When Protection Was Lost: Abu Talib's Belief Without Islam

At all often. Excommunicated by the rest of the tribes of Quresh and by extension, the rest of those in the Arab Peninsula. That is because Quraish had very strong ties and far-reaching political relationships with most, if not all of the tribes of the Arab Peninsula. And so, After this, they spent about 3 years there in that Sheb. What is known as Sheb, Abia Talib, or the Valley, Abu Talib. They remain there for 3 years enduring hunger and famine and hardship. After this, due to a prophecy, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala provided the prophet they were able to come out of exile and rejoin the rest of their and the rest of their people in Quresh and live there again. Abu Talib did not relent Abu Talib did not relent and he refused to hand over the prophet and stated in no uncertain terms that he believed. Muhammad his nephew was in fact a prophet from Allah and a messenger. Everything that he was saying and calling to was correct and truthful. And accurate. However he did not accept Islam. And did not adhere as a Muslim. Due to his fear of the social repercussions of doing so. and this articulates to us the true nature of belief. The true nature of belief. When we say for instance and we discuss this at the beginning of this book. When we say belief amen. Belief has a linguistic meaning to it and it has a legislative Islamic Islamic meaning to it. It's linguistic meaning is positive belief, unwavering belief. However, it's legislative meaning as we've mentioned, belief in the heart, and adherence of the tongue, ad herence of actions, it increases with Allah's obedience, and decreases with Allah's disobedience. This is belief as expressed to us by Allah and his messenger. In the Quran and in the Sunnah. So when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says belief, when the prophet says belief, this is what he is referring to We see here that Abu Talib believed in the linguistic sense. Meaning, he acknowledged that the prophet was truthful and his claim to prophethood but he was indeed sent by Allah and then the Quran he recited were was is the words of Allah. However, he died as a non Muslim. He did not accept Islam. Because it is not enough to merely believe in one's heart. Say, well, you know, in my heart of hearts, I believe that this is true. Without ad hering, and having a general attitude of ad herence. Having a general attitude of, Allah is my Lord, the prophet is my messenger. I must obey in a general holistic sense. This is what belief is referring to the Quran and in the sunnah. So Abu Talib according to the consensus of the scholarship of Islam is not a Muslim. He never was. He never accepted Islam. Even though he stated many places through his poetry, through things that were. Narrated to have said, for him narrated that he had said, he expressed his belief and acknowledgement of the prophet's message. What he refused to follow It's important for us to understand that this is not enough There has to be ad herence. There has to be obedience. There has to be a holistic sense of following the prophet and so, had never accepted Islam but he was a great asset to the prophet as were the tribes of the messengers and prophets throughout time. They were sent from the best of tribes. The prophets and messengers were anointed and chosen from the best of tribes. And as they deliver their message their tribes would usually protect them. Would usually protect them from the reign of terror of the prophets antagonist and so Abu Talib was very crucial, very critical to the message of Islam being delivered properly. The prophet being able to deliver his message unadulterated. Abu Talib provided very crucial protection for him to do so. And so the death of Abu Talib was a huge huge hit to the prophet It was it marked a point when there was very little protection and that barrier that stood between himself And his antagonist was now wearing very thin He says So,.

