The Promise At Zamzam

The well of Zamzam, which disappeared when the Arabs placed idols at

the Ka'bah, remained buried under the sand. Thus, for many years the

people of Quraysh had to fetch their water from far away

One day 'Abdal-Muttalib was very tired from doing this and fell asleep next to the

Ka.bah. He had a dream in which he was told to dig up Zamzam. When

he woke up he was puzzled because he did not know what Zamzam was,

the well having disappeared many years before he was born. The next day

he had the same dream, but this time he was told where to find the well.

'Abd al-Muttalib had one son at that time, and together they began to

dig. The work was so difficult that .Abd al-Muttalib made an oath to

Allah that if one day he were to have ten sons to help him and stand by

him, in return he would sacrifice one of them in Allah's hono.

After working for three days they finally found the well of Zamzam. Pilgrims

have been drinking from it ever since. The years passed by and 'Abd al-

Muttalib did have ten sons. They grew into fine, strong men and the time

came for him to keep his promise to Allah. He told his sons about the

promise and they agreed that he had to sacrifice one of them To see

which one it would be, they decided to draw lots, which was the custom

of Quraysh when deciding important matters. 'Abd al-Muttalib told each

son to get an arrow and write his own name upon it and then to bring it to

him. This they did, after which he took them to the Ka'bah where there

was a man whose special task it was to cast arrows and pick one from

among them. This man solemnly proceeded to do this. On the arrow he

chose was written the name of 'Abd Allah, the youngest and favorite son

of 'Abd al-Muttalib. Even so, the father took his son near the Ka'bah and

prepared to sacrifice him.

Many of the Quraysh leaders were present and they became very angry

because 'Abd Allah was very young and much loved by everyone. They

tried to think of a way to save his life. Someone suggested that the advice

of a wise old woman who lived in Yathrib should be sought, and so 'Abd

al-Muttalib took his son and went to see if she could decide what to do.

Some of the Meccans went with them and when they got there the woman

asked, 'What is the price of a man's life?' They told her, 'Ten camels', for

at that time if one man killed another, his family would have to give ten

camels to the dead man's family in order to keep the peace among them.

So the woman told them to go back to the Ka.bah and draw lots between

'Abd Allah and ten camels. If the camels were chosen, they were to be

killed and the meat given to the poor. If 'Abd Allah was picked then ten

more camels were to be added and the lots drawn again and again until

they finally fell on the camels.



Zamzam Well

„Abd al-Muttalib returned to the Ka.bah with his son and the people

of Mecca. There they started to draw lots between „Abd Allah and the

camels, starting with ten camels. „Abd al-Muttalib prayed to Allah to

spare his son and everyone waited in silence for the result. The choice fell

on „Abd Allah, so his father added ten more camels. Again the choice fell

on „Abd Allah, so they did the same thing again and again, adding ten

camels each time. Finally they reached one hundred camels, and only

then did the lot fall on the camels. „Abd Allah was saved and everyone

was very happy. 'Abd al-Muttalib however, wanted to make sure that this

was the true result so he repeated the draw three times and each time it

fell on the camels. He then gave thanks to Allah that He had spared „Abd

Allah's life. The camels were sacrificed and there was enough food for

the entire city, even the animals and birds. 'Abd Allah grew up to be a

handsome young man and his father eventually chose Aminah, the

daughter of Wahb, as a wife for him. It was a good match for she was the

finest of Quraysh women and 'Abd Allah the best of the men. He spent

several months with his wife but then he had to leave her and travel with

one of the caravans to trade with Syria. On his way back to Mecca from

Syria 'Abd Allah became ill and had to stop off in Yathrib to recover. The

caravan, however, continued on its way and arrived back in Mecca

without him. On hearing of 'Abd Allah's illness, „Abd al-Muttalib sent

another son, al-Hareth, to bring 'Abd Allah back to Mecca, but he was too

late.

When he arrived in Yathrib „Abd Allah was dead. Aminah was heartbroken

to lose her husband and the father of the child she would soon

give birth to. Only Allah knew that this orphan child would one day be a

great Prophet.