QUSAYY SON OF KILAB
The following are the names of the father and forefathers of the Holy Prophet in upward order:
Abdullah Abdul Muttalib Hashim Abd-i Manaf Qusayy Kilab Marra Ka'b Loo Ghalib Fahr Malik Nazar Kananah Khuzamah Mudrakah Ilyas Mazar Nazar Ma'd and Adnan.[13]
The genealogy of the Holy Prophet up to Ma'd son of Adnan is as reproduced above. However there is a difference of opinion with regard to the number and names of intermediate persons from Adnan upwards upto Isma'il and according to the report quoted by Ibn Abbas from the Holy Prophet when the genealogy of the Holy Prophet reaches Adnan one should not proceed beyond it because whenever the Holy Prophet himself mentioned the names of his forefathers he did not proceed beyond Adnan and ordered that other too should not narrate the names of his other forefathers upto Isma'il. He also said that what was commonly known amongst the Arabs regarding that portion of the pedigree was not correct. Hence we have also quoted that portion of his genealogy which is admittedly correct and now proceed to give detailed particulars of some of the persons concerned.
The above-mentioned persons are well-known in the history of Arabia and the history of Islam too has relationship with some of them. Hence we give below an account of the lives of those from Qusayy upto the reverenced father of the Holy Prophet (Abdullah) and refrain from narrating the events of the lives of others who have no concern with the matter under discussion.[14]
Qusayy was the fourth ancestor of the Prophet of Islam. His mother Fatima married Kilab and gave birth to two children named 'Zohrah' and 'Qusayy.' The second of them was still an infant when Fatima's husband died. She then married another man named Rabi'a and accompanied him to Syria. Qusayy received fatherly support from Rabi'a till differences arose between him and Rabi'a's tribe as a result of which they drove him away beyond the frontiers of their home-land. His mother was touched by the treatment meted out to him and decided to send him back to Makkah. The hand of destiny pulled him to Makkah. His hidden qualities enabled him to establish his superiority over the Makkans and especially the tribe of Quraysh. Within a short time he acquired the high governmental offices in Makkah and also became the custodian of the keys of the Ka'bah and the undisputed ruler of that city. Many remarkable events are associated with his name. One of these was that he encouraged the people to construct a house with the name of 'Darun Nadwah' adjacent to the Ka'bah and thus founded a Council Hall for the Arabs so that their dignitaries and chiefs might sit together in this public centre and solve their problems. He died in the 5th A.D. and left behind two sons named Abdud Dar and Abd Manaf.
3 . ABD MANAF
He was the third ancestor of the Holy Prophet. His name was Mughirah and he enjoyed the title of 'Qamar al-Bat'ha' (the moon of Bat'ha). He was younger than his brother Abdud Dar but enjoyed great respect amongst the people. He was very pious. He invited people to virtue behaved well with them and maintained very good relations with his kinsfolk. Although he enjoyed a very honourable position in the society he never became a rival of his brother Abdud Dar in the matter of acquisition of high offices connected with the Ka'bah. According to the will of Qusayy the rulership rested with Abdud Dar but when the two brothers died their sons began quarrelling for various offices. After a good deal of contention and conflict they eventually got reconciled and divided the positions amongst themselves. It was decided that the custodianship of the Ka'bah and the chairmanship of 'Darun Nadwah' would remain with the children of Abdud Dar and the functions of providing drinking water to the pilgrims and their entertainment would be performed by the sons of Abd Manaf. This division of offices was still intact at the time of the advent of Islam.[15]
4. HASHIM
He was the second forefather of the Holy Prophet. His real name was 'Amr and he enjoyed the title of 'Ala. He and Abd Shams were twins and their two other brothers were Muttalib and Nawfal. It is narrated by the historians that at the time of the birth of Hashim and Abd Shams a finger of the former was stuck on the forehead of the latter. Blood flowed profusely when they were separated from each other and the people took this occurrence to be a bad omen.[16]
Halabi writes in his 'Seerah' that this bad omen later manifested its effect because after the advent of Islam fierce battles were fought between Bani Abbas who were the decendants of Hashim and Bani Umayyah who claimed their descent from Abd Shams.[17]
This shows that the writer of 'Seerah' has completely ignored the tragic events connected with the descendants of Ali although the bloody drama which Bani Umayyah staged by shedding the pure blood of the progeny of the Holy Prophet is a glaring evidence of the existence of enmity between the two families. It is not however known as to why the said writer has failed to mention these events.
