Abdullah (RA) — Al-Tayyib and Al-Tahir

Introduction

Abdullah was a son of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and Khadijah (RA), born in Makkah after the revelation had begun. He is the one who was called al-Tayyib, meaning "the good," and al-Tahir, meaning "the pure."

Like his older brother Al-Qasim, he passed away as an infant. Yet his story is connected with one of the shortest and most comforting chapters of the Qur'an, revealed at a time when the Prophet ﷺ was being mocked in his grief.

A Son Born Under Persecution

Abdullah was born at a time when the Prophet ﷺ was calling the Quraysh to worship Allah alone, and the opposition to his message was growing. His birth was a joy in a household that was already facing pressure from the leaders of Makkah.

He did not live long. When he passed away, the Prophet ﷺ and Khadijah (RA) were once again left to bear the loss of a child, during years when the Muslims had few worldly comforts.

The Taunt of "Abtar"

According to reports in the sirah and tafsir literature, some of the Prophet's ﷺ opponents used the moment to attack him. The Arabs of that time saw sons as the carriers of a man's name, and so they mocked him as abtar, meaning "cut off," with no one to continue his legacy. The sources name different individuals among the Quraysh as the ones who said this.

It was a cruel thing to say to a grieving father, and it was meant to hurt him and to suggest that his mission would end with him. Allah did not leave His Messenger ﷺ to bear it alone.

Allah's Answer

Surah al-Kawthar is the shortest chapter of the Qur'an, with only three verses, yet it changed the way the moment was remembered. Allah tells His Prophet ﷺ that He has given him al-Kawthar, an abundance of goodness. Ibn Abbas (RA) explained that it is the great good that Allah gave him, and the Prophet ﷺ also described al-Kawthar as a river in Paradise granted to him by his Lord.

Allah then tells him what to do in gratitude: to pray to his Lord and to sacrifice. The response to the loss of a child and the mockery of enemies was not bitterness but worship and thankfulness.

And the last verse turns the taunt around. It is the one who mocks who is truly cut off from goodness and remembrance, while the name of the Prophet ﷺ is called out five times a day across the world and his message is carried by an ummah of hundreds of millions.

Lessons From the Life of Abdullah

May Allah be pleased with Abdullah, al-Tayyib and al-Tahir, make us grateful in times of ease and steadfast in times of hardship, and gather us with the Prophet ﷺ in Paradise. Ameen.