who among them wanted his power and
authority as the leader of the tribe, and who among them would take charge of the boy who
had lost both parents. Most of his sons showed much eagerness to be named the leader of
the tribe but no one volunteered to take charge of Muhammad. As Abdul-Muttalib surveyed the assembly and
contemplated the future of the boy, Muhammad, an uneasy silence fell over the scene. But
it didn't last long. Abu Talib, one of his sons, stepped forward and said that he wanted
the son of his late brother, Abdullah, and that he had no interest in authority and power.
Abu Talib's forthright declaration clinched the
matter for Abdul Muttalib. He decided to make Abu Talib not only the guardian of Muhammad
but also the guardian of the clan of Banu Hashim. Abdul Muttalib announced on his death-bed that his
son, Abu Talib, would succeed him as the new chief of Banu Hashim, and that he would also
be the guardian of Muhammad. He then ordered the assembly to acknowledge Abu Talib as the
new leader of Banu Hashim. The latter complied, and was then dismissed. History ratified the judgment of Abdul Muttalib. His
son and successor, Abu Talib, discharged both duties most honorably. Sir John Glubb In 578 Abdul Muttalib died. Before his death, he
charged his son, Abu Talib, to look after Muhammad. Abdullah, Muhammad's father, had been
the brother of Abu Talib by both their father and mother. Abdul Muttalib's other sons had
apparently come from different wives. (The Life and Times of Mohammed, 1970) Abu Talib and his wife were very happy and proud to
receive Muhammad into their family. They took him not into their home but into their
hearts, and they loved him more than they loved their own children. Abu Talib was a man of great dignity and commanding
presence. During his incumbency as the leader of Banu Hashim he bore the titles of the
"Lord of Quraysh," and "Chief of the Valley." Like other members of
his tribe, he was also a merchant, and his caravans traveled to and from Syria and Yemen In every season, Abu Talib's caravans left Makkah
for their various destinations. Occasionally, he himself accompanied a caravan to
supervise the sale and purchase of merchandise in the foreign markets. Young Muhammad is
reported to have traveled with him to Syria with one of the caravans when he was twelve
years old. Early in life, Muhammad, the future prophet, built
up a reputation for truthfulness, integrity and sound judgment. Since there were no banks
in those days, he became a "banker" for the Makkans. They brought their cash,
jewelry, and other valuables to him for safe-keeping, and whenever they wanted anything
back, he returned it to them. They called him Amin (trustworthy) and Sadiq (truthful). Sir William Muir Endowed with a refined mind and delicate taste,
reserved and meditative, he (Mohammed) lived much within himself, and the pondering of his
heart supplied occupation for leisure hours spent by men of a lower stamp in rude sports
and profligacy. The fair character and honorable bearings of the unobtrusive youth won the
approbation of his fellow-citizens; and he received the title, by common consent, of
Al-Amin, ‘the Faithful.' Thus respected and honored, Mohammed lived a quiet and
retired life in the family of Abu Talib. (Life of Mohammed, 1877, p. 20) When Muhammad was twenty years old, a war broke out
between Quraysh, his tribe, and the tribe of Hawazin. Though he was present in the
campaigns of this war, he did not take any part in fighting. He did not kill or wound
anyone, thus showing at this early period, his hatred of bloodshed. He is, however, said
to have picked up arrows from the ground, and to have given them to his uncles who were
fighting. A few years later, Muhammad was admitted as a member
into the League of the Virtuous. As mentioned earlier, this League had pledged itself to
protect the weak, to oppose the tyrants and the oppressors, and to put an end to
exploitation in all forms. It is noteworthy that it was the clan of Banu
Hashim, to which Muhammad, the future prophet belonged, which inaugurated the League of
the Virtuous. Was it a mere coincidence? There is no way to answer this question. But by
their demarche, the Banu Hashim had declared war upon iniquity and injustice. They made it
clear that they would not connive at the crimes of the strong against the weak; nor would
they acquiesce in the exploitation of the poor by the Quraysh of Makkah. Not many years
later, Muhammad was to launch a program for the reconstruction of human society the
economic component of which would comprehend precisely the destruction of exploitation. He
would take the "privileges" of the Quraysh, and their "right" to
exploit the poor and the weak, away from them. Montgomery Watt The League of the Virtuous seems to have played an
important part in the life of Mecca, and in large part to have been directed against the
men and the policies to which Mohammed later found himself opposed. In particular his clan
of Hashim came to have a leading role in the League of the Virtuous. (Muhammad, Prophet
and Statesman, 1961)
