The death of Amina, mother of Prophet Mohamed

Back with Amina and her death at al-Abwa’

Ibn Ishaq said, after the account of his return (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to his mother Amina, after the nursing of Halima: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stayed with his mother Amina bint Wahb and his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, under the care of Allah and His protection, and Allah made him grow in a fine growth toward the generosity with which He intended to favor him. When he was six years old, his mother Amina bint Wahb died.

Ibn Ishaq said: Abdallah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm told me that the mother of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Amina, died when he was six years old, at al-Abwa’, between Mecca and Medina: she had come to present him to his maternal uncles of Banu Adi ibn an-Najjar, to show them her son, and she died while returning with him to Mecca. And al-Waqidi mentioned, with his chains, that his mother set out with him for Medina, and with them was Umm Ayman, when he was six years old: she visited his maternal uncles. Umm Ayman said: one day two men of the Jews of Medina came to me and said: bring Ahmed out to us, let us look at him. They looked at him, examined him, and one of them said to his companion: this one is the Prophet of this community, and this is the land of his emigration, and great slaughter and captivity will take place here. When his mother heard it, she feared and set back with him: and she died at al-Abwa’ while returning.

Visiting the grave of Amina and the refused forgiveness

Imam Ahmad reported: Husayn ibn Muhammad told us, from Ayyub ibn Jabir, from Simak, from al-Qasim ibn Abd ar-Rahman, from Ibn Burayda, from his father: we set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and when we were at Waddan, he said: stay where you are, until I come back to you. He went, then came back to us sick, and said: "I went to the grave of the mother of Muhammad, and I asked my Lord for intercession for her, and He refused it to me. I had forbidden you to visit graves: so visit them. I had forbidden you the meat of the udhiyah beyond three days: so eat, and keep what is permissible for you. I had forbidden you fermented drinks in these vessels: so drink what is permissible for you."

And al-Bayhaqi reported it, through Sufyan ath-Thawri, from al-Aqama ibn Marthad, from Sulayman ibn Burayda, from his father: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came upon the site of a grave, sat down, and the people sat around him in great number. He kept moving his head as if addressing someone, then he wept. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and said: what makes you weep, O Messenger of Allah? He said: "This is the grave of Amina bint Wahb: I asked my Lord for permission to visit her grave, and He granted me; and I asked Him for permission to seek forgiveness for her, and He refused me. And there seized me the tenderness a son feels for his mother, so I wept." Muharib ibn Dithar followed Burayda, from his father, with the like of this.

Al-Bayhaqi then reported, from al-Hakim, from al-Asamm, from Bahr ibn Nasr, from Abdallah ibn Wahb: Ibn Jurayj told us, from Ayyub ibn Hani’, from Masruq ibn al-Ajda’, from Abdallah ibn Mas’ud: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out to look at the burial grounds, and we went out with him. He ordered us to sit, and we sat. Then he passed across the graves until he came to one of them, and he conversed with it for a long while. Then the lament of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rose as he wept, and we wept for the weeping of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned to us, and Umar ibn al-Khattab met him and said: O Messenger of Allah, what makes you weep? You have made us weep and frightened us. He came and sat near us and said: "Does my weeping frighten you?" We said: yes. He said: "The grave you saw me conversing with is the grave of Amina bint Wahb.

I asked my Lord for permission to visit her, and He granted me; and I asked my Lord for permission to seek forgiveness for her, and He did not grant it to me. And there came down to me the word: "It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to seek forgiveness for the polytheists, even if they be near of kin, after it has become clear to them that they are companions of the Blaze. And the seeking of forgiveness by Ibrahim for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him; but when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of Allah, he dissociated himself from him", at verse 113 of surah at-Tawbah. And there seized me what a son feels for his mother of tenderness: that is what made me weep."

And Muslim reported it, from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba, from Muhammad ibn Ubayd, from Yazid ibn Kaysan, from Abu Hazim, from Abu Hurayra: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) visited the grave of his mother, and he wept, and made those around him weep. Then he said: "I asked my Lord for permission to visit the grave of my mother, and He granted me; and I asked Him to seek forgiveness for her, and He did not permit me. So visit the graves: they remind you of death."

"My father and your father are in the Fire" and the announcement made to the graves of the disbelievers

And Muslim reported it, from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba, from Affan, from Hammad ibn Salama, from Thabit, from Anas: a man said: O Messenger of Allah, where is my father? He said: "In the Fire." And when he turned away, he called him and said: "My father and your father are in the Fire."

