For this reason, he was forbidden to seek forgiveness for his uncle, his father, and other disbelievers. He was also forbidden to seek forgiveness for the hypocrites, and was told:

“It is all the same for them whether you ask forgiveness for them or do not ask forgiveness for them; Allah will never forgive them.”

However, disbelievers differ in their degrees of disbelief, just as believers differ in their degrees of faith. Allah, Most High, said:

“Postponement is only an increase in disbelief.”

Thus, if a disbeliever’s disbelief is less severe because he supported and helped the Prophet, the Prophet’s intercession benefits him by alleviating his punishment, not by removing it altogether. Thus, in Sahīh Muslim, al-‘Abbās ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib said:

“I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, have you benefited Abū Tālib in any way? He used to protect you and become angry on your behalf.’

“He replied, ‘Yes. He is in a shallow expanse of fire. Were it not for me, he would be in the lowest depth of the Fire.’”

Another wording reads:

“‘Abū Tālib used to protect you, support you, and become angry on your behalf. Has that benefited him?’ He replied, ‘Yes. I found him in the depths of the Fire and brought him out into a shallow expanse.’”

It also contains a report from Abū Sa‘īd that, when his uncle Abū Tālib was mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—he said:

“Perhaps my intercession will benefit him on the Day of Resurrection, so that he will be placed in a shallow expanse of the Fire reaching his ankles, from which his brain will boil.”

He also said:

“Abū Tālib will have the lightest punishment of all the inhabitants of the Fire. He will be wearing two sandals of fire, from which his brain will boil.”

Likewise, his supplication benefits them by preventing their punishment from being hastened in this world. Thus, he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—related the account of a prophet whom his people had beaten and who was saying:

“O Allah, forgive my people, for they do not know.”

It is reported that he supplicated to this effect: “Forgive them, and do not hasten their punishment in this world.” Allah, Most High, said:

“If Allah were to take people to task for what they have earned, He would not leave a single living creature on the earth’s surface. But He grants them respite until an appointed time.”