The Father of the Prophet
The father of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is Abdullah bin Abdul-Muttalib bin Hashim bin Abd Manaf bin Qusai bin Kilab. He was the middle son among Abdul-Muttalib's ten sons.
He was one of his father's most beloved and closest sons. He was also one of the most handsome youths of Quraysh; he had a beautiful face and was beloved by them for his pleasant personality, tranquility of heart, contentment with destiny, and patience with it. In addition to being a young, generous, strong, chaste man, distant from the unlawful, he was highly esteemed in Quraysh.
Life of Abdullah bin Abdul-Muttalib
Abdul-Muttalib vowed that if he were blessed with ten sons, he would sacrifice one of them at the Kaaba. When they reached ten, he wanted to fulfill his vow, so he asked each of them to take a cup and a wooden board and put his name in it for a lottery to choose the son he would sacrifice. The lot fell on his youngest son, the most beloved and closest to him, Abdullah. Quraysh came out to prevent him from killing him and offered to ransom him with their money.
They suggested he go to a soothsayer in Khaybar and tell her the story. She asked them about the blood money among them, and they said ten camels. She told them to make a scale, put a board with Abdullah's name on one side, and figures of ten camels on the other side, which was the amount of the blood money. If the camels' side weighed more, he would sacrifice them; if Abdullah's side came out, he would add another ten camels to the camels' side. Abdullah's side kept weighing more until the camels reached one hundred. Abdul-Muttalib asked them to redo the lottery three times, and each time, the camels' lot came out, so Abdul-Muttalib sacrificed a hundred camels in front of the Kaaba as a ransom for his son Abdullah.
His father took him to his wife's house, and they both entered the house of Wahb bin Abd Manaf Al-Zuhri, the leader of Banu Zuhra. Abdullah stayed with them for three days, following the Arab customs, and consummated his marriage. On the fourth day, he took her with him to his house and people.
The Marriage of Abdullah to Aminah and Her Pregnancy
Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib was the most beloved son of his father, so he married Aminah bint Wahb ibn Abd Manaf ibn Zuhrah ibn Kilab...
He was eighteen years old at the time, and she was one of the noblest women of the Quraysh in lineage and status. When he approached her, she became pregnant with the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. His father passed away two months after her pregnancy, and he was buried in Medina among his relatives, the Banu Adi ibn al-Najjar. He had gone for trade to Syria, and his death occurred in Medina on his return journey. When Aminah's pregnancy period ended, she gave birth to her son. The world rejoiced at the arrival of this noble child, who was filled with the spirit of virtues and impeccable morals.
The late Mahmoud Pasha al-Falaki confirmed that this occurred on Monday morning, the ninth of Rabi' al-Awwal, corresponding to the twentieth of April in the year 571 of the Gregorian calendar, which was the first year of the Year of the Elephant incident. His birth took place in the house of Abu Talib in the Shi'b Banu Hashim, and the midwife was Shifa'a, the wife of Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf. When he was born, his mother sent his grandfather to inform him, and he joyfully accepted and named him Muhammad. This name was not common among the Arabs before, but Allah intended to fulfill what He had decreed and mentioned in the scriptures brought by the prophets, such as the Torah and the Gospel. Therefore, He inspired his grandfather to name him that in obedience to His command. His nurse was Umm Ayman Barakah al-Habashiyyah, the slave of his father Abdullah, and the first person to breastfeed him was Thuwaybah, the slave of his uncle Abu Lahab.
Abdullah Ibn Abd Al-Muttalib Religion
Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the father of Prophet Muhammad, belonged to the religion prevalent in pre-Islamic Arabia, which was primarily a polytheistic society where various tribes worshipped idols and gods they believed controlled different aspects of life. This religion is often referred to as "Jahiliyyah," meaning the age of ignorance before the advent of Islam.
As for Abdullah himself, there isn't detailed historical information about his personal religious beliefs or practices, but it's presumed he adhered to the religious customs and traditions of his society before the emergence of Islam.
Death of Abdullah bin Abdul-Muttalib
Abdullah went on a trade mission from Quraysh to Sham (Syria), and on his return from Sham, when he reached Medina, Abdullah fell ill, so he stayed behind the caravan and stayed with his maternal uncles, Banu Adi bin Najjar, for a month. When the caravan reached Mecca, Abdul-Muttalib asked them about his son Abdullah, and they informed him of what happened to him in Medina. So he sent his eldest brother, Al-Harith, to check on him, and he found that Abdullah had died and was buried in Dar al-Nabigha. Al-Harith returned and informed them of what happened to Abdullah, and his father, brothers, and sisters grieved deeply for him. He was twenty-five years old at the time of his death.
The wisdom in the Prophet's -peace and blessings be upon him- orphanhood due to his father's death while he was a fetus in his mother's womb and his mother's death when he was six years old is to show Allah's care for him and make it evident so that no one among the creation would have any right over him except his Lord and Creator.
Noble Lineage of the Prophet
The Prophet Muhammad -peace and blessings be upon him- was born in the noblest house of the Arabs, Quraysh, and the noblest of its branches, Banu Hashim, as the Prophet -peace and blessings be upon him- said: "Verily, Allah chose Kinanah from the descendants of Ishmael, and He chose Quraysh from Kinanah, and He chose Banu Hashim from Quraysh, and He chose me from Banu Hashim". This lineage was beyond reproach by the polytheists due to the antiquity, fame, and honor of this lineage among them.
