In this, the Prophet Muhammad’s “Year of Grief,” he loses both his wife and his uncle.
CHAPTER 9
The Prophet’s Uncle on His Deathbed
Not even the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was able to convert his beloved uncle Abu Talib to Islam.
The three-year ban specified in Chapter 8 ended, and Muslims flocked back to their houses in Makkah. As a result of the ordeal's gruelling nature, several people, including Abu Talib, who was then over 80 years old, returned in a very terrible state of health.
By this stage, it was the tenth year after the start of the revelation of the Quran. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) tried one last time to encourage his uncle to say the Shahadah. He said:
My uncle, you just make a profession that there is no true god but Allah, and I will bear testimony before Allah (of your being a believer).
And he would have done so, had it not been for the influence of Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab. Both men were also present at Abu Talib’s deathbed, and said to him:
“Abu Talib, would you abandon the religion of ‘Abdul-Muttalib?”
They kept diverting him from saying the Shahadah and, unfortunately, they succeeded. He died without saying it.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was very sad to see his uncle pass away without declaring his faith. But Allah (SWT) reminded him that guidance is not in his hands:
Indeed [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided. (28:56)
This was a great loss to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). His uncle had protected him for the previous ten years. After the death of Abu Talib, the Quraish increased their persecution of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as never before.
The Return of Lady Khadijah to Her Lord
The beloved wife of the Prophet Muhammad died just 40 days after Abu Talib. She was 65 years old at the time, and the three-year boycott had had a significant negative impact on her health.
While Lady Khadijah was the Prophet's closest friend and provided him with unwavering support at home, the Prophet's uncle served as his biggest support in Makkah. She was the first to have faith in him and was his staunchest supporter, which is why he loved her so much.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
She believed in me when no one else did. She embraced Islam when people disbelieved me. And she helped and comforted me in her person and wealth when there was no one else to lend me a helping hand. I had children from her only. (The Sealed Nectar)
The death of Lady Khadijah left the Prophet (peace be upon him) lonely. He was not seen smiling for several months after her death. Her memory was always alive in his mind, even many years later after he migrated to Madinah.
But the hardships did not end there for our beloved Prophet. He (peace be upon him) now had no protection in Makkah. For this reason, he went to the city of Ta’if to invite its people to Islam.
