Abd al-Muttalib

Shayba ibn Hāshim (; ), better known as Abd al-Muttalib, was the grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a prominent leader of the Quraysh. He was the son of Hashim ibn Abd Manaf (the ancestor of the Banu Hashim clan), and the father of Abdullah (the father of Muhammad) as well as Abu Talib (the father of Ali). Abd al-Muttalib is traditionally regarded as an important figure in pre-Islamic Mecca, associated with the guardianship of the Kaaba and the rediscovery of the Zamzam well. He died in Mecca several years before Muhammad's migration to Medina.

Early life

His father was Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf, the progenitor of the distinguished Banu Hashim, a clan of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca. They claimed descent from Ishmael and Abraham. His mother was Salma bint Amr, from the Banu Najjar, a clan of the Khazraj tribe in Yathrib (later called Madinah). Hashim died while doing business in Gaza, before Abd al-Muttalib was born.

'Umar ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb's grandfather Nufayl ibn Abdul Uzza arbitrated in a dispute between 'Abdul-Muṭṭalib and Ḥarb ibn Umayyah, Abu Sufyan's father, over the custodianship of the Kaaba. Nufayl gave his verdict in favour of 'Abdul-Muṭṭalib. Addressing Ḥarb ibn Umayyah, he said:Why do you pick a quarrel with a person who is taller than you in stature; more imposing than you in appearance; more refined than you in intellect; whose progeny outnumbers yours and whose generosity outshines yours in lustre? Do not, however, construe this into any disparagement of your good qualities which I highly appreciate. You are as gentle as a lamb, you are renowned throughout Arabia for the stentorian tones of your voice, and you are an asset to your tribe.

Discovery of Zam Zam Well 'Abdul-Muṭṭalib said that while sleeping in the sacred enclosure, he had dreamed he was ordered to dig at the worship place of the Quraysh between the two deities Isāf and Nā'ila. There he would find the Zamzam Well, which the Jurhum tribe had filled in when they left Mecca. The Quraysh tried to stop him digging in that spot, but his son Al-Ḥārith stood guard until they gave up their protests. After three days of digging, 'Abdul-Muṭṭalib found traces of an ancient religious well and exclaimed, "Allahuakbar!" Some of the Quraysh disputed his claim to sole rights over water, then one of them suggested that they go to a female shaman who lived afar. It was said that she could summon jinns and that she could help them decide who was the owner of the well. So, 11 people from the 11 tribes went on the expedition. They had to cross the desert to meet the priestess but then they got lost. There was a lack of food and water and people started to lose hope of ever getting out. One of them suggested that they dig their own graves and if they died, the last person standing would bury the others. So all began digging their own graves and just as Abdul-Muṭṭalib started digging, water spewed out from the hole he dug and everyone became overjoyed. It was then and there decided that Abdul-Muttalib was the owner of the Zam Zam well. Thereafter he supplied pilgrims to the Kaaba with Zam Zam water, which soon eclipsed all the other wells in Mecca because it was considered sacred. ) the cathedral. Abrahah decided to avenge this act by demolishing the Kaaba and he advanced with an army towards Mecca. though other scholars place it one or two decades earlier. A tradition attributed to Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri in the musannaf of ʽAbd al-Razzaq al-Sanʽani places it before the birth of Muhammad's father.

Sacrificing his son Abdullah Al-Harith was 'Abdul-Muṭṭalib's only son at the time he dug the Zamzam Well. He later became chief of the Hashim clan. Abdullah, the father of Muhammad.

By Lubnā bint Hājar: Abd al-'Uzzā, better known as Abū Lahab. ancestor of the Abbasid caliphs. Ḍirār,