647 – Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: “Al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for permission to spend the nights of Mina in Mecca on account of his responsibility for the water-service, and the Prophet granted him permission.” Agreed upon. ⦗1⦘

Vocabulary of the ḥadīth:
• “His water-service (siqāyah)”: the occupation of supplying water. The pilgrims’ water-service meant giving them water—often with raisins steeped in it—and it was one of Quraysh’s honored traditions, administered by Banū ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. During the Prophetic era, Al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib was in charge of it, offering the pilgrims water from Zamzam in which raisins were infused. Historians mention that the distance between the place of the water-service and the Black Stone was only eight cubits when measured with the iron cubit.