VOL 6.2

Though the name Quraysh is sometimes given to an ancestor,

either Fihr or al-Nadr, in its origin it seems to have been a nickname

which was given to the supporters of Qusayy as a whole, perhaps

meaning "the little collection," though other meanings were

suggested by later scholars (as the text shows). Associated with

control of the Ka'bah were various offices or privileges, doubtless

intended to ensure that things went smoothly during the time

of pilgrimage. Among the offices mentioned in Tabari's material

were: the siqdyah or ensuring of a water supply, especially for the

pilgrims,* the tifadah or seeing that there was food for the pilgrims;

the liwd’, which was either carrying the standard in battle or arranging

for this; and the nasi’ or arranging when a month was to

be intercalated. 37

The existence of the sanctuary and the habit of pilgrimage gave

Mecca some advantages for commerce. In the later sixth century,

possibly because of the warfare between the Byzantine and Persian

empires, the merchants of Mecca seem to have gained something

like monopoly control over the trade between South Arabia

(and the Indian Ocean?) and the Mediterranean coast, and they

had become very prosperous. There were two or three rival goups,

but commercial interests made them work together. Though most

Meccans shared in the prosperity, some fared very much better

than others, and there was growing social malaise as the wealthy

came to disregard aspects of traditional morality. Islam may be

said to have developed as an answer to the problems resulting from

Meccan commercial prosperity.

Events up to Muhammad’s call (1123-39)

The story of Muhammad's encounter with the Christian monk

Batura, like some of the other stories about Muhammad in this

volume, is to be regarded as primarily a way of reassuring people

that Muhammad was really a prophet. After the Arabs had conquered

Syria, Egypt, and Iraq, they were in contact with Christians

who used various arguments to show that Muhammad was not

37. See n. 71 to the text.

The Clans of Quraysh.

(Names in capitals are those of groups commonly spoken of as clans.)

Muhammad s.a.w

Translator's Foreword

XXXI

a prophet; for example, that he had performed no miracles, and

that his coming had not been foretold. It is almost certain that

Muhammad travelled more than once with Abu Talib and others

to Gaza and Damascus, and he may well have had some contacts

with Christian monks; but the details of the story must be treated

as hagiography.

Muhammad's marriage to Khadijah was a turning point in his

career. The system of inheritance customary among the Arabs

at this time allowed only mature persons to inherit, and thus

Muhammad received nothing from either his father or his grandfather.

This meant that he was unable to engage in trading on his

own account as most of his relatives did. It is not known what

social arrangements made it possible for Khadijah to be a merchant

in her own right, though at least one other woman merchant

is mentioned in the sources. After the marriage Muhammad

continued to trade with Khadijah's capital, though presumably

now as her partner rather than as her agent. We are told that

he had as a business associate al-Sa'ib b. Abl al-Sa'ib of the clan

of Makhzum, a nephew of Khadijah's second husband. These arrangements

made it possible for Muhammad to make some use

of his administrative skills, but Khadijah seems to have been only

moderately wealthy and Muhammad was probably still excluded

from the most lucrative enterprises.

It appears that Khadijah also appreciated the qualities in

Muhammad which made it possible for him to be a prophet; and

after some of his earliest prophetic experiences, when he was uncertain

what to make of these and anxious about the future, her

encouragement and support helped him to overcome his difficul-

ties. She had a cousin, Waraqah b. Nawfal, who is said to have

become a Christian, and she may have learnt something about

Christianity from him. Waraqah, when talking to Khadijah about

Muhammad, is reported to have identified Muhammad's experiences

with those of Moses in the Bible. It is doubtful whether

Waraqah ever spoke to Muhammad about this, but his ideas may

have been conveyed by Khadijah, for in the end Muhammad was

convinced that he was continuing the line of Biblical prophets.

The story of Muhammad's part in the rebuilding of the Ka'bah

is probably intended to show that he was a person of high character

before his call to be a prophet. There may be some truth in

xxxii Translator's Foreword

the story, in that many of the merchants may have realized that

Muhammad was unusually skilled in handling difficult personal

situations.

The call to be prophet

It will be convenient to treat under a single heading all the

matters covered in pages 1139-57, since they are closely interconnected,

besides being the most important part of the present volume.

The historian can hardly avoid asking what light this material

throws on the origins of a religion professed by perhaps a

seventh of the world's population.

It is necessary first of all to say something about religious attitudes

in Mecca at the time, and in particular to call attention to a

feature which was ovelooked in my bo.ok Muhammad at Mecca.

This is the existence in Mecca of a belief in Allah as a "high god, "

that is, as one god among many, though in some respects superior

to the others. 38 The fact is clearly stated in two passages of the

Qur'an and referred to in several others.

If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, and

made the sun and moon subservient, they will certainly say,

Allah .... And if you ask them who sent down water from

heaven and thereby revived the earth after its death, they

will certainly say, Allah. . . . And when they sail on the ship

they pray to Allah as sole object of devotion, but when he

has brought them safe to land they "associate" ( yushrikun )

others with him (29:61-65).

If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth,

they will certainly say, Allah. Say: Do you then consider that .

what you call upon apart from Allah, those (female beings),

are able, if God wills evil to me, to remove this evil, or, if he

wills mercy for me, to hold back this mercy (39:38)?

This last passage is possibly a reference to the belief that the

other deities intercede with Allah on behalf of their worshippers,

a belief which is clearly stated in 10:18: "they serve apart from

Allah what neither harms nor benefits them, and they say, These

38. See Watt, "Belief in a 'high god' in pre-Islamic Mecca," Journal of Semitic

Studies, xvi (1971): 35-40; "The Qur'an and Belief in a 'High God'," Der Islam, lvi

{1979): 205-11. See also n. 4 to the text.

Translator's Foreword

xxxiii

are our intercessors ( shufa’d ’) with Allah." 39 Once it is admitted

that there was this belief in Allah as a "high god," it will be found

that there are many other passages of the Qur'an, descriptive of

pagans, in which it may be implicit.

While it is clear that such beliefs were widespread among

Muhammad's contemporaries, it is impossible to know what proportion

of the people held them. Similar beliefs are known to have

been held throughout the Semitic Near East during the Graeco-

Roman period. 40 Something of the kind is also to be found in the

Bible, for according to recent interpreters. Psalm i6:2.f. runs as follows:

To Yahweh you say, "My Lord, you are my fortune, nothing

else but you," yet to these pagan deities in the land, "My

princes, all my pleasure is in you." 41

Muhammad must have been aware of this belief in Allah as a

"high god" even if he did not fully share in it. There is no way

of discovering how much he knew about Judaism and Christianity

before his revelations began. He presumably knew all that

was commonly known in Mecca, and he may have discussed religious

matters with Christians on his visits to Syria. Khadijah,

too, may have known something about Christianity through her

cousin Waraqah who is said to have been a Christian. The word

Allah, however, was presumably used by Jews and Christians

when speaking about God in Arabic; and this must have made

it difficult for serious-minded people in Mecca to understand how

Allah as worshipped by Jews and Christians differed from Allah

as worshipped by their pagan contemporaries.

