were the likes of Zayd ibn `Amr from
the Arabs, Waraqa ibn Naufal and the
monk Bahira from the Christians,
`Abdullah bin Salam g and a few
Yathrib Yahud from the Jews, and Salman
al-Farsi g from the Zoroastrians.
Most people, however, could not
find the motivation to do the same.
The Precedence (al-Irhasat)
Allah’s love is most vast. Not wanting
the unmotivated to miss the greatest
of His mercies to come, Allah, the
Glorious and Exalted, sent specific
signs as a prelude, harbingers of
amazing things to come. For He had
chosen the last One a from the most
noble group, tribe, household, and
lineage as a final Messenger a with a
lasting Message, may Allah’s blessings
and peace be on him. The Roman
Christians and the Jews of Yathrib saw
the signs foretold by their scholars
and they mobilized in hopes of finding
him. On that miniscule collection
of dirt and water afloat in the expansive
universe was a strip of desert in
which a seemingly unnoteworthy
collection of people lived. Through
them passed that noble lineage from
Adam e to Ibrahim e to one called
Adnan. From him, the lineage ran
through the following: Ma‘d, Nizar,
Mudar, Ilyas, Mudrika, Khuzayma,
Kinana, al-Nadar, Malik, Fahr, Ghalib,
Lu’ay, Ka`b, Murra, Kilab, Qusayy,
`Abd Manaf, Hisham, and then Abdul
Muttalib.
Abdul Muttalib, a nobleman of Makka
from the Quraysh tribe, was gifted
with intelligence and wisdom. He
was special among men. The well of
Hajira, the wife of Ibrahim e and
mother of Ismael e, had vanished for
some time. Abdul Muttalib successfully
dug up the well of Zamzam
after its location being shown to him
in a dream. When the large army of
the Yemeni king, Abraha, showed
up at the doorstep of his defenseless
town, Abdul Muttalib put it in the
protection of Allah and withdrew into
the surrounding hills. Despite the
Makkans being largely polytheists
and the Yemeni army monotheists,
Allah sent a large flock of small birds
to annihilate them. Imagine a flock
large enough to blacken the sky with
each bird carrying a beak-sized stone.
The stones rained down from above
decimating the army, its momentary
survivors succumbing later. Those
with insight realized a clear miracle
had occurred, not in support of the
polytheistic Makkans but a herald of
something astounding to come.
Abdullah, the tenth and last son of
Abdul Muttalib, was a handsome,
well-mannered youth beloved by his
father and all who met him. He was
married to Aminah, a Quraysh resident
of Yathrib and the most honorable
of her tribe. Having chosen the
two most perfect of the noble lineage
and creating love between them, Allah
caused Aminah to become pregnant
with the most perfect and noble of
human beings, may Allah’s blessings
and peace be on him. However,
tragedy struck when husband and
wife were separated abruptly by
death. During a return caravan trip
from the Levant, Abdullah became ill
and stopped in Yathrib at his in-laws.
He passed away there while his still
pregnant wife awaited him in Makka.
Devastated, she remained committed
to his memory as a mother to their
unborn son.
Her pregnancy and delivery were
extraordinary by all accounts. They
happened effortlessly without pangs
or pain. During this time, she and
those around her were shown a
heavenly light (nur) which illuminated
the room and showed the palaces of
distant lands. Even then, there were
those with eyes and hearts like hawks
scanning the terrain for the promised
last messenger. After recognizing
signs for the arrival of the divine
courier, Najashi, the Christian scholar
and king of Abyssinia, queried two
visiting Quraysh men about a special
birth. Some of the Yahud of Yathrib
and Makkah made note lamenting,
“Prophethood has vanished from
Banu Israel!” The Zoroastrians would
see the turrets of their palace crumble
and the ancient fire extinguished.
These were not coincidences.
Sayyiduna Muhammad a
Baraka, then a young handmaiden,
assisted the widowed Aminah in
delivering a young boy into the world.
Through him, Makka, a tiny town of
overlooked importance, would become
a guiding light that would bathe
the globe in years to come. His grandfather,
Abdul Muttalib, received him
with teetering delight. He announced
the child’s name hoping it would
continue to echo through land and
time: Muhammad (a). As this was not
a name well-known to the Quraysh, a
poet explained:
Allah extracted his name from His own
so he may be exalted.
Thus, the Owner of the throne is Mahmood
while this is Muhammad.
For his part, Abdul Muttalib answered,
“I want Allah and everyone in the
Earth to praise him.”
And so, it would transpire.
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