His father chose for him Āminah daughter ofWahb ibn 'Abd Munāf who was the grandson ofZuhrah ibn Kilab, the brother of his great-great-grandfatherQusayy ibn Kilāb. Wahb had been the chief ofBanu Zuhrah as well as its eldest and noblest member but had died some time previously and Āminah became a ward of his brother Wuhaib, who had succeeded him as chief of the clan.
His father went with him to the quarter of Banū Zuhrah. There, he sought the residence of Wuhayb and went in to ask for the hand of Wahb's daughter for his son. 'Abdullāh's father fixed his marriage with Aminah.[6] It was said that a light shone out of his forehead and that this light was the promise of a Prophet as offspring. Many women approached 'Abdullāh, who is reported to have been a handsome man, so that they might gain the honor of producing his offspring. However it is believed that, as decided by God, the light was destined to be transferred to Āminah through 'Abdullāh after consummating the marriage.[7]After marrying Aminah Bint Wahb, Abdullah Ibn Abd al-Muttalib lived with her for three days; it was their custom that a man could live for three nights only with his wife in her father's family.[8]
At the wedding ceremony, Abd al-Muttalib chose Wuhayb's daughter Halah for himself. When Abd al-Muttalib proposed to Wuhayb, he agreed. And so on the same occasion Abd al-Muttalib and Abdullah married Halah and Amina respectively. Later, Halah gave birth to Hamza, who was Muhammad's both uncle and foster brother.[9]
Soon after his marriage, 'Abdullāh was called toSyria (in what isAsh-Shām or theLevant) on a trading caravan trip. When he left, Āminah was pregnant. He spent several months inGaza, and on his return trip he stopped for a longer rest with the family of his paternal grandmother,Salma bint Amr, who belonged to theNajjar clan of theKhazraj tribe inMedina. 'Abdullāh was preparing to join a caravan to Mecca when he fell ill. The caravan went on without him to Mecca with news of his illness. Upon the caravan's arrival in Mecca, 'Abdul-Muttalib immediately sent his eldest sonAl-Harith to Medina. However by the time al-Harith arrived, 'Abdullāh had died. Al-Harith returned to Mecca to announce 'Abdullāh's death to his aged father and his pregnant wife Āminah. According to Ibn Sa'd, Abdullah died three months after his marriage and was twenty-five years old when he died.[10][11]
'Abdullāh left five camels, a herd of sheep and goats, and anAbyssinian slave nurse, calledUmm Ayman, who was to take care of his sonMuhammad.[12] This patrimony does not prove that 'Abdullāh was wealthy, but at the same time it does not prove that he was poor. Rather, it shows that Muhammad was his heir. Furthermore, 'Abdullāh was still a young man capable of working and of amassing a fortune. His father was still alive and none of his wealth had as yet been transferred to his sons.[13]
Islamic scholars have long been divided over the religious beliefs of Muhammad's parents and their fate in the afterlife.[14] One transmission byAbu Dawud andIbn Majah states thatAllah (God) refused to forgive Āminah for herkufr (disbelief). According to another sahih (authentic) hadith Muhammad clarified that his own father was in the Fire.[15] Another transmission inMusnad al-Bazzar states that Muhammad's parents were brought back to life and accepted Islam, then returned to theBarzakh.[16]: 11 SomeAsh'ari andShafi'i scholars argued that neither would be punished in the afterlife, as they wereAhl al-fatrah, or "People of the interval" between the prophetic messages of'Isa (Jesus) andMuhammad.[17] The concept ofAhl al-fatrah is not universally accepted among Islamic scholars, and there is debate concerning the extent of salvation available for active practitioners ofShirk (Polytheism),[18] though the majority of scholars have come to agree with it, and disregard[14] thehadith (narrations)[19][20] that state that Muhammad's parents were condemned to hell.
While a work attributed toAbu Hanifah, an earlySunni scholar, stated that both Āminah and 'Abdullāh died upon their innate nature (Mata 'ala al-fitrah),[21] some later authors ofmawlid texts related a tradition in which Āminah and 'Abdullāh were temporarilyrevived and embraced Islam. Scholars likeIbn Taymiyyah stated that this was a lie, thoughAl-Qurtubi stated that the concept did not disagree with Islamic theology.[17] According toAli al-Qari, the preferred view is that both the parents of Muhammad were Muslims.[16]: 28 According toAl-Suyuti,Isma'il Haqqi, and other Islamic scholars, all of the narrations indicating that the parents of Muhammad were not forgiven were later abrogated when they were brought to life and accepted Islam.[16]: 24 Shia Muslims believe that all of Muhammad's ancestors, Āminah included, weremonotheists who practiced the shariah ofAbraham, and were therefore entitled toParadise. A Shia tradition states thatAllah forbade the fires ofHell from touching either of Muhammad's parents.[22]
^Muhammad ibn Saad,Tabaqat vol. 8. Translated by Bewley, A. (1995).The Women of Madina. London: Ta-Ha Publishers.
^Muhammad ibn Sa'ad.Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir. Translated by Haq, S. M. (1967).Ibn Sa'd's Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir Volume I Parts I & II, pp. 99-100. Delhi: Kitab-Bhavan.
^Al-A'zami, Muhammad Mustafa (2003).The History of The Qur'anic Text: From Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments. UK Islamic Academy. pp. 22–24.ISBN978-1-8725-3165-6.
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