Jump to content

AbuTalib

From WikiHaj
AbuTalib
Template:Px
General Information
PlaceMecca

AbuTalib, ʿAbd Manāf ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, is the father of Imam Ali(a), and the uncle and supporter of the Prophet of Islam(s). After his father ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, Abu Talib assumed the position of providing water to the pilgrims of Mecca. He took care of the Prophet from the age of eight and supported him until the end of his life. Because of his nobility, wisdom, and influence among the tribes, Abu Talib was appointed as an arbitrator during disputes. He is regarded as the founder of the tradition of oath-taking when giving testimony to the heirs of the victim, a practice that continued in Islam. Abu Talib was one of the prominent poets of his time, and among his poems is a piece in support of the Prophet (s) known as Qasidat al-Lamiyya, which he composed during the episode of Shiʿb Abi Talib. Abu Talib’s poems were collected by Abu Hiffān al-Mahzami (3rd century AH) under the title Diwan Abi Talib. After the Prophet(s) publicly called people to Islam, Abu Talib consistently stood by him against the pressure of the Quraysh, who wanted him to oppose the Prophet or hand him over. During the three-year economic siege against the Muslims, he spent his own wealth to support them. Shi‘a scholars and some Sunni scholars, based on narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt(a) and certain evidences, regard him as a believer, and have written books titled "The Faith of Abu Talib" to prove this.

Biography

ʿAbd Manaf ibn ʿAbd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim[1] who is famous by his kunyah, Abu Talib.[2] Some historians have considered his birth to be more than 80 years before the Hijra.[3] His father, ʿAbd al-Muttalib, was the elder of Mecca and the chief of Quraysh.[4] and his mother, Fatimah bint ʿAmr ibn ʿĀʾidh ibn ʿImrān, was from the Banu Makhzum tribe.[5]

Wife and Children

Historians mention, Abu Talib from his wife, Fatimah bint Asad, that[6] had four sons and three daughters. His sons were Talib, ʿAqil, Jaʿfar, and Ali(a).[7] and his daughter wasUmm Hani,[8] Jumanah and Raytah,[9] Some have said that he also had a son named Tulayq from another wife named ʿAllah.[10]

Provision of Water for Pilgrims

Hāshim ibn ʿAbd Manāf, Abu Talib’s grandfather, was responsible for hosting and providing for the pilgrims (provision of water and hospitality) in the city of Mecca.[11] After Hāshim, his son ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib[12] and after him, his son Abu Talib held this responsibility for three years.[13] It is said that Abu Talib did not have the financial means to continue this work, so he entrusted it to his brother, Abbas.[14] Abu Talib, after the flood in Mecca and the damage to the Ka'ba, took responsibility for its repair and ordered that pure funds be used in rebuilding the Ka'ba. The Prophet(s) was 25 years old at that time, and the dispute over the placement of the Black Stone occurred during this incident.[15]

Social Status

According to a hadith from Imam Ali (AS), despite his poverty, Abu Talib was the chief of the Quraysh, and before him, no poor person had ever led the Quraysh.[16] His magnanimity was well-known among the Quraysh. Because of his wisdom and the influence of his speech among the Quraysh, different clans would appoint him as an arbitrator in times of disputes. Abu Talib is considered the founder of the tradition of oath-taking in testimony for the heirs of the slain (Qasamah).[17] This tradition continued in Islam as well.[18]

Characteristics

Abu Talib was famous for his generosity.[19] He was also a talented and prominent poet.[20] His poetry in the early Islamic centuries was admired and frequently cited by renowned poets and literary figures.[21] He composed a poem in support of the Prophet of Islam (s), which became famous as the Lamiyyah Qasida[22] The poems of Abu Talib were compiled by Abu Heffan Mahzami (3rd century AH) under the title Diwan Abu Talib.[23]

Death

Abu Talib passed away in the month of Dhu al-Qi'dah or mid-month of Shawwal in the tenth year of the Prophethood, at the age of 86, and according to one report, at the age of 90.[24] And like his father, Abdul Muttalib.[25] He was buried in the Jannat al-Mu'alla cemetery located in Mecca.[26] The Prophet(s) called that year, which coincided with the deaths of Abu Talib and his wife Khadija, the "Am al-Huzn" (Year of Sorrow).[27] With his death, the pressures on the Muslims increased.[28] The cemetery in which he was buried is known among Iranians as the Abu Talib Cemetery.[29]

