Death of Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib

Shortly after his marriage to Aminah bint Wahb, Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib departed on a trade caravan to Syria or Palestine, following the merchant traditions of the Hashim clan. During the journey, he fell ill and stopped in Yathrib (later Medina) with maternal relatives of his father Abd al-Muttalib from the Banu Najjar clan, intending to recover before continuing. He never recovered. Abdullah died in Yathrib around 570 CE at approximately 24-25 years old, leaving behind his pregnant wife Aminah in Mecca awaiting his return. His modest estate—five camels, a small flock of sheep and goats, one Ethiopian slave woman (Umm Ayman/Baraka), and a small dwelling—would pass to his unborn son Muhammad, who would be born fatherless into orphanhood. Abdullah was buried in Yathrib in an unmarked grave that his son would later pass as Prophet when he arrived in Medina during the Hijra. His death before his son’s birth meant Muhammad would never know his father, profoundly shaping the future prophet’s identification with orphans, widows, and the marginalized—experiences that would inform the Quran’s extensive protections for vulnerable populations.