Hāshim’s given name was ‘Amr. He was called Hāshim because he was the first to crumble bread into broth for his people. Qusayy’s given name was Yazīd. He was called Qusayy because he went far away with his mother to his maternal uncles and settled among them in their desert home, far from Mecca. He was also called Mujammi‘ (the Gatherer), because, upon returning to Mecca from his maternal uncles, he gathered the clans of Quraysh there. ‘Abd Manāf’s given name was al-Mughīrah, and his kunyah was Abū ‘Abd Shams. There is disagreement concerning ‘Abd al-Muttalib: some say that his name was indeed ‘Abd al-Muttalib, while others say it was Shaybah. He was called Shaybat al-Hamd because of a grey hair in his locks. Those who hold the latter view say that he was called ‘Abd al-Muttalib because, when his father Hāshim was near death, he said to his brother al-Muttalib, who was in Mecca: “Go to ‘Abd al-Muttalib in Yathrib.” Thus he came to be called ‘Abd al-Muttalib. Allah knows best.

Section
The Lineage of the Prophet’s Mother, Peace Be upon Him, and the Time of His Birth

The mother of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was Āminah bint Wahb ibn ‘Abd Manāf ibn Zuhrah ibn Kilāb. ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib married her when he was thirty years old, or, according to another account, twenty-five. His father, ‘Abd al-Muttalib, took him to Wahb ibn ‘Abd Manāf, who gave him his daughter in marriage. Another account states that Āminah was under the guardianship of her uncle Wuhayb ibn ‘Abd Manāf. ‘Abd al-Muttalib asked Wuhayb for the hand of his daughter Hālah for himself, and for the hand of his niece Āminah for his son ‘Abd Allāh. Wuhayb married both father and son to them in the same gathering. Hālah bore Hamzah to ‘Abd al-Muttalib, and Āminah bore the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ‘Abd Allāh.

She conceived him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the ravine of Abū Tālib, near the Middle Jamrah, and gave birth to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in Mecca, in the house known as belonging to Hamd ibn Yūsuf, the brother of al-Hajjāj. This was in the Year of the Elephant, when the Abyssinians brought the elephant to Mecca with their army to attack the House. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, turned them away from it and sent flocks of birds against them, which destroyed them. There is no disagreement about this. It is said that he was born on a Monday, twelve nights into the month of