Guardianship of the Prophet

After the death of his father, Abdul Muttalib, Abu Talib, according to his father’s will, took on the guardianship of the Prophet (s), who was eight years old.[30] It has been reported that Abu Talib loved him more than his own children, provided him with the best food, placed his bed next to his own, and always tried to keep him by his side.[31] He also took him along on trading journeys. The meeting of the monk Bahira with the Prophet and the monk’s announcement to Abu Talib about the prophethood of Muhammad has been reported to have occurred on one of these journeys.[32] Abu Talib recommended a commercial partnership with Khadija to Muhammad (s).[33] And then he went on his behalf to propose to Khadija.[34] Some have said that he also delivered the marriage sermon.[35]

Support of the Prophet

After the Prophet’s (s) public call to Islam, the pressure of the Quraysh on Abu Talib increased.[36] At the Yawm al-’Indhar (Day of Warning), when most of the attendees were from Banu Hashim, some Hashimite members like Abu Lahab scolded him. When, in that same gathering, the Prophet (s) declared Imam Ali (a) as his brother, successor, and deputy, a group mockingly said to Abu Talib: “He has commanded you to obey your own son.”[37] According to historical reports, the leaders of the Quraysh came to Abu Talib three times and asked him either to prevent the Prophet’s call to Islam or to hand him over to the Quraysh.[38] He tried to persuade the Quraysh and also to make the Prophet (s) aware of the dangers of his mission.[39]

The Quraysh pagans even suggested to Abu Talib to exchange Muhammad(s) for ‘Amarah ibn Walid al-Makhzumi, who was a handsome and intelligent young man.[40]

He was deeply angered by this proposal and rebuked them by composing a poem.[41] And according to one report, he even threatened them with death.[42] Poems by Abu Talib in support of the Prophet (s) have been narrated[43] In the seventh year, when he learned of the Quraysh’s plan to kill the Prophet, he composed a poem with the following meaning: “By God! The Quraysh cannot reach you unless I am lying in the grave.”[44]

Support of the Muslims in the Valley of Abu Talib

Template:Main article In the seventh year of the Prophethood, after the economic boycott of the Muslims by the Quraysh, Banu Hashim and other Muslims were forced to settle in the area of Sha‘b Abu Talib.[45] Abu Talib was among those who spent his wealth to support the Muslims.[46]

The faith of Abu Talib

Some Muslim scholars have differing opinions regarding the faith of Abu Talib. Shia scholars, based on the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a),[47] They believe that Abu Talib had embraced Islam. Some Sunni scholars also, citing evidence such as Abu Talib being washed according to the Prophet’s (s) command, the Prophet’s prayers for his forgiveness, his Muslim wife Fatimah bint Asad remaining married to him, and the content of some of his poems, hold the view that he had faith.[48]

Some Sunni scholars have said that Abu Talib did not embrace Islam because he did not recite the Shahada. It has also been mentioned that verse 26 of Surah Al-An‘am[49] And verse 113 of Surah At-Tawbah (which forbids the Prophet from seeking forgiveness for polytheists) was revealed regarding Abu Talib. However, in response, it has been said that he did recite the Shahada but kept it secret so that he could continue to support and protect the Prophet.[50]

The verses of Surah Al-An‘am were revealed together and do not have separate occasions of revelation; and the verse forbidding supplication was revealed in Medina, after the death of Abu Talib.[51] Therefore, it is not a reason to reject his faith.

