Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: ٱلْعَبَّاسُبْنُ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ, romanized: al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib; c. 566–653 CE) was a paternal uncle and sahabi (companion) of the Islamic prophetMuhammad, just three years older than his nephew. A wealthy merchant, during the early years of Islam he protected Muhammad while he was in Mecca, but only became a convert after the Battle of Badr in 624 CE (2 AH). His descendants founded the Abbasid dynasty in 750.[1]
Abbas, born around 565 CE, was one of the younger sons of Abd al-Muttalib. His mother was Nutayla bint Janab of the Namir tribe.[2] After his father's death, he took over the Zamzam Well and the distribution of water to the pilgrims.[3] He became a spice merchant in Mecca,[4] a trade that made him wealthy.[5] Within this role, he managed a caravan network to and from Syria, where he eventually recruited and trained Muhammad as an apprentice for leading the northern leg of the journey.[6]
During the years when the Muslim religion was gaining adherents (610–622), Abbas provided protection to his kinsman but did not adopt the faith. He acted as a spokesman at the Second Pledge of Aqaba,[7] but he was not among those who emigratedtoMedina.
Having fought on the side of the polytheists, Abbas was captured during the Battle of Badr. Muhammad allowed al-Abbas to ransom himself and his nephew.[8]
Ibn Hisham said that Abbas had become a secret Muslim before the Battle of Badr;[9] but a clear statement to that effect is missing from Tabari's citation of the same source.[10][11] It is said by some authorities that he converted to Islam shortly after the Battle of Badr.[12]
It is elsewhere implied that Abbas did not formally profess Islam until January 630, just before the fall of Mecca, twenty years after his wife Lubaba converted.[13] Muhammad then named him "last of the migrants" (Muhajirun), which entitled him to the proceeds of the spoils of war. He was given the right to provide Zamzam water to pilgrims, a right which was passed down to his descendants.[1]
Abbas immediately joined Muhammad's army, participating in the Conquest of Mecca, the Battle of Hunayn and the Siege of Ta'if. He defended Muhammad at Hunayn when other warriors deserted him.[14] After these military exploits, Abbas brought his family to live in Medina, where Muhammad frequently visited them[15] and even proposed marriage to his daughter.[16]
Later Abbas fought in the expedition to Tabuk.[14]
Lubaba bint al-Harith (Arabic: لبابة بنت الحارث), also known as Umm al-Fadl, was from the Banu Hilal tribe. Umm al-Fadl claimed to be the second woman to convert to Islam, the same day as her close friend Khadijah, the first wife of Muhammad. Umm al-Fadl's traditions of the Prophet appear in all canonical collections of hadiths. She showed her piety by supernumerary fasting and by attacking Abu Lahab, the enemy of the Muslims, with a tent pole.[17]
Fatima bint Junayd, from the Al-Harith clan of the Quraysh tribe.[18]
Hajila bint Jundub ibn Rabia, from the Hilal tribe.[19]
^al-Tabari, Muhammad ibn Jarir (1998). Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk: Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors. Vol. 39. Albany: State University of New York Press. p. 24.
^Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah. Translated by Guillaume, A. (1955). The Life of Muhammad, p. 79. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^Wahba, al-Mawardi Translated by Wafaa H (2000), The ordinances of government = Al-Aḥkām al-sulṭāniyya w'al-wilāyāt al-Dīniyya, Reading: Garnet, ISBN1-85964-140-7
^Alfred Guillaume's footnote to Ibn Ishaq (1955) p. 309.
^Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l-Muluk. Translated by McDonald, M. V. (1987). Volume 7: The Foundation of the Community, p. 68. Albany: State University of New York Press.
^Annotated (1998), The history of al-Ṭabarī = (Taʼrīkh al-rusul wa'l mulūk), Albany: State University of New York Press, ISBN0-7914-2820-6
