Seerat-un-Nabi ﷺ🌴

Episode 03

The Story of Abdul Muttalib and the Vow:

Abdul Muttalib received this command (from a dream) at a time when he had forgotten about his vow. In the first dream, he was told: “Fulfill your vow.” He sacrificed a ram and fed the poor.

Then, he saw another dream: “Offer something greater.” This time, he sacrificed a bull. Again the same dream came: “Offer something even greater.” Now he sacrificed a camel.

Then again the message came: “Offer something greater.” He asked, “What is greater than this?” He was told: “Sacrifice one of your sons, as you had vowed.”

At this point, he remembered his vow. He gathered all his sons and told them about it. All lowered their heads in silence — no one was willing to volunteer for sacrifice. Finally, Abdullah spoke up: “Father, you may sacrifice me.”

He was the youngest, the most beautiful, and the dearest to Abdul Muttalib. So, Abdul Muttalib decided to draw lots. He wrote the names of all his sons, and when the lots were drawn, Abdullah’s name came out.

Abdul Muttalib took a knife, held Abdullah by the arm, and laid him down to be sacrificed. As soon as he did, Abbas (his uncle) couldn’t bear it and rushed forward to pull his brother away. At the same time, Abdul Muttalib pulled Abdullah back. During this struggle, Abdullah’s face got scratched, and those marks remained until his death.

Just then, members of the Banu Makhzum tribe arrived and said: “Don’t sacrifice your son like this. His mother’s life will be ruined. Offer a ransom to your Lord instead.”

Now the question was — what should the ransom be? A method was suggested: Write “ten camels” on one piece of paper and “Abdullah” on another. If the paper with “ten camels” comes out, sacrifice the camels. If “Abdullah” comes out, add ten more camels and draw again.

So they started: ten camels vs. Abdullah — Abdullah’s name came out. They added 10 more camels — 20 vs. Abdullah — still Abdullah’s name came out. This continued in increments of ten until the number of camels reached 100.

Finally, the lot came out in favor of camels. Thus, 100 camels were sacrificed as ransom for Abdullah. Abdul Muttalib was now satisfied that Allah had accepted the ransom.

He sacrificed the camels near the Kaaba and did not prevent anyone from eating — humans, animals, and birds all shared the meat.

Imam Zuhri says: Abdul Muttalib was the first person to establish the custom of paying 100 camels as compensation for a man’s life. Before this, it used to be just 10 camels. This practice spread across Arabia and became a law: The blood money (Diyyah) for a person is 100 camels.

When this was mentioned before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, he approved it, confirming it as correct.

And on this basis, the Prophet ﷺ said: “I am the descendant of two sacrificial sons — Ismail (AS) and Abdullah.”

To be continued….