Notes

  1. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 121; ibn Khayyāṭ, " Al-Ṭabaqāt Khalīfah" , p. 30; Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 2, p. 11.
  2. Ibn ʿAnbah , "ʿUmdat al-Ṭālib" , p. 20; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, "Al-Iṣābah" ,vol. 7, p. 126.
  3. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 125; al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 2,p. 289.
  4. Ibn Hisham , "Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah" ,vol. 1, P. 142.
  5. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 92; al-Balādhurī, "Ansāb al-Ashrāf" ,vol. 2,p. 288.
  6. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p.121-122 . / vol. 8, p. 48; Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 2, p. 14.
  7. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 121/122. / vol. 8, p. 51; Abū al-Faraj al-Isfahānī, " Maqātil al-Ṭālibiyyīn" , p. 3.
  8. Ibn Saʿd, "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1, p. 122. /vol. 8,p. 151.
  9. Ibn Saʿd, "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1, p. 122. /vol. 8, p. 48.
  10. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 122. /vol. 8, p. 48.
  11. al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 1, p. 64.
  12. Ibn Hishām , "Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah" ,vol. 1, P. 109; Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 2, p. 13.
  13. al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 1, p. 64.
  14. al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 1, p. 64.
  15. Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 2, p.19.
  16. Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 2, p. 14.
  17. al-Nasāʾī , "Sunan al-Nasāʾī" ,vol. 8, p. 3-5; Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd , "Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah" ,vol. 15, p. 219.
  18. Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd , "Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah" ,vol. 15, p. 219.
  19. al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 2, p. 288.
  20. Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd , "Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah" ,vol. 15, p. 219.
  21. Sībawayh , "Al-Kitāb", vol. 3, p. 260-261; al-Jāḥiẓ , "Al-Bayān wa al-Tabyīn" ,vol. 3, p. 30.
  22. al-Mufīd. , "Īmān Abī Ṭālib", p. 18.
  23. Abū Hufān and al-Baṣrī ," Abu Talib Diwān," p. 37/46.
  24. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 125; Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 2, p. 35.
  25. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 119.
  26. al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 2, p. 289.
  27. al-Maqrīzī , " Imṭāʿ al-Ismāʿ",vol. 1, p. 45.
  28. Ibn Hishām , "Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah" ,vol. 2, p. 284; al-Ṭabarī , " Tārīkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī", vol. 2, p. 68_69; al-Bayhaqī ," Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah ", p. 349/350.
  29. Jaʿfarīān, , "Āsār-e Islāmī-ye Makka va Madīna", p. 161.
  30. al-Ṭabarī , " Tārīkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī", vol. 2, p. 18; al-Bayhaqī ," Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah ", vol.2, p. 22.
  31. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 119.
  32. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 120/121; al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 1,p. 106.
  33. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 129; al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 1, p.106.
  34. al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 1, p. 107; Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 2, p.20.
  35. Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 1, p. 341; al-Suhailī (d. 581 AH). " Al-Rawḍ al-Anf ",vol. 2, p. 238; Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd , "Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah" ,vol. 14, p. 70.
  36. al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 1, p. 131.
  37. al-Ṭabarī , " Tārīkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī", vol. 2, p. 63.
  38. al-Ṭabarī , " Tārīkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī", vol. 2, p. 65-67; al-Balādhur" Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 2, p. 290-291; Ibn Hishām , "Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah" ,vol. 1, p.171_172
  39. Ibn Hishām , "Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah" ,vol. 1, p. 171/172; al-Ṭabarī , " Tārīkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī", vol. 2, p. 65-67.
  40. al-Balādhurī ," Ansāb al-Ashrāf " ,vol. 2, p. 290-291; al-Ṭabarī , " Tārīkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī", vol. 2, p. 67.
  41. Ibn Hishām , "Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah" ,vol. 1, p. 172/173.
  42. Ibn Hishām , "Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah" ,vol. 1, p. 172/173; al-Ṭabarī , " Tārīkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī", vol. 2, p. 67.
  43. Ibn Hishām, "Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah" ,vol. 1, p. 173/174.
  44. Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 2, p. 31.
  45. Ibn Saʿd , "Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā",vol. 1,p. 208/209.
  46. Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb," Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī" ,vol. 1, p. 31.
  47. al-Kulaynī , " Al-Kāfī ", vol. 1, p. 448/449.
  48. al-Mufīd, "Īmān Abī Ṭālib"; al-Mūsawī, " Īmān Abī Ṭālib ", p. 64-143; Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd , "Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah" ,vol. 14, p. 68-83.
  49. Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd, "Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah" ,vol. 14, p. 65-66.
  50. Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd , "Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah",vol. 14, p. 71-83.
  51. Ibn Juzayy , "Zād al-Masīr", p. 304-305; al-Fakhr al-Rāzī , " Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr", vol. 16, p. 157-158; al-Suyūṭī , "Al-Durr al-Manthūr", vol. 3, p. 282/283.