One of the particular points about the descendants of Abd Manaf which are reflected in the battle-cries and literature of Arabia is that they died at different places viz. Hashim died in Ghaza Abd Shams in Makkah Nawfal in Iraq and Muttalib in Yemen.
To quote an example of the magnanimity of Hashim it may be stated that whenever Zil-Hajj moon was sighted he came to the Holy Ka'bah leaned on its wall and delivered a speech on the following lines:
'O people ot the tribe of Quraysh you are the wisest and noblest amongst the Arabs. Your race is the best amongst all races. Almighty Allah has provided you accommodation by the side of His own House and has granted you superiority in this regard over all other descendants of Isma'il. O my kinsmen beware! Pilgrims of the House of Allah are coming to you this month with extraordinary favour They are Allah's guests and it is your duty to receive them. There are many indigent persons amongst them who will be coming from far off places. I swear by the Lord of this House that if I had been wealthy enough to entertain all the guests of Allah I would not have insisted upon you to provide assistance. At present however I am going to spend all that I can afford and which I have earned bv lawful means. I administer an oath to you in the name of the honour of this House that you will not spend for this purpose anything which you have usurped or give or spend anything hypocritically or under compulsion. If anyone is not inclined to assist he is at liberty not to spend anything.[18]
For all intents and purposes the leadership of Hashim was for the welfare of the Makkans and had a great effect on the betterment of the conditions of their lives. Whenever a famine occured his magnanimity did not permit that people should experience any hardship on this account. One of the outstanding steps which he took for the advancement of the commerce of the Makkans was the conclusion of an agreement with the ruler of Ghassan. It was in the wake of this agreement that similar agreements were concluded by his brother Abd Shams with the King of Ethiopia and by his two other brothers Muttalib and Nawfal with the Ruler of Yemen and the Emperor of Iran respectively. Merchandise could be exchanged freely with various countries. This agreement solved many difficulties and brought into existence a number of shopping centres in Makkah which also existed at the time of the advent of Islam. Besides this one of the beneficial activities of Hashim was the establishment of journeying by the Quraysh to Syria in summer and to Yemen in winter. This practice continued for quite some time even after the birth of Islam.
UMAYYAH SON OF ABD SHAMS FEELS JEALOUS
Umayyah son of Abd Shams was jealous of the greatness and dignity of his uncle Hashim and endeavoured to attract the people to himself by bestowing gifts on them. However inspite of his best efforts and obstructionist activities he could not divest Hashim of his position. On the contrary his vilification and slandering of Hashim increased honour and respect for the latter all the more in the hearts of the people.
The fire of jealousy continued to burn in the heart of Umayyah. At last he insisted upon his uncle that both of them should approach one of the sages (fortune-tellers) of Arabia and only he whom that sage confirmed to be fit for rulership should take the reins of administration in his hands.
Hashim's magnanimity did not permit him to enter into a dispute with his nephew. However as Umavvah was very much insistent he (Hashim) agreed to the proposal on two conditions. Firstly that whoever lost the case should sacrifice one hundred black-eyed camels during Haj season and secondly that he should remain out of Makkah for ten years. Now it so happened that as soon as the Arab sage (the fortune-teller of Asfan) saw Hashim he began praising him and decided the case in his favour. Umayyah was therefore obliged to leave Makkah and spend ten years in Syria.[19]
The effects of this hereditary enmity continued to exist for 130 years after the advent of Islam and occasioned crimes which are unprecedented in the history of mankind. The above-mentioned story besides bringing to light the fact as to how the enmity between the two families originated also explains the reasons for the influence which Bani Umayyah enjoyed in Syria and it becomes known that their old relations with the Syrians prepared ground for their rule in that area.
HASHIM MARRIES
Salma daughter of 'Amr Khazraji was a virtuous woman who had obtained divorce from her husband and was not prepared to remarry. While returning from Syria during one of his journeys Hashim stayed at Yathrib (Madina) for a few days and proposed to Salma. Salma was impressed by the nobility affluence and character of Hashim and by the influence which he wielded amongst the Quraysh. She agreed to marry him on two conditions one of which was that at the time of giving birth to a child she should be amongst her own people. According to this agreement she spent some time in Makkah with Hashim and when the time of her child-birth approached she returned to Yathrib. There she gave birth to a son who was named Shibah and later came to be known as Abdul Muttalib. The historians have mentioned the following reasons for the assumption of this title by Shibah:
When Hashim felt that his death was approaching he said to his brother Muttalib "Brother! Find out your slave Shibah". And as Hashim (father of Shibah) had called his son the slave of Muttalib he later came to be known as Abdul Muttalib (i.e. slave of Muttalib).