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Sick and passed away six months after that. This was a huge hit to the prophet both both personally and with regards to his his journey as a prophet in his Dawah. And so just because Abu Talib had not accepted Islam doesn't mean that he was not loved by the prophet and when we loved here. We're speaking about a natural love, right? There's a difference between natural love and religious love. Natural love is what a person naturally has for those who do good to them. A religious love is an unconditional it's a love that the only condition is a person's tie to them in religion that we share the same religion. We believe in the same creator. We worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We follow the same messenger. Therefore, I love all of my Muslim brothers and sisters, those of them who I've met and those whom I have not. Con two, contrary to personal love, Personal love. This is something that a person can't control. If you have a father figure or you have a personal love. For that person. And these two types of love do not usually clash. However, in the instance that they do clash, person's responsibility is to give residence to their religious brotherhood. So, there is blood relations and there is religious relations. We are all brothers. We're not blood brothers. We don't share the same tribe or the same father or mother. But we share the same. We share the same religion. And so those two types of love, they're different. just the same on the other side of the fence or on the other side of the coin, we see that the non Muslims, those who antagonized the prophet they refuse to enter into Islam and they antagonize the prophet they loved him in a personal way. right? He was known as being someone who was very trustworthy and someone who's very upright and someone that had no quarrel with anybody. and he was someone that people trusted with their wealth, people trusted with their blood. And so, the people of Quraish in general, all loved the prophet but that love was a personal love. It wasn't a religious love. And that is why it is not considered rewarding with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's natural. It's not religious and so, what a person is rewarded for is religious love. That is something that they did not have for the prophet rather they had personal love, natural love. And so Abu Talib passing away was a very big deal. It was prophet took quite a hit and took that to heart very much so. However, it was not over yet. The calamities were coming in quick succession. He says after Abu Talib passed away, his wife and confidant and ad vocate and supporter, Khadijah, the mother of all of his children, Barb one, passed away. She passed away three days after Abu Talib. and that's why this year specifically, the tenth year is referred to as this is not what the prophet called it. It's it's just a term that is used amongst historians, Islamic historians as Am the year of sadness. Why? Because the prophet lost Abu Talib and then right after that Khadijah. Now Abu Talib's lost was arguably more painful to the prophet than Khadijah. Why is that? Because he lost Abu Talib in this life and the hereafter. He refused to enter Islam. He died as a non Muslim and he chose the path of hell. Knowingly. This meant that he was he had committed himself to eternal damnation and this is something that troubled the prophet very very much. Khadijah, he had lost her in this life, not in the hereafter, in the hereafter. It would be reunited and so forth. But Abu Talib, his loss was very much severe. Some of the scholars say that the timeline was a little bit different. Meaning that Abu Talib passed away and Khadijah passed away three days later. Some say a few weeks or months later. But we do know that they all agree that both Abu Talib and Khadijah passed away in this year. And in quick succession. Adijah was had a very specific particular position in the prophet esteem. She was his first wife. He was the mother of all of his children except for Ibrahim. The prophet had 8 children. And Khadijah, was the mother to all seven out of those eight. To seven out of those eight. Last of those children was Ibrahim. and Ibrahim passed away very very young and that was from his concubine Maria. Had a very particular place. Very particular place in the prophet esteem. It was his first wife, the mother of his children, from amongst his wives. She was the first believer of all the Muslims and the first to believe in him. And she was his first ad vocate and true companion. So when we say the companions of the prophet she was the first Sahabi. She was the first Muslim after the prophet at one point Khadijah was half of the Muslim Ummah. Right? Half of the Muslim Ummah, the prophet was the other half. And very similar, was her position with the prophet as that of Sarah with Ibrahim Alaihi Salam. There's a narration in Sahih Muslim. In which Ibrahim left his people after they attempted to kill him, burn him alive. that when he left and made this hijra, this migration he said to his wife, there is noone on this earth, a believer today, except for you and me, right? So, at one point, there were only two believers on the Earth and Sodo was one of those. So, she was half of the Muslim Ummah at that time. And very similarly, was this position that she shared with the prophet Khadijah is considered to be a We know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala placed the Muslims, his servants, his obedient servant. He gave them different ranks. Four ranks. A loss of Allah said Rasul. he mentions subhanahu wa ta.

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After that, are the martyrs, the Shohadad. And after that, the rest of the righteous what is a so we see that Abu Bakr is often referred to as Omar, an earthman, and Ali. All three of them. Or Shuaid. They were murdered for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. All three of them. All three of them were killed by another. due to their position However, Abu Bakr was a and Abu Bakr was a Shahid as well which is something that many people don't know about Abu Bakr. We didn't mention it Yet, we haven't arrived at that point yet when Abu Bakr makes Hijra with the prophet However, It's mentioned by many historians and many scholars that Abu Bakr when he made Hijra with the prophet they stopped off and took refuge in a cave. Known as when they hid in this cave, there were open holes for different types of animals. Snakes and lizards and scorpions and stuff. And so Abu Bakr who first went into the cave. to prepare it and make it safe. and so, it's mentioned that he took much of his garment that he was wearing and began to stuff these holes, ripping pieces off of his stove and stuffing these holes so that when the prophet came in, there would be a little threat of him being stung or bitten. to mention that there was one final hole and again, they went into this cave in haste. They were hiding in there and they had to remain there for 3 days. The prophet came in and there was one whole remaining which Abu Bakr plugged with his foot, with his heel, the heel of his foot. and there happened to be a venomous snake in there and its bit Abu Bakr on his foot. Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam later spit into this wound and Abu Bakr was healed from it. Which what we find out is that this actually didn't reverse the venom but rather it but rather it paused it because after the prophet died, Abu Bakr began to be get very sick. And in some narrations, Abu Bakr states that this is the venom of that snake after the prophet passed away. It began to take hold in his body. Abu Bakr wrote the was a Sudiq. Khadijah was a what is a in the Arabic language is taken from the root word which is Assad, this articulates, belief, and trustworthiness. When Allah refers to him as our articulates and exaggerated portion of belief that is unwavering. Meaning that he believed in the prophet and never experienced a moment of doubt. Never a flash of doubt. In Abu Bakr's heart. This is a and this is why a has the highest level, highest ranking is held in highest esteem after the prophets and messengers, the highest rank a human being can have with Allah short of prophethood as a is a and that is incredibly rare and incredibly difficult for a person to earn that level of belief that they believe in their respective profit so deeply, so intensely, so immediately that not a momentary flash of doubt is something they have ever experienced. Is considered a and this is the meaning of that title. scholars differ on the virtue of Khadijah as opposed to the virtue of Aisha. When the prophet was asked as is in Sahih in a man who is most beloved to you amongst people. He said We understand this to be of his living wives. Most beloved to him. Now, the scholars differ on who holds a higher rank and virtue from amongst between and Khadijah. Some scholars view it to be Aisha. Due to the depth of her knowledge. Others view it to be Khadijah. Due to thee, virtues mentioned by the prophet one of those virtues is that Khadijah was conveyed a salaam from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and we mentioned that the previous classes is a very high virtue, very few of the companions received this salutation directly from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. and Imam is of the view that Khadijah is holds higher virtue than Aisha.

