The Prophet (s), who was the highest example of loyalty, fealty and fairness, would never deny a favor of any one; therefore the death of Abu Talib had left a deep effect upon him. He became so distressed and felt the great gap the absence of his uncle caused.
As soon as Imam Ali told him of the bad news of the disaster, his eyes began to flow with tears.
After he wiped off his tears, he ordered Ali in a sad voice saying: "Go to wash him, enshroud him and bury him! May Allah forgive him and have mercy upon him."
(1)
This was another evidence besides many other evidences proving the faith of Abu Talib.
The Prophet (s) ordered Ali, and no one at all would think that Ali was not a Muslim, to wash his father (to do the ghussl).
(2) Islam wouldn't permit a Muslim to wash an unbeliever.
The Prophet (s) prayed Allah to forgive his uncle and prayed Allah to have mercy upon him. It was definitely
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1 Refer to As-Seera an-Nabawiyya, vol.1 p.84, al-Ghadeer, vol.3 p.99, vol.7 p.373, Sheikhul Abtah p.44, Al-Hujja p.67, Mo'jamul Quboor, vol.1 p.204, Tathkiratul Khawass p.10, Eeman Abu Talib p.10 and A'yan ash-Shia, vol.39 p.161.
2 Ghussl means washing the dead in a certain way according to the laws of the Islamic Sharia.
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that the Prophet (s) was so strict against the unbelievers and he was merciful and kind to the believers only.
After Ali had washed his dead father and the body of the supporter of Islam had been carried on the shoulders of the men, Ali came back to tell the Prophet (s). The Prophet (s) stood up in front of the body of his uncle to escort him with signs of praise and glorification and to be sincere to his favors he had done to Islam. The Prophet (s) said: "O uncle! Mercy may be upon you and you may be rewarded with good. You brought me up and adopted me when I was a child and you assisted and supported me when I became a man."
(1)
The Prophet (s) participated in the funeral until his uncle was buried then he said: "By Allah, I will pray Allah to forgive you and I will intercede for you that the mankind and the jinn will be surprised."
(2)
The Prophet (s) mentioned the virtues of his uncle, prayed Allah to forgive him and promised to intercede for him in the Day of Resurrection that would surprise the mankind and the jinn.
What would that intercession be?
Let's suppose that Abu Talib was unbeliever -although it was not so and would never be accepted by the rightness and the fair conscience- and didn't support the Prophet (s) at all but the Prophet (s) would intercede for him to be in Paradise. This intercession wouldn't surprise the two groups of mankind and jinn because the Prophet
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1 Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.3 p.314, Biharul Anwar, vol.6 p.445, 523, 529, Sheikhul Abtah p.43, al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.374, 387, Al-Hujja p.67, Abu Talib p.89, Mo'jamul Quboor, vol.1 p.191, 204, Tafseer Ali bin Ibraheem p.355, Tathkiratul Khawass p.10, Eeman Abu Talib p.10, A'yan ash-Shia, vol.39 p.139, 161.
2 Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.3 p.314, Biharul Anwar, vol.6 p.445, 523, 529, Sheikhul Abtah p.43, al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.374, 387, Al-Hujja p.67, Mo'jamul Quboor, vol.1 p.204, Eeman Abu Talib p.10, A'yan ash-Shia, vol.39 p.161.
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(s) would never intercede for an unbeliever.
But if Abu Talib would be rewarded with entering Paradise for his virtues and good deeds, hence the intercession of the Prophet (s) would be further than entering Paradise and this world surprise man and the jinn.
The Prophet (s), besides being loyal to his uncle's favors, wanted by saying this to refute those who wrongly thought that Abu Talib hadn't believed in the mission just because that he sometimes concealed his faith when the circumstances were not suitable for him to announce his faith openly in order to be able to carry out his tasks in the interest of the mission without obstacles.
Then the Prophet (s) added to his word this lament: "Ah father! Ah Abu Talib! O uncle, how bitter my sorrow is! How can I forget you! You brought me up when I was a child, responded to me when I was and I was for you as the pupil for the eye and as the soul for the body."
This was another evidence by the Prophet (s) proving the faith of Abu Talib when saying: "... responded to me when I was a man ..."
Let's ponder about this delicate expression of the Prophet (s): he said that his position in his uncle's heart was like the eye and the soul. What an accurate imaging showing how much Abu Talib had loved the Prophet (s) and what a great position he had in his uncle's heart.
Would such a man, who had all that love and that respect to the Prophet (s), not believe in the Prophet's mission? Certainly not! It would be beyond impossibility!
But now as the fortress, which protected the prophet (s) from the evils of Quraysh, was ruined when the defending lion was put in the grave, the beasts of Quraysh
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1 Sheikh Abtah p.44 quoted from al-Majlisi, al-Mufeed and ibn Hajar in his Issaba, vol.7 p.112.
