Hamza ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib (In Arabic:
حمزة إبن عبد المطلب) [b.568-d.625] was the paternal uncle of the
Islamic prophetMuslims identify the Prophets of Islam as those humans chosen by God and given revelation to deliver to mankind. Muslims believe that every prophet was given a belief to worship God and their respective followers believed it as well...
MuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, and his foster-brother. He and Muhammad were raised together as they were almost the same age. With excellence in the arts of wrestling and swordsmanship. Hadrat Hamza used his talents and experience to its best in the cause of Islam and earned the title of "Chief of the Martyrs" from Muhammad. Hamza was very fond of wrestling and hunting. He took great interest in swordsmanship and archery."
About his age
Hamza was only two years older than Muhammad. Islamic history informs us that Hamza was older than Muhammad. In his biography of Muhammad
Uyun al-Athar, Ibn Sayyid al-Nas wrote, "Zubayr narrated that Hamza was four years older than the Prophet. But this does not seem correct to me, because reliable hadith state that Thaybiya nursed both Hamza and the Prophet." Ibn Sayyid concluded that Hamza was two years older than Muhamad, rather than four years as Zubayr claimed. He finished by saying, as they always say about matters that are in doubt, "Only God knows." In his book
Finding the Truth in Judging the Companions, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani writes that Hamza was born two to four years before Muhammad. Ibn Sad says in
The Book of the Major Classes that Hamza was killed at the
Battle of UhudThe Battle of Uhud was fought on March 19, 625 at the valley located in front of Mount Uhud, in what is now northwestern Arabia. It occurred between a force from the Muslim community of Medina led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a force led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb from Mecca, the town from...
when he was 59 years old. Ibn Sad adds that Hamza was four years older than Muhammad, and he was killed when Washi Ibn al-Harb pierced his stomach on 19 March 625.
Lineage and titles
Hamza was the son of Abdul Mutallib (Shaiba ibn Hashim), the grandson of
Hashim ibn Abd ManafHashim ibn 'Abd Manaf was the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the progenitor of the Banu Hashim clan of the distinguished Quraish tribe in Mecca....
and the great-grandson of
Abd Manaf ibn Qusai‘Abdu Manāf ibn Quṣayy was a Quraishi and great-great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and Ali. His father was Quṣayy ibn Kilāb.-Biography:...
from the tribe of Quraysh., حَمْزَةُ بنُ عَبْدِ المُطَّلِبِ بنِ هَاشِمِ بنِ عَبْدِ مَنَافٍ القُرَشِيُّ
Hamza was known as the
Lion of God (Arabic
أسد الله) and the
Lion of Paradise (Arabic:
أسد الجنة) for his bravery. Among his titles are: Abu Umara ("أَبُو عُمَارَةَ"), and Abu Ya'la ("أَبُو يَعْلَى").
Pre-Islamic adventures
The
HamzanamaThe Hamzanama or Dastan-e-Amir Hamza narrates the legendary exploits of Amir Hamza, the uncle of the prophet of Islam, though most of the story is extremely fanciful, "a continuous series of romantic interludes, threatening events, narrow escapes, and violent acts"...
claims that Hamza arrived in
BengalBengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
,
CacharCachar is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India.-Etymology:The name "Cachar" has derived from the words 'kacha' & 'har'.The district headquarters are located at Silchar...
,
ManipurManipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
(northeast
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) and Maungdaw-Arakan region of Burma (Myanmar) in 590-612 before going back to
ArabiaThe Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
. He ruled in
Arakan-MaungdawRakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...
for some period with great justice. He also ventured to
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
The historical accuracy of these stories and whether or not Hamza ever actually visited the Indian Subcontinent are in doubt. According to the Mughal emperor
BaburBabur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
, the Hamzanama is "one long far-fetched lie; opposed to sense and nature".
Title of Sahib-i-Quran
Sahib-i-Quran is also often used as a title for Hamza in the Persian and Urdu versions of the Hamzanama (the tales of Hamza) but a stand alone Sahib-i-Quran would almost always refer to Timur.
Hamza's conversion to Islam
Hamza converted to Islam due after some actions of
Amr ibn Hishām‘Amr ibn Hishām , better known as Abu al-Hakam, was one of the Meccan pagan Quraysh leaders, known for his hostility against and persecution of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the early Muslims in Mecca....
, (also known as
Abū Jahl أبو جهل) known for his hostility against the
MuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s. Hamza, Muhammad's uncle, had returned to the city of
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
after a hunting trip in the desert. Upon returning, he soon learned that Abu Jahl (an avowed enemy of Islam) had heaped abuse and insults upon Muhammad, who had not responded and walked away from where he had sat in the
HaramThe Arabic term has a meaning of "sanctuary" or "holy site" in Islam.-Etymology:The Arabic language has two separate words, and , both derived from the same triliteral Semitic root . Both of these words can mean "forbidden" and/or "sacred" in a general way, but each has also developed some...
. Outraged, Hamza dashed to the
KaabaThe Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
, where Abu Jahl sat with other leaders of Mecca, and began to beat him with his bow while shouting "Are you going to insult him now, now that I am of his religion and vouch for what he vouches for? Hit me if you can!" As the companions of Abu Jahl approached Hamza in an attempt to assault him, Abu Jahl feebily cried out from the ground "Leave Abu Umarah, for indeed I insulted his nephew deeply." And he cowered at the feet of Hamza, while his friends could not meet Hamza's eyes. As he departed, he kicked sand back at the men, leaving all shocked at what Hamza had just said, none more so than Hamza himself. After that incident, Hamza declared Islam, and made a covenant to help Muhammad and to die in the cause of Islam.
