The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 1 of 4

IMAM ABU AL-FIDA' ISMA?L IBN KATHfR 243
'Abd al-Muftalib fell down prostrate in worship. The King then said, "Lift
your head, calm yourself, and be content. Did you have any prior sense of what I
told you?"
"0 King," he replied, "I had one son in whom I delighted and whose fond
companion I was. I married him to a noble lady of his tribe, Amina b. Wabb, and
she had a son I named Muhammad. But his father died, then his mother, and I
and his uncle brought him up."
Ibn Dhii Yazan then said, "What I told you is as yon told me. Take care of
your boy and protect him from the Jews; for they are his enemies. God will give
them no path to him. Keep what I have told you from the group with you, for I
am concerned that they or their children may feel some rivalry at your having
the leadership and so scheme and plot his destruction. If I were not aware that I
will die before his mission, I would take my men and cavalry and go to Yathrib,
the seat of his reign. For I find in previous knowledge and the Scriptures that it
will be in Yathrib that he will establish his power, there that he will find those to
aid him, and there that his grave will be. If I were not concerned with protecting
him from curses and from bodily harm, I would make public all about him
despite his youth and would have crushed the Arabs' nobles and leaders under
his foot. But I am charging you with that since I do not find inadequate those
who are with you."
He then ordered that each one of them be presented with ten male and ten
female slaves, one hundred camels, two sets of fine, striped clothing, five rotls of
gold, ten rotls of silver, and a receptacle filled with ambergris.
For 'Abd al-Mur$lib he ordered ten times that amount. He told him to
come back to him after one year, but Ibn Dhii Yazan died before the year had
passed.
'Abd al-MuMib used often to say, "0 Tribe of Quraysh, let not any one of
yon envy me the generosity of the king's gift, large though it was, for it will not
last forever. But do envy me the repute, honour and pride there will be for me
and for my ancestors to come."
He would be asked, "When will that be?" And he would then reply, "It will
one day be known, though after some period."
On this subject Umayya h. CAbd Shams spoke the verses,
"
We brought away good counsel, carrying it in hags on our mounts and on the
saddle bags of camels, male and female;
Their grazing grounds stripped bare, rising high up to SanQ' from a deep ravine,
Leading us to Ibn Dhii Yazan, their appetite carrying them across the scant fodder
of the road,
Feeding in their imagination on the lightning flashing constantly.
When thq reached SanW they stayed in the home of the king and of ancient
dignity."