The First Child Born After Hijra
When the Muhajirun arrived in Medina, some among them feared a Jewish curse had rendered them sterile — no children had been born to the emigrants. Abdullah ibn Zubayr’s birth broke this fear. The Prophet was among the first to hold him, pressing a date into his mouth as the first thing to touch his palate (a practice of tahnik). The infant’s first taste was the Prophet’s saliva mixed with date: a tremendous blessing (baraka).
The Rebuilding of the Ka’ba
When Yazid’s forces besieged Mecca in 683 CE, a fire broke out (from catapults) that damaged the Ka’ba structure. After the siege ended with Yazid’s death, Abdullah ibn Zubayr undertook the complete reconstruction of the Ka’ba. He is reported to have consulted Aisha (his aunt), who told him the Prophet had said: “Were it not that your people had just left the time of disbelief… I would add to the Ka’ba from the Hijr [Ismail], give it two doors at ground level, one for entering and one for exiting, and build it on the foundations of Ibrahim.”
Abdullah rebuilt the Ka’ba on what he understood to be Ibrahim’s foundations — including the Hijr Ismail and adding a second door. After his death, Hajjaj demolished this version and rebuilt it in its current form on Qurayshi foundations.
The Siege and Martyrdom
When Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan consolidated Umayyad power, he sent Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi against Mecca. Hajjaj besieged the Masjid al-Haram — bombarding the Ka’ba itself with catapults, one of the most controversial military actions in Islamic history. After months, Abdullah’s support collapsed. Even his sons urged surrender. He reportedly said: “By Allah, if I were killed unjustly, I would prefer that to living under humiliation.” He went out to fight and was killed. His mother Asma bint Abi Bakr — over 100 years old — reportedly counseled him before his final battle: “Go out, my son, to what is honorable; do not submit to humiliation.”
See also: Seerah Umar Ibn Khattab, Seerah Ali, Karbala, Seerah Husayn Ibn Ali, Seerah Aisha, Masjid Al Nabawi