Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār (1) said: “She was the first Hāshimite woman to give birth to a Hāshimite child. She embraced Islam and migrated.”

His father was the devoted, full-brother uncle, Abū Ṭālib—whose given name was ʿAbd Manāf; this wording is explicitly affirmed by Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (2) as well as by numerous authorities on genealogy and historical chronicles.

The Rāfiḍites have claimed that Abū Ṭālib’s name was ʿImrān and that he is meant in the divine statement: “Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of ʿImrān above all peoples” (Āl ʿImrān 3:33). In this they have erred grievously, for they failed to reflect upon the Qur’an before advancing such a slanderous interpretation that contradicts the intent of Allah Most High. Immediately after that verse He says: “When the wife of ʿImrān said: ‘My Lord, I have vowed to You what is in my womb, dedicated [to Your service]’ ” (Āl ʿImrān 3:35), whereupon He relates the birth of Mary, daughter of ʿImrān—may Allah be pleased with her. This is plain and manifest, praise be to Allah.

Abū Ṭālib cherished a natural, familial affection for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, yet he never believed in him and died upon his own religion, as is established in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (3) from the narration of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib from his father. When the Prophet ﷺ came to his uncle during his final moments and urged him, “Say, ‘There is no god but Allah,’ ” Abū Jahl and ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Umayyah protested: “O Abū Ṭālib, will you turn away from the creed of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib?” The last thing he said was, “He is upon the creed of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib,” and he refused to say “There is no god but Allah.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ left, saying:

“I shall indeed seek forgiveness for you so long as I am not forbidden to do so.”

Concerning this Allah revealed: “Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills; and He knows best those who are guided” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:56). Later in Madinah He revealed: “It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to ask forgiveness for the polytheists—even though they be close relatives—after it has become clear to them that they are companions of the Blaze ⦗113⦘. And Abraham’s seeking forgiveness for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him; but when it became clear to him that he was an enemy of Allah, he disowned him. Truly Abraham was tender-hearted, forbearing” (al-Tawbah 9:113-114).

We have already clarified this at the beginning of the account of the Prophet’s mission, drawing attention to the error of the Rāfiḍites in their claim that Abū Ṭālib embraced Islam—an assertion they fabricated without any evidence that directly contradicts explicit texts (4).

As for ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with him—he accepted Islam early, before reaching puberty according to the most widely held view. It is said that he was the first of the youths to embrace Islam, just as Khadījah was the first of the women, Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq the first of the free men, and Zayd ibn Ḥārithah the first of the freedmen.

Al-Tirmidhī and Abū Yaʿlā (5) narrated—from Ismāʿīl ibn al-Saddī, from ʿAlī ibn ʿĀbis (6), from Muslim