Al-Bayhaqi also reported, from the hadith of Abu Nu’aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn, from Ibrahim ibn Sa’d, from az-Zuhri, from Amir ibn Sa’d, from his father: a Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: my father used to uphold the ties of kinship, and he did such and such: where is he? He said: "In the Fire." The Bedouin was greatly grieved by it and said: O Messenger of Allah, and where is your father? He said: "Whenever you pass by the grave of a disbeliever, give him the tidings of the Fire." The Bedouin then accepted Islam, and afterwards said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) imposed on me a burdensome task: I never pass by the grave of a disbeliever without giving him the tidings of the Fire. It is a strange narration: and they did not report it out of this account for that reason.

Fatima, the consoling of the bereaved, and the warning against lamentations

Imam Ahmad reported: Abu Abd ar-Rahman told us, from Sa’id, who is Ibn Abi Ayyub, from Rabia ibn Sayf al-Ma’afiri, from Abu Abd ar-Rahman al-Hubuli, from Abdallah ibn Amr: while we were walking with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), his gaze fell upon a woman: we did not think he knew her. And when she reached the middle of the road, he stopped until she came up to him: she was Fatima, daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He said: what makes you leave your house, O Fatima? She said: I came to the people of this house, I had compassion for their dead, and I consoled them. He said: perhaps you reached with them the kuda? She said: Allah forbid that I should have reached it with them: I heard you say about it what you say. He said: "Had you reached it with them, you would not have seen Paradise until your paternal grandfather sees it." Ahmad, Abu Dawud, an-Nasa’i and al-Bayhaqi reported it, from the hadith of Rabia ibn Sayf ibn Mati’ al-Ma’afiri as-SunnamI al-Iskandari. And Imam al-Bukhari said: he has rejected narrations. And an-Nasa’i said: there is no harm in him; and once he said: truthful; and in a copy: weak. And Ibn Hibban mentioned him in ath-Thiqat and said: he erred often. And ad-Daraqutni said: sound. And Ibn Yunus said in the History of Egypt: he has rejected narrations; he died around the year one hundred and twenty. And the kuda means: the graves; and it is said: the lamentations.

The standing of Abd al-Muttalib and the Prophet’s parents: the refutation of those who claim they died believers

The point is that Abd al-Muttalib died upon what he professed of the religion of Jahiliyya, contrary to the Shia sect concerning him and his son Abu Talib, as the detail will come in its place, at the death of Abu Talib. And al-Bayhaqi said, after reporting these hadiths in his book ad-Dala’il ila an-Nubuwwa: how could the parents and grandfather of the Prophet (peace be upon him) not be in this state in the hereafter, when they worshipped the idol until they died, and did not follow the religion of ’Isa son of Maryam (peace be upon him); and their disbelief does not cast aspersion on the lineage of the Prophet (peace be upon him): for the marriages of the disbelievers are valid. Do you not see that they enter Islam with their wives, without the renewal of the contract being imposed on them, nor separation from them: if such is permitted in Islam, then, by Allah is success. Thus ends his speech.

I say: and the Prophet’s announcement (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about his parents and his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, that they are among the people of the Fire, does not contradict the hadith reported from him through multiple chains, that the people of the fitra, the children, the insane and the deaf will be tested on the Day of Resurrection, as we have set out with its chains and texts in our commentary on the word of the Most High: "and We were never to punish until We had sent a Messenger", at verse 15 of surah al-Isra. Among them, some will answer, and some will not answer: and these are among those who do not answer: there is no contradiction, and to Allah are praise and favor.

As for the hadith mentioned by as-Suhayli, who noted that its chain contains two unknown transmitters, up to Ibn Abi az-Zinad, from Urwa, from A’isha: that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked his Lord to bring his parents back to life, so He brought them to life, and they believed in him: it is a very strange hadith, though possible in view of the power of Allah the Most High; but what is established in the Sahih contradicts it. And Allah knows best.

The guardianship of his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib: the bed in the shade of the Kaaba

Imam Ahmad said: Abu Abd ar-Rahman told us, from Sa’id ibn Abi Ayyub, from Rabia ibn Sayf: while we were walking with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), his gaze fell upon a woman: she was Fatima, daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who had come to console the bereaved. He said to her: had you reached with them the kuda, you would not have seen Paradise until your paternal grandfather sees it. This account was already mentioned above in its place.

Ibn Ishaq said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stayed with his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim, after the death of his mother Amina bint Wahb. A couch was laid out in the shade of the Kaaba for Abd al-Muttalib, and his sons would sit around his couch, none of them daring to sit on it, out of reverence for him, until he came out to them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), still a sturdy young boy, would come and sit on it. His uncles would seize him to pull him away. Abd al-Muttalib, seeing that, would say: leave my son: by Allah, he will have a great destiny. Then he would seat him beside him on his couch, stroke his back with his hand, and what he saw him do delighted him.