Another version is this: "One day while a Makkan was passing through the streets of Yathrib he saw many children practising archery. When one of the children won the match he said immediately "I am the son of the chief of Bat'ha (Makkah)". The man from Makkah came forward and asked the boy 'who are you?". The reply was I am Shibah son of Hashim son of Abd Manaf.
On his return to Makkah that man informed Muttalib the brother of Hashim and chief of Makkah about this incident. The uncle was reminded of his nephew and therefore went to Yathrib. The bearing of the nephew personified before Muttalib the very personality of his brother and tears trickled down his cheeks. Both of them exchanged kisses of love and emotion. The mother was not willing to part with her son and objected to his being carried away to Makkah but her objections and protests made the determination of Muttalib all the more stronger. Eventually Muttalib succeeded in achieving his purpose and after having obtained the permission of the mother made Shibah mount along with himself and proceeded to Makkah. During the course of the journey the scorching heat of the sun blackened the silvery face of the nephew and his dress was also worn and torn. For this reason therefore when the two arrived at Makkah people thought that the young man was a slave of Muttalib. They whispered to one another "This young man (Shibah) is Muttalib's slave". And although Muttalib announced time and again that the lad was his nephew the wrong impression which had taken root in the minds of the people continued to persist. The result was that the nephew of Muttalib came to be known as Abdul Muttalib (the slave of Muttalib).[20]
Still another version is this Abdul Muttalib was called so because he had been brought up by his uncle and it was usual amongst the Arabs that whenever a person was brought up by another man he was called the slave of his benefactor.
5. ABDUL MUTTALIB
Abdul Muttalib son of Hashim the first ancestor of the Holy Prophet was the chief of Quraysh and a renowned person. His entire social life was replete with brilliant attributes. As the events of his chiefship are also related to the history of Islam we narrate hereunder some of them.
There is no doubt about the fact that however resolute and strong a man may be he is eventually influenced to some extent by his environment and the habits and customs of the society affect his way of thinking. At times however some persons have an innate tendency to resist the factors governing their environments with great daring and courage and keep themselves and their surroundings immune from all sorts of contamination.
The hero of our discourse was a perfect specimen of those people in whose lives we observe many brilliant points. If a person who inspite of spending more than eighty years of his life amongst people who are habituated to idol-worship drinking wine usury and homicide does not throughout his life let wine stain his lips and restrains people from committing murders drinking wine and doing wicked deeds and prevents them from marrying the persons with whom marriage is prohibited and from going round the Ka'bah unadorned and remains firm in the matter of vows and promises till the last breath of his life he is certainly one of those ideal men who are born rarely in human society. Of course it was necessary that the person in whose body the light of the Holy Prophet (the greatest guide of humanity) had been deposited should be pure and free from every pollution.
From the brief anecdotes and instructive sayings ascribed to Abdul Muttalib it is learnt that everin those dark environments he was counted amongst those who believed in monotheism and in the Day of Judgement and used to say "An unjust person is punished in this very world. However if by chance he dies before being duly punished he will meet retribution for his actions on the Day of Judgement".[21]
Har'b son of Umayyah was a near relative of Abdul Muttalib. He was also considered to be one of the distinguished persons amongst the Quraysh. A Jew was the neighbour of Har'b. One day the Jew displayed harshness towards Har'b in one of the bazaars of Tahamah and hot words were exchanged between them. This incident culminated in the Jew being murdered at the instigation of Har'b. Abdul Muttalib came to know about the matter and severed his relations with Har'b. He also made efforts to realize blood-money from him and to pass it on to the survivors of the few. This brief anecdote is a specimen of the enthusiasm of this magnanimous person for helping the weak people and for dispensation of justice.
