Part 1 · Page 168
Aminah’s Death and the Prophet’s Care under His Grandfather
English rendering of the source section
Local English translation of the available Arabic page, not an official published English edition. The printed-page boundary and the editor’s notes are preserved; no missing wording has been inferred.
This local English rendering may condense the Arabic narration and editorial notes. It is not a complete published English edition. Consult the Arabic source for exact wording and context.
Read the corresponding Arabic sectionIbn Ishaq said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was with his mother Aminah bint Wahb and his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim, under Allah’s protection and care. Allah nurtured him well in preparation for the honor He intended for him. When the Messenger of Allah reached the age of six, his mother Aminah bint Wahb died. Ibn Ishaq said: Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amr ibn Hazm narrated to me that the Messenger’s mother, Aminah, died when the Messenger of Allah was six years old, at al-Abwa’, between Makkah and Medina. She had taken him to visit her maternal relatives among Banu Adi ibn al-Najjar. She died while returning with him to Makkah.
Ibn Hisham said: Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim’s mother was Salma bint Amr al-Najjariyyah. This is the maternal kinship to them that Ibn Ishaq mentioned for the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
Ibn Ishaq said: The Messenger of Allah lived with his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim. A rug was spread for Abd al-Muttalib in the shade of the Ka‘bah. His sons would sit around that rug until he came out to them; none of them sat on it, out of respect for him. The Messenger of Allah, still a sturdy young boy, would come and sit on it. His uncles would take him away from it, but when Abd al-Muttalib saw them doing so, he would say, ‘Leave my son. By Allah, he has a great destiny.’ He would then seat him beside himself on the rug, rub his back with his hand, and take pleasure in what he saw him do.
[1] It is also said that Aminah bint Wahb’s grave is in the ravine of Abu Dharr in Makkah. See al-Tabari. [2] Recension A reads “with him on it”; the other copies have a different wording at this point.