The beginning of the family of prophecy has already been recorded above by way of synopsis; the details, however, of their virtues and actions are as follows: The father (of blessed memory and glorious character) of Muhammad, the prophet of Allah—the most perfect greetings to him —was A’bdullah, distinguished and prominent among the youths of the Qoraish tribe by the perfection of his character, the nobility of his descent, the pleasantness and beauty of his demeanour, the generosity of his manners, the goodness of his deeds, the affability of his qualities, and the elegance of his behaviour. In pulchritude and amiability he was the Yusuf* of his time. The light of the star of Muhammad’s prophetship shone from the beauty of his aspect, and the radiation of the sun of Ahmed’s apostleship was evident from his heart-rejoicing countenance:
Distich: He who has the mark of the Friend’s* love
Possesses it openly on the forehead.
At that time the rumour was current among the high-priests of the Jews and the soothsayers of Hejâz that the last of prophets was about to be begotten from the loins of this youth. The cause of the knowledge of the Jewish doctors with reference to A’bdullah consisted in their possession of the guiltless Yahia’s [John the Baptist] blood-stained coat of white wool, and they had obtained evidence from old books that when blood-drops fell from that coat A’bdullah, the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and father of the seal of prophets—u.w.b.—would be born. It is related that when A’bdullah had reached the age of puberty the ladies of the Qoraish tribe, and the black-eyed belles of the Arabs, were so enticed by his beauty, and were so desirous of meeting him, that they gathered up the carpets of association between themselves and their husbands and refused to have any further intercourse with them.
| Distich: | Wash off the dust of affection for others from the tablet of thy mind; For the condition of love is: One heart and one friend! |
They began to make a display [of their charms] in the theatre of beauty and tenderness, offering to him their very souls with exquisite presents united with attractiveness and coquetry. By Divine favour and the aid of the Most High, he, however, abstained from associating with the fairy-faced, Venus-shaped Hûris of sunlike aspect, and did not pollute the skirts of his innocence with the filth of concupiscence. When the time approached for that virgin-pearl [i.e., Muhammad] to be nourished in the conch of nobility, and for that precious jewel to be formed in the mine of prosperity, by means of abundant showers from the clouds of grace, seventy Jews and bloodthirsty warriors of Syria entered into a covenant to proceed to Mekkah, and not to return until they had changed the day of the life of A’bdullah into the night of death. They set out on their journey with the above intention, travelled during the night for fear of publicity, and deflected from the road in the day, until they had in this manner arrived in the vicinity of Mekkah, and lay in wait for a good opportunity to execute their project. They suddenly met A’bdullah when he was hunting, and hastened in a crowd to attack him. Wahab, the son of A’bd Munâf, happened, however, likewise to be engaged in the chase in the same desert, and when he beheld this company advancing with drawn swords and bared arms towards A’bdullah, Arab impetuosity spurred him to ride with a number of servants who were with him to the spot of the encounter and to repulse them. Others say that his intention was to make inquiries of them [and not to attack them], but that a multitude appeared, bearing no resemblance to men of this world, riding on piebald horses, and dashing from the top of the sky towards the centre of the earth, and that, having reached the ground, they attacked the ill-fated Jews and routed them.
Distich: The thorn possessing a lancet in the earth
The sooner breaks when stinging.
Wahab Bin A’bd Munâf was astonished at this event, returned to his house, narrated to his wife what he had beheld, and sent her to wait on A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, in order to inform him that Wahab possessed a lady within the curtains of retirement, and desired to string that veiled one upon the thread of matrimony with his son A’bdullah. The mother of Aminah reported this message to A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, who agreed to the proposal as soon as the beauty and innocence of Aminah became known to him. The arrangements necessary for a wedding were then made by both parties, and at a propitious hour, when [the celestial planet] Venus obtained felicity from Jupiter [the terrestrial] Venus was united to the Luna-faced Jupiter. This marriage, however, became an occasion of grief in the noble city of Mekkah, because about two hundred sweet-spoken and honey-tongued ladies were by the ardour of love and the melancholy of their separation from A’bdullah thrown upon the couch of despair and died.
| Distich: | To those whose eyes and hearts were burnt, the flame of separation did What the morning breeze did to the light of the lamp. |
The remnant of the victims of love whom fate had respited deplored their separation from his roseate cheeks like the philomel with thousand melodies.
| Distich: | The killing of this wounded one by thy sword was either not decreed by fate Or, if so, thy merciless heart cannot be blamed. |
They preferred death to life, because they could not enjoy the latter. The story of Fattimah of Syria is a corroboration of what has just been narrated, and runs as follows: One of the governors of Palestine had a daughter, sitting within the innermost curtains of innocence, who vied in the world of amiability with the rising sun, and was in the zenith of beauty on a perfect equality with the full moon.
Distich: The brow an arch, the hair a lasso;
The stature, the gait, a tall cypress.
This girl was acquainted with the Divine books and heavenly pages, and also proficient in the art of soothsaying. She knew that the true time had arrived when the seal of the prophets would issue from the loins of one of the sons of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, endued with certain qualities; would become fixed in a pure womb; would, after the expiration of the proper time, proceed from the harem of seclusion into the court of prophecy, and would invite all nations to profess the equitable religion, and so follow the true road to salvation. The lady imagined that the breeze of the favour of the Most High might perhaps fructify the tree of her hopes with the blossoms of success, and accordingly she set out for Mekkah with garlands of jewels and exquisite clothes, as well as merchandise, horses, mules, and various other things. She took no account of the toils of the journey, but traversed the desert, hoping to meet her beloved:
Distich: From love for the Ka’bah I ran with such joy
That the thorns of the desert seemed silk to me!
