Another day came. It was not less important than that day of the revelation of the mission.
When the Quranic verse of the Warning (And warn your nearest relations ... Quran, 26:214) was reveled to the Prophet believed in the mission, to invite the close relatives of Quraysh and to tell them about the purpose of this invitation but the crowed separated without any use.
The Prophet (s) tried again to gather them. And as soon as he finished his speech, his uncle Abu Talib said to him: "How much we like to assist you, to accept your relatives gathering and I am one of them but I am the first of them to do what you like. Follow what you are ordered of. By Allah, I will still be your guard and protector but my self doesn't obey me to give up the religion of Abdul Muttalib."
(1)
Abu Lahab
(2) objected to Abu Talib by saying: "By Allah, this is the evil! Prevent him (Muhammad) before he will spoil the others."
Abu Talib answered him: "By Allah, we will defend him as long as we are alive."
(3)
Then he turned to his nephew and said: "O my
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1 Al-Kamil by ibnul Atheer, vol.2 p.41.
2 He was one of the Prophet's uncles.
3 Al-Kamil by ibnul Atheer, vol.2 p.41, as-Seera al-Halabiyya, vol.1 p.321.
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master! Get up and say whatever you like. Inform of your God's mission. You are the most truthful, the most honest."
(1)
What a faith that overcame Abu Talib to make him rush from among more than forty persons, who were seized by ignorance and whose eyes were covered by a haze that they couldn't see the light shining from the mission of this new prophet.
It was Abu Talib, who offered his support, who accepted the advice and who believed what his nephew had said. Wouldn't this refer to the deep faith, the true submission and the reasonable obedience of him, who could distinguish between the truth and the falsehood?
If Abu Talib hadn't believe in the Prophet's mission, he would have adopted another situation like that of Abu Lahab and he wouldn't confute Abu Lahab so severely until he said to him: "Be silent, O you to say so ... !?
(2)
Weren't Abu Talib and Abu Lahab two brothers and both of them were uncles of the Prophet (s)? So why did each of them have a different situation?
This defended, assisted, encouraged the Prophet (s) and strived against the arrogants of Quraysh with a sharp tongue and that defamed the Prophet, prevented people from believing him, distributed his speech and mocked his mission.
Wasn't the faith-alone-that imposed upon Abu Talib his situation, which he had never deviated from? And wasn't the polytheism-alone-that imposed upon Abu Lahab his situation, which he had never given up?
After Abu Talib showed the arrogants of Quraysh that he had submitted to the mission of Muhammad (s), he
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1 Sheikhul Abtah p.22 and al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.355.
2 Biharul Anwar, vol.6 p.450, al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.355 and Sheikhul Abtah p.22.
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saw some eyes looking askance at him and trying to devour him grudgingly. He thought that he had to mystify his real situation to be free in working for the sake of the mission without being restrained by any one of those arrogants. This explained his saying: "... but my self doesn't obey me to give up the religion of Abdul Muttalib."
But what was the religion of Abdul Muttalib? It was the very religion of Abraham (s) was but a continuation of that religion and a completion of all those previous divine religions.
This was the way that Abu Talib decided to follow in order to confuse the arrogants of Quraysh about the truth of his real belief. He said to his nephew: "Get up o my master!" This word (my master) was a certain evidence that Abu Talib had believed in the mission of his nephew. My master was a word that Abu Talib addressed his nephew; the orphan, whom Abu Talib himself had brought up, whereas it was Muhammad (s), who had to say it to his uncle with his many years of old, but it was the prophecy that made Abu Talib say it! But Allah gave Muhammad (s) many excellences when He had chosen him for the mission that were above uncleship, oldness, bringing up and guarding.
All that Abu Talib had perceived when he said to his nephew: "Get up my master!" He was his master as long as he was the Prophet. He had to believe in his mission, to obey him and to submit to his orders. Then he added after saying: "... my master ... Say whatever you like and announce your mission. You are the most truthful and the most trustworthy."
As long as Abu Talib thought that Muhammad (s) was the most truthful one, so how would he deny his mission? But he noticed some eyes winking and some tongues backbiting with sarcasm and mockery until he heard
(106)
someone saying: "He ordered you to obey your son."
(1)
They meant Ali when the Prophet (s) had appointed him as his guardian.
But Abu Talib didn't pay any attention to what they said. In fact he answered them with a word that disappointed them and supplied his son Ali with a great power of encouragement: "Let him (Ali) alone. He would never fail to assist his cousin (Muhammad) ....
(2)
This was not the first word that Ali had heard from his father showing his contentment with his supporting his cousin; the master of the humanity. Abu Talib had seen Ali offering the prayer behind the Prophet (s) in the first moment of the mission in a secret place for fear of the polytheists. Then Ali answered his father: "O father! I have believed in Allah and His Apostle. I have believed in all what the Prophet has said. I have offered the prayer with him and followed him."
Abu Talib said to his son: "As long as he invites you for goodness, you are to keep to him."
