Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Shepard’s Path
Who’s Who
This is not an exhaustive list, but a short one meant to be used for your assistance.
Abu Taalib – the uncle of the Prophet, peace be upon him, who took care of Muhammad after the
grandfather, Abdul‐Muttalib, passed away while the Prophet peace be upon him was around 8 years old.
Abdullah – the father of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the son of Abdul‐Muttalib, the Prophet
peace be upon him’s grandfather. He was the most famous son of Abdul‐Muttalib (see “Abdul‐
Muttalib” in “Who’s Who – Seerah”), and the 10 th , and was saved from sacrifice and 100 camels were
slaughtered in his place. He marries Amina, they go to Madina, and on the way back near Madina, he
dies, and his wife was pregnant with the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Aamina – the mother of the Prophet peace be upon him. She gave birth to him, peace be upon him,
after her husband Abdullah had died. She allowed her son to be raised up in the pristine environment of
the desert in its cleanliness and pure Arabic environment, with Haleema, up until around the age of 4
years old when he was returned to her in Mecca. She passed away when the young boy, Muhammad,
peace be upon him, was only around 6 years of age, leaving him without a father or mother.
1
Abraha – the governor of Yemen, who, seeing the respect the Arabs had for Mecca, tried to build a
cathedral to avert their pilgrimage to his place. They were insulted, and someone came and defecated
in the cathedral and smeared it. Abraha got so angry and got one of the biggest elephants and marched
toward’s Mecca. When they tried to attack, the elephant would not move in the direction of Mecca,
and Allah sent his soldiers, each bird had 3 stones and the stones would go from the head to the bottom
and burn, and anyone who was hit, their limbs would fall off due to the heat, and on the way back,
Abraha died and his limbs fell off. This year became known as the Year of the Elephant, and the Quraysh
became known as the people of God, and it was a preparation for the Messenger, peace be upon him.
Haleema – the caretaker of young Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the desert. He, peace be upon
him, stayed with her until he was 3 years old, and she then brought him back to his mother Aamina, but
Haleema loved him so much and wanted him to stay more so she begged Aamina to let him stay longer.
Soon after his return, the young boy Muhammad, peace be upon him, had his chest opened and heart
taken out, and angel Jibreel alay salam took out the “part of Satan” in him. Very scared, Haleema
returned him, peace be upon him, back to his mother in Mecca at around the age of four years old.
Maysara – the slave of Khadija RA, through whom Khadija RA got to know the qualities of Muhammad,
peace be upon him, and who eventually would also initiate the marriage proposal to him for Khadija RA.
Khadija RA – the first wife of the Prophet peace be upon him. He was 25, peace be upon him. She was
40 one narration says, another narration of similar strength that Ibn Ishaq mentioned is 29 years of age.
So you have 2 narrations and both have weaknesses, one narration is popular but doesn’t make it
stronger, so you go back to the default. She was already 40, the possibilities of her having that many
children are difficult. Because most women reached menopause at that age, but also Allah can make it
happen on the other hand. Sarah was over 80 years year when she had Ishaaq, alay salam. She would
go on to bear all his children but one, and would die in the Year of Sadness, RA.
Zayd Ibn Haaritha RA – When Khadija RA married the Prophet, peace be upon him, she received a slave,
and one of the two was Zayd Ibn Haaritha, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, saw him and he loved
him very much and saw that he was a very good person, and Khadijda gave Zayd to the Prophet peace
be upon him, and he freed Zayd and took him as an adopted, and so people came to call him Zayd Ibn
Muhammad, until Allah abolished adoption (note: taking care of others was not abolished, but calling
someone your son when he is not, was.)
Amir Ibn Luhay – the first to introduce idol worship to the Arabs and to taint the religion of Ibrahim and
Ismaa’eel alay salam. It was during the time of Khuzaa’3, who had expelled Jurham. Ibn Luhay was a
strong leader in terms of people’s opinion, and if he said something people would follow him. He
became sick and people told him if he went to Ash’Sham he would find a cure there. He went and found
people worshipping idols, and he inquired about them, the Arabs didn’t do that. The explained to him
ask such and such idol for this or such and such idol for that, and Ibn Luhay was interested and asked for
some so he could go back and tell his people to do it so they could maybe get some benefit. He got
Hubal, one of the biggest they had, and he took it back to Mecca. On the way back, with the help of
2
Jinn/shayaateen [Hosna Master Notes, Majd Notes], they showed him where the idols of the time of
Nuh alay salam were, and these were scattered all around the Arabian peninsula.
Hajar – the freed slave of the king of Egypt, given to Sarah as a gift, and then to Ibrahim alay salam, who
married her and had Ismaa’eel. She migrated to the barren valley of Mecca with Ibraheem alay salam
and her son, and stayed there with her son. In her search for water in the valley of Mecca, she was
shown the ZamZam well by the angel Jibreel alay salam. Today, her running between Safa and Marwa in
her search for water, is repeated by millions upon millions 24/7, 365 days a year, and they will continue
to do so for however long Allah wants.
Ibraheem alay salam – the Friend of Allah, the father if the anbiyyah. He migrated with his wife Hajar
and son Ismaa’eel and settled them in the barren valley of Mecca. He would later return periodically to
check up on his son. He also would later return to build the Kabah with his son, Isma’eel, alay salam.
Jurham – a tribe originating from Yemen. They found Hajar and Ismaa’eel alay salam in the valley of
Mecca after they latter had tapped the well of ZamZam. Juhram sought to permission to stay and Hajar
allows them, but tells them on the condition that we control the water, and they accept. They later
went on to control political affairs while the family of Ismaa’eel controlled the religious affairs in Mecca.
Ismaa’eel alay salam – son of Ibrahim alay salam and Hajar, who was settled there with his mother
when he was a child. He would grow up to build the Kabah with his father and he would look for the
stones. His children did not get involved in the struggle for Mecca, and remained guardians of the
Kabah and controlled religious affairs.
Khab’baab RA – the sahaabah with whom the Quraysh would put their fires with his back, and you could
hear the skin sizzling, but he never left his Islam, may Allah the Most High be pleased with him.
Amr Ibn Abdul Manaaf, aka “Haashem” – the great grandfather of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
The father of Abdul‐Muttalib, the father of Abdullah, the father of Muhammad, peace be upon him. He
was the leader of Abdul Manaaf, who controlled the religious affairs of Mecca, such as taking care of the
pilgrims and guarding the Kabah. The used to provide food and water, with soup and meat. Amr
decided to add crushed bread to the soup. Because of this he became known as “Haashem” (from “to
crush”). The Arabs appreciated generosity and considered it a part of nobility, and as a result Haashem’s
reputation rose among the Arabis and he became very well respected and known, as news spreads very
3
easily when people would go home and tell their Hajj stories. Haashem later went on a business trip
with his wife to Ash’Sham, and passed away.
Places:
Al‐Nadwa (a place): Assembly in the Quraysh. If there were any disputes they would come to Al‐Nadwa
and have meetings
4