When she had arrived in the vicinity of Mekkah, she pitched her mansion of permanency, and raised the vault of her court to the summit of the sun and moon. One day, when A’bdullah was returning from the chase, he happened to pass near the abode of Fattimah, who perceived the whole universe to be illuminated by the sunlight of his countenance, and was convinced that the expectations raised in her mind by the perusal of ancient books were now realized. She therefore hastily ran out from her palace to request him to grant her a brief interview, whereon A’bdullah, unable to resist the entreaties of the fairy-like lady, illuminated her abode with his presence. After a suitable repast the Princess of Syria raised the veil of separation, revealed the intentions enshrined in the treasury of her mind on the salver of presentation, and requested A’bdullah to unite himself to her in wedlock; but he replied that although it would afford him the greatest pleasure to marry the princess, such an important matter could not be transacted without informing A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, and to this Fattimah assented. When the day had elapsed A’bdullah left the court of Fattimah and went to his own house, where, by the decree of Divine providence, he had connection with Aminah, who became pregnant that night:
| Distich: | The water of life which Eskandar coveted |
Early in the morning A’bdullah waited on his father and informed him of what he had heard from Fattimah, and was very anxious to marry her. After having obtained permission to do so, he went rejoicing to her mansion, and informed her of his father’s consent. When, however, the beloved daughter of the Governor of Syria beheld the countenance of A’bdullah deprived of the light of prophecy, and perceived that his face, which had surpassed a fresh rose in amenity, was now without bloom, she fetched a deep sigh and said:
| Distich: | O beauteous circumstances! how thou art changed! What thou wast before, thou art now no more! |
After due inquiries she learnt that the decree of Providence had been fulfilled, and said to A’bdullah: ‘God, who knows what is revealed and what is hidden, is my witness that I was impelled to make this inquiry, neither by the inspiration of Satan nor by carnal desire, but that I wished to unite myself with thee in order to participate in the felicity which the Almighty Giver has bestowed upon all related to the infant who will be born. Although I am returning to my country with the caravan of disappointment, I wish thee joy.’
Fattimah spent the remainder of her life in melancholy and regret; but stories like this have come down from Omm* Quttâl, the sister of Waraqah Bin Nowfel, who was one of the Christian doctors, and also from Fattimah herself; as, however, the record of similar events smacks of repetition, the reed of explanation has abstained from narrating them. Before the birth of Muhammad—u. w. b. —strange and wonderful things took place, which are contained in various chronicles.
It is said that Aminah was in the bosom of the family of her uncle Wahab, the son of A’bd Munâf, when A’bd-ul-Muttalleb sued for her hand in favour of his son A’bdullah, and that he at the same time courted Hâilah, the daughter of Wahab, for himself. Both weddings took place simultaneously, and afterwards Hâilah gave birth to Hamzah, and Aminah to the seal of prophets—u. w. b. According to an authentic tradition, A’bdullah went to Syria before the birth of the prophet of Allah; according to another he was on his return from it; and yet, according to another, he was on his way to it, whilst some say that he went to purchase dates, and that, when he reached Madinah, the destroyer of joys demolished the castle of his existence so that he died, and was buried on the premises called ‘Dâr-un-nâilah.’
| Distich: | In this frail world, which is a house with two doors, Lay no foundations; for the edifice of life passes away. |
He had attained the age of twenty-five, and according to others of thirty, years, but Allah knows best. He was the son of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb, who was born with gray hair; but some say he had only one white hair, and was therefore called ‘the hoary’; after he had attained the age of discretion he was, on account of his great prayerfulness, called ‘the hoary devotee.’ Some state that A’bd-ul-Muttalleb became known as the servant of Muttalleb because his real father Hâshem had in some journey arrived at Madinah, had there married Solmah, the daughter of O’mru, who was of the tribe Beni An-najâr, and had, after the birth of the ‘hoary devotee,’ gone to Syria, where he fell sick, and exclaimed in that land of exile:
Distich: I travelled and broke the ties of relationship;
Perhaps I shall see Solmah’s beauty in my sleep.
When he was in the agony of death he said to his brother Muttalleb, the son of Munâf: ‘Succour thy servant who is at Yathreb,’ i.e., Spread the wings of mercy over the servant whom thou possessest at Madinah. The general opinion on this subject is, that some time after the decease of Hâshem, a man of the Qoraish happened to pass through Madinah, where he beheld an infant playing with other children, shooting arrows, and exclaiming: ‘I am the son of Hâshem!’ When the said individual returned from Madinah to Mekkah, he said to Muttalleb in the sanctuary of the Ka’bah: ‘I have seen thy brother’s son engaged in shooting arrows, and have perceived the signs of distinction and intelligence shining on his forehead, but his poverty was so evident that I was really distressed thereby.’ Muttalleb immediately swore an oath that he would go to Mekkah and take possession of his nephew ere he returned to his own house. The same man then said: ‘Behold, my she camel is ready!’ That very instant Muttalleb mounted the camel, took his brother’s son with his mother and relatives behind himself on the camel, and brought them to Mekkah; as, however, the ‘hoary devotee’ was dressed in an unbecoming garment, everyone they met on the road asked who this boy was, and Muttalleb replied: ‘He is my servant.’
Hemistich: The servant on thy camel was a freeman.
When Muttalleb arrived at home he dressed the ‘hoary devotee’ in a costly garment, introduced him to some of the Qoraish tribe, and gave them a short account of his journey to Madinah; but as he had on the road said to the people that the boy was his servant, he became known by the name of A’bd-ul-Muttalleb [the servant or, more strictly, slave of Muttalleb].
A’bd-ul-Muttalleb was in his time famous for his excellent qualities—dignity of aspect, eloquence and pleasantness of speech, and for his good deeds. He was also respected by Arabian and foreign Sultâns. One of his acts was the deepening of the well Zamzam.