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It would seem that if we were to take all of the virtues mentioned in the sunnah and in the Quran as well of Khadijah or of Aisha. It would seem that Khadijah's virtues exceed those of Aisha. However, it's something that holds very little bearing in the greater picture and that is that both Khadijah and Aisha were of the most blessed, pure, women in the history of mankind. Said So, as we mentioned, that barrier between.

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Most elite and notables of Quresh and so, every time that Abu Jahil, Abu Lahab, his own uncle, others, Omega Ibn Khalef, obey Ibn Khalef. When these characters would attempt to harm the prophet would conspire to kill him. They would be stopped by Abu Talib. And Abu Talib was considered very respected and in some In some aspects, very feared in Quraish. It was not going to happen that anyone was going to harm the prophet in any meaningful way as long as Abu Talib was alive. He refused to hand him over and he refused to allow anyone to harm him. But when Abu Talib died, that protective barrier between the prophets and his antagonist became very thin. And so now the people of Quresh, his antagonist, they ramped up the aggression towards the prophet and his companions. Now, the strategy had to change At first, he was in Mecca. Abu Talib was protecting him. He was able to convey the message of Allah with relative impunity. Now that Abu Talib passed away, the strategy had to change now. Because it was something that was eventual that they would conspire to kill him. There's a very important difference between a prophet and a messenger. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in the Quran prophets and he mentions messengers. And he differentiates between the two. When we look at the verses of the Quran, we look at the narrations of the prophet and how these two words are used. And the the the definitions they are rendered. We see that there is a difference between a prophet and a messenger. The majority of the scholarship of Islam is of opinion that every messenger is a prophet but not every prophet is a messenger. Let's repeat that. Every messenger is a prophet. But not every prophet is a messenger. Meaning that we have prophethood and a level above that is messengership. There are many things in the Quran, many things in the Sunnah that articulate this. One of them is a narration of Abudar. It's a well-known narration collected in a and also in Ahmed. In which the prophet was asked, how many messengers were sent? and he said, three hundred and fifteen Three hundred and fifteen messengers in the history of mankind from Adam Alaihi Salam to the last of the messengers, Muhammad there were three hundred and fifteen. And then he was asked and how many prophets He said 100 So there is a big difference between a messenger and a prophet. Out of that hundred and twenty-three thousand, only three hundred andfifteen were elected by Allah to be messengers. Now, what's the real main difference, the practical difference between a prophet and a messenger? The real difference between a prophet and a messenger is who they are sent to, right? A prophet is usually sent as a reviver, and a someone who the torch is passed down to. by another messenger. So, usually a prophet is fulfills the role kind of the companions filled that role of the prophet Muhammad He disseminated his knowledge to them and they carried that knowledge after him and kept it pure. A messenger is usually is always sent to a people who are not Muslim. They are usually idolaters. They worship other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and they are usually an aggressive people that fundamentally differ with their messenger. When we look at the Musa, Isa, Alaihi Salam, Shuaib, who would, all of these prophets and messengers, all of these messengers that were mentioned in the Quran, we see that they were all sent to an aggressive, disbelieving people. Contrary to prophets, prophets are usually sent as revivers. They're usually sent as revivers. There is another critical difference between prophets and messengers. That is that messengers not be killed by their people Notice what I'm saying here. A messenger is sent to a disbelieving people. this messenger is the representative of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the of Allah. this messenger will not ever be killed, has never been killed by his people. You may say, well, we know a lot of prophets that are killed. Say, those are prophets that were killed. Zechariah, Yahia, and many of these stories that we know where the prophet, a prophet would be killed and murdered by his people. That's very common. However, a messenger in the legislative meaning is protected by Allah from being murdered because he articulates the throughout his life as a messenger he has to fulfill and completely convey the message of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as a as a collective whole completed religion right and so messengers when they are to a people either the people believe and their messenger dies amongst them, a natural death, or they disbelieve, and they are destroyed by Allah. This is a main difference between messengers and prophets. the messenger of Allah Muhammad was protected by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with very in various ways. It's not just some magical, mystical protection. Allah protected him through his tribe. Allah protected him through the Allah protected him through his companions. But nonetheless protected. Right? Because he had to convey and fulfill the entirety of the religion of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now, when his uncle Abu Talib passed away, that aggression was becoming more and more intense His antagonists were becoming more and more brazen and his shield and barriers protection became very thin. So now, he decided to change strategy into go to another tribe or another city, another place and have the people of that place except Islam and protect him from his own people. And he chose a and so he walked there to convey the message of Islam to its elders. And to bargain with them. To take him in as their messenger and protect him as the later would. He says the.