RE-EXCAVATION OF THE WELL OF ZAMZAM
From the day the well of Zamzam came into existence the people of the tribe of Jarham had settled round it and benefited from its water during the long years when they ruled over Makkah. However as a result of the advancement of Makkans in business their affluence negligence on their part and lack of any restraint on the use of the water the well gradually dried up.[22]
Another version is this: When the people of Jarham tribe were threatened by Khaza'ah tribe and were obliged to abandon their homes their chief and distinguished man Mazaz son of 'Amr realized that he would soon cease to be at the helm of affairs and the enemy would attack and destroy his territory and government. He therefore ordered that two deer made of gold and a few precious swords which had been brought as a present for the Ka'bah should be thrown into the well which should then be filled up completely so that the enemy might not lay his hands on these things and later when they (Jarham tribe) recovered their territory and throne they themselves should utilize this treasure. After some time the tribe of Khaza'ah commenced their attacks and the tribe of Jarham as well as a large number of the descendants of Isma'il were compelled to leave Makkah and proceed to Yemen and none of them returned to Makkah thereafter. From that time onwards the tribe of Khaza'ah ruled over Makkah till Quraysh gained ascendancy by the coming into power of Qusayy son of Kilab the fourth ancestor of the Holy Prophet. After some time Abdul Muttalib came at the helm of affairs. He decided to dig the Zamzam well once again but unfortunately the location of the original well was not known for certain. After excavating a good deal he was able to locate the real spot and resolved to take preliminary steps to dig the well with the assistance of his son Harith.
In every society there is usually a group of negativists who try to find one excuse or the other to prevent the performance of every positive act. Hence the rivals of Abdul Muttalib fearing that this honour might fall to his share began criticizing him and addressed him thus "O elder of Quraysh As this well is a memorial of our ancestor Isma'il and all of us are reckoned to be his descendants it is only appropriate that you may let all of us partake in this task".
For certain reasons Abdul Muttalib did not accept their suggestion because his intention was to dig the well alone and let all of them use its water free of cost. He also wished to assume himself the responsibility of supplying water to the pilgrims on specific occasions so that this function could be performed in good order under his personal supervision. This could however be ensured only when he had this job in his own hands being independent of others.
This resulted in a good deal of bickering and it was at last decided that they should approach an Arab sage (fortune-teller) and his decision should be binding on all. Thus Abdul Muttalib and his rivals started their journey. They passed through many barren tracts of land. On their way they were faced with extreme thirst and became almost certain that they would perish. They therefore became anxious about their death and subsequent burial. Abdul Muttalib suggested that every person should dig a grave for himself and as and when anyone of them died others should bury him. And if they continued to be deprived of water and all of them died they would all be buried and be saved from being devoured by beasts and birds except the person who would be the last one to pass away.
Abdul Muttalib's suggestion met approval and everyone of them dug a grave for himself. Now they awaited death with dejected and pale faces. Suddenly Abdul Muttalib cried out "Men! This will be a very ignominious and disgraceful death. It will be better if all of us move about in the desert in search of water. It is possible that Almighty Allah may have mercy on us.[23] All of them mounted and began moving about. They were not very hopeful of finding water and looked at one another with dismay. By chance however they soon came across wholesome water and were thus saved from certain death. From that very place they returned to Makkah and gladly agreeing with Abdul Muttalib's view with regard to the digging of the well gave him full authority to carry out his project.[24]
Abdul Muttalib began digging the well with his only son Harith and a mound of dust appeared around the spot. Suddenly they touched upon two deer made of gold and a few swords. Now Quraysh kicked up another row and claimed a share in this find. Eventually it was decided to settle the dispute by drawing lots. By chance the two golden deer fell to the share of the Ka'bah and the swords to that of Abdul Muttalib whereas Quraysh received nothing. Noble-minded Abdul Muttalib utilized the swords for constructing a gate for the Ka'bah and installed the deer upon it.
STEADFASTNESS IN KEEPING PROMISE
Some of the qualities of the Arabs of the Age of Ignorance merit praise. For example they considered breaking of promise to be the most loathsome act. At times they concluded very onerous and burdensome treaties with the Arab tribes and respected them to the last. And on some occasions they took extremely tiresome and intolerable vows but made an all-out effort to fulfil them.
While digging Zamzam Abdul Muttalib felt that owing to his not having many sons his position was rather weak amongst Quraysh. He therefore resolved and took a vow that when the number of his sons would become ten he would sacrifice one of them in front of the Ka'bah. He did not however make a mention to anyone about his having taken this vow. With the passage of time the number of his sons rose to ten and the time therefore arrived for him to fulfil his vow. The very thought of the proposition was very trying for him. He was however afraid of lagging behind in the performance of this task and thus becoming one of those who failed to keep their promises. He therefore decided to mention the matter to his sons and after obtaining their agreement to select one of them for the purpose by drawing lots.[25]
The ceremony of drawing the lots was performed and the lot fell upon Abdullah (father of the Holy Prophet). Abdul Muttalib immediately caught the hand of Abdullah and led him to the sacrificial altar. Qurayshite men and women came to know about the vow and the drawing of lots and became very much grieved. A flood of tears was flowing down the cheeks of men. One of them was heard saying: "O that they should have killed me instead of this young man!"