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found the way empty and guardless. So they began to harm the Prophet (s) with all kinds of harm, torment, mockery and bitter insult; therefore the image of Abu Talib would have never left the mind of the Prophet (s) especially at this moment when he felt that he was in extreme need of him.
Once he came into his house and his hair was stained with dust that some of the impudents of Quraysh had poured upon his head. His daughter became sad and began to cry. She tried to remove the dust from her father's head. He calmed her down saying: "Don't cry my daughter! Allah protects your father."
Then he added after remembering the past of his uncle Abu Talib when no one could dare to touch a hair of him: "Quraysh couldn't hurt me until Abu Talib died!"
(1)
On every occasion such words came out of his mouth expressing his longing to his uncle and his need of him and of his glorious past: "O uncle! How sudden I felt your absence!"
(2)
Allah willed to try his messenger. It was fated that he had to face two disasters each of them was bitterer that the other. Nearly in the same days he lost two supporters, who so often assisted and supported him in his distresses; Abu Talib, with his powerfulness and strength, who had
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1 As-Seera an-Nabawiyya, vol.1 p.88, 281, as-Seera al-Halabiyya, vol.1 p.291, as-Seera al-Hishamiyya, vol.2 p.58, at-Tabari's Tareekh, vol.2 p,80, ibnul Atheer's Tareekh, vol.2 p.63, al-Manaqib, vol.1 p.38, Biharul Anwar, vol.6 p.430, 528, Sheikhul Abtah, p.51, Abu Talib, p.91, al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.377, Imam Ali, the Voice of Justice, p.36 (vol.1 p.60), A'yan ash-Shia, vol.39, p.127.
2 As-Seera an-Nabawiyya, vol.1 p.88, 281, as-Seera al-Halabiyya, vol.1 p.291, as-Seera al-Hishamiyya, vol.2 p.58, at-Tabari's Tareekh, vol.2, p.80, ibnul Atheer's Tareekh, vol.2 p.63, al-Manaqib, vol.1 p.38, Biharul Anwar, vol.6 p.430, 528, Sheikhul Abtah, p.51, Abu Talib, p.91, al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.377, Imam Ali, the Voice of Justice, p.36 (vol.1 p.60), A'yan ash-Shia, vol.39, p.127.
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prevented Quraysh from daring to do any harm to the Prophet (s) and Khadeeja,
(1) with her money, kindness, emotion, loyalty and devotedness, who so often assisted him against the distresses, eased his pains and nursed his wounds.
He lost both of them in a very critical time. The wide space would be narrow and the existence would be dark to him, unless he didn't trust in Allah and depend upon Him besides the full mercy of Allah.
He lost them after those hard years they had spent in the Shi'b when his uncle was more than eighty years old. Those years were full of strife and struggle and therefore they gave good fruits and left a great glory, which became greater and greater later on.
(2)
In one of the moments of his pain, an over-burdened sad word came out of his mouth but was full of trust in Allah, gull of hope in His contentment, full of patience towards the fate ... complaining to his God what harms, contempt and pains he got from people: "O Allah! To You I complain my weakness, my little supports and my being disdained by people! O Allah, the Most Merciful! You are the Lord of the weak; You are my Lord; to who You leave me? To an opponent frowning at me ... or to an enemy overcoming me? If You are not angry with me, I will never mind ... but Your blessing will be better to me ... I resort to the light of Your face, with which the darkness becomes shiny and the affairs of the life and the afterlife become virtuous, so that not to let Your rage afflict me and Your wrath befall on me. I
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1 She was the Prophet's wife.
2 There were different news about the death of Abu Talib and Khadija (s). Some historians said that Abu Talib died in Rajab, Ramadan, Shawwal or Thul-Qi'da and whether in the tenth or eleventh year after the mission. The historians where different about who had died before the other and how many days were between their deaths.
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request Your forgiveness until You become pleased with me. There is no power save in You..."
(1)
After Abu Talib no shelter remained for the Prophet (s) to resort to in Mecca. That defensive fortress, which protected him from the disasters, was demolished and the supporter, who sacrificed everything for him, was no longer alive.
In the midst of his distress and pain, the angel revealed to him this divine order: "Go out of it (Mecca)! Your supporter has died."
(2)
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1 At-Tabari's Tareekh, vol.2 p.81, ibnul Atheer's Tareekh, vol.4 p.64, Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.3 p.322, as-Seera al-Halabiyya, vol.1 p.353, As-Seera an-Nabawiyya, vol.1 p.286, al-Seera al-Hishamiyya, vol.2 p.61-62, al-Manaqib, vol.38, p.1, Biharul Anwar, vol.6 p.529, Sheikhul Abtah, p.52, Ala Hamish as-Seera, vol.3 p.149-150, Muhammad, the Arab Prophet, p.65-66.