Relevant to this matter is a significant point which does not

seem to have been noticed by Western scholars, namely, that the

word Allah does not occur in the earliest passages of the Qur'an, or

does so only rarely. The relative dating of the Qur'an is, of course,

a notoriously difficult matter about which Western scholars are

not agreed, while few Muslims accept the Western approach to

chronology. The absence of the word Allah in early surahs can be

39. See also 36:23 and 43:86.

40. See J. Teixidor, The Pagan God: Popular Religion in the Greco-Roman Near

East, Princeton 1977.

41. Jerusalem Bible.

XXXIV

Translator's Foreword

illustrated from the latest attempt to place the surahs in chronological

order, that of Regis Blachere in his French translation. 42 In

what he reckons to be the first seventeen surahs, the word Allah

occurs only three times, namely, in his seventh (91:13), his tenth

(95:8) and his sixteenth (87:7); and of these, he considers the verses

91:13 and 87:7 to be later than the rest of the surah. Instead of

Allah, one finds "your Lord" (rabbuka) as in 96:1,3 or "we" as in

94:14. The word Allah occurs, of course, in the invocation at the

beginning of each surah, but this would be added later.

The story of the "satanic verses" (1192-96) shows the persistence

of some confusion between Allah conceived monotheistically

and Allah as "high god." The truth of the story cannot

be doubted, since it is inconceivable that any Muslim would invent

such a story, and it is inconceivable that a Muslim scholar

would accept such a story from a non-Muslim. It also appears to

be vouched for by a verse from the Qur'an (22:52). Many Muslims

reject the story as unworthy of Muhammad, but there is nothing

unworthy of him in holding that his knowledge and understanding

of "his Lord" developed during the early years of his prophethood

as the revelations multiplied.

The core of the story is that one day Muhammad received a revelation

(as he supposed) in which three goddesses were mentioned

and permission was given to use them as intercessors. He communicated

this to the leading men of Quraysh, and they all joined

with him in Islamic worship. Later he realized that the verses

permitting intercession were not from God but must have been

put into his mind by Satan. When the change was communicated

to Quraysh, their opposition became even fiercer. Some versions

state that the realization of the falsity of the supposed revelation

came to Muhammad on the evening of the same day, but this is

unlikely if one accepts the further story about some Emigrants returning

from Abyssinia. There would thus appear to have been an

interval between the "revelation" of the verses and their cancellation.

The point to be emphasized here is that Muhammad did not immediately

appreciate that there was a contradiction between this

permission for intercession and a genuine monotheism. This does

42. First edition, Paris 194 9.

Translator's Foreword

xxxv

not necessarily mean that he accepted the idea of the believers in

Allah as "high god" that there were other deities which could intercede

with him Some of those who heard the verses might certainly

have understood them in this way, but Muhammad himself

probably thought of the three goddesses as angels. It is to be

noted that verse 26 of the same surah speaks of the possibility of

intercession by angels: "How many angels there are in the heavens

whose intercession is of no avail save after God gives leave to

those whom he chooses and accepts!" The full story of the rejection

of the "satanic verses" will never be known. What is certain

is that a fresh revelation cancelled them and replaced them by others.

It is from this time, too, that the revelations emphasize that

"there is no deity but God" and that he must be the sole object

of worship. 43 Even the possibility that the goddesses might be angel

is rejected: "they are but names which you have named, you

and your fathers" (53:23). Thus, in the end, the Qur'an decisively

rejected the belief in Allah as "high god," but it is part of the background

against which the accounts of Muhammad's call must be

considered.

There is much to be said for accepting the statement of 'A'ishah

that first beginning of revelation for the Messenger of God was

true vision ( al-ru’ya al-sadiqah); it used to come upon him like

the dawn". 44 It seems very probable that this refers to the two

visions described in Surah 53:1-8:

By the Star when it sets,

your comrade neither errs nor is deceived,

nor does he speak from (his own) fancy.

It is naught but a revelation revealed,

which one of mighty powers taught him,

a vigorous one; he grew clear to view

while being on the uppermost horizon.

Then he drew near and came down

till he was (distant) two bows' length or nearer

and revealed to his slave what he revealed.

The heart lied not (in seeing) what it saw.

43. Emphasis on the unicity of God is not found in the early passages of the

Qur'an; see Watt, Muhammad at Mecca, 60-85.

44- P- U47-

xxxvi Translator's Foreword

Will you dispute with him concerning what he sees?

Indeed he saw him yet another time

by the lote tree of the utmost boundary,

near which is the Garden of Abode,

when the lote tree was strangely shrouded.

The eye turned not aside nor yet was overbold.

He saw one of the greatest signs of his Lord.

In Islamic tradition, the second vision is often identified with

the "night journey," of which more will be said later. This is unlikely,

however, since the vision of 53:13-18 appears to be very

early, whereas the "night journey" is generally held to come late

in the Meccan period. The words here translated "reveal" and

"revelation" ( awha , wahy) are those which became the standard

terms for these concepts; but in this passage they are used in a

more general sense, which could perhaps be rendered by "suggested"

or "indicated", and of which there are several examples

in the Qur'an. 45 This means that these visions were not the beginning

of the verbal revelations which constitute the Qur'an. It

should also be noted that the word "slave" (' abd ) in verse 10 implies

that the object seen was a divine being and not an angel, since

"slave" would be inappropriate in the latter case. When, after the

hijrah, it came to be the accepted view that the angel Gabriel was

the agent of revelation, he was taken to be the object of the visions;

but many of the early commentators allow that it was a

vision of God. It may be, however, that Muhammad thought of

him only as "his Lord" and not as Allah.

The text of Tabari (1245-50) shows that there were two strong

bodies of opinion about Muhammad's age when he was called to

be a prophet, one maintaining that he was forty, the other that he

was forty-three. It would seem probable that there is some truth

underlying both views, and that they refer to two stages in his becoming

aware of himself as a prophet. The problem then becomes

how to distinguish between the full prophethood from the age

of forty- three onwards and what happened in the previous three

years. There are two main possibilities. One is that the revelation

of the Qur'an began soon after the visions but that he did not -

45. Watt, Bell’s Introduction to the Qur'an, 20-23.

Translator's Foreword

xxxvii

proclaim the revelations publicly until after three years. The other

is that during the three years he was not receiving verbal revelations

(or at least not until near the end), but that he had some

other kind of religious experience. This second possibility may

be connected with the statement that during the three years his

visitant was the angel Israfil (12.48!.}. This would mean that during

these years Muhammad was coming to a deeper understanding

of religious truth and working out a system of religious practice,

such as the details of the formal prayer. The statement that

these were demonstrated to him by Gabriel (ii56f.) is unlikely to

be a description of the original experience, since Gabriel does not

seem to have played any part in Muhammad's thinking until after

the hijrah. The statement would be more plausible if Israfil

was substituted for Gabriel; but on the whole, it is likely that

Israfil was brought in by a later Muslim scholar. Nevertheless,

it would be true that Muhammad must have had religious experiences

through which he learnt such matters as the details of the

formal prayer, and he may have done so only gradually. Since the

details of die prayer are not prescribed in the Qur'an, they must

have come to Muhammad through some form of nonverbal inspirational

experience. This tends to support the second of the

two possibilities, namely, that for most of the three-year period

Muhammad was not receiving Qur'anic revelations but was having

experiences of another kind.

