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Sahih Muslim 24a

When Abu Talib was about to die, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) came to him and found with him Abu Jahl (Amr ibn Hisham) and Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya ibn al-Mughirah.

Al-Musayyabnarrated it
Sahihgraded sahih
7names in the chain
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وَحَدَّثَنِي حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى التُّجِيبِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي سَعِيدُ بْنُ الْمُسَيَّبِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ

قَالَ لَمَّا حَضَرَتْ أَبَا طَالِبٍ الْوَفَاةُ جَاءَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَوَجَدَ عِنْدَهُ أَبَا جَهْلٍ وَعَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ أَبِي أُمَيَّةَ بْنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «يَا عَمِّ قُلْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ.

كَلِمَةً أَشْهَدُ لَكَ بِهَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ». فَقَالَ أَبُو جَهْلٍ وَعَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَبِي أُمَيَّةَ يَا أَبَا طَالِبٍ أَتَرْغَبُ عَنْ مِلَّةِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ. فَلَمْ يَزَلْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَعْرِضُهَا عَلَيْهِ وَيُعِيدُ لَهُ تِلْكَ الْمَقَالَةَ حَتَّى قَالَ أَبُو طَالِبٍ آخِرَ مَا كَلَّمَهُمْ هُوَ عَلَى مِلَّةِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ.

وَأَبَى أَنْ يَقُولَ: لَا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «أَمَا وَاللَّهِ لأَسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَكَ مَا لَمْ أُنْهَ عَنْكَ». فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ «مَا كَانَ لِلنَّبِيِّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُوا لِلْمُشْرِكِينَ وَلَوْ كَانُوا أُولِي قُرْبَى مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْجَحِيمِ».

وَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي أَبِي طَالِبٍ فَقَالَ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ»

When Abu Talib was about to die, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) came to him and found with him Abu Jahl (Amr ibn Hisham) and Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya ibn al-Mughirah.

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: My uncle, you just make a profession that there is no god but Allah, and I will bear testimony before Allah (of your being a believer), Abu Jahl and Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya addressing him said: Abu Talib, would you abandon the religion of Abdul-Muttalib? The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) constantly requested him (to accept his offer), and (on the other hand) was repeated the same statement (of Abu Jahl and Abdullah ibn Abi Umayya) till Abu Talib gave his final decision and be stuck to the religion of Abdul-Muttalib and refused to profess that there is no god but Allah.

Upon this the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) remarked: By Allah, I will persistently beg pardon for you till I am forbidden to do so (by God), It was then that Allah, the Magnificent and the Glorious, revealed this verse: “ It is not meet for the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and for those who believe that they should beg pardon for the polytheists, even though they were their kith and kin, after it had been made known to them that they were the denizens of Hell” (ix. 113) And it was said to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam): “ Verily thou canst not guide to the right path whom thou lovest. And it is Allah Who guideth whom He will, and He knoweth best who are the guided” (xxviii).

حسن بن علی حلوانی ‘ یحییٰ بن آدم ‘ ابن ادریس ‘ اعمش ‘ ابو اسحاق سے روایت ہے ، کہا : جب ( بظاہر حضرت علی کا نام لینے والے ) لوگوں نے حضرت علی ‌رضی ‌اللہ ‌عنہ ‌ ‌ کے بعد ( ان کے نام پر ) یہ چیزیں ایجاد کر لیں تو ان کے ساتھیوں میں سے ایک شخص نے کہا : اللہ ان ( لوگوں ) کو قتل کرے! انہوں نے کیسا ( عظیم الشان ) علم بگاڑ دیا ۔

(Bize Hasen b. Alî el-Hulvânî rivâyet etti. ki): Bize Yahya b. Âdem rivâyet etti. ki): Bize İbn İdris, A'meş'den o da Ebû İshâk'dan naklen rivâyet etti. Ebû İshâk Şöyle dedi: Alî (radıyallahü anh)'dan sonra bu şeyleri îcâd ettikleri vakit Alî'nin arkadaşlarından bir zât: belâlarını versin! Ne kadar muhteşem bir ilmi ifsâd ettiler!...» dedi

Sahih Muslim 24a, Book 1, The Book of Faith, Hadith 39. 1 min read

What it means

The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) asked his uncle Abu Tālib, while in the throes of death, to utter the testimony of faith, so that he could intercede for him with it on the Day of Judgment and testify that he was a Muslim. But he refused to utter it, fearing that the Quraysh would revile him and say that he embraced Islam out of fear of death and weakness!

He said to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him): Were it not for that, I would have made you joyful by saying the testimony, fulfilling your wish and making you pleased. So, Allah Almighty revealed a verse indicating that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) cannot guide people in the sense of inspiring them to accept Islam, but it is Allah Almighty alone Who grants such guidance to whomever He wills; and that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) guided them by clarifying, showing, and calling them to the straight path.

What it teaches

  • The truth should not be renounced out of fear of what people say.
  • The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) can only guide people by leading and showing them the right way, not by inspiring them to accept guidance.
  • It is permissible to visit a sick disbeliever to invite him to Islam.
  • The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was keen on calling people to Allah Almighty in all circumstances.

From the Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths, hadeethenc.com.

The chain

Who passed it on, from Imam Muslim back to the one who was there.

  1. 1Imam MuslimCompiler, died 261 AH
  2. 2Harmalah ibn YahyaTold me, Fourth generation, died 243 AH
  3. 3Abdullah ibn WahbInformed us, Third generation, died 197 AH
  4. 4Yunus ibn Yazid al-AyliInformed me, Third generation, died 152 AH
  5. 5Ibn Shihab az-ZuhriFrom, Successor, died 123 AH
  6. 6Said ibn al-MusayyibInformed me, Successor, died 87 AH
  7. 7Al-Musayyab ibn HaznFrom, Companion

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