Dirar ibn Abd al-Muttalib "Uncle of the Prophet"
Dhirar ibn Abd al-Muttalib, one of the paternal uncles of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, belonged to the distinguished Hashim clan of Quraysh. Although not as famous as his brothers Hamza or al-Abbas, classical sources remember him as a handsome, generous young man who embodied pre-Islamic Hashimi nobility in Mecca.
Name & Lineage of Dirar ibn Abd al-Muttalib
His full name is Abu Amr Dhirar ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim ibn Abd Manaf; his mother was Natileh bint Janab ibn Kulayb. Sharing the same grandfather, Hashim, he is a direct uncle of the Prophet. Dhirar never married and left no descendants, and some genealogists say he was seven years older than his brother al-Abbas.
Dirar & Standing among Quraysh Youth
Sources style him “the most handsome and most open-handed youth of Quraysh”. His brother, the poet al-Zubayr ibn Abd al-Muttalib, praised him in verse for lavish hospitality, reflecting his elevated social stature in the Sacred Precinct.
Literary Gifts of Dirar
Like many Hashimis, Dhirar composed poetry. Surrounded by literati, his brothers al-Zubayr, Abu Talib, and Hamza, he grew up in a household famed as a literary salon in Mecca.
Dirar ibn Abd al-Muttalib Life before Prophethood
He was probably born around 559 CE. Dhirar lived through Quraysh’s mercantile boom and may have witnessed the Fijar War and the Hilf al-Fudul alliance, though no major exploits are attributed to him.
Dirar ibn Abd al-Muttalib Death & View of Islam
Most classical biographers place his death shortly before the Hijra (622 CE), suggesting he never publicly embraced Islam, though later writers speculate he might have accepted the faith privately. No conclusive evidence exists either way.
