The African Islamic Heritage Group

ABDEL MUTTALIB IBN HASHIM

ّ
‫المطلب‬ ‫شيبة ابن هاشم عبد‬
‫قالوا وكان ولد عبد المطلب ألعشرة السادة دلما ضخما نظر إليهم‬
‫عامر بن الطفيل يطوفون كانهم جمال جون فقال؛! بهوْأل تمنع‬
‫السدانه وكان عبد هللا بن عباس ادلم ضخما وال ابي طالب اشرف‬
‫الخلق و هم سود و ادم و دلم‬
)‫كتاب فخر السودان على البيضان (الرسالة الرابعة من رسائل الجاحظ‬

It's a known fact that the Prophet Mohamed ‫ ص‬was from the
noblest of all Arabs and all people in general. His grandfather
was Abdel Muttalib. He was Abdel Muttalib the son of Hashim
the son of Abd El Manaf.

On the battlefield, the Prophet Mohamed ‫ ص‬proudly shouted:

‫انا النبي ال كذب انا ابن عبد المطلب‬

"I am the Prophet, and I do not tell a lie, I'm the son of Abdul
Muttalib!"

Read this description of the Prophet's ‫ ص‬grandfather - Abdel

Mutallib:

Mohamed ibn Umar Bahriq Al-Hadrami Al-Shaafa'ie says in his

book Hadaaiq Al-Anwaar Wa Mataali'i Al-Asraar Fi Seerat Al-Nabi
Al-Mukhtaar:

‫وأما عبد المطلب فاسمه شيبة الحمد وإنما سمي عبد المطلب‬
‫ألن عمه المطلب بن عبد مناف أخذه من أمه سلمى األنصارية‬
‫النجارية فقدم به ( مكة ) يردفه خلفه وكان أسمر اللون فظن‬
‫الناس أنه عبد اشتراه المطلب فقالوا قدم المطلب بعبد فلزمه ذلك‬
‫االسم‬

"Concerning Abdel Muttalib, whose real name is Shaibat Al-Hamd,

verily he was named "Abd (the slave of) El-Muttalib" because his
uncle El-Muttalib ibn Abd Manaf took him from his mother Salma
the Ansariya (from the Ansaar) Al-Najjariya and came to Mecca
with him on the back of his riding animal and HE (ABDEL
MUTTALIB) WAS ASMAR-COMPLEXIONED, so the people thought
that he was a slave that El-Muttalib had bought, so they said: 'El-
Muttalib has come with a slave'. This name then stuck to him."

Make note the above is not connoting his very dark complexion
with a slave status they were merely pointing out him following
behind his Uncle El-Muttalib. It was quite normal for Black Arabs
to have Black servants even within the same family. This was a
tradition amongst the Black Arab and it was with the Africans in
Africa also.

:Al-Ya'aqoubi said in his book Tarikh Al-Ya'aqoubi

‫وكان لكل واحد من ولد عبد المطلب شرف وذكر وفضل وقدر‬
‫ رجال‬:‫ وحج عامر بن مالك مالعب األسنة البيت فقال‬.‫ومجد‬
‫ بهؤالء تمنع مكة‬:‫ فقال‬،‫كأنهم جمال جون‬

"Each of the children Abdel Muttalib had nobility, mention,

superiority, rank, and glory. 'Amir ibn Maalik Mula'ib Al-Asinna
performed pilgrimage to the Ka'aba and said the following (about
the children of Abdel Muttalib):

"Men who are as if they are jimaal jawn (black camels). By these
men, Mecca is protected."

Imam Abu Daud mentions in ‫ مسند ابي داود الطيالسي‬Musnad

al-Tayalassi a hadith where WASHI ibn Harb describes HAMZA
IBN ABDEL MUTTALIB as:

‫فإذا أنا بحمزة كأنه بعيرا أورق‬

"...I then saw Hamza as if he were an awraq (asmar) camel..."

The colour ‫ أورق‬awraq is from al-wurqa which means an

ASMAR complexion. Ibn Manzur says in his book Lisaan Al-Arab:
"Asmar in humans is the complexion called al-wurqa."

Ibn Manzur goes on to describe the complexion called al-wurqa

as "BLACKNESS WITH GHUBRA".
Read this description of Musailama ‫ مسيلمة‬found in ‫البداية! والنهاية‬
Al-Bidaaya Wa Al-Nihaaya by Ibn Kathir:

‫ كان ضخما أسمر اللون كأنه جمل أورق‬:‫وقيل‬

"It is said that he was huge, asmar-complexioned as if he were an

awraq camel."

