Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 37
37 uncle. They asserted that though his nephew’s denunciation of idol worship was intolerable to them, they had so far refrained from taking any extreme measures out of respect for Abu Talib, who was a revered chief and whose protection Muhammad enjoyed. Could not Abu Talib persuade his nephew to give up the preaching of the new doctrine, perhaps on pain of being disowned? They made it plain that if Abu Talib did not adopt this course, they would be compelled to disown their chief. Abu Talib agreed to do what he could. But when he gravely spoke to his nephew, conveying what the delegation had said, Muhammad firmly replied that, while he lamented his uncle’s dilemma, he was under Divine orders and could not disobey. “Do not give up your people, Uncle,” Muhammad said. “I do not ask you to stand by me. You may disown me as they have suggested. As for me, the One and Only God is my witness when I say that if they were to place the sun on my right and the moon on my left I would not desist from preaching the truth that God commands. I must go on doing so until the end. ” Abu Talib plunged into deep thought. He had not himself declared his belief in the Prophet’s message, but he was very fond of his nephew and must have felt a surge of pride at Muhammad’s firm and noble resolve, which he had expressed, to carry