The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 238
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 238 regularly bless him with his presence. Thus, on one occasion, when his demise was near, the Holy Prophet sa went to visit him. At that time, Abū Jahl and other idolaters were also present. When the Holy Prophet sa sensed his approaching demise, he said, “Uncle! Merely utter the Kalimah Shahādah and on the Day of Resurrection, I shall intercede on your behalf. ” On hearing this, Abū Jahl and the rest became apprehensive, and began to say to Abū Ṭālib, “Will you forsake the religion of ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib?” and continued to persuade him in many ways, the outcome of which was that the last words heard of Abū Ṭālib were that, “I die upon the religion of ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib. ” When the Holy Prophet sa heard these words, he said in great anguish, “Alright, I shall continue supplicating in the presence of my Lord for your forgiveness, except that I am prohibited from doing so. ” But it was not long before the Holy Prophet sa was forbidden from doing so, and an injunction was revealed that it is unlawful to pray for the forgiveness of idolaters and disbelievers, instead, their matter should be left to God. 1 There is another narration which might be true and it relates that upon his deathbed, Abū Ṭālib said to the Chieftains of the Quraish that: “O Party of the Quraish! Among the creation of Allāh, you are a chosen people. God has given you great reverence. I advise that you treat Muḥammad [sa] well, because amongst you, he is a man of the highest morals. He possesses distinction among the Arabs on account of his truthfulness and straightforwardness. If you ask the truth, he has brought a message to us which the tongue rejects but the heart accepts. I have stood by Muḥammad [sa] a lifetime and have stepped forward to protect him in all times of difficulty, and if I receive more time, I shall continue to do so in the future as well. And O Quraish! I also advise you not to insist upon causing him grief, but help him and support him, for your betterment lies in this. ” 2 Shortly thereafter, Abū Ṭālib passed away. The Holy Prophet sa was greatly hurt by his demise and since Abū Ṭālib remained a supporter and protector to the Holy Prophet sa against the Quraish, by his demise, the position of the Holy Prophet sa became even more sensitive. At the time of his demise, which 1 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Manāqibil-Anṣār, Bābu Qiṣṣati Abī Ṭālib, Ḥadīth No. 3884 2 Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az- Zarqānī, Volume 2, pp. 46-48, Bābu Wafāti Khadījata wa Abī Ṭālib, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)