There is not much of clear historical value in the remaining

material about the call to prophethood. The story of the revelation

by Gabriel of the first part of Surah 96 cannot be accepted as it

stands, since there are strong grounds for holding that it was only

after the hijrah that Muhammad came to think of Gabriel as the

agent of revelation. The receiving of passages of the Qur'an does

not seem to have been accompanied by any visual experience, and

so it is possible that Muhammad thought that it was "his Lord"

himself who was putting the Qur'an into his heart. Interpreted

in this way, the story may be essentially true, at least in those

versions in which the words ma aqra’u are taken to mean "what

shall I recite? " At some point a Muslim scholar realized that these

words could also mean "I do not recite" or "do not read." By this

time, in order to counter Christian claims that Muhammad had

taken stories from the Bible, it had become a point of Muslim

xxxviii Translator's Foreword

apologetic that Muhammad was unable to read; and so the story

of the first revelation was sometimes modified to support this line

of apologetic. Such modifications are certainly not original.

Even if the central point of the story is accepted, the question

has still to be asked whether the beginning of Surah 96 was in

fact the first revelation. Some nineteenth-century scholars, like

Sir William Muir and Hubert Grimme, thought that several surahs

had been revealed before this passage. It can also be argued that it

would be easy for a later Muslim scholar to think that a surah

beginning "recite" (iqra’) must have been the beginning of a book

called "recitation" ( qur'an - the verbal noun from the same root),

and then to invent a story to substantiate this. On the other hand,

when the core of the story is accepted, it does sound like a new

beginning.

The contents of the passage, however, seem to show that it

cannot have been the first revealed. The words "your Lord...

taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know" are almost

certainly a reference to previous scriptures, that is, to the

Bible. This is not meant to suggest that Muhammad had himself

read any of the Bible, for it is unlikely that it had been translated

into Arabic, and doubtful if anyone in Mecca had a copy of it

in any language. The point is that Muhammad had had two visions

and other strange experiences, and sometimes was not sure

what to make of them. He needed to be assured by someone with

the requisite knowledge that what he had experienced was similar

to what had been experienced by the prophets of the Bible.

There are many discrepancies in the versions of the story about

Waraqah, but the central point is the assurance to Muhammad

that what had come to him was the great Namus which had come

to Moses (iisif.). Western scholars have tended to identify the

Namus with the Mosaic law because of the resemblance to the

Greek nomos (law). The identification with Gabriel is impossible

for the reason given above, but suggests that Waraqah may

have been saying that the "Lord" of Muhammad's experience was

God who had come to Moses. Certainly throughout his prophetic

career Muhammad never doubted that he and the Jews and the

Christians were all alike worshippers of God. So, in a sense, it

was because of what "his Lord" had taught by the pen to men like

Waraqah that Muhammad was able to have the assurance that he

Translator's Foreword

xxxix

stood within a great prophetic tradition. This does not prove that

there had been verbal revelations to Muhammad before Surah 96,

but it makes it not unlikely that there had been some. If this were

so, then the iqra ' of 96:1 could be a command to recite revealed

passages as part of the formal prayer, and in this respect would

mark a new beginning.

Early in the material from al-Zuhri on page 1147 there occur

the words, "the Truth (that is, God) came to him unexpectedly

and said, Muhammad, you are the Messenger of God", and "he"

repeated the words shortly afterwards in Khadljah's chamber. A

line or two later the same words are spoken to Muhammad by

Gabriel; and on page 1155, Gabriel comes to him after the "gap" in

the revelation and says "you are the Prophet of God." The name of

Gabriel cannot be original here, since he belongs to the period after

the hijrah. If there is a genuine experience underlying the story,

it is to be found in the version which speaks of "the Truth," for

this could be identified with Muhammad's "Lord" and the divine

being of the visions.

Further, if through this experience Muhammad came to some

understanding of his vocation, it could not have been by means of

the term "Messenger of God" (rasul Allah). Apart from the fact

that he seems to have been uncertain whether to think of "his

Lord" as identical with Allah, the term rasul would probably not

have had much meaning for him at this period. He certainly came

to believe that he had a divinely given vocation, but he would

have thought of it in other terms. In the earliest passages of the

Qur'an, he is told to warn or to admonish, and is then spoken of

as a "wamer" (nadhir) or "admonisher" (mudhakkir). 46

Some Muslim scholars held that the first passage of the Qur'an

to be revealed was the beginning of Surah 74: "O you enveloped

in a cloak, Rise and warn." Others held that this was not the first

of all revelations but was the one marking the beginning of public

preaching. The words "rise and warn" certainly imply communicating

the message to people in general; but then they could not

be the first of all revelations unless there were none for communication

only to believers.

The idea that Muhammad thought of committing suicide must

46. E.g., 74:2 and 87:9 (commands). See also Muhammad at Mecca, yii.

xl Translator's Foreword

have come originally from himself, though it may not have been

so definite as it appears to be in the stories, but was perhaps rather

a mood of dejection and despair. Surah 93 (al-Duha) gives encouragement

to Muhammad to rise above such a mood. The reason

for such depression could be perplexity at the strange experiences

through which he was passing and uncertainty whether to accept

them at their face value. After Muhammad had received a

number of revelations, there was a period known as the "gap" (fatrah)

when none came to him; and this also he found worrying.

It should be remembered, too, that there was a widespread feeling

among Semitic peoples that the near approach of the divine

could have disastrous consequences for the individual, and so was

to be feared. To be covered with a cloak seems to have been regarded

as offering some protection against the danger. This is the

most likely explanation of the description of Muhammad as "enveloped

or enwrapped in a cloak" in the opening verses of Surahs

73 and 74. The words muzzammil and muddaththir are similar in

meaning as well as in form. It is possible that the stories in which

Muhammad asks to be covered were invented to explain the two

words.

Close examination, then, of the material presented by Tabari

about Muhammad's call to be a prophet shows that much of it has

little historical value. This should not, however, obscure the fact

that most of the main points in the presentation as a whole are

almost certaintly true. Muhammad had meditated deeply on the

social, moral, and religious problems of Mecca. He had two visions

which moved him profoundly and other religious experiences. He

became convinced first that God had called him to be a "warner"

to his community, then later that he had called him to be not

just a- prophet, but a prophet in the line of the biblical prophets.

