The Protection of Grandfather and Uncle

The death of Amina and the orphaned state of our beloved Prophet had grieved Abdul Muttalib just as everybody else. He showed such great affection to his grandson that it would help him forget the absence of his mother and father. There was a divan that had been set up for Abdul Muttalib in the shade of the Ka’ba. He would meet people here, he would see to the business of Mecca at this place. Nobody else would sit on this divan except for him, including his sons, as a token of respect; they would form a circle and sit around it. There was only one young man in Mecca who did not abide by this rule, and that was the son of Abdullah, our beloved Prophet. He would sit by his grandfather; he would hold him from the back of his turban and pull him. To those who tried to prevent him from doing so, Abdul Muttalib would say: “Leave my dear grandson to his devices. I swear by Allah that his future is very bright, his situation very serious.”

He would then stroke his grandson’s back and then sit by him. It was clear that his grandson’s actions pleased him and he was not ready to let anyone interfere with his behavior, for he expected many great things for him in the future.

By now the Pride of Humankind was a little older than eight years of age. Abdul Muttalib had grown old and was about to leave the world. One day he called his other son Abu Talib to his side. With due dignity and gravity and said: “The fame and glory of this son of mine will be great and I entrust him to you.”

And before long, Abdul Muttalib who was now around eighty two years of age, breathed his last.

The Pride of Humankind who got news of his grandfather’s death stood by his lifeless body, and cried over the great man who had taken care of him with deep affection.

The words spoken by Abdul Muttalib were the testament of a father to son. Abu Talib took his nephew Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, to his side and embraced him with the affection of a father. Now the Messenger of Allah would receive affection from Abu Talib like a father, and from Fatima, the wife of Abu Talib and mother of Ali, he would be shown much warmth.

Just like the youth of the Quraysh, Abu Talib also worked in commerce. He sometimes took his nephew with him and tried to prepare him for the future. He was twelve years old. He would go towards Ajyad and graze sheep during the time he spent in Mecca, and was thus gaining experience about all aspects of life.

One day, Abu Talib started preparations to go on a journey towards Damascus. His nephew was sad to learn about it that he requested of he could go with him. This touched Abu Talib greatly and so he said: “I swear by Allah that I will not go without taking him with me; I will never stay away from him from this day forth, nor will I allow him to stay away from me.”

The Pride of Humanity, who heard his uncle’s oath, was filled with joy. He was now going to leave Mecca for the first time for trade. Who knew what cities he would pass, what kind of people he would meet, and what kind of incidents he would witness throughout the journey.