Hazrat Abu Talib
Submitted by ShiaSisters.net

Words of historians on the status of Hazrat Abu Talib (p)

By: Sheikh Farhan El-Baghdadi

The year 619 was declared by the Chief of Prophets Prophet Muhammad Mustafa, peace be upon him and his holy progeny, Year of Grief as after the death of Sayyideh Khadijah tul Kubra, peace be upon her, holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his holy progeny, sustained another shock in the death of his uncle and guardian and the bulwark of Islam Abu Talib, peace be upon him. He was overwhelmed with sorrow.

Muhammad ibn Ishaq, the biographer of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his holy progeny, writes: "With the death of Abu Talib, he lost a source of strength in his personal life and a defense and protection against his tribe. Abu Talib died three years before he (Muhammad) migrated to Medina, and it was then that Quraysh began to treat him in an offensive way which they did not dare to follow in his uncle's lifetime. A young lout actually threw dust on his head. Hisham on the authority of his father, Urwa, told me that the Prophet went into his house, and he was saying: 'Quraysh never treated me like this when Abu Talib was alive'.” (The Life of the Messenger of Allah)

Jurji Zaydan writes: “The reason why Abdul Muttalib made Abu Talib the guardian of Muhammad was that Abu Talib and Abdullah were the children of the same mother. Without a doubt, the protection of Abu Talib was the major cause not only of the success of Muhammad's mission but also of his physical survival. Abu Talib was a dignitary of Quraysh, and a man of great prestige. Muhammad lived in his house like one of his children...” (Complete Works, published by Dar-ul-Jeel, Beirut, Lebanon, Volume 1, page 91. 1981)

Lt. General Sir John Glubb writes about Abu Talib, peace be upon him, in his book The Life and Times of Muhammad “…if it had not been for the staunch courage with which he stood by his nephew, Islam might have died in its cradle.”

Amin Dawidar, the modern Egyptian historian, says that Abu Talib was like a fortress for Muhammad which sheltered him from all the heat and cold and the contrariness and cussedness of the world outside. “And when Abu Talib died, Muhammad found himself face to face with the enemy for the first time in his life. Without a doubt, the death of Abu Talib was a great tragedy for him.”

Abu Talib, peace be upon him, could not but be a Muslim and a Momin. No man can love Muhammad, peace be upon him and his holy progeny, and idolatry at the same time; the two loves are mutually exclusive. And no man can love Muhammad, peace be upon him and his holy progeny, yet hate Islam. The love of Muhammad, peace be upon him and his holy progeny, and the hatred of Islam cannot coexist. Whoever loves Muhammad, peace be upon him and his holy progeny, must inevitably love Islam. If there is any one thing beyond any doubt in the history of Islam, it is the love of Abu Talib, peace be upon him, for Muhammad, peace be upon him and his holy progeny.

Allah in His Book identified the protection that Abu Talib, peace be upon him, gave to holy Prophet Muhammad Mustafa, peace be upon him and his holy progeny, as His own protection as per the following verse:

DID HE NOT FIND THEE AN ORPHAN AND GIVE THEE SHELTER (AND CARE)?

Allah gave shelter (protection) and care to His Messenger, Muhammad Mustafa, peace be upon him and his holy progeny, through His slave - Abu Talib, peace be upon him.

Abu Talib, peace be upon him, worked in Mecca for the glory and power of Islam, and he was the guardian of its absolute and incontestable values. His deeds are an integral part of the story of Islam, and they are also the most eloquent testimony of his faith in Allah and His Messenger - in Islam!