When he was digging Zamzam he made a vow: “If ten sons are born to me and grow up strong enough to defend me, I will sacrifice one of them to Allah at the Kaʿbah.” Once his sons had reached ten—and he was sure they could protect him—they were: al-Ḥārith, al-Zubayr, Ḥajl, Ḍirār, al-Muqarram, Abū Lahab, al-ʿAbbās, Ḥamzah, Abū Ṭālib, and ʿAbd Allāh. He gathered them, informed them of his vow, and urged them to fulfil it for the sake of Allah. They agreed and asked, “What shall we do?”
He said, “Let each of you take an arrow-shaft, write his name on it, and bring it to me.” When they had done so, he took them into the Kaʿbah to Hubal. Inside stood the well into which the offerings made to the Kaʿbah were placed, and beside Hubal were seven arrows—the divining lots by which they sought decisions. Whenever a matter of blood-money, lineage, or any other serious issue perplexed them, they would cast those arrows; whatever command or prohibition they received, they carried out without hesitation.
So when ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib cast the lots before Hubal, the arrow fell upon his son ʿAbd Allāh, the youngest and dearest of his children. He took ʿAbd Allāh by the hand, picked up the knife, and led him to the idols Isāf and Nāʾilah to slaughter him. Quraysh rose from their assembly-places and said, “What are you doing, O ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib?” He replied, “I will slaughter him.” Quraysh and the brothers of ʿAbd Allāh protested: “By Allah, you will never slaughter him until you have sought every excuse. If you do this, every man will come with his son and slaughter him—how would people survive after that?”
Yūnus ibn Bukayr, citing Ibn Isḥāq, reports that it was al-ʿAbbās who pulled ʿAbd Allāh out from beneath his father’s leg when he had placed it on him to carry out the sacrifice; it is said that he struck ʿAbd Allāh’s face, leaving a scar that remained until his death.
Quraysh then advised ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib to go to the Ḥijāz, for there was a soothsayer there who was attended by a familiar spirit; he could ask her about the matter. “After that,” they said, “you will be free to act: if she orders you to sacrifice him, then do so; but if she gives you an alternative that spares you both, accept it.” They set out until they reached Madinah and found the soothsayer—she was Sajāḥ, according to Yūnus ibn Bukayr from Ibn Isḥāq—at Khaybar. They rode on to her, put their question, and ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib told her his story and that of his son.
She said, “Leave me today until my familiar spirit comes and I can question him.” They left. When they were outside, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib stood imploring Allah in supplication. The next morning they returned, and she said, “My information has arrived. What is the amount of blood-money among you?” They answered, “Ten camels”—which was indeed the case. She said, “Go back to your land, then present the person in question together with ten camels and cast the lots over him and them. If the lot falls upon him….”