Hamza (may Allah be pleased with him) was a son of 'Abd al-Muttalib: the brother of the Prophet's ﷺ father.
His mother, Hâla bint Uhayb, was of the Banû Zuhra: a cousin of Âmina, the mother of the Prophet ﷺ.
So Hamza was kin to him twice: through his father, and through his mother.
People called him Abû 'Umâra. His full sister was Safiyya, the mother of az-Zubayr.
He was more than an uncle. The Prophet ﷺ called him “my brother through suckling”.
It is said the same woman nursed them both: Thuwayba. Two boys at one breast, then uncle and nephew.
The two were close in age. The biographers say Hamza was the elder by two years, or by four.
Years later, someone suggested the Prophet ﷺ marry Hamza's daughter. He said: “She is not lawful for me.”
“What kinship forbids, suckling forbids. She is the daughter of my brother through suckling.”
Hamza was a hunter. He went out of Mecca with his bow, after game.
On his way home he always circled the Ka'ba first, then stopped to greet every gathering of Quraysh he passed.
He was the strongest young man of Quraysh, and the most unbending.
Meanwhile his nephew ﷺ was calling Mecca to Allah alone. Hamza had not yet followed him.
On as-Safâ, the Prophet ﷺ once called Quraysh together. His uncle Abû Lahab answered: “May you perish.”
One uncle had cursed him in public. Another, Hamza, had not said a word yet.
Then came a day near as-Safâ. Abû Jahl passed the Prophet ﷺ, insulted him, and mocked his religion.
The Prophet ﷺ did not answer him. Abû Jahl then went to sit with a group of Quraysh by the Ka'ba.
A freedwoman of the house of 'Abdullâh ibn Jud'ân had heard everything from where she lived.
Hamza was not there. He was out hunting.
Among the uncles of the Prophet ﷺ, one was also his brother.
Who was Hamza, before the day that changed everything?
Before he believed, Hamza was already a man who greeted everyone and stood by his own.
Tonight, think of a relative who is not yet Muslim, and pray for them sincerely, by name.