2 of 3 · c. 613–616 CE · the open call · Makkah
Abu Talib ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib
"I Will Never Hand You Over"
When the Prophet ﷺ began to call openly and to criticise the idols, the leaders of Quraysh came to Abu Talib again and again. Stop your nephew, they said, or step aside and let us deal with him. Abu Talib answered them gently and sent them away, but they came back with threats.
The biographers report that he then called his nephew and said, in effect: spare me and spare yourself, and do not put on me more than I can bear. The Prophet ﷺ, thinking his uncle was about to abandon him, said that he would not give up this matter until Allah made it prevail or he died for it, and he turned away in tears.
Abu Talib called him back and said: "Go, my nephew, and say what you wish. By Allah, I will never hand you over to anything." He kept that promise. He gathered Banu Hashim and Banu al-Muttalib to stand behind the Prophet ﷺ, Muslims and non-Muslims alike; of his clan, only Abu Lahab refused.
Abu Talib's loyalty did not depend on agreeing with every word his nephew said. He kept his word when it cost him his standing.
Whom have you promised to stand by, and would you still stand by them under pressure?
- Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-NabawiyyahHistorical report
- Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa'l-NihayahHistorical report
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