He began to receive messages or revelations from God, and these

continued to come to him at short intervals. He communicated

these to other people, and those who believed them came to form

a religious community.

The night journey (1157-59)

Popular Islamic tradition has greatly elaborated and expanded

the story of Muhammad's "night journey" and ascent to heaven

(isra’, mi" raj). There is much more to it than the brief account

Translator's Foreword

xli

given by Tabari. In many versions, Muhammad is first of all carried

from Mecca to Jerusalem, and then from Jerusalem taken up

to the seventh heaven. It is claimed that these are fuller descriptions

of what is briefly referred to in the Qur'an (17:1):

Glorified be he who carried his servant by night from the

Inviolable Mosque to the Furthest Mosque, whose neighborhood

we have blessed, that we might show him our signs.

This presumably refers to a dream or something similar, and

is far from justifying the plethora of material about the "night

journey" of Muhammad. 47

The first Muslims (1159—69}

The material on the question of who was the first male to become

a Muslim is not so much history as political propaganda. For

Shi'ites, the assertion that "'All was the first male Muslim is an

additional mark of his superiority to Abu Bakr and further support

for his claim to be the rightful successor of Muhammad as caliph.

'All may well have been the first male to accept Islam and join in

the prayer; but he was only ten at that time. The assertion that

Abu Bakr was first is doubtless a Sunnite claim that he was best

fitted to succeed Muhammad; though he became Muhammad's

chief lieutenant, he was not necessarily his best friend at the time

of his call, and, if not, probably not the first Muslim. The statement

that fifty accepted Islam before him but that he was the best

Muslim looks like a Sunnite admission that he was not first. Zayd

b. Harithah, as a member of Muhammad's household, may well

have been the first adult male.

The opposition to Muhammad in Mecca (1169-99)

It was probably a year or two after the beginning of

Muhammad's public preaching that he and his followers came

to experience serious opposition from the leading merchants of

Mecca. Some older Western scholars thought that the reason for

the opposition was that the leading merchants considered that

Muhammad's attack on idols would put an end to the sacredness

of the Ka'bah and of Mecca generally. This idea is without -

47. There is much more material in Ibn Hisham, Sirah 263-71* see also EI(S), art.

Mi'radj (Horovitz). W. Montgomery Watt

xlii

Translator's Foreword

foundation. There is no record of Muhammad doing other than respecting

the sacredness of the Ka'bah and of Mecca. Though the Qur'anic

attack on idols would apply to the idol Hubal who was kept in

the sacred area round the Ka'bah, the men of Quraysh are called

upon (Surah 106:3) to worship "the Lord of this House"; and this

last phrase implies that for Muslims the Ka'bah is a temple of

the one true God, and therefore eminently sacred. Since the three

goddesses of the "satanic verses" had each a shrine not far from

Mecca, at al-Ta'if, Nakhlah, and al-Mushallal, respectively, the

cancellation of the verses would mean primarily that worship at

these shrines was no longer permitted, but would not affect the

status of the Ka'bah. There is nothing here to suggest that the pilgrimage

would be adversely affected and trade destroyed.

The reasons for the Meccan opposition are to be sought rather

in the main themes found in the earlier passages of the Qur'an. In

Muhammad at Mecca, pages 60-85, the passages were carefully

examined and the main themes shown to be: God's goodness and

power, the return to God for Judgement, the requirement that men

should respond by gratitude and worship, and also by being generous

with their wealth and "purifying" themselves. The requirement

of generosity implied a critique of the merchants' unscrupulous

pursuit of profit and their disregard of traditional obligations

to kinsmen. The call to men to believe in God, to be grateful to

Him, and to worship Him went counter to the firm conviction

of the merchants that their own economic and political powers

were the ultimate determinant of events. The merchants probably

also felt that Muhammad was threatening their political control

of Meccan affairs. He was collecting round him devoted followers,

and if this process continued and his followers became a sizeable

proportion of the people of Mecca, it would be difficult for the

merchant's council to go against rulings given by Muhammad.

Credence should also be given to the statement in the letter

of 'Urwah to the caliph 'Abd al-Malik (p.1180) that Quraysh were

not wholly averse to Muhammad "until he mentioned their idols"

and that then wealthy Quraysh from al-Ta'if took the lead in stirring

up opposition to him. The "mention of idols" probably means

the cancellation of the "satanic verses"; and it is conceivable that

Meccans from al-Ta'if led the opposition because the rejection of

the shrine of the goddess Allat there somehow adversely affected

Translator's Foreword

xliii

their business interests. The "mention of the idols," however, was

doubtless no more than the occasion for the development of oppressive

measures, since the worship of the idols probably meant

little to the materialistic merchants. The basic reasons for their

opposition were the Qur'anic critique of their attitudes and practices,

and the threat to themselves from Muhammad's increasing

power. It was possibly also relevant to the growth of opposition

that Muhammad's followers were largely young men, some

of them sons and younger brothers of the leading merchants.

The various ways in which life was made difficult for

Muhammad and the Muslims are illustrated in the pages of

Tabari. There was economic pressure on individuals, and finally

on the whole clan of Hashim. There were insulting words and

actions. There were repressive measures involving physical coercion.

The last happened within the clan or even family, since

peace was maintained in Mecca, as elsewhere in Arabia, by the lex

talionis, (law of retaliation). Each individual was normally "protected"

by his clan in the sense that, if he were to be injured, honor

would demand that his clan should exact "an eye for an eye," and

so on. Muhammad himself suffered little other than petty annoyances

because his uncle Abu Talib, as chief of Hashim, refused to

withdraw clan protection from him despite attempts of the opponents

to entice or threaten him into changing his mind — he was

not himself a Muslim.

When the level of prosecution became intolerable for some

of the Muslims, Muhammad encouraged them to emigrate to

Abyssinia, a country with which Mecca had trading relations. The

primary motive was to escape from persecution, but there may

also have been secondary motives of various kinds, perhaps even

the hope that the Christian emperor (or Negus) might become a

Muslim. Two separate emigrations are sometimes spoken of, but

this seems to be an unjustified deduction from the fact that Ibn

Ishaq has two separate lists. It is also said that some of the Emigrants

came back when they heard that after the "satanic verses"

the leading Meccans had joined Muhammad in the prayer; they

did not hear of the cancellation until they were near Mecca, but

they then returned to Abyssinia. What seems likely is that there

was a succession of small groups rather than two emigrations of

large parties. Not all the Muslims in Mecca emigrated. Those who

xliv

Translator's Foreword

did nearly all belonged to a specific group of clans, and this was

doubtless because these clans were more vigorous in persecuting

their own members. Some of the Emigrants returned to Mecca before

the hijrah, but others remained in Abyssinia until six years

after that event, presumably making a good living as traders.

