In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
A Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
Abu Talib’s protection of his nephew, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Ibn Ishaq said:
When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, openly declared Islam to his people,
and proclaimed it as Allah had commanded him,
his people did not initially distance themselves from him or reject him,
until he mentioned their deities and criticized them.
Once he did that, they took great offense and turned against him,
and they united in their opposition and hostility toward him,
except for those whom Allah protected by guiding them to Islam.
They were few in number and kept their faith hidden.
His uncle, Abu Talib, showed great affection for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and he defended him and stood by his side.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, continued to carry out the command of Allah,
manifesting His message, with nothing able to deter him from it.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:
Allah protected His Messenger, peace be upon him, and shielded him through his uncle, Abu Talib,
because he was a man of nobility, held in high regard, and esteemed among them.
They dared not confront him regarding the matter of Muhammad, peace be upon him,
because they knew of his love for him.
It was part of the wisdom of Allah that he remained upon their religion,
due to the benefit that this served.
The stance of Abu Lahab and his wife, Umm Jamil Arwa bint Harb,
toward the call of the Prophet, peace be upon him, was one of eternal hostility.
For when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, called the people upon Mount Safa,
his uncle Abu Lahab stood up and said:
"May you be ruined for the rest of the day;
is this why you have gathered us?"
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir states:
This Abu Lahab
is one of the uncles of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
His name is 'Abd al-'Uzza ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib,
and his kunya (patronymic) is Abu 'Utbah.
He was called Abu Lahab because of the radiance of his face.
He was a source of great harm to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and harbored intense hatred for him,
constantly belittling him and disparaging him and his religion.
A Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah),
authored by Shaykh
Musa bin Rashid al-'Azimi,
with an introduction by the Mawaddah Association
in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
May Allah grant him healing.