Al-Ghaydaq ibn Abd al-Muttalib "Uncle of the Prophet"

Al-Ghaydaq ibn Abd al-Muttalib - A Forgotten Uncle of the Prophet

Among the many sons of Abd al-Muttalib, chief of Quraysh, one name shines whenever it is mentioned, yet survives only in fragments of the early sira books: Al-Ghaydaq. Most later genealogists identify him with Musab ibn Abd al-Muttalib, a half-brother of Abdallah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (the Prophet’s father) whose mother was Mumannaa bint Amr of the Khuza'a tribe.

Ibn Sa'd records that Musab was nick-named "Al-Ghaydaq" because of his extraordinary liberality, while Ibn Hisham thought the epithet belonged instead to another brother, Hajl (al-Mughira) – an early sign that his memory was already fading while the tradition was still being written down.

What Does "Al-Ghaydaq" Mean?

In classical Arabic, ghaydaq is a torrent of heavy rain or the gush of water from a well. Calling someone Al-Ghaydaq suggested that his hand poured out gifts the way a spring pours water.

The epithet, therefore, became proverbial for unrestricted munificence – very much the Meccan equivalent of calling someone today "a walking charity".

A Merchant Prince of the Hijaz

Although no source assigns Musab an official title, several anecdotes show that he financed his generosity through large commercial ventures. One report preserved by later historians describes an alliance he struck with the nomadic Banu Sulaym so that his caravans could graze their camels on their land. When the Meccan council tried to block his share in a public levy, he paid the tax anyway from his own purse to spare poorer clans the burden – proof, said the narrators, that "he gave even when wronged".

Goods returning from Syria and Yemen "filled his house until no room was left for a rider to dismount," yet no needy visitor ever left his door empty-handed. Later, Meccans kept a saying: "Ask the sons of Hashim for honor, and ask Al-Ghaydaq for the wherewithal".

Public Generosity in Pre-Islamic Mecca

• Feeding the pilgrims. A Shi'ite tradition lists Al-Ghaydaq among nine uncles who provided free bread and meat to strangers during the Hajj season.
• Daily kitchen fire. Later jurists remarked that "his cooking-pots smoked by day and by night," the stock phrase for continuous public hospitality.

Through such acts, he earned the honorary title Akram Quraysh – "the most generous man of Quraysh".

Chronology and Death of Al-Ghaydaq ibn Abd al-Muttalib

Exact dates are lost, but all authorities agree that Al-Ghaydaq died before the first revelation in 610 CE. The Prophet, therefore, grew up hearing stories of an uncle whose open-handedness had already become tribal lore, but he never met him as an adult. Muslim theologians consequently number him among Ahl al-Fatrah – people to whom a prophet had not yet been sent.

Legacy of Al-Ghaydaq ibn Abd al-Muttalib – Why So Little is Known

Two factors explain the scarcity of information:

1. No descendants. Early genealogies name no surviving children, so there was no family line to preserve his poems or deeds.
2. Death before Islam. Because he died before the Prophet’s mission, later historians focused their attention elsewhere.

Even so, the very persistence of his nickname shows how deeply his philanthropy impressed Meccan memory. Modern biographies still introduce him in one line: "the wealthy, generous uncle".

Al-Ghaydaq - A Model of Social Responsibility Before Islam

Al-Ghaydaq illustrates that the virtues Islam later systematized – relief of the poor, hospitality to travelers, fair dealing in trade – were already praised in Meccan society, even if practiced unevenly. The Quran would eventually make charity an act of worship; men like Al-Ghaydaq supplied the cultural soil in which those commands could take root.

If rain is called life for the earth, Musab was life for the people.