The chiefs of Quraysh were saying "If his life can be redeemed by property we are prepared to place all our wealth at his disposal". Abdul Muttalib was wondering what to do in the face of the roaring sentiments of the people. He was reflecting within himself lest he should be guilty of disobeying the Almighty and breaking his vow. Notwithstanding all this he was also thinking of finding a solution of the problem. One of those present said: "Take this problem before one of the Arab sages. It is possible that he may suggest a solution". Abdul Muttalib and the chiefs of the tribe endorsed the suggestion and proceeded to Yathrib where the particular sage resided. The sage asked for a day's respite to give a reply. On the following day all went to him. He asked ''What is the blood-money fixed by you for one human being?" They told him that it was ten camels. Thereupon the man said: "You should draw lots between ten camels and the person whom you have selected for being sacrificed. If the lot falls on that person then raise the number of camels to twice as many (i.e. twenty). And if the lot falls on that person again then raise the number of camels to thrice as many (i.e thirty) and draw the lots again and continue doing so till the lot falls on the camels.
The suggestion made by the sage cooled down the emotions of the people because it was easier for them to sacrifice hundreds of camels as compared with seeing a young man like Abdullah rolling in blood. One morning after their return to Makka the ceremony of drawing lots was performed for the tenth time when the number of the camels had risen to one hundred the lot fell on them. The deliverance and safety of Abdullah gave birth to very strange emotions. However Abdul Muttalib said "It is only appropriate that I should draw the lots anew so that I may know for certain that the Almighty is pleased with my action. He then drew the lots thrice and every time the lot fell on one hundred camels. He was thus convinced of Divine pleasure and directed that one hundred camels out of those belonging to him should be slaughtered that very day in front of the Ka'bah and no human being or animal should be restrained from eating their meat.[26]
TUMULT OF THE YEAR OF THE ELEPHANT
When a great event takes place in a nation its root-cause is at times religious and occasionally national and political. It is usually admired by the masses and is for this reason treated to be the starting point of their history for past and future events. For example the movement of Prophet Musa the birth of Prophet 'Isa and the migration of the Prophet of Islam are the starting points of history for the Jews the Christians and the Muslims respectively and the followers of these religions reckon the events of their lives with reference to these happenings.
At times some nations in spite of possessing a basic history also treat some particular events to be the starting points of their history. As we find the great French Revolution and the October 1917 Communist Revolution in the Soviet Union are the starting points of history for many events in the Western countries. Uncivilized nations which are deprived of such political and religious movements naturally consider unusual events to be the bases of their history. For this reason the Arabs of the age of ignorance on account of their not possessing a proper civilization considered unpleasant occurrences like wars earthquakes famines and other unusual phenomena as the measure and origin of their history. In this way we observe in the pages of history a number of starting points for the history of the Arabs the last of which was the disturbance of the Year of the Elephant viz. the attack by Abraha to destroy the Ka'bah which became the starting point of history for other events. We give below a detailed account and analysis of this great event which occurred in 570 A.D. to be the year of the birth of the Prophet of Islam.
THE ORIGIN OF THIS EVENT
The event of the 'People of the Elephant' has been mentioned briefly in the Holy Qur'an and we shall after narrating the story mention the verses which have been revealed about it. The historians have stated the origin of the event to be as follows:
After strengthening the capital of his government Zu Nuwas the King of Yemen passed during one of his journeys through the city of Yathrib (Madina). At that time Yathrib enjoyed a high religious position. A group of the Jews had concentrated at that place and had built a number of synagogues at different points in the city. The opportunist Jews accorded a warm welcome to the king and invited him to their own faith so that under the protection of his government they might remain safe from attacks by the Roman Christians and the Arab idolaters Their efforts in this regard were fruitful. Zu Nuwas embraced the Jewish religion and made maximum efforts for its advancement. Many persons became inclined to him on account of fear. Some were awarded severe punishments on account of differences. However the people of Najran who were converted to Christianity some time earlier were not prepared at any cost to forsake their religion and follow the teachings of the religion of the Jews. The King of Yemen was very much annoyed on account of their disobedience and defiance and came up with a large army to suppress the rebels. The commander of the army encamped by the side of the city of Najran dug a ditch there lit up a huge fire in it and threatened his opponents with burning. The brave people of Najran who had firm faith in Christianity were not however dismayed. They welcomed death and burning with open arms and their bodies were devoured by the flames of fire.[27]
The great Muslim historian Ibn Athir Jazari writes thus:
In the meantime one of the residents of Najran named Daws went post-haste to Caesar the Roman Emperor who was a great supporter of Christianity in those days and informed him about the happening. He also requested the Emperor to punish the blood-thirsty man who had extinguished the lamp of guidance in Najran and to establish firmly the tottering pillars of Christianity in that area. The Roman ruler expressed his grief and sympathy and said: "As the principal seat of my government is far away from your country I am writing to the Negus the King of Ethiopia to take revenge on that cruel person for killing the people of Najran. The Najrani took Caesar's letter and proceeded to Ethiopia as quickly as possible. On reaching there he related the complete story to the Negus. The sense of honour of the king of Ethiopia was roused. He despatched an army exceeding seventy thousand men to Yemen under the command of an African named Abraha Ashram. The organized and well-equipped Ethiopian army crossed the sea and pitched its tents on the coast of Yemen. Zu Nuwas was taken unawares. All his activities proved to be of no avail and no reply was received by him to the letters which he had written to the tribal chiefs requesting them to take part in the battle. One brief attack was sufficient to pull down the foundation of his government and the populous country of Yemen came in the possession of the Government of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian king appointed the commander of the army Abraha as viceroy of that area.