The culmination of the attempts of the opponents to deprive

Muhammad of the "protection" of his clan was an agreement by

most of the clans of Mecca not to trade with the clan of Hashim

(and its associated clan of al-Muttalib) and not to intermarry. This

"boycott" is said to have lasted for about three years. It does not

seem to have caused undue hardship to Hashim, possibly because

they were not dependent on the boycotting clans for the importing

of food. Some of these clans eventually broke the boycott, perhaps

feeling that they were losing more from it than they were gaining.

It was probably in the year 619 A.D. that the boycott ended,

and shortly afterwards Muhammad lost by death both his wife

Khadijah and the uncle who had protected him, Abu Talib. Abu

Talib was succeeded as chief of Hashim by another uncle Abu

Lahab, and the latter soon found an opportunity of depriving

Muhammad of clan protection without loss of face; the reason

given is said to have been that Muhammad had alleged their common

ancestor 'Abd al-Muttalib to be in Hell.

The final years at Mecca and the Hijrah (11 99-1 245)

Soon after these events Muhammad made a journey to al-Ta'if,

doubtless because he had lost, or was about to lose, his "protection"

in Mecca. He may have hoped to find some support for his

religion there, because al-Ta'if, a trade rival of Mecca, had been

forcibly brought under the control of its stronger neighbor. When

he reached al-Ta'if, however, he found no one ready to support

him and stand up for him, and he suffered badly at the hands of

some of the local population. Before he returned to Mecca he had

to obtain the "protection" of some man of importance. Two requests

were rejected, but the third man he approached, the head

of the clan of Nawfal, gave a positive answer, though he probably

imposed conditions, such as not preaching, of which we are not

informed.

The impossibility of spreading Islam further in Mecca made

Muhammad look for potential followers elsewhere. He -

Translator's Foreword

xlv

approached some of the nomadic tribes when they were at Mecca

for the annual pilgrimage, but found no response. Then, probably

in 620, he met half a dozen men from al-Madinah and was listened

to with interest. Unlike Mecca, where there was no agriculture,

al-Madinah was an oasis growing dates and cereals; but for

a long period it had been plagued with feuds of increasing intensity

between rival clans and groups of clans. Most recently, at the

battle of Bu'ath about 617, nearly all the clans of al-Madinah had

been involved on one side or the other. Peace had been restored

but it was still fragile, and many people in al-Madinah were attracted

by the prospect of having someone with an authority such

as Muhammad's, who might be able to settle their disputes.

A more representative group of twelve came to the pilgrimage

of 621 and took the first pledge of al-'Aqabah, which was

tantamount to accepting Islam. Muhammad sent an agent to al-

Madinah with them, ostensibly to teach them Islam, but prob-

ably also to gain detailed information about political trends in

al-Madinah and to avoid a repetition of the fiasco at al-Ta'if. A

year later, at the pilgrimage of 622, over seventy men and one or

two women made the second pledge of al-'Aqabah, the pledge of

war, by which they not only accepted Islam but also undertook to

"protect" Muhammad in al-Madinah as they would one of their

nearest kinsmen.

This pledge made it possible for Muhammad and the community

of Muslims to "emigrate" to al-Madinah. Muhammad en-

couraged those who wanted to go to make the journey in small

groups. After about two months, over seventy men with their

wives and families had reached al-Madinah. Some Muslims chose

to remain in Mecca, but it is difficult to know how many. The

leading opponents apparently had some awareness of what was

happening, and realized that it could create problems for themselves,

though, despite some of their alleged remarks, they could

hardly have anticipated the precise nature of their problems.

There may well have been a plot to kill Muhammad of the kind

described by Tabari.

So long as he remained in Mecca Muhammad was presumably

still under the "protection" of the clan of Nawfal. On leaving

Mecca, however, he would have no "protection" until he reached

al-Madinah. This was the reason for the secrecy of his departure,

xlvi Translator's Foreword

tor his hiding in the cave, and then following an unusual route

to al-Madlnah. His precautions were effective, and he reached al-

Madinah safely on 24 September 622.

Questions of chronology (1245-56)

The various statements about the length of Muhammad's

prophetic career in Mecca support the view adopted above that

there were two points, about three years apart, at each of which

an important step forward was taken. The second was almost certainly

the beginning of the public proclamation of the message.

The first is not so clear, but was probably not the beginning of

verbal revelation, that is, of the Qur'an. If, as some of the sources

seem to indicate, the period of public preaching at Mecca was ten

years, then it must have begun about 612, and the earlier stage

about 609; but these dates are admittedly only approximate.

The establishment of the Islamic era was almost certainly the

work of the caliph TJmar (634-44). The matter could hardly have

been of concern to Muhammad while the Islamic polity was still

at the embryonic stage. The distinctive character of the Islamic

year, of course, was fixed shortly before Muhammad's death by

the Qur'anic rejection of intercalation. 48 The choice of the hijrah

for the beginning of the Islamic era was doubtless made because it

was the effective beginning of the Islamic state, and for the practical

reason that there was little chronological material before the

hijrah and a large amount afterwards.

The Islamic era was fixed to begin with the first month of

the Arab year during which Muhammad made the hijrah, and it

was decided, by working backwards, that Muharram I, A.H. 1 was

equivalent to July 16, A.D. 622 This was based, however, on the

assumption that no intercalary months were observed after the

hijrah, though it is unlikely that this was so. This may explain

why the sources say that Muhammad arrived in al-Madinah on a

Monday, whereas according to the standard calendar the day was

a Friday.

48. Qur'an 9:36!. See also n. 74 to the text.

The Lineage of the Messenger of God

*

[ 1073 ]

f Abdallah [His Father )

The name of the Messenger of God was Muhammad, and he was

the son of 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-Muttalib. 'Abdallah, the father of

the Messenger of God, was his father's youngest son. 'Abdallah, al-

Zubayr, and 'Abd Manaf, who is Abu Talib, were sons of 'Abd al-

Muttalib by the same mother, Fatimah bt. 'Amr b. 'A'idh b. Imran

b. Makhzum. This information was given to us by Ibn Humayd—

Salamah b. al-Fadl — Ibn Ishaq.

Hisham b. Muhammad — his father: 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-

Muttalib, the father of the Messenger of God, Abu Talib, whose

name was 'Abd Manaf, al-Zubayr, 'Abd al-Ka Tbah, 'Atikah, Barrah

and Umaymah, the children of 'Abd al-Muttalib, were full brothers

and sisters, their mother being Fatimah bt. 'Amr b. ‘A'idh b.

Imran b. Makhzum b. Yaqazah.

Yunusb. 'Abdal-A'la — IbnWahb — Yunusb. Yazld — IbnShihab —

Qubaysah b. Dhu' ayb: A woman had sworn to sacrifice her son

at the Ka'bah if she achieved a certain matter; she did (in fact)

achieve it and then she came to al-Madinah to seek a legal opinion

on her oath . 1 She went to 'Abdallah b. 'Umar, who said, "I do not

know that God has given any command concerning oaths other

other than that one should be faithful to them." "Am I to sacrifice

i. This incident probably occurred a few years after A.D. 661 when the seat of the

caliphate had been moved to Damascus. Among the religious authorities remaining

in al-Madinah were 'Abdallah b. TJmar, son of the caliph Umar, and 'Abdallah

b. 'Abbas, son of Muhammad's uncle al-'Abbas.

