Shaiba ibn Hashim

Shaiba ibn Hashim ( _ar. شيبة ابن هاشم) (c. 497 – 578), better known as Unicode|Abdul Muttalib or Abd al-Muttalib, since he was raised by his uncle Muttalib, was the grandfather of Muhammad and Ali (the fourth Caliph).

Early life

His father was Hashim ibn Abd Manaf and his mother was Salma bint Amr from the tribe of an-Najjar in Yathrib. On his fathers side he belonged to the distinguished Banu Hashim clan, a subgroup of the Quraysh tribe of Mecca which traced their genealogy to Ismail and Ibrahim. In 497 his father died while doing business in Gaza, Palestine before he was born.

He was given the name "Shaiba", meaning "old man" in Arabic, because he was born with a few white hairs. After his fathers death he was raised in Yathrib with his mother and her family until about the age of eight, when his uncle Muttalib ibn Abd al-Manaf came to take him to Mecca. Upon first arriving in Mecca, the people assumed the unknown child was Muttalib's slave, giving him the name "`Abdu'l-Muttalib" (slave of Muttalib). When Muttalib died, Shaiba succeeded him as the chief of the Banu Hashim clan. It is not possible to give the whole history of `Abdu'l-Muttalib, but two important events will be included: the recovery of Zamzam and the attempted attack on the Kaaba by Abraha, the governor of Ethiopia in Yemen.

Zamzam

Hundreds of years before its time, the well of Zamzam in Mecca was filled up and nobody knew its location. One day, `Abdu'l-Muttalib had a series of four dreams directing him to Zamzam's location. `Abdu'l-Muttalib, with his eldest son, Harith ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, dug the location where Zamzam is today, finding water after four days of effort. At this success, the Quraish argued that since the well was the property of Ismail, it belonged to the whole tribe. `Abdu'l-Muttalib rejected their claim, saying that it was given to him by Allah.

They agreed to present their case to a wise woman of the tribe of Sa'd in Syria. During the trip, `Abdu'l-Muttalib's water reserves were depleted and his group suffering from thirst. The leaders of the other parties refused to give them water and `Abdu'l-Muttalib advised his group to dig graves, so that when someone died others could bury him.

The next day, `Abdu'l-Muttalib exhorted his companions that it was cowardice to succumb to death. He mounted his camel and its foot hit the earth producing a stream of water. The different caravans drank from the fountain and said: "Allah has decided between you and us. By Allah, we will never dispute with you about Zamzam. The same Allah who has created this fountain here in this desert for you has given Zamzam to you"."

The Year of the Elephant

According to Muslim tradition, the Ethiopian governor of Yemen, Abraha al-Ashram, envied the Kaaba's reverence among the Arabs and, being a Christian, he built a cathedral in Sanaa and ordered pilgrimage be made there. The order was ignored and someone desecrated the cathedral. Abraha decided to avenge this act by demolishing the Kaaba and he advanced with an army towards Mecca.

* NOTE: It is believed the desecration was in the form of defecation.

There were many elephants in Abraha's army and the year came to be known as "'Am al-Fil" (Year of the Elephant), beginning a trend for reckoning the years in Arabia which was used until Umar ibn al ­Khattab replaced it with the Islamic Calendar.

When news of the advance of Abraha's army came, the Arab tribes of Quraish, Banu Kinanah, Banu Khuza'a and Banu Hudhayl united in defense of the Kaaba. A man from the Himyar tribe was sent by Abraha to advise them that Abraha only wished to demolish the Kaaba and if they resisted, they would be crushed. `Abdu'l-Muttalib told the Meccans to seek refuge in the hills while he with some leading members of Quraish, remained within the precincts of the Kaaba. Abraha sent a dispatch inviting `Abdu'l-Muttalib to meet with Abraha and discuss matters. When `Abdu'l-Muttalib left the meeting he was heard saying, "The Owner of this House is its Defender, and I am sure He will save it from the attack of the adversaries and will not dishonor the servants of His House"."

It is recorded that when the Abraha's forces neared the Kaaba, Allah commanded small birds which destroyed Abrah's army with raining pebbles from their beaks. Abraha was seriously wounded and he retreated towards Yemen but died on the way.

This event is referred to in the Qur'an, chapter 105 Al-Fil:

"Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant? Did He not make their treacherous plan go astray? And He sent against them birds in flocks, striking them with stones of baked clay, so He rendered them like straw eaten up." (Qur'an, 105)

This conflict occurred in 570, the same year Muhammad was born.

Descendants of Shaiba ibn Hashim

Shaiba ibn Hashim married Sumra bint Jandab, Lubna bint Hajira,
Fatimah bint Amr, Halah bint Wahab-Zuhriya, and Natila bint Khabab - Khizriji.

From Sumra bint Jandab:
#Harith ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib

From Lubna bint Hajira:
#Abd al-Uzza(Abu Lahab) ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib

From Fatimah bint Amr:
#Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib - Father of Ali, the first Shia Imam & fourth Caliph
#Az-Zubayr ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib
#‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib - Father of Muhammad

From Halah bint Wahab:
#Hamza ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib
#Muqum ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib
#Hijl ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib
#Saffiyah bint ‘Abd al-Muttalib

From Natila bint Khabab - Khizriji:
#`Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib
#`Zarrar ibn `Abd al-Muttalib

‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib of Banu Hashim and Aminah bint Wahab of Banu Zuhra were the parents of the Muhammad. Abdallah died four months before Muhammad's birth, and Aminah bint Wahab was taken care of by Shaiba. Aminah also died six years later and Shaiba ibn Hashim died in 578 when Muhammad was eight. Shaiba ibn Hashim's grave can be found in Jannatul Mualla cemetery in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Following the death of his grandfather, Muhammad was then taken into the care of his uncle Abu Talib (the father of Ali), a prominent Quraysh chief and custodian of the Kaaba.

ee also

*Family tree of Shaiba ibn Hashim
*Sahaba
*Muhammad

External links

*http://al-islam.org/beacons/3.htm
*http://www.al-islam.org/peshawar/9.4.html