say anything. However, if the dying person himself resumes speaking and asks for something—“Give me a drink,” “Pass me some water,” or the like—the prompting should be repeated.

If, Allah forbid, the person is a disbeliever who has turned his back on Islam, we may address him in the imperative: “Say: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah.’ ” Should Allah favor him and he utters the words, then all praise is due to Allah; but if he does not, he remains a disbeliever.

When death approached Abū Ṭālib, the Prophet’s uncle, something of this nature occurred. Of the Prophet’s uncles who lived to witness the message, there were four. Two accepted Islam—Ḥamzah and al-ʿAbbās—with Ḥamzah ranking above al-ʿAbbās; and two died upon disbelief—Abū Ṭālib (ʿAlī’s father) and Abū Lahab, the latter being far worse in his unbelief. Abū Lahab—may Allah protect us—was among the most vicious in harming the Messenger, and for that reason Allah revealed an entire sūrah condemning him, one that believers recite in both obligatory and supererogatory prayers:

“May the hands of Abū Lahab be ruined, and ruined is he! His wealth and whatever he earned will avail him nothing. He will burn in a Fire of blazing flames, and his wife, the carrier of firewood, will have a rope of twisted palm-fiber around her neck.” (Qur’an 111:1–5)

Abū Ṭālib, despite his unbelief, felt genuine love, tenderness, and protective concern for the Messenger and spoke well of him, yet—Allah’s refuge is sought—a barrier was placed between him and Islam. Thus, when death came to him and the Prophet ﷺ was at his side, two men from Quraysh were also present