2

Muhammad at Mecca

my son, then?" she asked. 'Abdallah replied, "God has forbidden

you to kill one another," and said no more to her than that. Then

she went to 'Abdallah b. 'Abbas and asked his opinion . He replied,

"God has commanded you to be faithful to your oaths and has forbidden

you to kill one another. 'Abd al-Muttalib b. Hashim vowed

that if ten of his sons grew to manhood he would sacrifice one of

them. He cast lots among them, and the lot fell on 'Abdallah b.

'Abd al-Muttalib, whom he loved more than any other. Then he

said, 'O God, shall I sacrifice him or a hundred camels?' He cast

lots between him and the camels, and the lot fell on the hundred

camels." Then Ibn 'Abbas said to the woman, "My opinion is that

you should sacrifice a hundred camels in place of your son."

Finally the matter came to the attention of Marwan, 2 who was

governor of al-Madlnah at that time, and he said, "I do not think

that either Ibn 'Umar or Ibn 'Abbas has given a correct opinion;

no vow which contravenes God's commands can be binding. Ask

God's forgiveness, repent, give alms, and perform such charitable

actions as you are able. As for sacrificing your son, God has

forbidden you to do that." The people were delighted and lost in

admiration at this verdict, and concluded that Marwan's opinion

was the correct one ; from that time on they adopted the opinion

that no vow which contravenes God's commands can be binding.

Ibn Ishaq gives a fuller account of this matter of 'Abd al-

Muttalib's vow than one given above. 3 Ibn Humayd — Salamah b.

al-Fadl — Muhammad b. Ishaq: 'Abd al-Muttalib b. Hashim, so it

is said — and God knows best — had vowed, when Quraysh made

difficulties for him about the digging of Zamzam, that if ten sons

were born to him and reached maturity so that they could protect

him, he would sacrifice one of them to God at the Kaljah. 4

When he had ten sons grown to maturity and he knew that they

2. Marwan b. al-Hakam, of the clan of Umayyah, became Caliph in 684 and died

in 685. The story puts the Umayyads in a favorable light.

3. Ibn Hisham, Shah, 97-101.

4. The name Allah has throughout been translated as "God." It should be kept

in mind, however, that in the pre-Islamic period it does not necessarily mean

"God" in a monotheistic sense. It is known from the Qur'an (29:61-5; 39:38; etc.)

that many pre-Islamic Arabs believed in Allah as a high or supreme god superior

to the other gods whom they also recognized. See: Watt, "Belief in a 'high god'

in pre-Islamic Mecca," Journal of Semitic Studies, xvi (19711:35-40; "The Quran

and Belief in a 'High God,'" Der Islam, lvi (1979),: 205-11. This explains how it

was possible for 'Abd al-Muttalib to stand beside Hubal while praying to Allah, as

described below.

Lineage of the Messenger of God

3

would protect him, he brought them together, told them of his

vow, and called on them to keep faith with God in this matter.

They expressed their obedience, and asked what they should do. [1075)

He replied, "Let every one of yqu take an arrow, write his name on

it, and bring it to me." They did this, and he went into the presence

of Hubal in the interior of the Ka'bah. Hubal was the greatest

of the idols of Quraysh in Mecca, and stood by a well inside the

KaT^ah in which were gathered the offerings made to the Kabbah.

Beside Hubal there were seven arrows, on each of which there

was writing. On one was written, "the blood money"; when a dispute

arose as to which of them was responsible for paying blood

money, they cast lots with the seven arrows to settle the matter.

On another arrow was written "yes"; when they were considering

some course of action, they cast lots, and if the "yes" arrow came

out they acted on it. Another arrow had "no," and if that came

out they did not proceed with their course of action. On the other

arrows was written "of you", "attached", 5 "not of you," and "Water."

When they wanted to dig for water they cast lots with the

arrows, including this last one, and wherever it fell they started

digging. Whenever they wanted to circumcise a boy, arrange a

marriage, or bury someone who had died, or when they were in

doubt as to the descent of one of them, they took him to Hubal

together with a hundred dirhams and a slaughtering-camel which

they would give to the custodian who used to cast lots with the

arrows. Then they would bring forward the person about whom

they wished to consult the oracle and would say, "O god of ours,

this is so-and-so the son of so-and-so, about whom we wish to

know such-and-such; so reveal the truth concerning him." Then

they would say to the custodian of the arrows, "Cast!" The latter

would cast them, and if "of you" fell to the person in question,

that meant that he was a fellow tribesman; if it was "not of you,"

he was a confederate; and if it was "attached," he remained as he

was, linked to them neither by descent nor alliance. In matters [1076]

other than these, when "yes" came out they acted accordingly,

and when "no" came out they deferred the matter until the following

year , when they brought it up again. This recourse to the

5. Ar. mulsaq; according to Ibn Manzur this means one who lives among a tribe

but is not of them. See Lisan s.v. L-S-Q.

4 Muhammad at Mecca

way the arrows fell was their ultimate method of deciding their

affairs.

Accordingly, 'Abd al-Muttalib said to the custodian of the arrows,

"Cast my sons' arrows to determine their fate," and told

him of the vow which he had made. Each of them gave the custodian

his arrow with name written on it. 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-

Muttalib was his father's youngest son and, it is claimed, the one

he loved most, and 'Abd al-Muttalib thought that if the arrow

missed (this son) he himself would be able to endure the outcome.

'Abdallah was the father of the Messenger of God. When the custodian

of the arrows took the arrows to cast them, 'Abd al-Muttalib

stood beside Hubal in the interior of the Kahah, calling upon God.

The custodian of the arrows cast, and the lot fell against 'Abdallah.

'Abd al-Muttalib took him by the hand, took a large knife,

and went up to Isaf and Na'ilah, two idols of Quraysh at which

they used to slaughter their sacrifices, to sacrifice him. However,

the Quraysh rose from their assemblies and came to him, saying,

"What do you intend to do, 'Abd al-Muttalib?" He replied "To

sacrifice him," but the Quraysh and 'Abd al-Muttalib's other sons

said, "By God! You shall never sacrifice him but must get an excuse

for not doing so. If you act thus men will never stop bringing

their sons to sacrifice them, and how will the people survive in

this way?" Then al-Mughlrah b. 'Abdallah b. 'Umarb. Makhzum,

from whose tribe 'Abdallah's mother was, said, "By God! You shall

never sacrifice him, but must get an excuse for not doing so. If it

takes all we possess to ransom him, we shall do so."