Al-Ya'aqoubi said in his Taarikh Al-Ya'aqoubi:

‫وكان لكل واحد من ولد عبد المطلب شرف وذكر وفضل وقدر‬
‫ رجال‬:‫ وحج عامر بن مالك مالعب األسنة البيت فقال‬.‫ومجد‬
‫ بهؤالء تمنع مكة‬:‫ فقال‬،‫كأنهم جمال جون‬

"Each of the children Abdel Muttalib had nobility, mention,

superiority, rank, and glory. 'Aamir ibn Maalik Mulaa'ib Al-Asinna
performed pilgrimage to the Ka'aba and said the following (about
the children of Abdel Muttalib):

"Men who are as if they are (black camels). By these men, Mecca is
protected."

For those who don't yet know what ASMAR means, just take a
look at MOUNT THAWR:

Here's the description of ‫ جبل ثور‬Mount Thawr:

Mount Thawr
Situated behind Mount Uhud. It's a small, ASMAR-
COLORED mountain
‫جبل ثور‬
‫ويقع خلف جبل أحد وهو جبل صغير أسمر اللون‬

As you can see, the colour of these mountains is basically the

same colour as a buffalo, which was also compared to ASMAR-
COLOURED:
 ‫ الذؤنون أسمر اللون مدملك له ورق الزق به‬: ‫ابن شميل‬

ibn Shameel said: al-dhu'nun is asmar colored, spirally,

with attached leaves
LISAN AL ARAB; THE BEE

‫ وهو ذباب له جرم بقدر‬، ‫ واحده نحلة‬، ‫ اسم جنس جمعي‬: ‫والنحل‬
‫ ولون بطنه أسمر‬، ‫ وأربعة أجنحة‬، ‫ضعفي جرم الذباب المتعارف‬
‫إلى الحمرة‬
The (al-nahl) bees: plural form; singular nahlat, is a fly with a light
mass estimation to the generally recognized fly. it has four wings
and the colour of its stomach is ASMAR towards redness

This Brown bear in Arabic is called ‫الدب األسمر‬

Imam Qurtobi explains SUMARA gives us an interesting
explanation.

‫ الذي تغلب سمرته السوا ُد؛ فإن السمرة‬:‫ ليس باآلدم) أي‬:‫وقوله‬
‫بياض يميل الى سواد‬
'Regarding the saying, ' he was not Adam' meaning his
overwhelming SUMURAH is BLACK.  For verily SUMURAH is
WHITE leaning to BLACK.

1. As you can see he shows us that ‫ السمرة‬SUMARAH is a degree

of blackness and a high amount of it can be jet black itself which
coincides with what Al Thaa'labi and others have said.
2. Adam in this situation means black itself which coincides with
what Asamy and Ibn Hajar and others have said.

3. White ‫ابيض‬ is a dark colour when referring to the complexion

of a Black person with light skin as Imam Qurtobi has illustrated
before and is not the same as describing the whiteness of
Europeans or Persians…see Will Smith and Nelson Mandela for
examples
Kitaab Al Mafham Chapter 6 page 139
‫‪Intense whiteness is that which has no mixture with redness or‬‬
‫‪any other colour and that they Arabs disliked it because they‬‬
‫‪likened it to lepers.‬‬

‫الشديد البياض الذي ال يخالط بيضه لون بشرته حمرة و ال غيره و‬

‫العرب تكرهه النه يشبه البرص‬

‫‪and something else from Imam Al Qurtaby in the same book‬‬

‫‪which a brother shared with me a while back‬‬

‫وقوله وبعثت إلى األحمر واألسود يعني كافة الخلق كما قال تعالى‬
‫وما أرسلناك إال كافة للناس‬
‫ْ‬
‫وال ُح ْم َرانُ ع َنى بهم البيض وهم العجم والسودان العرب لغلبة األدمة‬
‫عليهم وغيرهم لسوادهم‬
‫المفهم لما أشكل من تلخيص كتاب مسلم ج ‪ 2‬ص ‪117 - 116‬‬
''And the saying,'' I was sent to the red and the black means the
whole of creation just as the All mighty said, And We have not sent
you except to all of mankind ‘...and the Hamraan (reds) means
they are white and they are the ajam and the Sudan (blacks) are
the Arabs because of the predominance of Al Udmah amongst
them and other than them for their blackness.''

Notice how he (Imam Al Qurtaby) used ‫ السودان‬Sudan

to describe the Arabs and other blacks?
Do the majority of the people in Saudia and The Gulf and
North Africa do they look like SUDANESE?????

Is there much if any difference in physical appearance

between EUROPEANS, IRAQIS, JORDANIANS, PERSIANS
SYRIANS and those who are now calling themselves
JEWS?