During the 23 years of revelation, the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) had many supporters and opponents, including his two uncles–Abu Talib (the father of Ali (رضالله عنه)), and Abdul ‘Uzza ibn Abdul-Muttalib, aka Abu Lahab.
Subhanallah, even within two uncles of the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم), we see great differences. Compare and constrast them:
Abu Talib:
- Extended his protection to his nephew, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), even though the Quresh wanted to kill him
- Wrote strong, emotional poetry during the boycott of Mecca in order to move people towards nullifying it
- Commanded his sons to sleep in the Prophet’s (صلي الله عليه وسلم) bed at night, so that if any assassins came, the sons would die instead of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم)
- The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said regarding him: because of me, he will be in the lightest part of the Hellfire.
Abu Lahab:
- When the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) stood on Mount Safaa and openly called the people to Islam for the first time, Abu Lahab said May you perish! Have you called us for this?
- Mocked the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) when his son Ibrahim died
- Commanded his two sons, who were married to the Prophet’s (صلي الله عليه وسلم) daughters, to divorce them
- The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said regarding him: Every nation has a Fir’awn, and the Fir’awn of our nation is Abu Lahab [1].
What are one of the lessons we can learn from this? It doesn’t matter who you are, or who your family is–what matters are your beliefs and your deeds. And Allah says:
Translation: O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).
May Allah make us among those who achieve taqwa, irrespective of who we are–ameen!
[1] Abdul Qadeer. “Two Little Warriors.” Madani Forum. 19 Feb. 2007. 9 June 2007 <http://madani.16.forumer.com/a/two-little-warriors_post1995.html>.
Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. The Shepherd’s Path. University of Ryerson, Toronto. March 2007.
Subhanallah, those people who call themselves “syed”, i.e. from the descendents of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, think that entitles them to Jannah! But Abu Lahab is syed, too …
masha Allah very enlightning post subhanallah verily Allah does not see ones persons faces nor does He sees their wealth but He sees their hearts jazakallahu khairan
assalamaualaikum,
can sumone pls help me with this confusion?
are abu lahab and abu jahal one and the same person or are they different individuals?
jazakallahukhair
farheen
Wa’alikum as-salaam,
They are different people. Abu Jahl was the Fir’aun of the ummah, and he was killed by two young boys in Badr. Abu Lahab was an uncle of the Messenger of Allah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam).
How many of the prophet’s uncles were brothers of his father and how many were step-brothers or cousins?
@Ali: Allahu a’lam, I don’t know.