2 Sharh Nahjol Balagha, vol.1 p.10, Al-Hujja, p.17, 64, 103, Biharul Anwar, vol.6 p.543, Sheikhul Abtah, p.51, Mo'jamul Quboor, vol.1 p.197, A'yan ash-Shia, vol.3 p.7, vol.39, p.127.
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The situations of Abu Talib would never be away from the Prophet's mind nor would his image leave his sight. He didn't forget his uncle for a while. He still remembered him, praised him and prayed to him for his eternal deeds and his glorious situations in order to be grateful to that man, who had done him many favors.
The Prophet (s) would never be indifferent to any favor done to him. So he often mentioned that to be grateful on one side and on the other side he wanted to encourage the others to follow the same way.
One day a nomad, with signs of sorrow and sadness appeared on his face, came to Prophet (s) hoping to get something that might relieve some of his sorrow. He said to the Prophet (s): "O messenger of Allah! We have come to you and we have no any camel nor any of our children can find anything to eat." Then he recited some verses of poetry:
We have come to you and our virgin's breast disappeared,
and the mother ignored her baby. (1)
The hands of the child dangled and he fainted to the ground,
he could do nothing nor could he move,
Nothing to eat we have save colocynth,
blood and hair of camels.
We don't have save you to resort to.
Do people resort but to the prophets?
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The merciful Prophet (s) stood up deeply affected by this tragic scene dragging his feet towards the minbar. After praising Allah, he began to pray Him: "O Allah! Send us abundant rain pouring plentifully to produce the
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1 He described the famine they were suffering.
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plants, to fill the udders and to give life to the earth after its death ... and thus shall you be brought forth."
As soon as the Prophet (s) finished his praying, the sky began to lighten and the ground began to receive the abundant rain.
A man came to the Prophet (s) crying: "O messenger of Allah! It is the flood! It is the flood!"
The Prophet's hands, whose hopes would never be refused, stretched towards the Heaven and his lips, whose praying would never be disappointed by Allah, uttered: "Let it be around us and not upon us!"
The heavy clouds began to leave taking with them the terror out of the people's hearts.
The Prophet (s) became delighted and his lips smiled but he remembered the near past and sighed: "What a man Abu Talib was! If he is alive, he will be delighted. Who will recite us his poetry?"
His cousin Imam Ali stood up and said: "O messenger of Allah! You may mean his saying:
And a white-faced, with whose face it is prayed,
so that the clouds bring goodness.
He is the shelter of the orphans and the guardian of the widows.
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As the Prophet (s) said: "Yes" Ali kept on reciting other verses of his father's poem and the Prophet (s) from above the minbar kept on praying Allah to forgive his sincere uncle.
Would we stop here with the Prophet when praying Allah to forgive his uncle after his death?
The Prophet (s) mentioned his uncle when every occasion passed by him because his mind was always busy with his good deeds and he always remembered his great situations. Quite often the Prophet (s) praised his uncle with worthy words and it was definitely that the Prophet (s) wouldn't praise any one, who didn't deserve that. He kept on praying Allah to forgive his uncle when Ali was reciting his father's poetry and it was definitely
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that the Prophet (s) would never pray Allah to forgive anyone, who was not faithful.
The Prophet (s) said: "Being loyal to a man (after his death) is by being loyal to his children." And who would be worthier than the Prophet (s) to achieve his own sayings?
The Prophet (s) remained loyal to his uncle Abu Talib by being loyal to his son Ali.
Once he said to Imam Ali: "No one is worthier than you of my position; you are the first in being a Muslim, you are my cousin and may son-in-law. You have Fatima, the head lady of the believing women. Before that, your father was my guardian and supporter when the Quran was revealed and I am so careful to keep that for him by taking much care of his offspring after him."
(1)
Did you see what position Abu Talib had in the Prophet's heart? The Prophet (s) considered the situation of Abu Talib during the revelation of the Quran as one of the virtues of Ali. He thought that it imposed upon him to consider that Ali was the worthier one of his position -the position of prophecy. He added this virtue to the other virtues of Ali like his preceding in being a Muslim, being his cousin and his son-in-law ...
The Prophet (s) revealed to Ali that he would keep on being grateful to Abu Talib by taking much care of his sons.
So no one but Ali was to be the successor of the Prophet (s) for there was no one worthier than him of all these virtues!
Once again he said to Aqeel
(2): "O Abu Yazeed,
(3), I love you twice; once for your kinship with me and the other
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1 Refer to Yanabee'ul Mawadda, p.263 (vol.2 p.141), Ghayatul Maram, p.497 and al-Ghadeer, vol.7 p.378, 388.
2 He was the elder brother of Ali.
3 Abu Yazeed was Aqeel's surname.
