Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib
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Abū Ṭālib ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib (Arabic: أبو طالب بن عبد المطلب)(b.549)(d. 619) was married to Fatima bint Asad and was an uncle of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. His real name was Imran but he is better known as Abu Talib because he had a son named Talib.
Abu Talib raised and supported Muhammad while he was a young man.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Family
Abu Talib had four sons
and two daughters:
[edit] Pre-Islamic era
The son of Shaiba ibn Hashim and Fatimah bint Amr, Abu Talib was one of nine children. His brothers were:
Asad ibn Hashim (Ali's maternal grandfather) Abu Saifi ibn Hashim Nadla ibn Hashim Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim (Muhammad and Ali's paternal grandfather
and his sisters were:
Ash-Shifa bint Hashim, Khalida bint Hashim, Da'ifa bint Hashim, Ruqayyah bint Hashim, Jannah bint Hashim,
A full brother of Muhammad's father 'Abdullah ibn 'Abdul Muttalib, who died before Muhammad's birth. He was a scion of the noble Banu Hashim clan. As such, he held high status and respect among the Makkans, and owned a prosperous trading caravan business.
After the death of Muhammad's mother Aminah bint Wahab, Muhammad was taken into the care of Abdul Muttalib (father to Abu Talib, grandfather to Muhammad). When Muhammad reached 8 years. old, Abu Talib inherited his care as well as chiefdom of Banu Hashim as a result of the death of Abdul Muttalib. Abu Talib treated Muhammad as his very own son, and raised the young Muhammad with overwhelming love. Once Muhammad grew older, he began to work for his uncle, and he took responsibility for Abu Talib's son Ali ibn Abu Talib. Ali was among the first to accept the call to Islam.
The business sense Muhammad displayed while working for Abu Talib was one of the catalyst for his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid's (a wealthy trades woman) interest in him.
[edit] Muhammad's era — 610-619
After Muhammad began preaching the message of Islam, members of the other Quraishite clans increasingly came to feel threatened by Muhammad. In attempts to quiet him, they would lean on Abu Talib to silence his nephew or control him. Despite these pressures, Abu Talib did nothing but support Muhammad and defended him from the other heads of the Quraish.
[edit] Death
Abu Talib died in 619 or 623 [1], at around the same time as Muhammad's beloved wife Khadijah, leading to an immensely sad time for him. This year was known as the saddest year of the life of the prophet, the Year of Sorrow.
In Nur-ul-Absar, the author mentions the date of demise of Abu Talib to be the first of Zilqada shortly after the removal of economic sanctions which lasted for 8 months and 21 days. In Mawaheb-ul-Ladnia, the age of Abu Talib at the time of his demise is mentioned to be 70. [2].
After the death of Abu Talib, Muhammad imigrated to Medina.
[edit] Legacy
[edit] Sunni view
Sunnis hold the view that Abu Talib never recited the Shahadah, or testament of faith, and therefore was a non-Muslim. However, they also hold the view that he would receive the most lenient punishment on the day of judgement from amongst those who would be banished to Hell. Sunni quote the following ahadith:
The Bengali Sunni Poet Gulam Mostafa, writing the biography of the prophet "Bishanabi" made this observation of Abu Talib:
The light which would illuminate the darkened world burns in his house. With blood and guts, with weapons and wit, with all his might Abu Talib defends the light from the dark storms, the temptations, threats, abuses of the outside world that threatens to extinguish the light.
Mohammad decided to leave Mecca soon after Abu Talib's death since the growth of his movement and the survival of his followers had become almost impossible in Mecca after Abu Talib.
[edit] Shi'a view
Shi'as argue that it is highly unlikely that Abu Talib carried out the nikah ceremony of Muhammad if he were a non-Muslim. Second, they hold, Muhammad and Allah would never let a non-Muslim raise his prophet as at the time of Muhammad's birth there were some people who followed the path of Abraham and did not worship Idols, the Hanifs. Also Ali inherited him [5], which would be forbidden if he were an unbeliever.
It was not just Abu Talib, evidence abounds (the books of history by Ibne Aseer and Aasam Kufi) that none of the early ancestors of Muhammad were idol worshippers. They (Muhammad’s ancestors) were the direct descendents of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whom he had abandoned in the desert (now Makkah), along with his wife Hagar (Ishmael’s mother), according to what he claimed to be God’s command.
Ishmael grew up in the desert and was accepted as the patriarch of a few Bedouin tribes who had settled in the region around Ka’aba. Abraham and Ishmael had built Ka’aba as a place of worship to God, when Abraham came to visit him and Hagar during Ishmael’s youth. Since then, the patronage of Ka’aba had always stayed within Ishmael’s family, which led to the influence and status they exercised in Mecca. However, as the time passed after Ishmael’s demise, his faith and teachings of monotheism grew weaker and so did the influence of his progeny. Idolatry soon took over the place of Abraham’s faith. The Hanifs (people practicing Abraham’s faith, primarily his progeny), with time weakened in their influence and had to accept the demands of powerful tribal chiefs to house their gods in Ka’aba. However they still held on to the keys to Ka’aba and managed to keep their faith within their bloodline until finally Muhammad revived the faith in one God.
It has been confirmed by many historians who investigated the pre-Islamic history that the Hanifs were still practicing monotheism when Muhammad came to prophethood. Abu Talib, then the patriarch of the sub-clan of Bani Hashim (Muhammad’s family) and the patron of Ka’aba, was in fact not just a Hanif himself but is also proclaimed to be a spiritual leader of the monotheists of Makkah. This position and ideology of Abu Talib was crucial in his (and his family’s) unconditional support and protection of Muhammad, whom he believed was a 'badly needed reviver' of the faith of his ancestors.
Abu Talib clearly expressed his faith and ideology when performing Muhammad’s marriage to Khadija, in these words:
- “All the praise to the God who made us the children of Abraham and bestowed us with Abraham’s faith”.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by Shaiba ibn Hashim |
head of Banu Hashim ?–619 |
Succeeded by Abu Lahab |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.ummah.net/khoei/khadija.htm
- ^ Imam al-Mahdi (a) by Ayatullah Sayyid Sadr-al-Din al-Sadr on al-shia.com[1]
- ^ Sahih Bukhari 5:58:223
- ^ Sahih Bukhari 5:58:222
- ^ [2]
Also:
- Book of History by Ibne Aseer (Arabic)
- Book of History by Aasam Kufi (Arabic)
- Usool e Kafi (Arabic)
- Bahar ul Anwar (Arabic)