The Quraysh and the other sons of 'Abd al-Muttalib then said,

"Do not do this, but take him to the Hijaz. There is a sorceress

there who has a familiar spirit; ask her, and you will know what

[1077) to do. If she commands you to sacrifice him, you will sacrifice

him, and if she commands you to do something which offers relief

to you and to him, you can accept it." They went to al-Madinah

where, it is claimed, they found that she was in Khaybar. They

rode until they reached her and consulted her. 'Abd Al-Muttalib

told her the story about himself and his son, what he had intended

to do to him, and the vow which he had made, and she said to

them, "Retire from me for today, until my familiar visits me and

I can ask him."

They retired from her, and when they had left her presence

Lineage of the Messenger of God

5

'Abd al-Muttalib stood and prayed to God. On the following day

they went back to her and she said, "Yes, news has come to me.

How much is the blood-money among you?" They replied, "Ten

camels," which it was. "Go back to your country, then," she said,

"and bring forward the young man and ten camels, and cast the

arrows. If they fall against the young man, add to the camels until

your Lord is satisfied. If they fall against the camels, sacrifice

them, and your Lord will be satisfied and the young man will be

saved."

They left and returned to Mecca, and when they had all agreed

on the matter, 'Abd al-Muttalib stood and prayed to God. Then

they brought forward 'Abdallah and ten camels, while 'Abd al-

Muttalib was in the interior of the KaTjah beside Hubal praying

to God. The arrow fell against 'Abdallah, so they added ten camels,

making twenty, while ‘Abd al-Muttalib stood where he was praying

to God. Then they cast again, and the arrow fell against 'Abdallah,

so they added another ten camels, making thirty. They

went on in this way, casting the arrows and adding ten camels every

time the arrow fell against him, until they had cast ten times

and the number of camels had reached a hundred, while 'Abd al-

Muttalib continued to pray. Then they cast again, and the arrows

fell against the camels. Then the Quraysh and those others present

said, "Your Lord is satisfied at last, ‘Abd al-Muttalib." They claim

that he said, "No, by God, not until I cast the arrows against them [1078]

three times." So they cast the arrows between the camels and 'Abdallah

while ‘Abd al-Muttalib prayed, and they fell against the

camels; then they did it again, a second and a third time, with

the same result. Then the camels were slaughtered and left there,

and no man or wild beast was turned back from eating them.

‘Abd al-Muttalib left, taking his son 'Abdallah by the hand. It is

alleged that he passed by a woman of the Banu Asad called Umm

Qattal bt. Nawfal b. Asad b. ‘Abd al-TJzza, the sister of Waraqah

b. Nawfal b. Asad; she was by the KaTjah. When she looked at

his face she said, "Where are you going, 'Abdallah?" "With my father,

" he said. She said, "I have for you as many camels as were

slaughtered for you, so sleep with me now." "My father is with

me," he replied, "and I cannot oppose his wishes or leave him."

‘Abd al-Muttalib took him away and brought him to Wahb b. ‘Abd

Manaf b. Zuhrah, who was the leading man of the Banu Zuhrah

6

Muhammad at Mecca

in age and eminence at that time, and the latter married him to

(his daughter) Aminah bt. Wahb, who was then the most excellent

woman in Quraysh as regards genealogy and status. Her mother

was Barrah bt. 'Abd al-'Uzza b. "Uthman b. 'Abd al-Dar b. Qusayy,

Barrah's mother was Umm Habib bt. Asad b. 'Abd al-'Uzza b.

Qusayy, and Umm Habib's mother was Barrah bt. 'Awf b. 'Abld

b. 'Awlj b. 'Adi b. Kali b. Lu'ayy.

It is alleged that he consummated his marriage to her there as

soon as he married her, that he lay with her and that she conceived

Muhammad; then he left her presence and came to the woman

who had propositioned him, and said to her, "Why do you not

[1079J make the same proposition to me today which you made to me

yesterday?" She replied, "The light which was with you yesterday

has left you, and I have no need of you today. " She had heard (about

this) from her brother Waraqah b. Nawfal, who was a Christian

and had studied the scriptures; he had discovered that a prophet

from the descendants of Isma'll was to be (sent) to this people; this

had been one of the purposes of his study.

Ibn Humayd — Salamah — Muhammad b. Ishaq — his father,

Ishaq b. Yasar: 'Abdallah paid a visit to a wife whom he had in

addition to Aminah bt. Wahb b. 'Abd Manaf b. Zuhrah. He had

been working in clay 6 and traces of the clay were still on him,

and when he invited her to lie with him she made him wait because

of this. He went out, performed his ablutions, washed off

the clay which was on him, and went to Aminah's quarters. He

went in and lay with her, and she conceived Muhammad. Then

he passed by this other woman and said, "Do you wish to lie with

me?" "No," she replied. "When you passed by me before you had

a white blaze between your eyes. You invited me to lie with you

and I refused, so you went to Aminah and she has taken it away."

They allege that this wife of his used to relate that when he

passed by her he had between his eyes something like the white

blaze on a horse's forehead, that she invited him in the hope that

he would lie with her, but that he refused and went in to Aminah

bt. Wahb and lay with her, as a result of which she conceived the

Messenger of God.

6. R.B. Serjeant in his comments on Alfred Guillaume's translation of the Shah

(Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, xxi[i958]:i-i4 says this

means a cultivated plot or field. There was, however, little cultivable land near

Mecca.

Lineage of the Messenger of God

7

f Ali b. Harb al-Mawsill — Muhammad b. TJmarah al-Qurashi —

al-Zanji b. Khalid — Ibn Jurayj — f Ata' — Ibn 'Abbas: When 'Abd al-

Muttalib was taking 'Abdallah to marry him to Aminah, they

passed by a female soothsayer from the tribe of Khath'am called

Fatimah bt. Murr, a convert to Judaism from the people of Tabalah,

who had read the scriptures and who saw light in his face. "Young

man/' she said, "would you like to lie with me now, and I will

give you a hundred camels?" He replied,

As for unlawful relations, I would sooner die,

and as for lawful marriage, there can be none, as

I clearly recognize.

So how can that be which you desire?

Then he said, "I am with my father and I cannot leave him."

His father took him and married him to Aminah bt. Wahb b. 'Abd

Manaf b. Zuhrah, and he stayed with her for three days. Then he

left her, and when he passed by the Khath'ami woman he felt a

desire to accept the proposition which she had made, and he asked

her, "Would you like what you wanted before?" "Young man,"

she said, "I am not, by God, a woman of questionable morals. I

saw light in your face and wished it to be within me, but God

willed that He should place it where He wished. What did you do

after you left me?" He said, "My father married me to Aminah

bt. Wahb and I stayed with her for three days." Then Fatimah bt.

Murr recited the following verses:

I saw a sign which shone

and gleamed in the black rainclouds.

I comprehended it as light which illuminated

what was around it like the full moon.

I hoped to have it as a source of pride which

I might take back with me,

but not everyone who strikes a flint produces fire.

