Abdullah (Father)

Abdullah was the father of Muhammad ﷺ, son of Abd al-Muttalib, chief of Quraysh and guardian of the Ka'ba. He died very young during a trading journey, even before his son was born — who thus came into the world fatherless.

According to the Sira, Abd al-Muttalib had made a vow to sacrifice one of his sons if he had ten. The lot fell on Abdullah, his favourite. To redeem him, he offered a hundred camels in his place. It is partly for this reason that the Prophet ﷺ would later call himself 'the son of the two sacrificed ones' — referring to Isma'il and his father Abdullah.

Abdullah married Amina bint Wahb. Shortly afterwards, he set out on a trading journey and fell ill on the way back. He died in Medina (Yathrib) among relatives, while Amina was pregnant. His son would be born an orphan — as the Quran would later gently recall: 'Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter?'

The life of Abdullah reminds us that the Prophet ﷺ knew hardship even before his birth. Orphanhood, far from being a weakness, was the first sign of a life entirely carried by God.