سيدنا محمد

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, the time had come for him to live in
Mecca. It was hard for Salma', Shaybah's mother, to let her
son go with his uncle but she finally realized that it was for
the best. Al-Muttalib returned to Mecca, entering the city at
noon on his camel with Shaybah behind him. When the people
of Mecca saw the boy they thought he was a slave and,
pointing at him, called out ‘Abd al-Muttalib', 'Abd' being the
Arabic for 'slave'.
Al-Muttalib told them that Shaybah was not a slave but his
nephew who had come to live with them. From that day on,
however, Shaybah was always affectionately called Abd al-
Muttalib. On the death of al-Muttalib, who died in Yemen
where he had gone to trade, 'Abd al-Muttalib took his place.
He became the most respected member of his family, loved
and admired by all. He was, however, unlike those Arabs who
had given up the teachings of Abraham.