References

  • Jaʿfarīān, Rasūl. Āsār-e Islāmī-ye Makka va Madīna. Tehran: Intishārāt-e Mashʿar, 1386 SH.
  • Āyeneh-ye Pazhūhesh (journal). Qom: Pazhūheshgāh-e ʿUlūm va Farhang-e Islāmī.
  • Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852 AH). Al-Iṣābah. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad et al. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyah, 1415 AH.
  • Sayyid Muḥsin al-Amīn (d. 1371 AH). ʾA‘yān al-Shīʿah. Edited by Ḥasan al-Amīn. Beirut: Dār al-Taʿāruf.
  • al-Maqrīzī (d. 845 AH). Imṭāʿ al-Ismāʿ. Edited by Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyah, 1420 AH.
  • al-Balādhurī (d. 279 AH). Ansāb al-Ashrāf. Edited by Zakkār. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1417 AH.
  • al-Mufīd (d. 413 AH). Īmān Abī Ṭālib. Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd, 1414 AH.
  • Fakhkhār ibn Maʿad al-Mūsawī (d. 630 AH). Īmān Abī Ṭālib. Edited by Baḥr al-ʿUlūm. Qom: Sayyid al-Shuhadāʾ, 1410 AH.
  • Abū Ḥayyān al-Andalusī (d. 754 AH). Al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1412 AH.
  • al-Jāḥiẓ (d. 255 AH). Al-Bayān wa al-Tabyīn. Edited by ʿAbd al-Salām. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1409 AH.
  • al-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH). Tārīkh al-Umam wa al-Mulūk (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī). Edited by a group of scholars. Beirut: Aʿlamī, 1403 AH.
  • Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb (d. 292 AH). Tārīkh al-Yāʿqūbī. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1415 AH.
  • Muḥammad ibn Jazī al-Gharnāṭī (d. 741 AH). Al-Tashīl li-ʿUlūm al-Tanzīl. Edited by Khāldī. Beirut: Dār al-Arqam, 1416 AH.
  • Ibn Abī Ḥātim (d. 327 AH). Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm. Edited by Asʿad Muḥammad. Beirut: al-Maktabah al-ʿAṣriyyah, 1419 AH.
  • Ibn Kathīr (d. 774 AH). Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm. Edited by Shams al-Dīn. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyah, 1419 AH.
  • al-Fakhr al-Rāzī (d. 606 AH). Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1415 AH.
  • al-Thaʿlabī (d. 427 AH). Al-Kashf wa al-Bayān. Edited by Ibn ʿĀshūr. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1422 AH.
  • al-Qurṭubī (d. 671 AH). Al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1405 AH.
  • al-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH). Jāmiʿ al-Bayān. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifah, 1412 AH.
  • al-Suyūṭī (d. 911 AH). Al-Durr al-Manthūr. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifah, 1365 AH.
  • al-Bayhaqī (d. 458 AH). Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah. Edited by ʿAbd al-Muʿṭī. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyah, 1405 AH.
  • Abu Talib Diwān. Compiled by Abū Hufān ibn Aḥmad Mahzamī and ʿAlī ibn Ḥamzah al-Baṣrī. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥasan Āl Yāsīn. Beirut: Dār al-Hilāl, 2003 CE.
  • al-Najāshī (d. 450 AH). Rijāl al-Najāshī. Edited by Shabīrī Zanjānī. Qom: Nashr Islāmī, 1418 AH.
  • Brossow (d. 1137 AH). Rūḥ al-Bayān. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr.
  • al-Suhailī (d. 581 AH). Al-Rawḍ al-Anf. Edited by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1412 AH.
  • Abū al-Fatḥ al-Rāzī (d. 554 AH). Rawḍ al-Jinān. Edited by Yāḥqī and Nāṣiḥ. Mashhad: Āstān Quds Raḍawī, 1375 SH.
  • Ibn Juzayy (d. 597 AH). Zād al-Masīr. Edited by ʿAbd al-Razzāq. Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1422 AH.
  • al-Nasāʾī (d. 303 AH). Sunan al-Nasāʾī. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1348 AH.
  • Ibn Hishām (d. 213 AH). Al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah. Edited by Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn. Egypt: Maktabat Muḥammad ʿAlī Ṣabīḥ wa Awlādah, 1383 AH.
  • Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd (d. 656 AH). Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah. Edited by Muḥammad Abū al-Faḍl. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Kutub al-ʿArabiyyah, 1378 AH.
  • Ibn Saʿd (d. 230 AH). Al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir.
  • Khalīfah ibn Khayyāṭ (d. 240 AH). Al-Ṭabaqāt. Edited by Suhayl Zakkār. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1414 AH.
  • Ibn ʿAnbah (d. 828 AH). ʿUmdat al-Ṭālib. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥasan. Najaf: al-Maktabah al-Ḥaydariyyah, 1380 SH.
  • Muntaǧab al-Dīn ibn Bābūyah (d. 585 AH). Al-Fihrist. Aramūy, Qom: Maktabat al-Najafī, 1366 SH.
  • al-Kulaynī (d. 329 AH). Al-Kāfī. Edited by Ghaffārī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1375 SH.
  • Sībawayh (d. 180 AH). Al-Kitāb. Edited by ʿAbd al-Salām. Beirut: Dār al-Jīl.
  • al-Zamakhsharī (d. 538 AH). Al-Kashshāf. Qom: Balāghat, 1415 AH.
  • Abū al-Faraj al-Asfahānī (d. 356 AH). Maqātil al-Ṭālibiyyīn. Edited by Muẓaffar. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb, 1385 SH.