Abd al-Muttalib

Abd al-Muttalib, whose real name was Shayba, was the paternal grandfather of the Prophet ﷺ and one of the most respected chiefs of Mecca. He is credited with rediscovering the Zamzam well, buried for generations. After the deaths of the Prophet's ﷺ parents, it was he who took in the orphaned child and surrounded him with particular affection, before entrusting his care, at his own death, to his son Abu Talib.

Son of Hashim — the ancestor who gave his name to the Hashimite clan — Abd al-Muttalib's true name was Shayba, said to be because of a white lock in his hair; he was also called Shayba al-Hamd for his generosity. The name 'Abd al-Muttalib' came from his uncle al-Muttalib, who brought him as a child to Mecca.

Become chief of Quraysh, he rediscovered, guided by a dream, the Zamzam well that the tribe of Jurhum had filled in when leaving Mecca. During this work, having at the time only one son to help him, he vowed to sacrifice one of his children if he were given ten to protect him. Ten sons were given to him; the draw, before the idol Hubal, designated his favourite, Abdullah — the future father of the Prophet ﷺ. On the advice of his people, he ransomed his son's life against a hundred camels. From this, tradition says, comes the blood price (diya) fixed at a hundred camels, which Islam would later confirm.

Under his authority came the 'Year of the Elephant': Abraha, the Christian governor of Yemen, marched on Mecca with an army and elephants to destroy the Ka'ba. Abd al-Muttalib, received with honour, came only to claim his two hundred confiscated camels. When Abraha was surprised he asked nothing for the sanctuary, his response has remained famous: 'I am the lord of the camels; as for the House, it has a Lord who will protect it.' The army was annihilated — an event recalled in Surah al-Fil. That same year, according to tradition, the Prophet ﷺ was born.

Abdullah died before his son's birth, then Amina when the child was about six years old. Abd al-Muttalib then took the young Muhammad ﷺ to him and loved him tenderly, calling him 'my son' and having him brought to each of his meals. When the Prophet ﷺ was eight, his grandfather sensed death approaching: he entrusted his care to his son Abu Talib, then died and was buried at al-Hajun.

This profile belongs to historical narrative (Sira), not to the Quran or authenticated hadith: it should be read as such. The broad outline — Zamzam, the vow, the hundred camels, the Year of the Elephant, raising the orphan — is solidly anchored in the earliest sources: Ibn Sa'd reports it with chains tracing back to Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Kathir reproduces it from Ibn Ishaq. Two points however call for caution: Ibn Ishaq introduces the vow episode with 'as they claim,' and notably the famous saying 'I am the son of the two sacrificed ones' (Isma'il and Abdullah), often attributed to the Prophet ﷺ, has a chain discussed by hadith scholars. Our principle here: we report what the sources say, signal what is solid and what is less so, and do not adjudicate. The Year of the Elephant itself is anchored in the Quran through Surah al-Fil (105).

Beyond debates on details, Abd al-Muttalib embodies, in Muslim memory, dignity and trust in God: 'the House has a Lord who will protect it.' His story also illuminates a theme dear to the Quran — the orphaned childhood of the Prophet ﷺ, taken in and sheltered, which Surah ad-Duha (93:6) gently recalls.