(3)
What a fine word it was that showed a deep faith rooted in the heart of its sayer. The Prophet (s) would invite but to goodness and so every reasonable one had to keep to him. This was also another evidence showing the
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1 Refer to al-Kamil by ibnul Atheer, vol.2 p.41, at-Tabari's Tareekh, vol.2 p.63, Ghayatul Maram p.70, 78, 153, 164, 185, 320, 322, 613, al-Ghadeer, vol.2 p.279-283, vol.3 p.209, A'yan ash-Shia, vol.2 p.98-102, vol.39 p.164, the Thesis of aj-Jahidh p.31 and ad-Da'wa by the father the author of this book, vol.1 p.124, 241.
2 Al-Ghadeer, vol.2 p.58, al-Issaba, vol.4 p.216, as-Seera al-Hashamiyya, vol.1 p.264, As-Seera an-Nabawiyya, vol.1 p.176, as-Seera al-Halabiyya, vol.1 p.306, Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.3 p.305, Yanabee'ul Mawadda p.168 (vol.2 p.28), ar-Riyadh an-Nadhira, vol.2 p.159, Ghayatul Maram p.500, Abu Talib p.50, al-Abbas p.23, al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.356, ath-Tha'labi's Tafseer, Oyoonul Aathar, vol.1 p.94 and Assna al-Matalib p.10.
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faith of Abu Talib otherwise he wouldn't encourage his son to keep to the Prophet (s) with his mission. If it was not so, he would prevent his son from following Muhammad and to deny his mission and to direct his son to the right way according to his own thought. Abu Talib was certain that his nephew was inspired by the Heaven; therefore he encouraged his son to keep to him.
This was not the only line in the shining page of Abu Talib's history but there were many other bright lines.
It was mentioned that Imam Ali (s) had said: "My father said to me: O my son! Keep to your cousin for you will be safe from any immediate or later evil. Then he recited:
Ali and Ja'far are my trusts
whenever the time brings distresses and disasters.
O you both! Support your cousin and don't fail him.
|
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1 Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.3 p.314, al-Hujja ala ath-Thahib ila Eeman Abu Talib p.63, A'yan ash-Shia, vol.3 p.9, vol.39 p.144, Hashem and Umayya p.163.
2 Refer to As-Seera an-Nabawiyya, vol.1 p.1, as-Seera al-Halabiyya, vol.1 p.304, al-Issaba, vol.4 p.116, Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.3 p.272, Al-Hujja p.65, Biharul Anwar, vol.6 p.403, 444, 445, A'yan ash-Shia, vol.3 p.9, vol.16 p.10, 11, vol.39 p.139, Tafseer of Ali bin Ibraheem p.353, Abu Talib p.50, Hashem and Umayya p.163, al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.357, Ossdul Ghaba, vol.1 p.287, Assna al-Matalib p.6, al-Awayil by al-Assakari and the Thesis of aj-Jahidh p.49, 51.
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He is my blood-brother's son.
By Allah I won't fail the Prophet
Neither will any of my sons. (1)
|
It was a clear confession of Abu Talib when saying: "By Allah, I won't fail the Prophet." It was a great swear that Abu Talib had really been loyal to and had done his best to carry out. Neither he nor any of his sons tried to fail the Prophet (s) a moment throughout their lifetime. They supported him until the last moment of their lives.
Once again Abu Talib invited his brother Hamza (Abu Ya'la)
(2) to spread the religion of Allah and encouraged him to tolerate the distresses he would face in the way of this great task and asked him to assist his nephew, whom Allah had entrusted with this mission, with all power he had. He recited:
O Abu Ya'la! Be patient with the distresses you face
in revealing the mission of Ahmad. (3)
Strive to firm this religion!
Surely you will succeed with your hard attempt.
Follow him, who has been sent by Allah, sincerely and
determinedly
O Hamza, don't be unbeliever!
I as so happy when you say: I am a believer,
so be a supporter of the Prophet for the sake of Allah
Talk to Quraysh about what you believe in,
and say loudly to them: Ahmad has never been a
magician! (4)
|
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1 Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.3 p.272, 314, Al-Hujja p.65, Divan Abu Talib p.11, Sheikhul Abtah p.38, Eeman Abu Talib p.19, A'yan ash-Shia, vol.3 p.9, vol.16, p.11, vol.39 p.144, Mo'jamul Quboor, vol.1 p.196, 201, al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.356 and the Thesis of aj-Jahidh p.49.
2 Abu Ya'la was the surname of Hamza.
3 Another name of Muhammad (s).
4 Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.3 p.315, al-Hujja ala ath-Thahib ila Eeman Abu Talib p.71, al-Manaqib p.36, Biharul Anwar, vol.6 p.454, al-Abbas p.22, Eeman Abu Talib p.16, A'yan ash-Shia, vol.39 p.144, 145 and Majam'ul Bayan, vol.7 p.37.
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Abu Talib was an Islamic propagandist, who seized any opportunity to express what there was there was in his heart. He would be very happy when Hamza would say: I am a believer. Declaring this, he had to support the Prophet (s) for the sake of Allah and not for the kinship because faith and religion would be above anything else according to Abu Talib's thought!
It would be better to end this chapter with a word by al-Barazanji. He said: "It was mentioned so recurrently by many of the historians that Abu Talib loved the Prophet (s), guarded him, supported him, assisted him in revealing the mission, believed in all what he had said and ordered his sons like Ali and Ja'far to follow him and support him." Then he added: "These facts showed clearly that Abu Talib's heart was full of faith in the Prophet (s)."
(1)
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1 Refer to al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.358.
