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His family

Al-Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib

العباس

Uncle · keeper of the pilgrims' water

  • Died c. 32 AH (c. 653 CE)

At a glance

His family
Dates
Died c. 32 AH (c. 653 CE)
Who
Uncle of the Prophet ﷺ and ancestor of the Abbasid caliphs
Stages
The Pledges of Aqabah, and Treaty & Victory

ProfileAl-Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib

Al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was another uncle of the Prophet ﷺ and a leading man of Makkah. He held the honour of providing water to the pilgrims at the Kaaba, which in those days meant caring for the Zamzam well and serving the crowds who came for Hajj.

Accounts say he accompanied his nephew to the Second Pledge of Aqabah before he had himself become Muslim, to be sure that the men of Madinah understood what they were taking on. He marched with Quraysh at Badr, was taken captive and was ransomed. Accounts differ on exactly when he accepted Islam, and he is known to have met the Prophet ﷺ on the road shortly before the conquest of Makkah.

At Hunayn in 8 AH, when many fighters scattered under the first volley of arrows, Al-Abbas stayed beside the Prophet ﷺ and called the Muslims back.

In the drought of Umar's caliphate, Umar asked Al-Abbas to lead the prayer for rain, because of his closeness to the Prophet ﷺ. His descendants later founded the Abbasid caliphate in 750 CE.

Meet them inWhere they appear in the seerah

SourcesSources for this profile

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