Proofs That Abu Talib Was A Muslim & A Believer - Our Prophet 4 - Struggles In Mecca

Let us examine some proofs now that demonstrate Abu Talib was a believer.

First proof: if Imam 'Ali's father was not a believer, then Mu'awiyah and the Zubayris -the Zubayris were the followers of Zubayr, they were against Imam 'Ali - they would have definitely used this point to attack Imam 'Ali, 'alayhi as-salam. Because, they used every means possible, every tool, in order to ruin the reputation of Imam 'Ali. We do not see a single time where Mu'awiyah uses this- 'Oh, your father died a Mushrik, he died an unbeliever.' Why? This means it did not exist at the time. The faith of Abu Talib was so clear that Mu'awiyah could not have denied that. This was something fabricated later in history.

Well, this is history. In our history books, even Sunni history, we do not have a single example of the Zubayris or the followers of Mu'awiyah attacking Imam 'Ali and saying that your father was not a believer. This is not existent in our history. Which means all these hadiths that attack him of being a non-believer were fabricated later in history. That is the first point.

The second point is that Abu Talib confesses that he believes in one God, and he does so in his lines of poetry. Let us read some of them. For example, in one line of poetry, by the way, he was a very eloquent poet. He says "Malik un-Naasi Laysa Lahu Shareek". He says "Malik un-Nas", the King of people, Allah, has no Shareek, has no partner. "Huwa al-Wahhab, Wa al-Mubdi, al-Mu'id", Allah is the Wahhab- the Giver, Al-Mubdi'- 'the One who started and gave life, wa al-Mu'id, and 'He will take us back on the Day of Judgment.' Is this something that an unbeliever states, a pagan states? No, these are the clear words of someone who believes in the oneness of Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala. So, that is one.

The second one, he has lines of poetry in which he actually confirms that the Prophet is what? A Messenger! He clearly states that Muhammad is a Messenger. Let us examine some of them.

He says in one line of poetry:"Alam ta'lamu anna wajadna Muhammadan, Nabiyyan ka Musa, khutta fi awwal al-Kutubi"- 'Do you not know that we have found Muhammad a Prophet, a Messenger, just like Musa? And this has been written in previous books.' "Nabiyyun atahu al-Wahyu min 'indi Rabbihi"- 'A Prophet who received revelation from his Lord.'

And then he continues to say, "Ya Shahida Allah, 'alayya fa-sh-had'- 'O Allah, you are the witness. Be the witness.' Inni 'ala deeni an-Nabiyyi Ahmadi" -'I am on the religion of the Prophet Ahmad', meaning the Holy Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa alihi.

[Where is this mentioned/documented?] In lines of poetry, which history has documented. In lines of poetry, he confirms his faith and the Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa alihi. So, we have many, many lines of poetry. Because, he was a poet, he would issue many poems. So, we see that he clearly states that I am on the Deen of Ahmad. I am on the deen of Muhammad.

[So, during the Bani Ummayah and Mu'awiyah, if this attack wasn't present at that time, is it possible that this is an Abbasid attack?] So this attack, this happened either at the end of Bani Umayyah or probably yes, during the Abbasids, and there were political reasons. So, at the time of Bukhari, we see this idea was quite widespread. So, yes, this probably spread during the time of the Abbasids. We do not exactly know who was the first to propagate this, but it is highly probable that either at the end of Bani Umayyah or the very beginning of Bani al-'Abbas.

So, this is an argument that establishes the faith of Abu Talib. The fact that he is confessing that he believes in the message of the Prophet. So, this is one proof that we have.

Another proof that we have. Imam Zayn al-'Abidin, 'alayhi as-salam, actually mentions this. al-Imam Zayn Al- 'Abidin, he mentions when he was asked about the Imaan [faith] of Abu Talib. What does he say? He says Subhan Allah. I am even shocked that anyone can make such a claim. Why? He says, because the wife of Abu Talib was who? The mother of Imam 'Ali, Fatimah Bint Asad. Fatimah Bint Asad was amongst the early Muslims.

Now, there was a law instituted by Islam that if a wife becomes a believer and her husband is a nonbeliever, is a pagan, what would the Prophet tell them to do? He would separate them. Right? Because a Muslim woman could not stay the wife of a pagan. And there are instances in which the Prophet did separate between them.

However, did he ever separate between Abu Talib and his wife? Why not? Indicates he was a believer. Had Abu Talib been a pagan and al-Imam Zayn al-'Abidin, 'alayhi as-salam, states, he would have separated between him and his wife Fatimah bint Asad, because there is no discussion that Fatimah was a believer. Sunnis even accept that. But until the last day of Abu Talib's life, we see that Fatimah bint Asad was there with him. And the Prophet never attempted to separate between them or to ask his uncle to divorce her, for example. And that is proof that indeed he was a believer in Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala. So that is one argument that we can also use to make the case that Abu Talib was a believer in God.

Any questions on this argument? And by the way, there is a verse in the Holy Qur'an in which Allah says, "...Wa la tumsikoo bi 'isami al-kawaafir..." (60:10)- '...And hold not to marriage bonds with disbelieving women...'. Allah, Subhana wa Ta'ala, in this verse prohibits the Muslim women who were married to pagans to stay their wives. They had to be separated. Yes brother.

[What if it was the other way round?] You mean if the..If the man converts and he became a Muslim, in order for his wife to stay his wife, she has to be, at least from the people of the Book, a Christian or a Jew, but if she was a pagan, a Mushrik, he also had to get separated from her, yes.

So, we have a number of proofs that demonstrate that Abu Talib was indeed a true believer in God.

If we look at the ahadith of Ahl ul-Bayt, we have many ahadith. For example, Imam as-Sadiq, 'alayhi as-salam, he states that, 'On the Day of Judgment, the Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa alihi, will do such a Shafa'ah [intercession] for Abu Talib, such that the creations of God, all people will be shocked how great his status is and the Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa alihi, gave him such a high status through his Shafa'ah, and intercession.'

So, when you look at the Imams of Ahl ul-Bayt, they were very clear that Abu Talib, was a believer.