In the year 430 CE, Hashim embarked on one of his trips to the Levant, and on his way he stayed with the Banu al-Najjar family of the Khazraj tribe residing in Yathrib, later know as Madinah.ĭuring Hashim’s stay at the Banu al-Najjar household, he took a liking to Salma. The story told in most Islamic history books is that Hashim (his real and lesser known name being Amr) ibn Abd Manaf, the grandfather of the Prophet, was a skilled merchant who traveled frequently. So far, it does not seem strange, since the Prophet had formed close relations with most of the people of Madinah, so why is it that we consider his relationship with the Banu al-Najjar family in particular an unusual one? The beginning: Ibn Abd al-Muttalib marries a Najjar from Yathrib The secret behind this is wrapped in stories and legends surrounding the Prophet’s lineage, specifically the history of his grandmother “Salma”

A strong relationship formed between the Prophet and Banu al-Najjar.

Not only that, some Islamic history books have even described the al-Najjar family as “uncles of the Prophet” quite a number of times. According to Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet said to the people one day: “The best of the Ansar families are those of Banu al-Najjar.” That is why the Prophet honored them as soon as he entered Yathrib (Madinah). The Prophet bought the land from them and established a mosque on it.Ī strong relationship had formed between the Prophet and Banu al-Najjar before his arrival in Medina. This line in particular comes from the story of the Prophet’s camel, which was said to have blessed a plot of land (the location where the she-camel first rested when they arrived in Madinah) owned by two orphan boys from the Banu al-Najjar family. As soon as the Prophet walked through the city gates, its elders hurried to welcome him and offer their homes for him to stay in, but he told them: “I will stay with Banu al-Najjar, the maternal uncles of Abd al-Muttalib, out of respect.”

Muhammad the world changer