By God, no other Zuhri woman has plundered

your person of that which Aminah has, and yet

she is unaware of it.

She also said:

Banu Hashim, Aminah has left (bearing something)

[1080]

[1081]

8

Muhammad at Mecca

from your brother,

while there is a dispute over marriage,

/ust as wicks leave the lamp behind when it goes out,

having absorbed its oil.

Not all the fortune which the young man inherits

comes from resolve, nor does that which escapes

him come from remissness.

So if you desire something behave with restraint,

for two grandfathers combined will ensure it for you.

Either a hand with fingers clenched

or else a hand with fingers outstretched will ensure

it for you.

When Aminah conceived that which she conceived

from him, she conceived an incomparable glory.

Al-Harith b. Muhammad — Muhammad b. Sa'd — Muhammad

b. Umar — Ma'mar and others— al-Zuhri: 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-

Muttalib was the handsomest of the men of Quraysh. They told

Aminah bt. Wahb of his handsomeness and his appearance and

asked if she would like to marry him, so she married him. He consummated

his marriage to her, and she conceived the Messenger

of God. 'Abdallah's father sent him to al-Madinah for provisions,

where he died. When he was late in returning, 'Abd al-Muttalib

sent his son al-Harith to look for him, but al-Harith found that he

had died.

Al-WaqidI: This is an error. In our view the consensus of opinion

concerning the marriage of 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-Muttalib is

that which is related to us by 'Abdallah b. Ja'far al-Zuhri — Umm

Bakr bt. al-Miswar who said: 'Abd al-Muttalib came with his son

'Abdallah, seeking a wife for himself and one for his son,- they

were married at the same time. 'Abd al-Muttalib married Halah bt.

Uhayb b. 'Abd Manaf b. Zuhrah, and 'Abdaiiah b. 'Abd al-Muttalib

married Aminah bt. Wahb b. 'Abd Manaf b. Zuhrah. 7

[1082] Al-Harith — Ibn Sa'd — al-Waqidi: In our opinion, the most trust-

worthy version about which there is no dispute among our fellow

scholars, is that 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-Muttalib came from Syria in a

caravan belonging to Quraysh, stopped at al-Madinah owing to -

7. Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, I 158, 3-17; the previous paragraph has not been found in Ibn

Sa'd, but the following is in Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, 1:61.

Lineage of the Messenger of God

9

illness, and remained there until he died. He was buried in the house

of al-Nabighah (or, some say, of al-Tabi'ah) in the small room on

your left as you enter. There is no dispute about this among our

fellow scholars.

'Abd al Muttcdib (His Grandfather)

'Abdallah was the son of r Abd al-Muttalib, whose name was Shaybah.

I was told on the authority of Hisham b. Muhammad — his

father — that he was given this name because his hair was white,

[shaybah means white hair).

Ibn Humayd— Salamah— Ibn Ishaq? and Hisham b. Muhammad

—his father? and al-Harith — Muhammad b. Sa'd — Muhammad b.

TJmar: Some of them narrate a version which overlaps that of

others and some of them add to the versions of others: He was

known as 'Abd al-Muttalib for the following reason. His father

Hashim had set off for Syria on a commercial expedition taking

the Madinan route, and when he reached al-Madlnah he stayed

with 'Amr b. Zayd b. Labid al-Khazraji. There he saw Salma

bt. 'Amr (Ibn Humayd— Salamah— Ibn Ishaq: Salma bt. Zayd b.

'Amr) 8 b. Labid b. Haram b. Khiddash b. Jundub b. 'Adi b. al-

Naj jar, admired her, and asked her father 'Amr for her hand in marriage.

The latter married her to him, stipulating that if she gave

birth to any children it should be among her own family. Hashim

went on his way without consummating the marriage, consum-

mating it instead on his way back from Syria while staying with (1083]

her family in Yathrib. She became pregnant, and he left for Mecca

taking her with him. When she became heavy with child he took

her back to her family, while he himself went on to Syria, and died

there in Gaza. Salma gave birth to his son 'Abd al-Muttalib, who

remained in Yathrib for seven or eight years. Then a man from

the Banu al-Harith b. 'Abd Manat passed through Yathrib and saw

some boys competing at archery. When Shaybah hit the mark he

would say, "I am the son of Hashim, I am the son of the Lord of

the Valley?" 9 The Harithi said, "Who are you?" and he replied, "I

8. Ibn Hisham, Shah, 88 has Salma bt. Amr ; see Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, Tabari is not

following either source exactly.

9. The word batha' (plural bitah), here translated "valley," is properly the bed of

a torrent. The central part of Mecca round the Kaljah was known as al-Bitah, in

contrast to al-Zawahir or outskirts, and the main clans of the Quraysh were called

Quraysh al-Bitah. The Hijr (below) was a section of the courtyard immediately

surrounding the Kabbah, • see El 2 , s.v. Kalia.

10

Muhammad at Mecca

am Shaybah b. Hashim b. 'Abd Manaf." When the HarithI arrived

back in Mecca he said to al-Muttalib (brother of Hashim), who was

sitting in the Hijr (a part of the KaTah), "Abu al-Harith, do you

know that in Yathrib I found some boys competing at archery and

among them was a boy who, when he hit the mark, would say, 'I

am the son of Hashim, I am the son of the Lord of the Valley?' "

Al-Muttalib said, "By God, I shall not return to my family until

I bring him here!" "My she-camel is here in the courtyard," said

the Harithi, "ride her!"

Al-Muttalib mounted the camel, (eventually) arriving in

Yathrib in the early evening. He went to the Banu 'Adi b. al-Najjar,

and there he saw some boys playing football in the midst of an assembly.

He recognized his brother's son and said to the people, "Is

this Hashim's son?" "Yes," they said, "this is your brother's son,

and if you want to take him, do so now, before his mother finds

out. If she does find out, she will not let him go, and we shall have

to prevent you from taking him." So he called to him and said,

"Nephew, I am you uncle, and I want to take you to your people."

He made his camel kneel, and without hesitation the boy sat on

its rear-quarters. Then he set off with him, and his mother did not

find out about it until nightfall, when she was standing bewailing

her son; then they told her that his uncle had taken him away.

Al-Muttalib brought him into Mecca during the morning while

the men were sitting in their assemblies. They began to say, "Who

(10841 is that sitting behind you?" and he replied, "My slave." Finally he

brought him home and took him to his wife Khadljah bt. Sa'Id b.

Sahm, who said, "Who is this?" "My slave," he replied. He then

went out to al-Hazwarah and bought a robe with which he clothed

Shaybah. In the evening he took him out to the assembly of the

Banu 'Abd Manaf, and after that he led him round the streets of

Mecca wearing the robe. People said, "This is al-Muttalib's slave

('abd al-Muttalib)," for when his people had asked him he had

said, "This is my slave." Al-Muttalib said:

I recognized Shaybah as the sons of al-Najjar

were around him competing at archery.