Posted by marky on 11/03/07 21:44

So?

"msk2000" <msk2000@naseej.com> wrote in message
news:1194109424.658872.326080@o38g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> Abraham and Ishmael worked hard to rebuild the Ka'bah and as they did
> so they prayed to Allah to send a Prophet from among their
> descendants. And when Abraham and Ishmael were raising the foundations
> of the House, (Abraham prayed): 'Our Lord! Receive this from us; Thou,
> only Thou, art the All-hearing, the All-knowing; Our Lord! And make us
> submissive unto Thee and of our seed a nation submissive unto Thee,
> and show us our ways of worship, and turn toward us. Lo! Thou, only
> Thou, art the Relenting, the Merciful. Our Lord! And raise up in their
> midst a messenger from among them who shall recite unto them Thy
> revelations, and shall instruct them in the Scripture and in wisdom
> and shall make them grow. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Mighty, Wise.
> (Koran ii.127-9) When the Ka'bah was completed, Allah commanded
> Abraham to call mankind to pilgrimage to His Holy House. Abraham
> wondered how anyone could hear his call. Allah said, 'You call and I
> will bring them.' This was how the pilgrimage to the Ka'bah in Mecca
> was established and when Muslims make the pilgrimage today they
> continue to answer the age-old call of Abraham.
> The Children Of Ishmael
> Over the years Ishmael's children themselves had children. His
> descendants increased and formed tribes which spread out all over
> Arabia. One of these tribes was called Quraysh. Its people never moved
> away from Mecca and always lived near the Ka'bah. One of the duties of
> the leader of Quraysh was to look after those who came on pilgrimage
> to the Ka'bah. The pilgrims would come from all over Arabia and it was
> a great honor to provide them with food and water.
>
> As time passed, however, the Arabs stopped worshipping Allah directly
> and started bringing idols back with them from the different countries
> they visited. These idols were placed at the Ka'bah, which was no
> longer regarded as the Sanctuary of Allah, as Abraham had intended it.
> It was, however, still respected by the Arabs. Around this time the
> well of Zamzam disappeared beneath the sand
>
> Also at this time, Qusayy, one of the leaders of Quraysh, became ruler
> over Mecca. He held the keys of the temple and had the right to give
> water to the pilgrims, to feed them, to take charge of meetings, and
> to hand out war banners before battle. It was also in his house that
> Quraysh settled their affairs. After Qusayy's death, his son 'Abdu
> Manaf, who had become famous during his father's lifetime, took over
> the leadership of Quraysh. After him came his son Hashim. It is said
> that Hashim was the first to begin the two great caravan journeys of
> Quraysh, one in the summer to Syria and the north, and one in the
> winter to Yemen and the south. As a result, Mecca grew rich and became
> a large and important centre of trade.
>
> One summer Hashim went north to buy goods to sell in Yemen. On his way
> he stopped in Yathrib to trade in the market and there he saw a
> beautiful woman. She was Salma', the daughter of 'Amr ibn Zeid, who
> was from a much respected family.
> Hashim proposed marriage to her and was accepted because he was an
> honorable and distinguished man.
> In time, Salma' gave birth to a beautiful son and as some of his hair
> was white they called him Shaybah, which in Arabic means grey-
> haired'.
>
> Mother and son stayed in the cooler, healthier climate of Yathrib,
> while Hashim returned to Mecca, but he would visit them each time he
> took his caravan to the north. During one of these journeys, however,
> Hashim became ill and died. Shaybah, a handsome, intelligent boy, grew
> up in his uncle's house in Yathrib. He was proud of being the son of
> Hashim ibn 'Abdi Manaf, the head of Quraysh, guardian of the Ka'bah
> and protector of the pilgrims, even though he had not known his
> father, who had died while Shaybah was very young.
> At Hashim's death his brother al-Muttalib took over his duties and
> responsibilities. He traveled to Yathrib to see his nephew, Shaybah,
> and decided that as the boy would one day inherit his father's place,
>

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