أَوْ يُصْبِحَ مَآؤُهَا غَوْرًا فَلَن تَسْتَطِيعَ لَهُۥ طَلَبًا ٤١
Or its water will become sunken [into the earth], so you would never be able to seek it."
عَبْد الْمُطَّلِب
Boy Arabic origin ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib
Family of the Prophet ﷺ“The servant of al-Muttalib”: the by-name of the Prophet’s grandfather ﷺ
ʿAbd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim, a notable of Mecca in charge of giving water to the pilgrims, took in the Prophet ﷺ when his mother Amina died and passed away when the child was eight. His sons include ʿAbd Allah, the Prophet’s father ﷺ, Abu Talib, Hamza and al-ʿAbbas. At Hunayn the Prophet ﷺ cried out: “I am the Prophet, this is no lie; I am the son of ʿAbd al-Muttalib” (al-Bukhari 2864).
ʿAbd al-Muttalib means “the servant of al-Muttalib”. According to the biographers, the Prophet’s grandfather ﷺ was called Shayba; raised in Yathrib among his mother’s family, he was brought back to Mecca by his uncle al-Muttalib, and the Meccans, seeing him arrive with him, took him for his slave: the by-name stuck. Al-Muttalib, from the root ṭ-l-b, means “the one who seeks”. Ibn Hazm excepts it from the scholars’ agreement forbidding ʿAbd names followed by other than Allah (see the opinion below).
The name Abdul Muttalib does not appear as such in the Quran, but its root (ط ل ب) occurs 4 times. Examples:
أَوْ يُصْبِحَ مَآؤُهَا غَوْرًا فَلَن تَسْتَطِيعَ لَهُۥ طَلَبًا ٤١
Or its water will become sunken [into the earth], so you would never be able to seek it."
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ضُرِبَ مَثَلٌ فَٱسْتَمِعُوا۟ لَهُۥٓ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ لَن يَخْلُقُوا۟ ذُبَابًا وَلَوِ ٱجْتَمَعُوا۟ لَهُۥ وَإِن يَسْلُبْهُمُ ٱلذُّبَابُ شَيْـًٔا لَّا يَسْتَنقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ضَعُفَ ٱلطَّالِبُ وَٱلْمَطْلُوبُ ٧٣
O people, an example is presented, so listen to it. Indeed, those you invoke besides Allāh will never create [as much as] a fly, even if they gathered together for it [i.e., that purpose]. And if the fly should steal from them a [tiny] thing, they could not recover it from him. Weak are the pursuer and pursued.
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ يُغْشِى ٱلَّيْلَ ٱلنَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُۥ حَثِيثًا وَٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ وَٱلنُّجُومَ مُسَخَّرَٰتٍۭ بِأَمْرِهِۦٓ أَلَا لَهُ ٱلْخَلْقُ وَٱلْأَمْرُ تَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ٥٤
Indeed, your Lord is Allāh, who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne. He covers the night with the day, [another night] chasing it rapidly; and [He created] the sun, the moon, and the stars, subjected by His command. Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allāh, Lord of the worlds.
All the words of the root ط ل ب in the Quran (4 occurrences)
لَمْ يَفِرَّ، إِنَّ هَوَازِنَ كَانُوا قَوْمًا رُمَاةً، وَإِنَّا لَمَّا لَقِينَاهُمْ حَمَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فَانْهَزَمُوا، فَأَقْبَلَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ عَلَى الْغَنَائِمِ وَاسْتَقْبَلُونَا بِالسِّهَامِ، فَأَمَّا رَسُولُ…
مَا وَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَلَكِنَّهُ خَرَجَ شُبَّانُ أَصْحَابِهِ وَأَخِفَّاؤُهُمْ حُسَّرًا لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِمْ سِلاَحٌ أَوْ كَثِيرُ سِلاَحٍ فَلَقُوا قَوْمًا رُمَاةً لاَ يَكَادُ يَسْقُطُ لَهُمْ سَهْمٌ…
Ibn Hazm reports the scholars’ agreement that any name making a man the servant of other than Allah is forbidden, such as ʿAbd al-ʿUzza, ʿAbd Hubal, ʿAbd ʿAmr or ʿAbd al-Kaʿba, “except ʿAbd al-Muttalib”.
Read the rules for choosing a name
This page is an aid to reflection, not a fatwa. For a personal case, ask a person of knowledge.