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Abd al Muttalib was the guardian of the temple of Ka’aba and from it he had a good income. But as his family consisted of a large number of people, he often found it difficult to meet all of their needs. As a result, tension prevailed, most of the time, among his family members, even though they always put up a smiling face while being outside their home.
Muhammad’s inclusion in Muttalib’s family did not help the situation; rather, it brought about an additional load. All members of the family wanted him gone but as he was under his grandfather’s protection, none dared ask him to leave. Unable to get rid of him, they began to hate him. They missed no opportunity either to harass him or to deprive him of food. They might not have inflicted bodily injuries, but they almost certainly harmed him emotionally and psychologically.
When he suffered in his grandfather’s home, none of its female members ever tried either to rescue him from their harassment or to console him afterwards. Their attitude brought to his mind his mother’s memory. He longed to be with her; wanted to be loved and hugged by her. Despite his moaning and cries, he did not find the comfort of his mother’s bosom, for she had gone back to where she belonged, after abandoning him in the midst of those strange people. He started developing in him hatred towards his mother.
About three years after Muhammad joined his family, Abd al Motallib found his end approaching. He, therefore, handed him over to his eldest son, Abu Taleb, in whose household he lived several years.
THE CITY OF MECCA
The little town of Mecca, situated near the Red Sea coast of Arabia, had acquired great importance by the sixth century for two different reasons: It became an important center of idol worshipping, to which many of the nomadic tribes of Arabia made pilgrimages on a regular basis. In addition to its religious prestige, however, Mecca also became an active center for commerce, from where caravans departed to various destinations on their trading missions.
Mecca was then a tiny township and most of its inhabitants belonged to the Quraish tribe whose number could not have exceeded a few thousands. It was, and it still remains, an arid and inhospitable land incapable of producing anything to support the lives of its inhabitants. Its pathways were dusty, with no civic facility worth its name existing therein. Its inhabitants knew nothing about personal health or hygiene. Dwelling in tiny roofless homes built of clay, they survived in extreme poverty, which forced many of them to use goat and sheep skin to cover their bodies. No school of any kind existed in Mecca. In contrast to the Meccans, the Jews of Madina are believed to have run their own schools in which they instructed their children, primarily, in the matters of their religious disciplines.