The tenth year after our Master’s first revelation is known as the Year of Sorrow in the Islamic world…

During this year, our Master’s beloved wife Khadija and his uncle Abu Talib passed away. Preceding their death our Master also lost his four-year-old son Qasim, and then his younger son Abdullah Tahir. The loss of his sons led the Meccan polytheists to take their cruelty to another level by calling our Master “abtar” meaning “he whose progeny has been cut off”. 

Upon this Allah revealed the chapter al-Kawthar to console him:

Indeed, We gave you the Kawthar!

So, experience salat for your Rabb and sacrifice (your ego)!

Indeed, it is the one who resents you that is cut off (whose progeny has been made discontinuous)![1]

After the embargo was lifted from the Muslims Abu Talib had become extremely ill and bedridden. His state was so severe that it was undeniably clear that he was in his final days…

When our Master saw this he approached his uncle and once again invited him to accept Islam:

“My dear uncle, come and say the sacred words with which I may be a witness for you before Allah on the day of judgment and that it may be the cause for your salvation…”

Abu Talib looked around him and said, “Beloved Nephew, if I was not afraid that these people would assume that I did it to escape death and call me senile I would have done it… Nay, I do not want people to talk after me saying I said it out of the fear of death… I will not say it.”

Our Master insisted, “Just one word and I will fight on your behalf in front of Allah.” 

At this point Abu Jahl started yelling, ‘Oh Abu Talib, will you leave the religion of your father, Abu Muttalib?’ He kept saying this, almost heckling our Master to the point where Abu Talib could not hear his nephew anymore. 

Finally, he looked at our Master and said, ‘Upon the religion of Abdul Muttalib’, and passed away. 

Our Master said, “By Allah, I will continue to ask for your forgiveness until I am forbidden to do so…”

Albeit some narrations report that Abu Talib said the Word of Witness in his last breath unfortunately these are not authentic narrations. Abu Talib was 87 years old when he died. He passed away three years before the migration. 

Some narrations report when our Master washed the corpse of his uncle, he anointed his entire body but when he came to his feet Gabriel (pbuh) prevented him and because of this he will only be subject to the suffering of fire from beneath his feet…

 Only fifty days after Abu Talib’s death, during the month of Ramadan, our Master’s beloved wife Khadija also passed away… Khadija had spent 25 years with our Master and was 65 when she passed away. 

Regarding Khadija our Master (saw) said: “The best of the world’s women was Mary at her lifetime, and the best of the world’s women is Khadija at her lifetime.”

Indeed, our Master’s daughter Fatima, the only one among his children to continue his progeny, was born of Khadija…