From the little information available about 'Abeel
himself, it is nearly impossible to create a clear picture of him.
It is understood from chronicles the possibility of two ancestral
lines deriving from Nuh (upon him be peace). One is that he is of
the fourth generation from Nuh (the narrative account of Al-Tabari),
or from the sixth generation (the narrative accounts of Al-Sihili
and Ibn Khaldoon). He lived in Baabel with his people (descended)
from (the other sons of) Nuh. It is mentioned that they multiplied
in their wanderings (calling themselves 'Amoobaal [derived from
'Abeel]). His first son was Muqa'an (Qahtaan). From historic
chronicles it is said that the people of Baabel became highly
sophisticated in agriculture, after the death of Nuh (upon him be
peace). Some of his progeny became the leaders of the city. When the
branch of the people of Nuh called 'Abeel left Baabel, under the
leadership of Yathrib bin Qaaina', they walked a great distance
(twenty days) until they arrived at a site (eventually called
Madinah) which was densely treed and concluded that the area would
be fertile for agriculture and raising livestock.
They brought their agrarian civilisation with them,
calling the area Yathrib, after their leader. Al-Samhoodi mentions
this in his book "Wifaa' Al-Wifaa", with poetic verses that lament
Al-'Abeel from which we can deduce vestiges of agriculture and
pastoral activities that predated them at the time. He said in his
verse:
"Look at what 'Abeel has in abundance and can he
return
(to his people) from its exceedingly white
streams,
They dwell in Yathrib and not to it borders
and no people and no camels,
They sow trees by the watercourse of the spring
then the trees surround them tall and graceful."
We are not certain of the authenticity of the
stanzas and expect that it was an ascription of the narrators.
Indeed the picture it describes of Al-'Abeel is in harmony with what
the historians indicate about the people of Baabel and their
agricultural and pastoral activities.
The toil of Al-'Abeel was in animal husbandry and
its proliferation, along with the cultivation of date palm trees
near the springs for irrigation, which were in the district. The
advantages of the concentration of the trees are widespread and it
is well-known that they were prevalent in land of the Hijaaz, as its
springs are abundant. It is possible that our view of the life of
the 'Abeel in Yathrib, at that time, is only approximate.
It is possible to imagine or approximate what life
in Yathrib was like, at that time. Family groups lived in a small
village that had many trees and water. They raised domestic animals
such as camels, horses, sheep and goats, as well as cultivating date
palms, vegetables, fruit and some other crops. The production of the
land was good and they enjoyed abundant yields. They lived
semi-isolated, for the outside world was far from them and virtually
unknown. Blackened volcanic mountains, hills and lava fields
protected the area. There were few level passages or tracks into the
area, and those were possibly guarded or fortified.
What has been established is that the 'Abeel tribe
was present, from old written texts that mention the name 'Amoobaal
in some books of the Torah that mention that he was the son of the
sons of Yaqtaan. Similarly, these books refer to the historian
Buleetoos, who mentions the name of the location, for he said,
(Abaaleetis) �Oh
Al-'Abeeliyeen�.
