the children of Ishmael

[david edward]

The Children Of Ishmael

Over the years Ishmael's children themselves had children.
His descendants increased and formed tribes which spread out
all over Arabia. One of these tribes was called Quraysh. Its
people never moved away from Mecca and always lived near
the Ka'bah. One of the duties of the leader of Quraysh was to
look after those who came on pilgrimage to the Ka'bah. The,
pilgrims would come from all over Arabia and it was a great
honor to provide them with food and water.

As time passed, however, the Arabs stopped worshipping
Allah directly and started bringing idols back with them from
the different countries they visited. These idols were placed at
the Ka'bah, which was no longer regarded as the Sanctuary of
Allah, as Abraham had intended it. It was, however, still
respected by the Arabs. Around this time thewell of Zamzam
disappeared beneath the sand. Also at this time, Qusayy, one
of the leaders of Quraysh, became ruler over Mecca. He held
the keys of the temple and had the right to give water to the
pilgrims, to feed them, to take charge of meetings, and to
hand out war banners before battle. It was also in his house
that Quraysh settled their affairs. After Qusayy's death, his
son 'Abdu Manaf, who had become famous during his father's
lifetime, took over the leadership of Quraysh. After him came
his son Hashim. It is said that Hashim was the first to begin the two great caravan journeys of Quraysh, one in the summer
to Syria and the north, and one in the winter to Yemen and the
south. As a result, Mecca grew rich and became a large and
important centre of trade.

One summer Hashim went north to buy goods to sell in
Yemen. On his way he stopped in Yathrib to trade in the
market and there he saw a beautiful woman. She was Salma',
the daughter of 'Amr ibn Zeid, who was from a much
respected family. Hashim proposed marriage to her and was
accepted because he was an honorable and distinguished man. In time, Salma' gave birth to a beautiful son and as some
of his hair was white they called him Shaybah, which in Arabic
means grey-haired'.

Mother and son stayed in the cooler, healthier climate of
Yathrib, while Hashim returned to Mecca, but he would visit
them each time he took his caravan to the north. During one
of these journeys, however, Hashim became ill and died.
Shaybah, a handsome, intelligent boy, grew up in his uncle's
house in Yathrib. He was proud of being the son of Hashim ibn
'Abdi Manaf, the head of Quraysh, guardian of the Ka'bah and
protector of the pilgrims, even though he had not known his
father, who had died while Shaybah was very young.
At Hashim's death his brother al-Muttalib took over his
duties and responsibilities. He traveled to Yathrib to see his
nephew, Shaybah, and decided that as the boy would one day
inherit his father's place, the time had come for him to live in
Mecca. It was hard for Salma', Shaybah's mother, to let heson go with his uncle but she finally realized that it was for
the best. Al-Muttalib returned to Mecca, entering the city at
noon on his camel with Shaybah behind him. When the people
of Mecca saw the boy they thought he was a slave and,
pointing at him, called out ‘Abd al-Muttalib', 'Abd' being the
Arabic for 'slave'.
Al-Muttalib told them that Shaybah was not a slave but his
nephew who had come to live with them. From that day on,
however, Shaybah was always affectionately called Abd al-
Muttalib. On the death of al-Muttalib, who died in Yemen
where he had gone to trade, 'Abd al-Muttalib took his place.
He became the most respected member of his family, loved
and admired by all. He was, however, unlike those Arabs who had given up the teachings of Abraham.