Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) – The Defender of Islam
Wa dawatani wa almat anka sadiq,
walaqad sadaqat wa kunta summa ameen
Wa laqad almat bane Deen-e-Mohammad,
man khaira adyaane al-bareehe deen
(Oh, Rasool (s.a.w.s.)) you have given me invitation to Islam
And I am sure that you are Sadiq in your invitation towards Islam and you are already Sadiq and Ameen.
It is my faith that the religion of Muhammad (s.a.w.s.)
Is best of all religions the world over.
- Couplet of Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) (Tareekh Abu Al-Fida)
The couplet shows the firm belief of Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) in the Risalat of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.). History has
recorded several couplets of Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.). Another one in
Deewan-e-Abu Talib is as follows:
Alaika al-naas laisa la shareek, howa al-wahaab wa almabdi al-maeed
Wa man tehat al-s’maa leh bahaq, wa man fauqa al-sma’a leh abeed.
The
master of all human beings is the Allah and things under the sky belong
to Him and all those who live in the sky are subservient to Him.
Another of his verse in Sharah al-Nahaj depicting his faith is as follows:
Ya Shaheed Allah ala fashaheed, inni ala Deen al Nabi Ahmad
Man dhal fee al deene faa inni mahtad
O Allah! Remain Witness, "I am on religion of Muhammad (s.a.w.s),
If the world is misguided, but I am the one who is guided.
Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) was the son of Hazrat Abdul-Muttalib (a.s.) who had dug Zam Zam well and he was born on 29th Shawwal. Hazrat
Abu Talib (a.s.) was the paternal uncle of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)
and father of Imam Ali (a.s.). He took the responsibility of bringing up
and nurturing the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.). Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s) lost
his father and grandfather in his childhood and then Hazrat Abu Talib
(a.s.) took the responsibility of taking care of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s).
In Surah ad-Duha, Allah (s.w.t.) says: "Alam yajidka yateeman fa aawa"
– "Did he not find you orphan and give you shelter?"(93:6). It is
stated that this ayat refers to the protection and shelter provided by
Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) when Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) became an orphan.
Thus, this act of Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) was called by Allah (s.w.t.)
His (s.w.t.) own act. Such was the status of Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.).
Hazrat
Abu Talib was the one who recited the Nikah of the Holy Prophet
(s.a.w.s.) and that Nikah started with Hamd of Allah (s.w.t.) and praise
for His Prophet (s.a.w.s.).
Alhamdollilahil lazee ja’alna min zuriyate Ibrahim wa zurriye Ismail
Praise is to Allah who has ordained us to be in the progeny of Ibrahim and Ismail
(Tareekh Ibne Al-Khaldoon, edition-I, page 36)
It
was in the house of Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) that the first Dawah of
Islam was hosted and is recorded in annuls of history as Dawat
Dhul-Ashira and the Sunnat of hosting of Dawat continues till today.
Allah (s.w.t.) told Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) to invite other members of
his tribe to widen the spread of His Message:
"And
warn your tribe of near kindred. And lower your wing (in kindness) unto
those believers who follow you. And if they disobey you, say: Lo! I am
innocent of what you do."
Holy Qur'an (26:214.216)
The
Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) ordered Imam Ali (a.s.) to invite them to
a banquet and after dinner, Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) invited them
towards Islam. Abu Lahab criticised and warned Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)
against carrying on his mission and on the other hand, Hazrat Abu Talib
(a.s.) offered his support and said to the Messenger (s.a.w.s.):
"Go ahead with Your errand! By God I will never stop protecting and defending you."
(
Ibn Al-Athir, al-Kamil, vol. 2, p.24; Bihar al-Anwar by Shaikh
al-Majlisi, vol. 18, p. 164; Fiqh al-Sirah by Shaikh Muhammad
al-Ghazali, pp. 102-103 )
At
this time, Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.), the youngest of them all,
stood up and said, "O Messenger of Allah! I will back you up in this
matter." Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) asked him to sit down. Holy Prophet
(s.a.w.s) still pursued with his invitation, but all the time, it was
Imam Ali (a.s.) who responded. Finally Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) turned to
Imam Ali (a.s.) and said "Sit down. You are my brother, vicegerent, minister, inheritor, and successor after me." The group stood up to leave and somewhat sarcastically addressed Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.), saying: "Congratulations on accepting the religion of your nephew who made your son commander over you!"
Such hadiths are also narrated by al-Baihaqi in
his Sunan and by al Thalabi in Tafsir al-Kabir, commenting on Sura
al-Shu'ara'; and al-Tabari in his Tarikh, vol. 2, p. 217; Ibn al-Athir
in his Kamil, vol. 2, p. 22, al-Sirah al-Halabiyah, vol. 1, p.381; Imam
Ahmed Ibn Hanbal in his Musnad, vol. 1, pp. 11-159; al-Nisa'i in his
Khasa'ism, p.6; Kanz al-Ummal, vol. 6, Hadith No. 6008.
Sensing
the fast growth in number of Muslims, the Makkan jahiliyah imposed
total boycott of the whole Bani Hashim clan and the new Muslims to such
an extent that all links or contacts whether commercial or social were
severed. But Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) was determined to protect his
nephew Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and together with all his clan members as well as the other Muslims retired to the valley known as Shi'b Abi
Talib on the outskirts of Makkah. The Muslims had to live in isolation for three long years facing a lot of difficulties.
The
Bengali Sunni Poet Gulam Mostafa in his book Bishwanabi (1942), writing
the biography of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.), made this observation of
Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.): “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”.
Shortly
after emerging from Shi'b Abi Talib, Umm al-Mu'mineen (Mother of
believers) Khadija al-Kubra (s.a.) who had given her husband unflinching
support, sacrificing her great wealth and property for the cause of
Islam, breathed her last. And three days later another great benefactor
and sincere guardian, his uncle Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) passed away from
this mortal world.
Hazrat
Abu Talib's (a.s.) death was so important to the progress of the
historical Divine Call that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) said: "The Quraish kept away from me until Abu Talib died."(
Tarikh al-Tabari, vol. 2, p. 222; Tarikh bin Asakir, vol. 1, p. 284;
Mustadrak al-Hakim, vol. 2, p. 622. Tarikh bin Kathir, vol. 3, p. 122,
quoted from al-Ghadir, vol. 7, p.376. Kashf al-Ghummah fi Ma'rifat
al-A'immah, vol. 1, p. 16, and others.)
Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) declared that year as the Aam-ul-Huzn, 'Year of Grief'.
Thus,
a lot is due to Hazrat Abu Talib (a.s.) for his protection to Holy
Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and his crucial and vital contributions to the cause
of Islam during the most delicate period of Islam.