The saying is the Qur'an. It says: 'Did they not reflect upon it to know that it is the clear truth, so they would believe in it and in the one who brought it? Rather, what has come to them is something that their forefathers did not receive, so they denied it and considered it something new.' As in His saying: 'So that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, and they are heedless.' Or so that they may fear when reflecting upon its verses and stories, like what befell those before them from the deniers. Or did they receive security that their forefathers did not receive when they feared Allah and believed in Him, His Books, and His Messengers, and obeyed Him? Their forefathers were Isma'il and his descendants from Adnan and Qahtan. And from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Do not curse Mudar or Rabi'a, for they were both Muslims. And do not curse Qays, for he was a Muslim. And do not curse Al-Harith ibn Kab or Asad ibn Khuzaymah or Tamim ibn Murra, for they were upon Islam. And whatever you doubt about something, do not doubt that Tubba' was a Muslim.' [I said: The narrator limited the attribution of the first sentence to Al-Suhaili from Al-Zubair, and it includes the rest. It has been narrated by Ibn Sa'd and Al-Baladhuri through the route of Sa'd ibn Abi Ayyub from Abdullah ibn Khalid that he heard that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Do not curse Mudar, for he was a Muslim.' As for Tubba', Al-Fakihi narrated through the route of Umar ibn Jabir from Sahl ibn Sa'd, raised, 'Do not curse Tubba', for he has embraced Islam.' And Al-Hakim narrated through the route of Ibn Jurayj from Al-Zuhri from Urwah from Aisha, who said: 'Tubba' was a righteous man.' The narration is halted. And the saying: 'And the sermon that Abu Talib delivered at the marriage of Khadijah bint Khuwailid, may Allah be pleased with her, is enough as a calling.' I said: It is also a text for him.

Paradise: madness, and they knew that he was innocent of it and that he was the most rational among them and the most insightful in mind. However, he came to them with what contradicted their desires and whims, and did not align with what they were raised upon. They mixed with their flesh and blood in following falsehood. They found no way to refute or defend against it because it is the clear truth and the straight path. So they resorted to slander and relied on lies by attributing madness, sorcery, and poetry to him. If you say: His saying وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ implies that the least of them did not dislike the truth. I say: Among them were those who refrained from believing out of pride and disdain from being reproached by their people and from being called apostates who abandoned the religion of their forefathers, not out of dislike for the truth, as is narrated about Abu Talib. If you say: Most of them implies that the least of them do not dislike the truth, and how is that when they are all disbelievers? I say: Among them were those who rejected Islam out of fear of contradicting their forefathers and of being called apostates like Abu Talib, not out of dislike for the truth. Ahmad said: It is better to interpret the pronoun in وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ as referring to all people. When this group from the generality is mentioned, the speech remains in وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ as referring to the entirety, like His saying: إِنَّ فِي ذلِكَ لَآيَةً وَما كانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ and His saying: وَما أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ. This is supported by His saying: بَلْ جاءَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ, and the Prophet ﷺ came to all people and was sent to everyone. It is possible that the majority refers to all, just as the minority refers to negation, and Allah knows best. As for the saying of Al-Zamakhshari: Whoever persists in disbelief and prefers to remain upon it out of imitation of their forefathers is 'not disliking the truth'—this is rejected. For whoever loves something dislikes its opposite. If they loved remaining in disbelief, then they certainly disliked transitioning to faith, and Allah knows best. Then the discussion turned to the improbability of Abu Talib's faith. The truth about him is that he died in disbelief, and the reason for this is that he was the most famous uncle of the Prophet ﷺ. If he had converted to Islam, his conversion would have been well-known, just as the conversion of Abbas and Hamza became well-known, and it is more likely because he was more famous. Those who claim he converted may excuse the lack of notoriety by saying that he converted shortly before his death, so he did not have prominent positions in Islam to be known for, as others from his family did. However, it seems that he did not convert. A sufficient proof of this is the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: I asked Allah for him, and that after that he is in a shallow place in the Fire, with his head boiling from his feet. If it is said: It does not necessarily follow that he died in disbelief, because many sinful monotheists are punished more than that. We say: Those who assert his Islam claim that this occurred shortly before his death, and Islam erases what came before it. That brief moment in which he became one of the Muslims cannot bear the sins that would necessitate that punishment, and Allah knows best. If you say: Some people claim that Abu Talib's Islam is valid. I say: Glory be to Allah, as if Abu Talib were the least known of the uncles of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, while the Islam of Hamza and Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, became well-known, yet the Islam of Abu Talib remained hidden.