Chief of the Prophets — Page 53
Chapter Four 53 The Leaders of the Infidels Abū Jahl is known as the foremost opponent of Muḥammad sa. His real name was ‘Amr bin Hishām, and he was a chieftain of the Quraish tribe. He was also known by the name of Abul-Ḥakam, which means,”Father of Wisdom” because of his foresight and knowledge. But when the Sun of prophethood rose, he thought it a threat to his authority and thus took charge of the opposition, denial, and infliction. He was ultimately killed by two local boys in the Battle of Badr. Abū Lahab bin Abdul-Muṭṭalib occupied the second position among the leaders of disbelievers. He was no less than Abū Jahl in enmity and rivalry. In the final part of the Qur’ān, he is mentioned in the verse: (Al-Lahab 111:2 Perished be the two hands of Abū Lahab. Besides them, ‘Uqbah bin Abī Mu‘īṭ, Umayyah bin Khalaf, An-Nar bin Ḥārith and various others are included in the same group. First Delegation to Abū Ṭālib The leaders of disbelievers mentioned above were on a mission to wipe out Islam. Realizing that they were not succeeding in their plans and the Muslims were increasing day by day, they put together a delegation of the chieftains of the Quraish to go to Abū Ṭālib. This delegation included Walīd bin Mughīrah, ‘Ᾱṣ bin Wā’il, ‘Utbah bin Rabī‘ah, Abū Jahl, and Abū Sufyān among others. They went to Abū Ṭālib and very respectfully pleaded: You are an honourable person of our clan; therefore we have come to you with a request to stop your nephew from