Abraha was very happy for having taken revenge and achieved victory and began leading a free life. In order to win the favour of the King of Ethiopia he constructed a splendid Church at San'a which had no parallel at that time for its grandeur. Then he wrote a letter to the Negus on these lines: "In compliance with the wishes of your Majesty the construction of the Church has been completed. I hope that it will be possible for me to make the people of Yemen abandon the pilgrimage of the Ka'bah whose place will now be taken by this Church". When the contents of the letter became known there was a very unfavourable reaction amongst the Arab tribes. So much so that one night a woman of the tribe of Bani Afqam polluted the precincts of the Church. This act which showed grave disrepect contempt and enmity on the part of Arabs for Abraha's Church made the government of the time very much excited. Besides this the more Abraha endeavoured to increase the apparent adornment and decoration of the Church the more the people were attached to the Ka'bah. These developments made Abraha swear that he would destroy the Ka'bah. He organized an army for this purpose put fighter elephants in the fore-front and decided to pull down the House the foundation of which had been laid by the champion of Divine monotheism Prophet Ibrahim. The chiefs of Arabia realized that the situation was delicate and dangerous and took it for certain that the independence and individuality of the Arab nation was bound to collapse. The past victories of Abraha also kept them from taking any useful decision. Nevertheless some zealous chiefs of the tribes who were facing Abraha fought with great bravery. For example Zu Nafar who was one of the nobles of Yemen exhorted his people with fiery speeches to defend the Sanctuary (the Ka'bah). However the immense army of Abraha soon cut down their organized ranks. Thereafter Nafil son of Habib put up a fierce fight but his people also met with defeat. He himself was captured and requested Abraha for forgiveness. Abraha agreed to grant his request on the condition that he should guide his forces to Makkah. Thus Nafil became his attendant and led him upto Ta'if. There he entrusted the job to one of his friends named Ayurghal. The new guide led them upto Mughmas - a place near Makkah - and there Abraha's army encamped. According to an old custom Abraha ordered one of his officers to plunder the camels and other domestic animals of Tahamah. Out of the camels so plundered 200 of them belonged to Abdul Muttalib. Later Abraha ordered another officer named Hanatah to carry his message to the chief of the Quraysh. He addressed Hanatah with these words: "I can visualize the actual scene of the destruction of the Ka'bah. It is also certain that in the first instance Quraysh will resist. However to ensure that their blood is not shed you should proceed to Makkah immediately. There you should contact the chief of Quraysh and tell him that my object is to destroy the Ka'bah and if Quraysh do not resist they will remain safe from molestation"
The messenger sent by Abraha arrived in Makkah and saw various groups of Quraysh discussing the matter at different places. On his enquiring about the Chief of Quraysh he was led to the house of Abdul Muttalib. After hearing Abraha's message Abdul Muttalib spoke thus: "We are not at all inclined to fight. The Ka'bah is the House of Allah. It is the House which was founded by Prophet Ibrahim. Allah will do whatever He deems fit".
Abraha's officer also expressed pleasure on hearing the soft and conciliatory words of the Chief of Quraysh which were indicative of his spiritual faith. He therefore requested Abdul Muttalib to agree to accompany him to the camp of Abraha.
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