ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Khadijatul Kubra Chapter 3: Muhammad Mustafa (S) Though Arabia did not have any government - national, regional or local - the city of Makka was dominated by the tribe of Quraysh, as noted before. Quraysh was composed of twelve clans. These clans shared responsibility for maintaining a modicum of law and order in the city. One of the clans of Quraysh was Bani Hashim. Each clan had its own leader.

The leader of Bani Hashim was Abu Talib ibn Abdul Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf ibn Qusayy. Like his forefathers, Abu Talib was also a merchant. In addition to being the chief of the clan, he was also the guardian of the Kaaba - the House of Allah - built in Makka, many centuries earlier, by the prophets Ibrahim and Ismael, and dedicated by them to the service of Allah Ta'ala. Abu Talib had a younger brother called Abdullah. In A.D. 570, Abdullah went to Syria with a caravan.

A few months before his departure to Syria, he had been married to Amina hint Wahab, a lady of Yathrib (Medina). On his return journey from Syria, Abdullah fell ill and died. He was only 17 years old at his death. When he left Makka, his wife was pregnant, and she was living in the house of her brother-in-law, Abu Talib. Two months after the death of Abdullah, her child - a boy - was born. His grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, gave him the name Muhammad.

Muhammad was born on June 8, 570, in the house of his uncle, Abu Talib, in Makka. The infant Muhammad was, some day, going to be handpicked by Allah Ta'ala to be His Messenger to the whole world, and he was going to change the destiny and the history of mankind forever. Muhammad was six years old when his mother, Amina the daughter of Wahab, died, after a brief illness. Upon her death, his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, took him to his home.

But only two years had passed when Abdul Muttalib also died. Abdul Muttalib had ten sons. When he was on his deathbed, he called all of them, and designated his son, Abu Talib, as the new chief of the clan of Bani Hashim. He also made Abu Talib the guardian of Muhammad. Both Abu Talib and Abdullah, the father of Muhammad, were the sons of the same mother, whereas Abdul Muttalib's other sons were born of his other wives. Abu Talib brought Muhammad into his house.

Muhammad came, he saw and he conquered - all. Abu Talib and his wife lavished all their love upon him. They loved him more than they loved their own children. Muhammad was born in their house.