Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Accompanied by a few leaders of Quraish, ‘Abdul Muttalib set out to meet Abrahah. Upon reaching, he sent a message to Abrahah informing him of his arrival. When ‘Abdul Muttalib arrived, Abrahah gave him a grand welcome.
Allah Ta’ala had blessed ‘Abdul Muttalib with unparalleled handsomeness, remarkable eminence, imposing awe, remarkable dignity and arresting majesty that left all who came into contact with him awestruck. Hence, Abrahah was also overwhelmed and awestruck by the personality of ‘Abdul Muttalib. He thus welcomed ‘Abdul Muttalib with absolute respect and honour. Abrahah found it inappropriate to seat anyone on or in line with his throne. So instead, he descended from the throne out of respect for ‘Abdul Muttalib and sat with him on the ground.
During the course of their conversation, ‘Abdul Muttalib requested Abrahah to release all his camels which Abrahah’s army had taken. Surprised by this request, Abrahah exclaimed, “It is quite strange to hear you requesting for your camels, but I see that you have not mentioned a word about the Ka‘bah, which has great importance in your Deen and the Deen of your forefathers.” ‘Abdul Muttalib calmly responded:
أنا رب الإبل وللبيت رب سيمنعه
“I am the owner of the camels. Therefore, I have come to ask for the release of my camels. The Ka‘bah also has an owner and He will protect and take care of it.”
Hearing these words, Abrahah remained silent. He thereafter ordered the release of all the camels. Taking delivery of his camels, ‘Abdul Muttalib returned to his people and asked them to immediately evacuate Makkah Mukarramah. He then pledged all two hundred camels as an offering to the Ka‘bah.
(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/47)
