Page:The Mohammedan system of theology (IA mohammedansyste00neal).pdf/42

 name was Abdallah, and his mother was Amena, respectably connected, and allied to the tribe of Koreish, and the family of Hashem, the hereditary guardians of the Caaba, or temple at Mecca; whither devotees repaired, from high antiquity, to worship their Pagan deities. Early deprived of his father, whilst only in his second year, the care of himself and mother devolved upon his grand-father Abdal-Motalleb: the hand of death again severed the natural tie and rendered him an orphan: his grand-father also sunk under the weight of years, and transferred him to the care of his uncle Abu-Taleb, so that no very flattering prognostications could have been formed of his future celebrity. Abu-Taleb seems to have discharged his duty well, and designed him for commerce, a mode of lite held in high estimation among the Arabs, because that part of Arabia enjoyed no agricultural advantages, and the inter-