And al-Waqidi reported, through multiple chains which he cites, among them Muhammad ibn Abdallah, from az-Zuhri; Abdallah ibn Ja’far, from Abd al-Wahid ibn Hamza ibn Abdallah; Hashim ibn Asim al-Aslami, from al-Mundhir ibn Jahm; Ma’mar, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid; Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abd al-Aziz, from Abu al-Huwayrith; and Ibn Abi Sabra, from Sulayman ibn Suhaym, from Nafi’ ibn Jubayr: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was with his mother Amina bint Wahb, and when she died, his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib took him in: he cherished him, showed him a tenderness he had never shown his own children, drew him close to him and kept him near, went in to see him alone, and sat on his couch when he slept. Abd al-Muttalib, seeing that, would say: leave my son: it is through him that royalty will become sweet to me.

Some people of Banu Mudlij said to Abd al-Muttalib: guard him well: we have never seen a gait more like his when he stands. Abd al-Muttalib said to Abu Talib: listen to what these people say! And Abu Talib began to guard him. Abd al-Muttalib also said to Umm Ayman, who held him in her lap: O Baraka, do not lose sight of my son: I found him among the boys near the lote-tree: and the people of the Book claim that my son is the Prophet of this community. And Abd al-Muttalib would not eat a meal without saying: bring me my son: and he was brought to him. When death presented itself to Abd al-Muttalib, he recommended to Abu Talib the protection of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his care. Then Abd al-Muttalib died, and he was buried at al-Hajun.

Ibn Ishaq said: when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was eight years old, his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim died. He then mentioned his daughters gathered, and his order to them to mourn him: they were Arwa, Umayma, Barra, Safiyya, Atika and Umm Hakim al-Bayda’: and he mentioned their poems and what they said in mourning their father, while he heard it before his death. It is the most moving of laments. He discussed it at length. And Ibn Hisham said: I have never seen anyone among the scholars of poetry acknowledge this poem.

Ibn Ishaq said: when Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim died, the office of watering the pilgrims and the keeping of Zamzam passed after him to his son al-Abbas, who was one of the youngest of his brothers in age: and it remained in his hands until the rise of Islam: and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) confirmed it to him in his hands.

The guardianship of Abu Talib: the blessing that followed the child Prophet in the household

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed, after his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, to his uncle Abu Talib, because of the recommendation Abd al-Muttalib made to him about him, and because he was the blood brother of his father Abdallah: their mother was Fatima bint Amr ibn A’idh ibn Imran ibn Makhzum. Abu Talib was thus the one who took charge of the affair of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): and the Messenger of Allah was with him, and alongside him.

And al-Waqidi said: Ma’mar informed us, from Ibn Najih, from Mujahid; Mu’adh ibn Muhammad al-Ansari reported to us, from Ata, from Ibn Abbas; and Muhammad ibn Salih, Abdallah ibn Ja’far and Ibrahim ibn Isma’il ibn Abi Habiba reported to us: when Abd al-Muttalib died, Abu Talib took in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): he was with him. And Abu Talib had no wealth, but he loved him with an intense love, more than he loved his own children: and he slept only beside him, and when he went out, he went out with him. And Abu Talib poured out on him a tenderness the like of which nothing was ever given: and he favored him at the table. And when the household of Abu Talib ate all together, or one by one, they did not eat their fill; and when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ate with them, they ate their fill. When he wanted to serve them, he would say: stay as you are, until my son comes: and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would come, and eat with them: and they would share their food with him. And if he was not with them, they did not eat their fill: and Abu Talib would say: you are blessed.

And the children would rise in the morning disheveled and hungry, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rose fresh-faced, bright-eyed. And al-Hasan ibn Arafa said: Ali ibn Thabit reported to us, from Talha ibn Amr: I heard Ata ibn Abi Rabah say: I heard Ibn Abbas say: the children of the house of Abu Talib rose in the morning unkempt and hungry, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rose pure-faced and rested. Abu Talib would bring the children forward to the food at daybreak: they sat down and helped themselves, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) kept his hand back, not taking with them. When his uncle saw that, he set his portion apart for him.

And Ibn Ishaq reported: Yahya ibn Abbabd ibn Abdallah ibn az-Zubayr told me that his father told him that a man of Lihb, who was a soothsayer who read footprints, was visited, whenever he came to Mecca, by men of Quraysh who brought him their boys: he would look at them and give them favorable omens. Abu Talib came with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), still a young boy, with those who came. The soothsayer looked at the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then something distracted him from him. When he had finished, he said: the boy: bring him to me! When Abu Talib saw his eagerness to see him, he concealed him from him. The soothsayer kept saying: woe to you, give me back the boy I saw just now: by Allah, he will have a great destiny. And Abu Talib departed with him.