After some time, Hāshim passed away during travel. At the time of his death, he had 4 sons: Abū Ṣaifī, Asad, Faḍlah and Shaibah. Since all of them were young of age and due to the fact that Shaibah was in Madīnah, Hāshim’s elder brother Muṭṭalib took over his place after his death. In other words, the responsibilities of Siqāyah and Rifādah were entrusted to Muṭṭalib. When Muṭṭalib was informed of his nephew Shaibah bin Hāshim’s intelligence and ingenuity, he immediately set out to Madīnah and brought Shaibah with him. When uncle and nephew both entered Makkah, the people thought that perhaps Muṭṭalib had brought a slave boy with him. For this reason, Shaibah became renowned as ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib, meaning, ‘the slave of Muṭṭalib’.1 This is the same ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib who was the grandfather of the Holy Prophetsa and in whose care the Prophetsa spent the first eight years of his life.
1 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, p. 114, Ḥilful-Fuḍūl, Mīlādu ‘Abdil-Muṭṭalib wa Sababu Tasmiyyatihī kadhālik, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)