Marriage
The biography of Muhammad written by al-Halabi, as well as
The Comprehensive Compilation of the Names of the Prophet's Companions by Ibn Abd al-Barr, both say that Muhammad’s mother Amina lived in the house of her uncle Wahib. Abd al-Mutallib went with his son Abdallah to seek the hand of Wahib’s niece Amina. While there, Abd al-Mutallib was attracted to a daughter of Wahib named Hala and asked for her hand as well. Wahib agreed, and Muhammad’s father Abdallah and his grandfather Abd al-Mutallib were both married on the same day in a double marriage ceremony.
Early life and family
Hamza, the son of Abd al-Muttalib, was the younger brother of Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib, Muhammad's father. He had also been weaned by the same woman, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, as Muhammad, making Hamza Muhammad's foster brother as well. The two, Hamza and Muhammad, had grown up together, being just two or three years apart in age. But as the boys had become young men, they developed different attitudes to problems of society, Hamza was not such a contemplative thinker and was comfortable in his status of being part of the Meccan elite, though their relationship remained as strong as ever. So it was a conflicted Hamza that witnessed the escalating situation in the city as Muhammad declared the message of Islam. On the one hand, he had absolute faith in the character of his foster brother and nephew, being one of those who had been closest to him for all of his life. Yet some of his most honored values were the respect he held for his family and the traditions they had always followed, his
pagan religionArabian mythology comprises the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs. Prior to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods, or simply tribal gods and other assorted deities which represented the polytheistic culture of pre-Islamic Arabia...
among these. So he was indifferent to the controversy, discouraging his peers from worrying about what they saw as a revolution in their midst and not bothering to join them in torturing the defenseless Muslims, while declining Muhammad's invitation to Islam. Hamza ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib married to Salma bint Umays who is the Half-sister of Maymuna bint al-Harith (Wife of Prophet Mohammed SAW)
Mecca and Hijrah
The conversion to Islam of Hamza, gave the Muslims much greater strength and
moral supportMoral support is a way of giving support to a person or cause, or to one side in a conflict, without making any contribution beyond the emotional or psychological value of the encouragement....
. They were now able to speak and pray in public. Hamza had been a one of the most renowned warriors of the Quraysh, known for his solitary hunting expeditions in the desert and his prowess on the battlefield, and was known as the "Lion of the God". He became a staunch supporter of Muhammad, enduring the ostracization of the Muslims, and helped him get through the
Year of SorrowThe Year of Sorrow is an Islamic term for a Hijri year that coincided with 619 or 623 CE. It is called so since both Abu Talib and Khadijah—the Islamic prophet Muhammad's uncle and first wife, respectively—died that year....
, when many of his close relatives died. And he became a trusted adviser after the
HijraThe Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
, when Muhammad led the fledgling Muslim state in
MedinaMedina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
. Hamza advised Muhammad to go on the offensive against those who had driven the Muslims from their homes and seized their property, which Muhammad decided to do by seizing a Quraysh caravan from Mecca at the wells of
BadrBadr is a town in Al Medina Province, western of Saudi Arabia. It is located at around about from the Islamic holy city of Medina....
.
Death at Battle of Uhud
On 19 March 625 (3
ShawwalShawwāl is the tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Shawwāl means to ‘lift or carry’; so named because she-camels normally would be carrying a fetus at this time of year.-Fasting during Shawwāl:...
3
hijriThe Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
) Hamza was fighting alongside the Muslims in the
Battle of UhudThe Battle of Uhud was fought on March 19, 625 at the valley located in front of Mount Uhud, in what is now northwestern Arabia. It occurred between a force from the Muslim community of Medina led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a force led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb from Mecca, the town from...
. He was standing in front of Muhammad, fighting with two swords, and shouting "I am
Allah'sIn Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...
lion". The Abyssinian slave Wahshi was there near the mountain of Uhud where the battle was fought. His master,
Jubayr ibn Mut'imJubayr ibn Mut‘im was one of the Meccan enemies of the Islamic prophet Muhammad whom later became a Sahaba.-Aisha:In , Abu Bakr had initially engaged his daughter Aisha to Jubayr ibn Mut'im, but when Jubayr's father Mut`im ibn `Uday was informed that Abu Bakr had adopted Islam and rejected...
had promised him freedom if he killed Hamza. Wahshi, who was skilled in using the
JavelinA Javelin is a light spear intended for throwing. It is commonly known from the modern athletic discipline, the Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:-Aviation:* ATG Javelin, an American-Israeli civil jet aircraft, under development...
, threw it into Hamza's abdomen and killed him. He (Wahshi) soon left the battle as he had no other reason to fight.
Books
Stories of his life are collected in the
HamzanamaThe Hamzanama or Dastan-e-Amir Hamza narrates the legendary exploits of Amir Hamza, the uncle of the prophet of Islam, though most of the story is extremely fanciful, "a continuous series of romantic interludes, threatening events, narrow escapes, and violent acts"...
(
Dastan-e Amir Hamza). Hamza is the protagonist of a
dastan-goi "narrative tales" from Islamic South Asia, where he is portrayed as a larger-than-life hero who fights demons, trades witty remarks with Emperors and fights great wars. It resembles both the
ShahnamehThe Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
and the
RamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
in form. A recent translation of Navab Mirza Aman Ali Khan Bahadur Ghalib Lakhnavi's
Dastan-e Amir Hamza is available in English. The most famous book of poetry on Hamza is
Daastan Amir Hamza (Story of Hamza) by
Maulvi Ghulam RasoolMaulvi Ghulam Rasool was a famous Sufi poet of Punjab, and the author of Yousaf Zulekha....
, a
SufiSufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
of Alampur.